The Mech Touch

After Ves issued his brief announcement, he didn't give the Purnessers a lot of opportunities to ask any questions. Other Larkinsons stepped forward in order to organize and sort the rescued people into different groups.

None of the clansmen cared about the complaints of the Purnessers or their exact identities.

Who cared whether someone claimed to have been a former planetary minister of Trieden II?

He was just an old man now that he had fallen into the grasp of the Larkinson Clan!

It didn't even matter if some of the Purnessers or their retainers were mech pilots. None of them received any special treatment.

Of course, the Larkinsons might be tough, but they weren't cruel. They did not set out to bully the Purnessers or inflict any harm on them. They just performed their jobs without any extraneous thoughts.

A group of Larkinson school teachers began to receive the children of the Purnesse Family. Some of the latter cried for various reasons, but the teachers efficiently injected a small drug in their bodies to calm them down.

Some old fogeys and veterans of the Larkinson Clan took away the elderly, disabled and retired members of the Purnesse Family. Pregnant women and other vulnerable people also joined this group.

Even though these people did not add much value to the Larkinson Clan, their presence and views were still important in many ways.

The clan would never kick them off the fleet!

The Larkinson Clan was supposed to be one big family, and caring for the older generation was an important facet of this ideal.

In short, Ves did not impose any excessive demands on the weak and less capable members of the Purnesse Family.

His focus remained on the healthy, able, competent and clever members of the Purnesse Family. As long as these able-bodied Loxians recovered from their traumas, they should immediately be ready to slot into their new jobs in the Larkinson Clan.

Ves did not intend to make their transition too easy, though. He was afraid that the Purnessers were too spoiled and entitled to appreciate the new chance they received.

In order to rectify these possible traits and ensure the Purnessers didn't make any undesirable waves in the Larkinson Clan, they had to go through a mandatory training program.

The point wasn't to turn them into soldiers. That was a huge waste of time considering that they had already chosen their paths in life.

Ves merely planned out a series of… introductions and experiential activities in order to encourage them to forget about their old ways.

Once these able-bodied Purnessers were sorted into several subgroups, a series of passenger craft arrived to take them to their first 'training site'.

"They're on their way to the Swordmaiden contingent of our fleet, right?"

Calabast hesitantly nodded. "They are, but… a lot of us are questioning whether it is wise to subject them to the tender mercies of the Swordmaidens. You know how demanding those women can get. Their backgrounds as pirates also ensures that they will not develop any good impressions of the blue-blooded Purnessers."

What Ves had done was little different from throwing a well-dressed noble into a pack of beggars!

There was no way that both sides would be able to achieve harmony!

The grin on his face did not abate, however.

"That's exactly why I think the Swordmaidens are the best people to receive the Purnessers first." He enthusiastically replied. "I can trust those women not to get too enamoured by the former identities of our upcoming members. I also trust that they are professional enough not to break their charges."

"What if you are wrong?"

Ves shrugged. "Oh well. It's not a big deal if a large shipment of goods contains a few defective products. We have already received more than enough Purnessers to last us a while. How many did we gain, exactly?"

"According to our current count, we registered 1879 trueblood members of the Purnesse Family and 16,754 employees and retainers."

The latter were not technically Purnessers, but they were raised and sheltered by them, so they possessed similar mindsets. This was why Ves did not intend to treat them differently from their former employers.

As Ves and Calabast continued to oversee the transfers of the different groups of Purnessors, a pair of guards brought forth an old but stately-looking Loxian.

The older man regarded the two leaders with a humble posture. The man's inherent dignity could not be hidden, but the way in which the Purnesser leader conveyed humility was highly convincing.

If Ves didn't know that he was dealing with a professional liar, he would have been sold by the performance!

Of course, the niceties still had to be followed, so he replaced his devious smirk with a friendly smile.

"Ambassador Shederin Purnesse, welcome to the Larkinson fleet. Again, I apologize for not being able to induct you and your family members into the fold straight away, but unlike the rest of our recruits, your people have not yet proven to be worthy to become a Larkinson. I hope you understand."

The former head of the Purnesse Family made a brief but humble bow. "You do not have to call me ambassador, patriarch. My old titles have lost their meaning the moment I have brought my family to your domain. I am no longer a citizen of the Grand Loxic Republic."

Ves felt satisfied by the former ambassador's smart response. It had been worth it to obtain someone like Shederin Purnesse!

"Very well, Mr. Shederin. Now, the reason why I summoned you here is because you seem to be the wisest among your bunch. Do you have any questions about the future of your men?"

"I do, patriarch." Shederin looked grave. "If I may ask, is it truly necessary to put most of my former family members through immediate ideological training? They have just bid farewell to their homes, their friends, their jobs and the rest of the structure that supported their lives. They need time to heal and process."

"They can heal and process their grief while they are running laps around the interior of a combat carrier." Ves heartlessly replied. "You probably know what I am trying to do, so I won't mince words with you. The fact that the structure that you are referring to is broken at this moment is a great opportunity for our clan to erect a new structure in its place. It is much easier to replace a broken and ruined house than an intact one. Why should I give your former family members the opportunity to erect their own houses? Their designs will be all over the place! If we are the ones who are building your new houses, we can ensure that their architecture falls in line with the rest of our clan."

"I can understand your desire to mold us into your image, but there are gentler and more sophisticated alternatives. I can pass on these methods to you or refer you to some bestselling books that can explain the theory behind them. There is a whole body of academic literature behind the best ways to.. teach and indoctrinate humans."

Ves directed a sharp look at the former ambassador. "How many of you Purnessers have read those books? Don't answer this question. While I am sure that all of those proven methods are effective, our clan have our own unique ways to transform any random recruit into a sincere and loyal Larkinson. You'll get to know them in the coming days and weeks."

There was no need to flood Shederin Purnesse with all of the whackier aspects of the Larkinson Clan right away. Ves found that new recruits adjusted better to the unique traits of his clan if they comprehended them one by one. It would be incredibly abrupt for him to introduce the Purnessers to an entity as mystical as the Golden Cat straight away!

Seeing that the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan insisted on this harsh and strict treatment towards his family members, he dropped his protests. Now that he and his family boarded a pirate ship, it was not wise for him to contradict the pirate captain!

"What do you intend to do with us after we have… adjusted to our new conditions?"

"As long as your people successfully get accepted in the Larkinson Clan, we will treat them as our brothers and sisters. You Purnessers will truly be regarded as Larkinsons from that point onwards. We'll not treat you differently from other clansmen either, so they will follow our usual procedures that will help them find their new places in the fleet. Their prior education, work experience and qualifications will finally become relevant then at that time. I can promise you that we will not misuse the talents of your former family members."

Shederin loosened up when he heard that. He conveyed a substantial amount of relief and gratitude with his posture.

"Thank you, patriarch. I hope that my son and the rest of my family can lend all of their abilities to you. You may not know much about the Grand Loxic Republic, but you can trust that its standards are high."

"I have never questioned the competence of your people." Ves smiled. "Let's just do our best to leave all of these unpleasantries behind and do our best to look towards the future. All of us are looking for a new start in the Red Ocean. Walk with me. I'll bring you up to speed."

He moved to the exit of the hangar bay while Shederin Purnesse followed suit. Calabast didn't feel the need to follow. Instead, she silently waved at Ves before moving off to attend to her other duties.

Lucky gazed back and forth between Ves and Calabast.

On one hand, he could follow Ves who would likely be talking about a lot of boring stuff to a boring old man.

On the other hand, he could follow Calabast and supplant Arnold as her favored petting instrument.

It didn't take long for him to resolve his dilemma.

"Meow."

Lucky quickly zipped towards Calabast!

Fortunately for the cat, Ves did not notice Lucky's absence. Instead, he had become fully engaged in providing Shederin with a brief overview of his clan and its various relations.

Though Shederin Purnesse only possessed a shallow understanding the Larkinson Clan, he had already formed a number of preliminary conclusions.

"The Golden Skull Alliance has great promise in my eyes." He slowly said. "It is just that your clan is not tapping its full potential out of an abundance of caution."

Ves looked puzzled. "Why would you say that, Mr. Shederin."

Now that the conversation turned to more familiar territory to the former ambassador, Shederin finally raised his head a little.

"There are many reasons why I think this way. First, your clan cannot do everything. You have already established this yourself. It is best if you can combine forces with other organizations that possess different competences. This way, you can each benefit from the strengths of your partners without investing a disproportionate amount of effort into expanding your own capabilities. If you just want to grow your clan quietly and over a span of a few centuries, then you might consider this approach, but you are looking to achieve a good start in the Red Ocean. The pace of development and competition in the dwarf galaxy is so high that you cannot bank on long-term plans to achieve success."

"The early bird gets the worm." Ves succinctly said.

"Just so, patriarch." Shederin sagely nodded. "I have studied the conditions of the Red Ocean extensively even if I never held any intentions to enter it. When I compare the current trends with what has happened in past colonization waves, I have found that collective action has a much higher chance of success than trying to achieve everything by yourself."

"You don't have much hope that we'll be able manage in our current conditions."

"Oh, heavens, no. According to my preliminary estimates and calculations, the chance that your clan will be able to survive ten years after entering the Red Ocean is 8.7 percent!"

Ves almost had a heart attack when he heard this figure. "8.7 percent? Isn't that too low?!"

The old man shook his head. "In fact, this is a rather optimistic estimate based on rosy projections of your future growth and development. In my more pessimistic scenarios, the chance of survival can dip as low as 0.3 percent."

0.3 percent!