The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3642

Chapter 3642 Ruffled Feathers

The subsequent day turned into a tense period of time for the Larkinson Clan.

While the authorities allowed the Everchanger to be shipped back to orbit so that it could safely return to the expeditionary fleet, they were not particularly amused with the Larkinsons.

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?" _{freёwebnovel.com}

"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.

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