The Mech Touch

While Ves pondered about how to augment his future daughter in a spiritual fashion, he continued to work on his mech design projects.

The design lab became a hive of activity after Gloriana got all fired up. The drive to finish all of the expert mech design projects before the birth of her daughter caused her to become extremely motivated. She also became a lot more demanding and expected every other mech designer to get more work done.

Surprisingly, the rest of the Larkinson Clan actually responded positively to the news of her pregnancy.

"She might be a Hexer, but she'll probably be a good mother."

"We finally have some continuity."

"I'm happy for the patriarch. I hope that parenthood will calm him down."

Though not every clansman thought highly of Gloriana, the revelation that she was carrying Ves' child pleased many clansmen who were pleased with serving under the current patriarch.

While the Larkinson Clan tried its best to become a meritocracy, the reality was that some Larkinsons were more significant than others.

A drastic change in leadership accompanied by a profound shift in direction scared a lot of clansmen. They didn't want the good times to end or see the Larkinson Clan turn into an entirely different beast.

If Ves ever decided to step back from holding the top post, then it would be great if one of his children took over the mantle. People already developed a lot of expectations that his successor would be able to lead the clan to even greater heights in the future!

As a former citizen to a state that vehemently fought against a feudal kingdom, Ves couldn't make sense of this sentiment.

"This is ridiculous. Who can guarantee that my upcoming daughter or any of my other kids are qualified to lead my clan in the future? They haven't seen anything yet and already they're assuming that everything will go fine as if I'm still in charge!"

Gavin shrugged. "Citizens from former republics like us are accustomed to thinking that way, but a significant portion of our clan are accustomed to other regimes. Remember the Sentinel Kingdom? We picked up a lot of people over there who are completely used to thinking that nobles and royals have an intrinsic right to rule. They don't care about your current title. To them, you're the king of the clan while Gloriana is your queen. That automatically means your sons and daughters will become their future princes and princesses."

Ves palmed his face. This was an idiotic development.

"We're not a monarchy and I'm not a king!"

"I know that, you know that, but it's hard to shake people's beliefs in you, boss." His assistant told him. "There are some people in our clan who think it's a good idea to rotate the leadership every once in a while and there are others who want the opposite. It doesn't help that you're so high profile. The founder and first-generation leader of any organization will have an outsized role among the people, and the fact you have done nothing to diminish that means that it is natural for you to be treated as our king."

This was a wildly overblown talk to Ves. He considered this attitude to be so absurd that he didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Ugh. We need to step up the education of our clansmen, Benny. Tell the media folk and any other relevant people to fight back against this idea. Being a king is too troublesome and will only distract me from designing mechs."

Ves always considered himself to be a mech designer first and a leader second. If he had to choose between the two, he would pick the first one in a heartbeat because that was the root of his place in society.

"..Understood, boss. Speaking about leadership, Mr. Shederin Purnesse, General Quinlist Verle and Mr. Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson have all nominated their preferred candidates for the three available positions of chief minister."

"Chief minister?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"

"It's the replacement name for vice patriarch. Some of the clan leaders we've consulted think it is better to switch to a different title. Chief minister conveys sufficient authority but does not make it sound as if they will replace you. Their roles are similar to prime ministers in a way, but since we will be appointing multiple of them at a time, it is best to distinguish them from the traditional impression of a prime minister."

Though Ves felt this title sounded rather weird, he quickly grew comfortable with it after a few times of running it through in his mind. Chief minister made it sound as if the person holding this position was the head of other ministers. However, unlike prime ministers who were traditionally associated with leading entire countries, the title of chief minister was obviously less prestigious due to its uncommon occurrence.

"I.. approve. It's not the most elegant title, but it does the job and does not convey any stuffy or pretentious associations to the job."

Alternative titles such as duke, chancellor, director, executive, vice president, marshal and so on were all problematic for several different reasons. The Larkinson Clan was foremost a clan, with a close family structure that was relatively closed to those who did not bear the name.

Even if the clan was gradually taking on the form of a state, Ves did not want to adopt a traditional structure. He wanted the clan to preserve its original ideals and retain its own identity as much as possible. Therefore, he had no problem with breaking galactic tradition and adopting more quirks.

As long as it worked, who cared about whether the Larkinsons abided by the handbook on how to build a state.

"Let's hear it, then. Who are the fellows who will be taking over most of my burdens?"

"Well, let's start with the obvious one. Mr. Shederin himself has formally nominated his son Novilon Purnesse. I'm sure I don't need to mention his qualifications. His prior experience in holding several government functions will serve the clan administration well. He also claims to be the best person to implement all of the reforms proposed by his father. Currently, his nomination has reached broad if tentative support from the Larkinson Assembly."

Ves already had a lot of time to weigh the pros and cons of this idea. While the risk of empowering the Purnessers over the other clansmen was significant, in the end the need to put someone in charge who knew what he was doing trumped every other consideration.

Even if Novilon overreached one day, Ves could always step in and rein the man back. The former Purnesse Family had to keep in mind that they were only able to gain power at the behest of others.

"If there are no strong objections to his nomination, then I'm fine with it." Ves eventually decided. "We need to counterbalance his presence with someone loyal and from the old guard, though. The purpose of nominating multiple vice patriarchs, er, I mean chief ministers, is that they all keep each other in check. This process obviously won't be as effective if they all belong to the same clique."

For example, Ves was sure that the Purnessers would ascend to become the highest-ranking sub-groups within the Larkinson Clan if they filled up the seats of all three chief ministers!

Gavin smiled. "Oh, you don't have to be concerned about that. From the business side of our clan, Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson has decided to put his own name forward. Since he came from the original Larkinson Family, his loyalty and dedication is not in doubt. He is also much more familiar with the Larkinson values than many other clansmen. The only possible concern is that he is old."

Though Ves saw the benefits to nominating the current Chief Operating Officer of the Living Mech Corporation, he felt irked at the fact that the old man did not conform to his criteria.

"I thought I told you all to look for someone who is not too old. Besides, the position of COO of one of our primary sources of funds is also an immensely important responsibility. Who the hell is going to replace Raymond?"

"I believe that he wishes to explain his decisions to you himself."

"I'll call him up, then."

Ves activated his desk terminal and directly hailed the man. A short moment passed by as his terminal apparently formed a connection to a new office set up in the center of Dawn City aboard the Vivacious Wal.

"Patriarch." Raymond's projection appeared and bowed. "What can I do for you?"

"I just heard from Benny here that you intend to nominate yourself to the position of Chief Minister. Aren't you being a bit too ambitious here? I mean, who nominates himself to become the vice leader of a powerful organization!?"

Raymond did not exhibit any nervousness. "I'm aware that you are looking to place someone younger and more flexible on these seats, but hear me out, Ves. You don't want all three of the chief ministers to belong to the same generation. It's best to take advantage of the fact that there are multiple chief ministers to add some diversity. Not only do I belong to a different generation, but I am certain that I am the only one put forward who has genuinely lived through the days of the old family. You need that anchor in the seats directly below yours."

This argument sounded compelling. Ves began to look thoughtful. "Maybe you have a point, but…"

"I'm old, yes, but I'm also getting on in my years. Just like your grandfather, I don't have much time left before I am forced to retire and live out my remaining years in peace. Compared to Mr. Novilon Purnesse, I hold no greater ambitions for myself. I only wish to make the clan a better place for my clansmen and more specifically my direct family. I don't want my grandson Tusa to risk his life for a clan that isn't worthy and that seeks to take advantage of him rather than provide sincere support."

This was quite an understandable sentiment, especially now that Ves was on his way to become a parent.

After thinking over Raymond's suitability a bit further, he felt that it wasn't completely necessary to hold to his original criteria.

"I'll consider your nomination." Ves carefully said. "If there are no better options, then I will give my approval."

"Thank you, sir. I don't plan to stick around forever, but I hope to make my mark in the few years that I will be able to take charge."

"Who will replace you as COO if you go? I don't want your departure to leave a gaping void behind in the LMC. Are you thinking about letting Calsie take over your current job?"

Raymond shook his head. "No. She is still too young and too far behind in terms of experience and skills. In fact, even I am feeling increasingly more swamped with my current duties. The LMC has grown far too big and complex in the last few years. My training is simply too insufficient and I'm too old to improve any further. This is why I have always been thinking about letting a better and more competent executive lead the company to greater heights."

This was quite a significant change. Ves sat up straighter in his chair.

"Who are you thinking about taking over as COO?"

Though the position of COO sounded less prestigious than CEO, everyone knew that Ves was far too busy to lead the company these days. He just wanted to hold onto the rank of CEO for the same reason why he insisted on holding to his patriarch title.

The COO of the Living Mech Corporation might only be the deputy leader, but he or she effectively wielded a lot of power and influence. Just the fact that the COO had a huge effect on the amount of money the mech company poured into the coffers of the Larkinson Clan made it critical that Raymond's successor was both capable and loyal!

"I'm thinking about putting forward someone who has an abundant amount of executive experience in mech companies but only joined our clan recently. In fact, we happened to have picked him up back when we were parked next to Talulah Silver."

Ves frowned when he heard that. This meant that Raymond was considering someone who had only joined the clan a few weeks ago.