The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3628

Chapter 3628 Tallahassee Wine Company

Davute VII was a star system that attracted a lot of different visitors.

It served as a de-facto staging point for humanity's occupation of the Krakatoa Middle Zone. A lot of different colonization fleets stopped by this location first in order to collect personnel, supplies and intelligence before heading off to their desired colonization destinations.

One of the most notable factors about Davute was that it also hosted an MTA colonization bureau. While it was a relatively modest and unassuming facility, it nonetheless offered many pioneers the opportunity to earn MTA merits by performing missions that were in their means to fulfill.

Many of them typically entailed activities that pioneers already intended to perform anyway. From mining precious resources to clearing pesky indigenous alien populations from life-bearing planets, the MTA evidently wanted to accelerate the pace of human development.

No one objected to this. A lot of pioneers came here in order to rule their own little kingdoms in this brand-new frontier. The Red Ocean was a far cry from the Milky Way where every desirable colonization site had already been claimed in previous centuries or millennia.

The opportunity to start anew with lots of unclaimed star systems to choose from was extremely precious and the visionaries of this generation were determined not to let this opportunity pass!

Unfortunately, not everyone in the Red Ocean was cut out for this. There were plenty of pioneers who had big dreams but lacked the means to fulfill them. They barely managed to scrape up the MTA merits needed to pass through the beyonder gate but had few plans beyond that point.

The frontier was not an amusement park. It was a difficult region where much of it had never welcomed any human presence.

The underdeveloped infrastructure, the dearth of industry and the lack of order already caused many pioneers to fail. Even more groups of people were driven on the brink of ruination.

The lack of goods and services along with the inability to gain access to proper facilities were the most common reasons why their business plans never managed to get off the ground.

When the waiting list to order a new starship stretched on for decades, a lot of fleets were unable to expand their mech capacities and gain sufficient safety when venturing deeper into the new frontier.

When the price of a typical exotic was at least five times greater compared to the prevailing price level back in the old galaxy, a lot of entrepreneurs were unable to make any profit.

When success in a given endeavor was related to the possession of advanced technology, a lot of pioneers were unable to get started because they lacked the funds, merits or connections to obtain these prized goods.

In short, a lot of people took the excellent infrastructure and bountiful markets of the old galaxy for granted. They assumed that even if the Red Ocean was not as developed, they could still get their hands on what they needed easily enough.

Perhaps that might be true in a few decades from now, but the invasion of the Red Ocean had only started a few years ago. That was not enough time for people to build up functioning states!

Given these realities, a lot of groups tried to find a way to survive.

Some tried to take a gamble and were often never heard again after venturing out into uncharted territories.

Many of them dropped their grand ambitions and sought to prioritize their survival by pleading their loyalties to larger and more powerful organizations.

The latter became increasingly more prevalent. The biggest and most successful pioneers enjoyed expansive growth after absorbing a lot of smaller players into their fold. This started a positive feedback loop where even more people flocked to their banners because of the increased safety that the largest and most prosperous pioneers were able to provide!

Consolidation became the latest trend. It was surprising how many pioneers who initially thought themselves fearless enough to brave the dangers of the new frontier suddenly lost their heart for adventure and meekly submitted to the dominant players.

Yet not everyone wanted to bow their heads to a new master. They came to the Red Ocean for a reason and they were highly unwilling to surrender their own pride, culture, autonomy or way of life!

Currently, a pioneer called Gordon Tallahassee looked at the projected screen with a combination of weariness and despair.

The balance sheet of his modest fleet was looking worse with each passing day. While it was not a big deal to suffer losses for a time, the problem was that Gordon's enterprise wasn't earning any meaningful revenue!

"I thought there would be gaps in the market, but not this much!"

The man was the 34th generation leader of the Tallahassee Wine Company. Back in his native star sector, his company enjoyed considerable renown in the middle-upper segment as one of the finest local wines on sale.

Back then, Gordon could have managed the company he inherited like any other responsible steward.

Yet that was not enough for his tastes.

The Tallahassee Wine Company enjoyed an excellent foundation at home but found it difficult to expand any further. The wine markets of other star sectors were already in the grip of other wine companies. Tallahassee would never be able to gain any ground so long as its competitors tried their best to repel any newcomers!

This was why he made a radical decision as soon as the MTA announced the opening of the Red Ocean. He sold off most of the Tallahassee Wine Company's fixed assets and used the proceeds to fund a pioneering fleet.

Only by starting anew in the Red Ocean would Gorden be able to break past the ceiling that halted his predecessors!

Gordon had done his research. The wine market of the new frontier was not solidified at all at this time. Getting in early would allow his wine company to easily claim a respectable amount of market share.

What he and his staff didn't properly account for was the challenges in getting to that point.

He and his company weren't arrogant enough to colonize a planet by themselves. They sought out and joined a pioneering fleet where others performed the bulk of the work.

Everything went great at first. The fleet ventured out into the Magair Middle Zone and found a decent planet that other colonists had overlooked.

As the terraforming and build-up process went underway, the Tallahassee Wine Company deployed a considerable amount of hardware and personnel to the surface to cultivate their chosen plots of land.

"Then, the raiders came."

The fleet got struck, driving many survivors away from the planet which bore a lot of their investment. The work that they had done up until that point had become the wedding dress of other human pioneers!

"I'll be able to survive, though. Is that not what matters the most?" _{ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com}

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