The initial banquet proceeded rather smoothly. It helped that the space between the tables was rather large in order to allow the Cross Clan's latest trophies to take up the best space.
As warriors themselves, the Infinity Guard officers all became fascinated by the debris and other spoils of war. They were especially impressed with the pieces that originated from the enemy expert mechs.
Mercenaries generally didn't retain the services of expert pilots.
They generally never fought against mech pilots of this caliber. They also found it too expensive to meet the needs of an expert pilot. If an outfit or group couldn't make an expert pilot happy, then much of their investment would go to waste if the demigod walked away!
Perhaps the larger mercenary organizations such as the Star Striders may be able to afford retaining some expert pilots, but their 14th Fleet obviously hadn't benefited. Their roster was completely filled with standard mech pilots.
There was nothing wrong with that. Though his recent experiences may have suggested otherwise, the vast majority of forces hailing from private individuals and organizations were pretty much in the same boat.
As long as everyone was on the same level, there was no need to make excessive investments.
States were fine with this as well. They hoarded as many expert pilots as possible and did not want to see any of them slip away in order to work for a bunch of mercenaries or something.
The superiority of mech militaries in this aspect was one of the many ways they maintained their dominance over private forces. The latter could only dream of fielding expert mechs but would never make the decision to change this aspect.
Unlike a military force, a private force had to generate a profit. Even if it didn't have to, it eventually belonged to an organization that had to be smart about its spending.
The Larkinson Clan was a good example of that. The LMC's current business success enabled the Larkinsons to invest in expert mechs. Yet business was volatile and the good times might not always last.
Expert pilots also had their standards. A mercenary career was not the most glamorous or honorable that mech pilots could choose. Generally, only those who weren't good enough to serve in the military to begin with considered jobs in the private sector.
Once an expert candidate or expert pilot emerged in the private sector, the state always moved to offer an opportunity to these previously-unnoticed mech pilots.
Ves had fallen victim to this treatment as well when they initially took away Jannzi.
Would she have ended up with a more mellow personality if she remained in his service?
"What is it about the Mech Corps, anyway?" He muttered in confusion. "On the one hand, it was able to facilitate the rise of a great expert pilot in the form of my uncle Ark. Then they go on to produce absolute terrors like Ghanso and Jannzi."
All three of them were Larkinsons, but the latter two somehow became awful for no reason. Was the Mech Corps incompetent or had someone in the ranks deliberately tried to sabotage the Larkinson Family?
"Hmm, that sounds like a stretch." He shook his head.
As Ves continued to eat and chat with a couple of Infinity Guard officers, Lucky looked a bit dejected.
The Cross Clan provided Clixie with a bowl of alien fish that many cat species loved for their taste.
As for Lucky, the hosts merely provided a portable battery so that a mechanical cat could plug in its tail and top off its energy reserves.
"Meow…"
"Just bear with it, buddy. Once you go back, you can eat a proper meal."
"Meow meow."
Ves ignored his cat and went back chatting to one of the chief engineers.
Pelmud Nurde was the chief engineer of the Indefatigable. He was a relatively older man at 70 years old. While he was not one of those 150-year old fossils who had lived through multiple generations of starship technology, he was still an incredibly knowledgeable man who possessed a wealth of technical knowledge on second-class ships.
"The Auralis is truly a fantastic ship that I would love to get my hands on." He complimented to Ves. "The quality of the materials used in her construction and the modern systems that I have been able to identify are all in the upper range. The Auralis makes our Indefatigable look like a discount product."
"Are the Infinity Guards or your parent company interested in acquiring the Auralis, perchance?" Ves asked.
The older man shook his head. "Headquarters will decide. My superiors may ask for my input, but that is hardly the only voice they listen to. While I would celebrate if our fleet can turn the Auralis into our new flagship, I shouldn't get my hopes up. A ship that incorporates so many advanced and demanding systems must have a very high upkeep cost."
In other words, the Auralis wasn't good value for money. Most organizations similar to the Star Striders weren't interested in acquiring her when they could already accomplish their goals with a more affordable capital ship.
"What are the capital ships in Majestic Teal like?"
"They are no different from the capital ships that are typical in the surrounding star clusters." Chief Nurde responded. "If I have to identify a distinguishing element, it is that we favor smaller and more affordable flagships. The economies of our star sector aren't poor, but their scale is not as big. The various states prefer to go for quantity over quality."
"Hmm. I can see how that can be the case. Is there anything else that is notable about the local capital ship market?"
"You can always buy a second-hand capital ship if you quickly need to expand your fleet. Visit any major port system and you can probably spot a number of capital ships anchored around a satellite."
"Is the demand for capital ships not high enough?" Ves raised his eyebrow.
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