The Mech Touch

A lot of uncomfortable discussions took place. Minister Shederin had to exert the limits of his diplomatic skills in order to soothe the ruffled feathers of the officials who were responsible for keeping Kotor City and Davute VII free from violence.

At the same time, the foreign minister and his staff also had to minimize the impact towards the clan.

Neither side wanted trouble. While there were elements that advocated for a bigger response, most wanted to avoid escalating the matter at all cost.

The fact that the Larkinson Clan was accompanied by the Simile Halifax served as an excellent deterrent against any greater punishment.

Even though the MTA had told Ves that it would not shield him from anything he and his clansmen started on their own, other people didn't necessarily know about this particular nuance.

As far as outsiders were concerned, any organization that was escorted by an actual MTA vessel should never be trifled with! At the very least, it should be the mechers dishing out the punishment, not locals like themselves.

It was all one big bluff that fortunately worked out. The downside was that while the Larkinson Clan largely escaped official retaliation, the subjective attitudes of certain officials towards the troublemakers had certainly dipped!

"The results are better than we expected." Minister Shederin reported to Ves via projection.

As the leader of the Larkinson Clan and one of the chief people responsible for disrupting the Commercial District, Ves had little choice but to hurry back to the expeditionary fleet along with Venerable Joshua and the Everchanger.

"So how have the local authorities decided to handle this matter?" Ves asked as he leaned back on his chair.

"They have largely acted according to my expectations. They sought to pursue the course of action that minimizes as much damage as possible while trying to salvage as much good out of the incident. The official narrative that they have publicized is that the Everchanger ‘accidentally' activated a benign feature that only exerts a positive effect. They have referenced our mech company's established products as examples to reinforce this message."

Ves chuckled. "So these fellows are actually promoting my products on my behalf."

"Essentially." Shederin sardonically answered. He was growing quite tired of his patriarch's antics. "That matters little as our products are currently impossible to obtain in the local market. The only manufacturer that is producing our mechs so far is the Pellysa branch of Zachren Bilitsa, which is located in a different zone. The cost and effort required to export mechs from Magair to Krakatoa is not viable at the moment. The risks of shipping products over longer distances are too high."

"That will hopefully change in a year. In any case, I've looked at the public reaction to the glow. Do you know how many mech designers, artists and other creators have contacted our clan?"

The projection nodded. "We had to activate waitlines to deal with the number of inquiries. Hopefully the rush will subside after a week. That goes for the negative impact as well. Those who reacted negatively to this incident will likely forget about it and move on once their memories have begun to fade. The long-term impact of our actions should not be too severe."

That was good to hear.

The two talked a bit further about the aftermath. Overall, the Larkinson Clan had managed to get away with a stunt that could have led to much more severe consequences.

"Right now, I am urging calm, sir. We should not antagonize the governing entities any further. If we continue to disturb the peace, we may lose possession of the plot of land that we have bought in the Financial District at a high price."

"Relax. I'm not in the habit of throwing away more than 4000 MTA credits. I still intend to base ourselves in Krakatoa for the next few years, so retaining access to Davute is still a vital priority. Do your best to ease people's concerns and repair any relationships with important officials."

"I will do my best. That is all I can promise at this time. My… attempts will likely deliver considerably better results if you can raise our department's discretionary spending."

"…You're asking for money so you can bribe people?"

Minister Shederin did not deign to form a proper reply. His projection merely smiled at Ves.

"Of course. Why do I even need to ask? How much?"

"1000 MTA credits."

"What?! That's as much as 8 Hoenbach hand-stitched two-toned lavender-and-white puelmer leather Giarna handbags!"

The old man wisely stepped aside the topic of handbags and focused on the money.

"It's better to solve all of the hard feelings right away rather than wait for them to dissipate over a longer period of time. I am aware that you take a dim view of bribery, but it is a fact of life as well as the cost of doing business. The particular venture that you engaged in was particularly costly, so you must pay the appropriate price to handle the aftermath properly."

Ves still winced. "Can't you do with a little less money? Not everyone has expensive tastes like my wife. Shouldn't it be enough to spend half of what you asked to get all of those officials off our back?"

"It's possible, but there is a chance that it isn't enough. Rather than take any risks, we should maximize our certainty and pay above what is expected to make these sorts of problems go away."

"Geez. You sound like Gelly Murphy."

"I am merely of the opinion that we have taken enough gambles for this visit."

Though Ves didn't like it, he approved of Shederin's proposal. The clan had to draw out another 1000 MTA merits from its cash reserves to allow the Foreign Ministry to act with speed, much to the chagrin of other parts of the clan.

With that issue taken care of, Ves busied himself by returning to his previous priorities.

"Has Murphy & Sons gotten back to us yet, Benny?"

"We haven't received a word so far." His assistant replied. "We don't know what's going on with the shipbuilding company. We've tried to contact them in order to obtain clarification, but their secretaries have hung up on us. They're not talking to others either."

Since Gavin Neumann didn't know anything else, Ves hung up and called Calabast instead.

"What is the current internal state of Murphy & Sons?"

Calabast's projection smirked. "You're certainly in a hurry."

"Just answer my question."

"Let me begin by telling you that we have not been able to penetrate the Murphy compound. Given your earlier… actions, I thought it was best not to cross any lines. Our means of deciphering what is taking place inside is therefore limited. We can only make spurious guesses by tracking the movement patterns of notable members of the Murphy Family."

"How have you managed to do that?"

"By looking at their movements through the windows. I am currently located in a floating hotel that possesses a decent view of the compound."

"I see. So what is your guess?"

"Gelly Murphy has always been in charge of the shipbuilding company and the family that is running it. Her status is roughly similar to yours in the Larkinson Clan. I think you can imagine how difficult it is for the Murphies to go against the leader that they had unquestionably obeyed all of these decades. It doesn't help that the culture among the Murphies is hierarchical and conservative. Rebelling against authority is usually not done."

"Usually?"

Calabast nodded. "You managed to break open a fault line in the Murphy Family. Just because Gelly Murphy has managed to suppress dissent for so long doesn't mean that all of the accumulated grievances have disappeared. They had always been simmering in the background. Now that you have shocked the chief ship designer and chief shipbuilder into exposing their true feelings and desires, they have managed to amass a small but growing following within the family."

"They're winning the argument?" Ves looked hopeful.

"Let's not make any premature conclusions. The situation can still swing back into Gelly Murphy's favor. She is the unquestionably head of the family and the company, after all. Her authority and prestige are much greater."

The more Calabast provided her thoughts, the more Ves grew uncertain.

If his extraordinary plea failed to make the Murphies change their course, then much of what he had done was ultimately in vain.

Though he was still able to harvest other benefits, they simply weren't as critical as gaining the friendship and cooperation of the shipbuilding company.

"Please continue to keep an eye on the Murphies. If you think that there is any sign that they will reject us once again, please let me know."

"Will do. For what it's worth, ZZR Industries hasn't made any moves either. The Murphy Family has become so paralyzed that it is currently unable to go forward with its earlier agreement with Tyana Delcrost's company."

That was good news. Ves felt a lot better after hearing that. Achieving this outcome was another smack on Tyana's arrogant face!

"By the way, that Delcrost woman truly went too far during the meeting. I'm curious why she thinks it is okay for her to act in this fashion. Have you looked into her history?"

"You don't have to worry too much about her." Calabast replied. "Tyana Delcrost is an heir who took up the position of CEO far too soon. She will learn how to behave in time, but that is years away."

"So there's nothing more behind her or anything?"

"Our research into her background has revealed nothing of the sort."

"Okay."

They discussed a few other topics before they ended the call.

Ves furrowed his brows. The Murphies were deliberating, which meant that he had definitely won over at least some of them. Yet Gelly Murphy was still putting up a fight, which meant that changing the direction of Murphy & Sons would likely be an uphill struggle!

"It would be great if Gelly Murphy slips on a staircase and falls head-first onto the floor." He idly said.

"Meow." Lucky rolled his eyes as he rested on a pillow.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Important people like her wear antigrav clothing that automatically prevents that from happening. Even if she didn't, her shield generator would go in effect. Still… there are other ways for people to meet with an accident."

"Meow…?" His cat responded in a suspicious manner.

"You know, eating the wrong food or getting scratched by a four-legged creature."

"Meow meow meow!"

"Okay, okay! It's a bad idea!"

He was just dreaming. Assassinating Gelly Murphy would never work. Not only would it be more than obvious that Ves and his clan were behind it, the Larkinsons would also run afoul of the MTA! There was no way the mechers could miss something so obvious when they were already keeping the Larkinson Clan under observation!

Ves felt he needed a bit more certainty.

Just like how Shederin asked for higher-than-usual funding, perhaps Ves needed to make another move in order to drag the Murphies into a more favorable direction.

"What can I do that doesn't piss people off?"

Not much. Ves had exhausted the patience of many people. The last thing he should do was ruffle their feathers again!

"Maybe… instead of making another risky move on Davute, I should try and host an event in my fleet. I can get away with a lot more in my own territory!"

This was a great idea! Davute may be under the jurisdiction of others, but his own starships pretty much belonged to him. He could do whatever he wanted without needing to answer to a higher authority!