The Mech Touch

"If only we can actually produce the damn new mechs." Ves muttered.

He had taken the time to inspect and survey his fleet's material stores. What he found was not good.

The fleet had salvaged, bought or picked up a lot of different goods over the years. The Graveyard was especially filled with debris and space junk that no one saw fit to make use of. While the materials were all valuable, the clan did not have a ready application for any of them at this time!

This not only included materials salvaged from broken mechs and starships, but also encompassed valuable exotics obtained from breaking down the most valuable portions of flesh of the Titania.

Ves was unsure what to do with all of these eclectic materials. He could sell them at Davute for a pretty nice premium, but that meant he would be parting with them forever. Some of those resources were extremely hard to come by. If the clan needed any of it at a future date, then it would be an uphill battle trying to find another batch!

However, the longer those useless resources kept piling up inside the cargo bays of the various ships, the less space the Larkinson fleet offered for other goods. What if they encountered a rich mineral deposit in their travels? It would be quite unbearable for the clan to dump its precious cargo so that they could make room for slightly more valuable cargo!

This was why Ves made a decision and passed on his instructions to Chief Minister Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson.

"Once we're in Davute, you need to consolidate our resource stockpiles. Aside from our vault and strategic material reserve, you have permission to empty any materials that are not useful to us and will most likely not play any role in the foreseeable future. We need to clear up space and fill them with something more useful, whether it is materials, spare parts or even packed mechs. Can you do this, Raymond?"

Raymond slowly nodded. "This is going to be a major endeavor. It will take time to select the materials that we wish to get rid of and sell them to willing buyers. We're fortunate that we have just arrived in the Davute System. This is a hotspot for frontier trade and practically any exotic materials will command a high premium here. The only challenge we face is to sell our unwanted materials for the highest possible price. Due to the inflated numbers in the regional market, there are many shrewd operators that have become proficient at driving down prices."

"Just do whatever is best. By the time we depart from this star system, I want our cargo holds clear of useless junk."

"The injection of funds can also play a useful role in facilitating our other objectives. Our chances of establishing a trade consortium is much higher if we are able to throw more money around."

Ves nodded in understanding. "That's true, but the spending has to make sense. There is no point in investing massive funds in the consortium only to obtain marginal benefits. The consortium is supposed to consist of many different members, so I don't want our clan to bear all of the costs."

"There are advantages to doing so, though. Money translates to ownership. The more we are responsible for funding the consortium, the more we can control the levers of power within it. You should seriously consider taking a more active hand."

"I'll think about it." Ves replied in a noncommittal tone.

Time continued to pass as Ves busied himself with various priorities.

He helped the other mech designers complete their design projects.

He met with Shederin to discuss their progress in establishing a trade consortium.

He spent time with his daughter in an attempt to make sure that ‘papa' would be her first word.

There was plenty of work to do so Ves did not remain idle for long.

When the fleet finally entered orbit of Davute VII, the Golden Skull Alliance entered into a familiar routine and began to engage with local businesses.

Davute VII was not actually the most developed planet in the star system.

That honor went to Davute V, where a lot of heavy industries were based. Its surface was already dotted with dozens of large cities that revolved entirely around their massive production plants.

A lot of ores and raw materials were shipped to the planet in order to refine them and supply them to other factories that produced essential goods to various parties. Mechs, starship parts and infrastructural goods were being produced in vast quantities before they were sold and exported to the various colonies in the Krakatoa Middle Zone.

It was too bad that access to Davute V was restricted. Only residents and those involved in local shipping and production were allowed to set foot on the planet.

Much of the trade took place on Davute VII. There wasn't as much industry on the planet, but it held a lot more warehouses, trade centers and entertainment facilities. The planet also hosted a large and growing service industry.

If the trade consortium that the Larkinsons were working on truly lifted off, it would likely set up its headquarters on Davute VII.

Honestly speaking, Ves didn't like that at all, but Minister Shederin was quite adamant about setting up a permanent location.

"Our trade consortium cannot be based in our fleet." He told him during a meeting. "To put it into simple terms, it has to be a ‘clubhouse' that is open, welcome and accessible to any member. Putting it in a fixed location and particularly on a planet that already stands out as a trade nexus is much better for everyone involved."

Shederin's logic was sound, but Ves still grew concerned about it. Setting up the headquarters in Davute meant that his clan would probably have to staff it with a few clansmen!

That would break his intention to keep every Larkinson he cared about in the same fleet.

Yet… Ves wasn't stupid. He knew that sticking to his inflexible stance would eventually cause him to miss vital opportunities.

If starting up a trade consortium in Davute was the only way for the Larkinson Clan to gain access to resources without giving up its neutrality, then this was a worthy price to pay.

He sighed. "If the trade consortium truly lifts off, then find a few trusted clansmen who are willing to manage it from the headquarters for a couple of years. They don't need to hold their assignment forever, but they should at least be willing to stay removed from the rest of the clan."

"We have already explored a few candidates who are willing to serve our interests. Have no fear about that, patriarch."

"How much progress have you made in finding willing members for our consortium? Has it been easy finding new partners?"

"I have good news for you, sir. The interest in becoming a part of a greater organization that can ease their supply concerns is highly attractive to them. As soon as we carefully approached a few pioneering organizations, we have become inundated with offers and inquiries from over a hundred different parties."

Despite the large amount of interest in becoming a part of a new trade consortium, Minister Shederin did not look particularly pleased with this response.

"Let me guess. The majority of orgs that have reached out to us are too small and useless even for our standards."

"Mostly correct, sir. There are also others who are considerably more powerful than us. I don't need to tell you about the dangers of letting them get involved. Their proposals are most certainly insincere."

The balance of power in the consortium should never be slanted towards a single other player. Inviting a more powerful organization would be akin to inviting a wolf into a chicken coop!

Ves grimaced. "So is there anything decent among this batch?"

"Perhaps. We are following up on a dozen of them at this moment. Not all will pass our vetting, but those that do can turn into our first group of supporters. There is a complication, though."

"What is the matter?"

"Unlike us, many other pioneers have no intention of remaining mobile. They entered the Red Ocean to found a colony or start up a new business. The parties that have reached out to us are all local players that have no intentions of moving out from Davute. If we form a consortium with them, we must center it around the Krakatoa Middle Zone."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "So you're saying the consortium will only be relevant in Krakatoa?"

"Yes, sir. If our trade consortium grows large enough, we might be able to expand into neighboring zones such as the Magair Middle Zone that we recently passed through. However, barring any wild successes, it is unlikely for the consortium to spread any further. The barriers to growth are too formidable."

The implication here was that the trade consortium would only be able to provide direct aid to Ves when the expeditionary fleet was in the area.

If Ves wanted to explore an entirely different part of the Red Ocean, then it would become increasingly more difficult for the trade consortium to keep his fleet supplied!

He shrugged. "Well, if we ever move somewhere else, we always have the option of starting over again. We can establish another regional consortium at our new destination so that we will always have access to the goods we need."

"That might not be necessary at that point. By that time, I can imagine that our clan has already conducted numerous business dealings with a large material supplier with the help of our consortium. As long as we have built a good relationship with the other party, we may be able to forge a business deal that doesn't go through our consortium."

Ves smirked. "I like the way you are thinking. The consortium is only a means to an end."

"I would not be so quick to dismiss the benefits of leading a trade consortium. By binding a lot of different organizations together, we gain influence over many of them. We can take advantage of the relationships we built to accomplish political objectives. This will be handy in safeguarding our economic interests in the Krakatoa Middle Zone."

The older man had a point as always. Ves actually grew intrigued about the other possibilities of the trade consortium. It did not just have to serve as a conduit for resources to its members.

"Keep working on finding enough willing and qualified partners. We don't have to start with 30 members right away, but we should at least be able to attract at least half as much in order to prove this idea is viable. I don't want this to take too long. If you and your staff aren't able to get our consortium off the ground by the time our fleet is ready to depart, then we should find another solution to this problem."

Minister Shederin grimaced. "If you want us to hurry, then one of the best ways to do so is to lower our threshold. If we loosen our standards, we can gain the support of a certain category of parties that we would ordinarily not consider."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "What's the problem with this group?"

"They are likely sincere and they are not too strong and weak. Our actual concerns relate to their culture, policies and ideology. The Red Ocean has attracted a large number of odd, unusual and eccentric pioneers, many of whom are exiles from the old galaxy. If you are willing to tolerate colorful personalities, we will most likely be able to form our trade association within a week."

A week! That was a lot faster than Ves expected!

Yet… when Minister Shederin expressed so much dread towards these ‘colorful personalities', Ves had an inkling that this was not a casual matter.

"Tell me about them. What kind of people are you thinking about?"

"Let me start with a religious cult that worships the number 517…"