The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2014

Chapter 2014 A Good Leader

Aboard the Redfeather, The Larkinson Assembly had convened in person to make one of the most pivotal decisions of the Larkinson Clan!

Fifty elders who shared the same blood exchanged their views.

Ves was disappointed with the debate raging through the assembly theater. Though the assembly members sometimes raised their tones, there were remarkably few Larkinsons who supported extending greater rights to the soon-to-be-clansmen.

Instead, the overall discussion descended into nitpicking as various Larkinsons proposed various schemes and amendments to best integrate outsiders while keeping them at arm's length!

"Two tiers are not sufficient!" An old Larkinson shouted. "We need at least ten tiers! We have to provide incentives to the adopted Larkinsons in order to make sure they have something to work towards! We can't give them a dead end once they join our clan or else they'll sit back and mooch off our existing gains!"

"Ten?! Are you out of your mind? We might as well shout in front of their faces that we never intend to turn them into complete Larkinsons! This is not a game where we can expect our adopted kin to diligently work to promote themselves into higher-classed Larkinsons! Don't you have some decency!?"

"I disagree! I think this is an excellent idea! Granted, ten tiers sound excessive. How about five tiers? We need to give our new brethren some hope that they are able to reach our height within their lifetimes!"

Ves palmed his face as the Larkinson elders became completely consumed by the discussion on how to erect a means to put up more and more barriers between trueblood Larkinsons and adopted Larkinsons.

The greater the distance, the more Ves felt the clan was moving in a direction that wasn't to his liking!

Certainly, hierarchy was important. Any large organizations needed people at the top and bottom to function properly.

Even if Ves declined to intervene and let the current consensus go into law, the Larkinson Clan wouldn't instantly decline.

The supporters for limited integration weren't incompetent, nor ignorant. They had already rolled out several clever-sounding plans and frameworks to manage the clan's transition to a greater entity where the peripheral members served the core members in exchange for gaining benefits from the clan organization.

If everyone supported the consensus and tried their best to implement it properly, the Larkinson Clan could grow strong in the future.

Yet was such an organization truly what he sought?

No.

Ves wanted the clan to maintain its emphasis on fellowship. Every Larkinson had to be able to lean on another Larkinson. That had always been his ideal. Separating Larkinsons by their bloodline and their 'tier' didn't sound bad, but it was the underlying intent that troubled his sensibilities.

The trueblood Larkinsons were trying to do their best to deprive the adopted Larkinsons from getting their full due. Ves had a sense that if he didn't stop the current proceedings, his clan would forever be locked in an invisible struggle between trueblood and adopted Larkinsons!

This kind of internal tension displeased Ves immensely. While he valued his bloodline and heritage as much as any Larkinson, he increasingly accepted the notion that obsessing over blood purity was too insular of an approach!

The competition in the Red Ocean didn't care about the differences between trueblood Larkinsons and adopted Larkinsons. Ves anticipated that his Larkinson Clan would experience unimaginable challenges in this new region of space.

In light of the future, Ves wanted his clan to be as internally strong as possible! In his heart, he wanted to trust everyone who bore the Larkinson name regardless of their origins.

Right now, there were too few trueblood Larkinsons for Ves to depend upon. Instead, he was much more reliant on the loyalty and dedication of the Brighters, Ylvainans and other people that made up his current fleet!

Considering that Ves and the Larkinson Clan would not be able to attain any of their ambitious goals without the assistance of so many people, it made a lot more sense to secure their loyalty in the strongest fashion possible! The earlier, the better!

Unfortunately, no one else in the assembly thought so. They would all dismiss his opinion as a reckless extreme if he tried to explain himself.

As the debate was slowing down, Gloriana reached out her arm and grabbed his hand.

The two formed a hardline connection with their implants.

"It looks like the Larkinson Assembly won't support your vision." She began.

"I know."

"Why don't you step in, then? It will be too late to insert your voice if you delay any further."

"I.." He hesitated. "I have a plan, but.. I'm not sure whether it is the right thing to impose my views onto my clan. My relatives deserve to have their voices heard."

His girlfriend shifted her head in his direction. Her face exhibited mild contempt. "No offense, Ves, but you are much greater than the squabbling old men who have never run anything on the scale of your clan. Don't you see how limited their visions are compared to yours? If not for you, none of them would ever contemplate that they would be able to travel to the Red Ocean!"

"What's your point, Gloriana?"

"Take charge, Ves. You can't delegate your way out of everything. At some point, avoiding responsibility means abdicating responsibility. This is a slow means of losing control!"

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