The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4713

Ves had heard rumors that the original founders and investors of Davute argued intensely about the selection of the founding ruler of the colonial state.

The influence that such a figure could exert on a massive and growing state in its infancy was massive!

This was the reason why many different pioneering organizations and the old galaxy powers who backed them couldn't make up their minds for a long time.

It took a lot of discussions, jockeying, making promises and old-fashioned horsetrading to finally rally a majority around a single consensus candidate.

Ultimately, a prominent member of the Clive Consortium won the ultimate honor.

Among the major components of the power bloc behind Davute, the Clive Consortium most definitely had a right to decide how the future colonial state should be run.

Ves and many other people may have never heard about the Clive Consortium before, but it was a big commercial organization that developed many branches in both the galactic heartland and the galactic center.

It was one of the driving forces behind the colonization of the port system and was among its biggest investors. The consortium was also a huge proponent of trade, open immigration, heavy industry, consensus-based decision making and intensive external trade.

Considering that the current economy of Davute closely aligned with the stated policies and ideology of the Clive Consortium, it was clear that it definitely possessed the greatest voice in the colony!

Of course, the consortium also had to pay a huge price to secure so much real power.

It sunk so much money, resources, personnel and favors into this colonization project that it was determined for one of its own to take the reins and personally ensure it would succeed while preserving its own interests!

The Clive Consortium ultimately pushed forward Yenames Clive as the first leading executive of the Davute Project.

From what Ves could derive from reading the man's history and profile, Yenames was an heir to a large commercial organization who had passed every test that mattered.

From the start of his life, he had been put onto an extensive raising, training and educational program that was meant to turn him into the most optimal chief executive of the powerful and expanding Clive Consortium.

Yenames Clive had to prepare for at least a hundred years or more before he ever had a realistic chance of being appointed as one of the consortium's powerful executives.

As such, he worked hard and utilized the limits of his augmentations to excel in every school, succeed in every side activity, become the leader of several social circles and produce lots of growth in every business venture under his charge.

Though Yenames experienced his fair share of failures and setbacks, they were fairly minor and forgivable compared to his remarkably consistent pattern of producing solid results and exceeding everyone's expectations.

If nothing else went wrong, Yenames Clive was dead-set on becoming the next CEO of the Clive Consortium. All of the other possible members of his generation simply couldn't compete against this excellently engineered monster!

Then, the Red Ocean opened up for colonization.

Many old galaxy powers suddenly gained an opportunity of a lifetime. For the first time in many centuries, a large swathe of space that was completely devoid of entrenched human interests had become available!

The Clive Consortium weighed the pros and cons at a rapid pace and quickly decided to bet much of its accumulated war chest and reserves into this venture.

However, unlike many other organizations that simply settled for occupying a single nice planet or star system, the Clive Consortium wanted to go much bigger.

It not only wanted to colonize a hot and highly desired port system, but also use that as the basis of a fully-fledged state in the new frontier!

This was a massive endeavor and one that the consortium could never found and build on its own.

This was why Clive did what it had always been good at, which was finding like-minded business partners and roping them into this incredibly promising initiative! _{freeweɓnovēl.coɱ}

Although much of the foundation and the leadership of the Clive Consortium in the old galaxy remained the same, the ambitious organization needed to send a leader to the new frontier that commanded enough respect and demonstrated a sufficient degree of competence to take charge of the Davute Project on the ground!

The Clive Consortium chose well.

As a businessman by nature, Yenames Clive had truly been a great fit to lead a colony in a commercially attractive port system. His ability to balance the interests of many different stakeholders and bring aboard new business partners gave Davute the support it needed to grow rapidly.

The 120-year old executive's deep understanding of the practical realities of the dwarf galaxy and the local region also helped him set the right policies and institute the right regulations to keep Davute's economy on an upwards trend.

If there was any major weakness that critics could fault the man, it was that he possessed no proven military acumen. Although Yenames Clive could delegate military affairs to extensive team of hand-picked military officials, his overemphasis on commercialism had led to a number of weird circumstances in the military sphere.

For example, Unlike Karlach which was more heavily invested into forming a strong and more homogenous core for its mech military, Davute's military establishment was still fractured into many smaller and more chaotic pieces.

Although Davute was able to field significantly more mechs on its side in theory, in practice the lack of coordination and unity among all of the disparate mech forces might severely affect their collective performance in the upcoming war.

In any case, the briefings that he received and the research that he conducted on his own gave Ves a thorough understanding of the person known as Yenames Clive.

Naturally, the future ruler of Davute also did his homework on the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan.

This led to an odd situation where both men knew each other 'well', but never actually met each other to confirm all of the facts and speculation that they had acquired.

There was always a difference between primary sources and both secondary as well as tertiary sources.

"We are well aware of your personal proclivities as well as the emphasis your alliance places on expeditions. I believe that a number of the proposals we have prepared for your clan will be of great interest to you regardless of what you have planned for your fleet."

"Interesting. Before we continue, can I request a tour through your grand and imposing gallery? I have heard much of this facility, but never had the pleasure of paying a visit to it. I can already feel I should have stepped into these halls sooner."

Ves did not expect to receive such an off-beat request, but he was more than ready to play an impromptu tour guide.

"Why certainly. Our Ascension Gallery does not contain a lot of exhibits relative to its size, but then again there is no need to add any superfluous elements. The pieces that we did place in this gallery already attract enough admiration."

They both approached the giant metal statue that depicted the Golden Cat. The light shining down from above along with the substantial glow radiating from the totem caused many guests to feel as if they were truly standing in front of a special existence.

Yenames Clive was no exception to this rule.

"I have seen and felt my fair share of living mechs over the years, but this is different. Is this large cat an accurate representation of the source of the glows that characterize so many of your mech designs?"

The man had really done his homework, apparently. Ves bet that he had received a huge amount of insights from a team of Master Mech Designers who extensively studied every LMC mech they could obtain.

Ves decided to be ambivalent and shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows. I prefer not to go into too much detail. After all, a mech designer has to protect his trade secrets."

Yenames Clive continued to look up and admire the giant cat sculpture. "Is it a secret when you have placed an ostentatious representation of a glow source in the middle of a public gallery?"

"There is no need for me to hide everything." Ves responded in a steady voice. "I show off the Golden Cat because I want to prove to everyone that my living mechs and its components aren't derived from eldritch monstrosities or anything. The glow that defines my clan is personified by a perfectly cute and cuddly cat, as you can see. We Larkinsons consider Goldie to be a reflection of our character and culture."

"I can see that." Yenames Clive spoke as he continued to be fascinated by the totem and its distinctive glow. "You and your Larkinsons are curious, affectionate and playful. Your people can also be predatory, possessive and sensitive towards danger. I find that to be an unusual but refreshing combination of traits. Your clan is utterly unique and enriches our colony more than any other organization at your scale."

Ves blinked. He never actually equated his clan's traits to that of an actual cat, but now that he thought about it, the comparison was incredibly apt.

"Mrow."

"My pardon?"

"Oh, um, it's nothing!"