The Mech Touch

Calabast's request put a different spin on things. The leader of the Black Cats rarely issued any requests these days. It was quite exceptional for her to take the initiative to barge into his discussion and issue a clear demand.

"Uhm…"

"Don't bother with weaseling around this time." Calabast ruthlessly cut him off. "You just want to delay time so you can think over your decision. Let me tell you that you can just skip that and leave the thinking to me. I have already weighed all of the pros and cons and have made my judgement. We have to add this ship to our fleet lineup. She might not look as large and intimidating as the other vessels, but she is exactly the ship our Black Cats need to safeguard our clan from the dark!"

"..."

The more Calabast insisted on purchasing the Blinding Banshee, the more hesitant he became!

He began to look suspicious at the spymaster. Was there something more to the starship that Calabast wasn't telling him? Perhaps he needed to ask for more clarification before he made his own choice.

"What is the actual reason behind your insistence on acquiring the Blinding Banshee?" Ves narrowed his eyes. "I refuse to believe that it is merely about giant antennas and powerful scanning systems."

Calabast frowned when she saw that she wasn't getting her way. Had Ves become so numb to Gloriana's demands that her own persuasive factor became too weak now? Perhaps she should have gone over to Shederin's office in person.

"Intelligence and counterintelligence are just as vital to the continued survival of the Larkinson Clan as military force, Ves. Sure, being able to field tens of thousands of mechs along with dozens of expert mechs will make many enemies pause, but there are plenty of pioneers in the Red Ocean who can muster up twice, thrice or even ten times as much mechs. This is not even the greatest threat you face. A stab in the back cuts much deeper than a swipe from the front. If our eyes and ears aren't sharp enough, then it is not that difficult to lead us into a trap."

"And acquiring this boondoggle of a capital ship will alleviate that?"

"It's not just about leveraging the many facilities of the Blinding Banshee, though it does help a lot." Calabast spoke. "It's also about sending a message that the intelligence arm of the Larkinson Clan is also a valued part of our defense operation. Much of the work we do is invisible and out of sight, so hardly any clansmen appreciate what the Black Cats are doing to keep the monsters in the dark at bay."

"I don't know if you're exaggerating or not." Ves skeptically remarked.

"You see?" Calabast snarled. "That's exactly the attitude that others hold towards the Black Cats. Some idiots even believe that the clan should disband my unit completely and focus completely on our military excellence! The nerve!"

Though Calabast's performance was highly persuasive, she was right that this wasn't the first time a woman badly wanted to demand something from him. The Hexer intelligence leader might be smart and competent in many areas, but Gloriana's approach was much more effective due to the sheer emotions it evoked on his part.

As for the current display, Ves would sadly have to rate the performance 5 out of 10. Calabast scored well on sincerity and logic, but her arguments and approach was lacking in the ability to appeal to his closest emotions.

"You never bothered too much with this issue before. In fact, I would say it is better for the opposite to be the case. If everyone underestimates the Black Cats, any malcontents around us will act a lot sloppier than normal. Doesn't that sound great?"

Calabast furrowed her brows. "Your point is valid, but not entirely desirable. There is always a kernel of truth in anything. If our enemies consistently think little of our intelligence capabilities, it usually means that we truly fall short in this area. I would rather have the opposite where our strong intelligence capabilities are partially known. At the very least, that will have a strong deterrence effect against weaker opponents, which will ultimately save us a lot of trouble."

"I get what you're saying, but it shouldn't be necessary for us to acquire a capital ship like the Blinding Banshee so soon. You can make do with a smaller and more affordable sub-capital ship. Also, our other capital ships have plenty of space for you to set up your operations."

"It's not the same, Ves." Her projection shook her head. "Do you think it is not necessary to have a strong and dedicated intelligence platform in our fleet when you pass through the beyonder gate? I would argue that the need for potent intelligence and counterintelligence capabilities is actually the highest when we have just arrived in the Red Ocean! We will be entering a completely foreign region where we are surrounded by rivals who are doubtlessly eying us like prey."

Ves frowned. "It shouldn't be that bad, right? There are plenty of unexplored stars and planets in the Red Ocean that are all ripe for the taking. Most pioneers are probably preoccupied with prospecting or colonizing all of those virgin star systems."

"That is true, but that is not all the pioneers are doing. Let me ask you a question. The immature shipbuilding industry in the Red Ocean has led to an even greater shortage of starships on the other side of the beyonder gate. Supply is nearly non-existent but demand is continuing to peak as more and more pioneering fleets pay the required MTA merits and pass through the gate every day. Now what do you think that spiking demand will affect the considerations of the pioneers, especially the stronger ones?"

He paused and began to map out this scenario. His imagination quickly produced an unsettling image.

"The pioneers… will begin to prey on each other's fleets." He tentatively concluded. "Is that what you're trying to convey?"

"The pattern wasn't entirely clear at the beginning, but with the constant disappearance of capable fleets and the mysterious addition of highly similar ships in other fleets speaks of an ominous trend. Capital ships are especially precious commodities in the Red Ocean. What do you think will happen if our fleet of 20 decent and serviceable capital ship hulls enter the new frontier?"

A dark mood settled over Ves. "We would look like juicy targets, especially if we don't have enough mechs to defend our entire fleet."

One of the sore points about entering the Red Ocean was that the Larkinsons and their allies would have to abandon all of their sub-capital ships. It was simply not worth it to waste a precious ship slot on a small and weak vessel.

Yet the disposal of so many combat carriers directly limited the starting strength that the Golden Skull Alliance would possess when it began its grand expedition in earnest.

Though the supply of sub-capital ships was a bit more optimistic due to the lower barriers in building them, they were also difficult to acquire. Every single pioneering fleet wanted to obtain not just one, but dozens or even hundreds of combat carriers and other related vessels. The order books of the few shipyards that had already gone operational in the Red Ocean probably stretched on for at least a decade!

Therefore, newcomers were not only unable to purchase any sub-capital ship, but also became juicy targets to those that did possess a number of combat carriers and hence were able to field more mechs!

"Does the Big Two really tolerate all of this blatant plundering?" Ves asked in a disbelieving tone. "I mean, it should be terribly obvious if a pioneering fleet goes missing only for another one to return with nearly identical ships in their lineup. You can't hide the truth especially when every shipyard is terribly backed up to the point where it is easy to register each newly-built vessel."

"Ahem." Shederin Purnesse politely coughed. "Remember what we talked about previously? The Big Two are not our nannies. Those who venture into the Red Ocean must be well aware that certain rules no longer apply as strictly. Besides, the Big Two never bothered police rivalries between indigenous groups in the first place. Local politics and conflicts are beneath their attention. All they care about are the winners who are able to rise above the losers."

The Red Ocean was a crucible and the aliens weren't the only threat to pioneers. Ves had to remind himself of the cruel reality he was about to enter. Though the risks were great, he was still determined to reach it because the opportunities were even greater!

Without a changing, fluid environment, the Larkinson Clan would never be able to rise up as quickly as he wished.

Ves turned to the chief diplomat. "Since you've already spoken, you must have formed an opinion as well. What do you think?"

"Patriarch, in my opinion, we should go for certainty rather than hope for a better opportunity." The old man slowly replied. "The market trends are clear. Unless we raid another powerful fleet during our journey to the Tarnished Crown Star Sector, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to obtain another combat-oriented capital ship. If that is the case, we may as well grasp every useful offering on the market while they are still available. This situation won't last soon unless the Crown uprising ends."

That did not sound likely. The Five Scrolls Compact made such a major move that it would be an embarrassment to let the civilization-wide unrest end with a whimper. In fact, according to his own impression of the Compact cultists, those crazies probably had a worse surprise in store!

The fundamental reasons behind the unfavorable circumstances that the Larkinson Clan was in was the universal lack of shipbuilding capacity. While there was plenty of profit to be made for any company looking to construct ships, the barrier to entry was not low. The facilities, the personnel, the tech, the supply of raw materials, the political backing and the security requirements all cost a lot of money to resolve.

Any wealthy individual or company who failed to get anything done would likely end up with a huge loss-making operation!

These reasons and more was why the amount of shipyards in the old galaxy never really expanded despite the existing demand. It was only until very recently that more companies began to look into establishing more shipyards, but this was such a huge endeavor that it would take years before additional construction capacity came online!

"Ves, I don't think you realize yet what it will take for us to survive in the Red Ocean." Calabast spoke in a low tone. "If we just put our fleet at the same level as we entered, a larger fleet will come and swallow us sooner or later. If we want to keep up with the growth of more powerful groups and ensure that we are strong enough to deter opportunistic preying, we need to build up our strength as well. The only way to do that is to do the same to others."

"That… does not sound honorable."

"Pff." Calabast contemptuously snorted. "Honor alone will not protect our clan from getting ganged up. Look, if you acquire the Blinding Banshee for us, our activities won't be limited to blocking enemy spying. We can proactively scope out potential targets that we might have a chance of beating and plot out their route so that we can intercept them. If you are really bothered by the issue of honor, we can limit our target selection to 'acceptable' prey that have already raided other ships and slaughtered their former crew."

That was a more palatable course of action. Though Ves was not that much bothered by the issue of honor, it was different for the rest of his clan. He had always tried his best to cultivate a righteous spirit among the Larkinsons. Forcing them to go pirate was extremely counterproductive to the cultural development of his people.

In the end, the persuasion of another worked yet again. Ves agreed to the acquisition of the Blinding Banshee even if he still had misgivings over her utility and robustness.

Perhaps the only silver lining to this incredibly influential session was that the second-hand ships in consideration were readily available. It would not take long for the Larkinson fleet to welcome a handful of additional capital ships!