The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3183

Chapter 3183: Boar and Leopard

"We are nearing the star sector where two of our commissioned capital ships are being built." Gavin reported to Ves during a routine morning briefing session.

Ever since the chief ministers performed their duties, the duration of these sessions had become a lot shorter. Gavin stopped reporting about smaller-scale issues that were already being taken care of by the other officials within the clan.

Ves just wanted to be kept apprised of the general trends and high-level decisions that directly impacted his own possibilities. He didn't want to wake up one day and find out that the chief ministers sold the Spirit of Bentheim or something!

"I remember." He answered after a short while. "Vivian Tsai told me that the clan had contracted a shipbuilding company situated somewhere in the Cin Beta Star Sector."

Gavin nodded. "That's correct. According to the latest status reports, the Diligent Ovenbird's hull is fully built and just needs more electrical and internal installations before she can begin her trials. The Gorgoneion is a bigger and much more substantial capital ship and will need a bit more time before her hull is done."

"Has anyone tried to steal our orders during this time?" Ves critically asked. "The Cin Beta Star Sector is not that far away from the beyonder gate that is situated in the next star cluster. I can imagine that there are lots of aspiring pioneers who badly need a capital ship and can't resist exerting pressure on the shipwrights that are currently finishing our future assets."

"You don't have to worry about that problem, boss." Gavin smirked. "Minister Shederin has subtly conveyed your strong ties to the shipbuilding company and anyone who might have designs on our orders. Hardly anyone in this region of the galaxy is courageous enough to mess with the property of a tier 10 galactic citizen."

"Ah. Yes. Our 'strong' ties to the MTA. Useful, that."

Ever since Ves and his fellow Journeymen created their first masterwork expert mech, their status had clearly changed. Though the mechers were kind enough to suppress the news about their accomplishment, some of the changes couldn't be hidden.

The public records of Ves and the other three Journeymen of the Larkinson Clan clearly state that they had recently been promoted to tier 10 galactic citizenship. This was a huge and abnormal jump. Unless Ves somehow managed to hypnotize the MTA, he and his colleagues must have done something drastic that earned a lot of appreciation from one of the Big Two!

Therefore, it wasn't his upgraded galactic citizenship tier that intimidated rivals. What people were actually wary about was messing with people who currently received the MTA's favor.

"So if everything is going well, we should be receiving the Gorgoneion and the Ovenbird in a couple of months?"

"Yes, boss, though the exact timing depends on how much time it will take for us to complete your 'side business."

"You mean our little excursion to the lovely little Smiling Samuel Star Sector, Benny?" Ves smirked.

"Yes, that…" Gavin trailed. "Boss, I don't often question you these days, but are you sure it is wise to divert our fleet and enter an empire that does not look kindly on normal humans?"

"Heh, no matter what these dwarves want to do, they don't live in a galaxy where they are dominant. Even if they want to screw us over, they have to get through our entire fleet first. Dwarf mechs fall just as easily as normal humanoid mechs."

"Uhm, about that, I don't know if the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan will want to join you on this trip. According to Shederin, our two allies have serious misgivings about entering the Vulcan Empire. There is nothing that the dwarves can offer to them, so they would rather skip this detour and resume our journey to the Tarnished Crown Star Sector."

This sounded like a big problem. Part of the reason why the expeditionary fleet did not encounter any disturbances was because it was too damn strong. Neither private nor public forces ever thought about messing with the Golden Skull Alliance because the price of attacking their passing fleet was too great!

Though the Larkinson Army by itself was already more than strong enough to fend off most threats, the absence of thousands of additional mechs made it a lot more realistic to launch an attack.

This was not good news to Ves as he did not want his forces to appear weak when he entered the Smiling Samuel Star Sector.

"Will they split from us?" Ves asked.

"Surprisingly, it doesn't look like Glory Seekers and Crossers will go through with their threats to move on ahead to the beyonder gate and wait for us to arrive." Gavin replied. "First, they will become a lot more attractive targets themselves if they no longer combine forces with the Larkinson Army. Second, they want to stay in our good graces. The primary mission of the Glory Seekers is to protect your wife, so they can't just ignore that. The Hexers also believe in the Superior Mother and your ties to her, so Shederin judges that the Glory Seekers will stick with us regardless."

"What about the Cross Clan, Benny?"

"That's a more complicated issue. The rank-and-file Crossers have no stomach to follow us into the Vulcan Empire, but the leaders think differently. Patriarch Reginald and Professor Benedict are highly in favor of you and don't want anything to happen to you. We can rely on that dynamic to drag them with us into dwarf territory, though they won't be happy with us at all. Relations between us will definitely become strained for a time."

These were major downsides. Considering that they had fought and bled alongside the Larkinsons, this was not the right way to treat his allies.

Yet Ves didn't have much choice. He was not about to let an opportunity to complete one of the System's long-stalled Supply Missions disappear. The System urgently needed the Timpala Steel that Ves had buried in the star sector long ago.

Stuck between choosing whether he should piss his allies or piss off the System, Ves resolutely chose the former!

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