The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3953

Chapter 3953 Professionalisation

At first, Ves thought it sounded ridiculous for emerging states to convert third-party mercenary organizations into sanctioned military mech units.

There was a huge gap between soldiers who fought for fortune and those who were willing to fight and die for a state!

However, the rules of the Milky Way did not apply to a frontier region.

States that were less than a decade old did not exist long enough to instill a strong sense of loyalty and patriotism among its people.

Since states could not rely on duty to incentivize people to fight, then they could only resort to naked interests to obtain the necessary soldiers!

The struggle for territory was harsh and pivotal to the future of many states. Ves knew quite well how dramatically a win or a loss could affect the fortunes and the power balance of entire regions for generations to come.

Back when the Komodo Star Sector initially opened up, the founders of states like the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom used to be legitimate contenders in the struggle to form second-rate states.

However, both of their groups got smashed so much by the competition that they had little choice but to settle in the periphery of the star sector.

It was groups like the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony that managed to win more battles than others and managed to retain their hold on all of the richer territories.

Now, this pattern was about to take place again on a wider scale in the Red Ocean. Every zone in the new frontier was just begging to be divided by ambitious pioneers!

The only requirement was that these pioneers were able to defeat their closest rivals on the battlefield.

There was no way for the founders of these nascent states to capture more territories if they ran out of mech troops too soon!

This was why the people in charge of places like Davute would soon extend olive branches to mercenaries.

The need for soldiers was too great! In the face of the huge amount of power, wealth and resources that powerful states could obtain, the great cost and considerable risks of absorbing mercenaries were no big deal!

Besides, the mercenaries who accepted these deals were more than willing to undergo a career change.

While the private sector offered fewer restrictions to mech pilots, there was nothing honorable about being a mercenary.

Soldiers possessed more pride, honor and acceptance. Combined with the rich incentives offered by rising states, the former mercenaries were more than willing to fight for the chance of founding their own military families and dynasties!

In fact, this was exactly what happened to the original Larkinson Family. Didn't the Larkinson Ancestor offer his services to the founders of the Bright Republic and fight for greater rights and honor for his descendants?

Although the Larkinsons and many other loose forces started off as soldiers for hire, once the Bright Republic integrated them in the Mech Corps, they turned into the first military cadre of a growing state!

Ves already studied the history of his former family a long time ago, but he did not equate its circumstances to the conditions of the Red Ocean until recently.

Now that Shederin enlightened him, Ves fully understood Davute's greater trends and what would happen in the coming years!

He also recognized that there were several ways in which the Larkinson Clan could rise by taking advantage of several openings!

Many of these opportunities sounded tempting to Ves, but as he recalled his priorities, he quickly tempered his desires.

"I don't want our clan to become too attached to any state." Ves reminded his foreign minister. "Look, I get it. There is a rare and valuable chance for us to become one of the founding groups of a powerful second-rate state. However, all of this talk about becoming a part of a rising military-industrial complex sounds extremely dubious to me. I don't want our clan to become anchored to a state centered around Davute. The Red Ocean still has a lot more to offer to us and the Krakatoa Middle Zone is only a part of its periphery."

Minister Shederin raised his hand. "It doesn't have to go that far, sir. Following my plan doesn't mean that we will become completely dependent on Davute. It is hard to disentangle ourselves from the new state if we offer our services to it as mercenaries, but we will enjoy much greater leeway if we merely stick to our role as a provider of mechs."

A mech manufacturer could be a useful addition to a state, but it was never an indispensable part of one. The larger ones tended to sell their products in many markets.

While it was true that mech companies and mech designers could offer favorable services to the states they were more attached to, these relationships weren't necessarily permanent.

It was normal for companies to rise and fall. The mech market was dynamic and today's winners could turn into tomorrow's losers.

Due to this, many states adopted a more utilitarian attitude towards mech companies, at least at the beginning.

After Minister Shederin explained this dynamic, Ves did not feel as opposed to the plan anymore.

"A military-industrial complex describes a deep and mutually-beneficial entanglement between certain military organizations and friendly arms manufacturers. What you need to distinguish here is that only the former are permanently attached to states. If you want to get out, then you can do so without paying a ruinous price. Unlike professional military organizations, companies are expected to value their own interests over that of their states. As long as we make our intentions clear from the start, the outcomes that you fear will never come true."

Ves fell silent for a moment as he thought about how the Larkinson Clan could benefit if it participated in this game.

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