The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4740

Not a single person invited to attend the founding ceremony exhibited any particular concerns.

No matter whether they developed an attachment to Davute or not, none of the individuals who would soon be taking their seats in the VIP seating blocks had any reason to suspect foul play.

Not even the bodyguards who were mostly instructed to stay at the edges of the venues exhibited any greater vigilance.

They all assumed a posture of routine alertness as if they expected a long day ahead of them where they would do nothing but stand and look menacing.

His own guards were different. The minds of Nitaa and his honor guard were exceptionally alert. They did not hesitate to activate a few more integrated sensor systems than usual in order to detect threats and inconsistencies as early as possible.

They picked up nothing so far. It didn't help that much of the guest areas fell under a subtle but pervasive interference field that blocked many forms of observation, but also interfered with communications.

Fortunately, measures like these did not stop Ves from communication with the other elements of his clan.

He felt inordinately pleased that he had developed the habit of wearing a toolbelt years ago. All those times he appeared in public with a hammer hanging on his side and a few other gadgets attached to his waist had essentially defined and normalized his look.

None of the security guards confronted him over this issue as it was too trivial to bother. As one of the most important guests attending this event, the patriarch of the rapidly growing Larkinson Clan earned a few allowances.

It was just one of many examples that humanity never applied its rules fairly.

In a dwarf galaxy where the old adage of 'might makes right' rang more true than ever, those perceived to be powerhouses no longer had to follow the rules set by society.

Instead, they could set their own rules!

As long as their fist was big enough to carve out a domain of their own, they could shape an entire society with themselves at the center!

That was what this day was all about, essentially. The founding of a new colonial state was an official declaration that the territory around the Davute System became the exclusive domain of its investors and its residents!

However, not everyone agreed with the unbridled claiming of territory.

Karlach sought to expand its own exclusive domain by nabbing the territories close to Davute.

This made it so that the two regional power blocs were on an inevitable collision course!

"All of these stupid power plays are incredibly dangerous and wasteful." Ves muttered under his breath.

Greed and ambition fueled the leaders of both sides. They just couldn't settle for the modest slice of territory that they could absorb with great ease. The owners of both colonies just had to go for broke.

To the original investors, the war was just a means to double up on their bet. They were willing to expend so much money, resources and manpower to multiply their colonial holdings that they never paid much attention to the human cost of their ambitions.

"Aren't I the same?" Ves briefly wondered.

He never really thought about all of the Larkinsons who perished during the battles that he provoked throughout his journeys.

Still, Ves had always been earnest and open about the risks. He never tried to deceive his own clansmen on what they had in store and opened up the Davute Branch to give an opportunity for more timid Larkinsons to live a semblance of a normal life.

Ves also felt he put more of an effort into rewarding and uplifting his own clansmen. He had put significant personal attention into making sure that his clansmen would never feel left out or discarded as the clan became more powerful as a whole.

There were still plenty of third-raters within the ranks who may not be as good as the second-raters who joined up later, but still managed to keep up in their own ways provided they put in the effort to learn new knowledge.

In contrast, the impression he got from Davute was that the colonial state only cared about the current benefits that it could derive from its subjects and investors.

As long as any party outlived their usefulness, the state was liable to kick it to the curb!

That made Ves feel better about himself. He believed he distinguished himself from these cold and unfeeling states by possessing actual integrity and genuinely wishing that his friends and allies benefited just as much.

"Patriarch Larkinson! It is good to see you again in the flesh!" A boisterous voice called from behind.

Ves turned around and greeted an older gentleman garbed in a ceremonial martial uniform.

"Has it been easy for someone who wasn't a part of the original deserting mech regiment to worm your way into this inner circle?"

Herman let out a breath. "You can argue that I have never joined this circle. Your clan is too new, so you probably haven't experienced this dynamic yourself, but here among the Adelaides, we remain separated by many qualifiers. There are the generational differences that you have just referred to. There are also the fleets that cause us to become more unique over time. The fleets founded at a later date are especially different from the oldest ones."

Ves became more and more intrigued by Herman's descriptions. The growth and splintering of the Adelaide Mercenary Company may be a precursor of what the Larkinson Clan would be going through!

"Tell me more."

"The original old soldiers have largely died off or retired, but the ones that are still around watch the company and its people fiercely. Then there are the second and third generation of mercenaries that are just starting to take the reigns. I count myself among them. We may not have the experiences of the founding generation to call upon, but our lack of burdens and our fresh perspectives are beginning to steer our mercenary company into a different and arguably better future."

"That sounds interesting." Ves said as his interest remained high. "Do you think that the shifting of leadership from older mercenaries to younger mercenaries is a source of renewal within your mercenary company?"

Herman Foraine nodded. "Change is always necessary. As much as the original generation of Adelaides have laid the foundation of our mercenary company, they were also limited by their own choices. I arrived later and have experienced the growth of the company from a fresher point of view. I know what has worked and what still needs to be done. I think that one of the reasons why I was put in charge of the Third Fleet was because I am more open to shifting our focus away from pure mercenary work. I took the initiative to bring my fleet to the Red Ocean and explore the frontier without pursuing any explicit mission objectives."

"Did you encounter a lot of criticisms and objections within your own company?"

"More than you can know." Herman ruefully smiled. "However, I had a good talk with the old dogs who are largely retired by now. Even though they do not fully understand my own goals and vision, they believed just enough in me to give me a chance. They also have the luxury to make this decision because I am only in charge of a single fleet among a dozen others. Our mercenary company can afford to experiment. If my fleet is doing well, the other generals may decide to move to the Red Ocean as well. If my boys and I all perish due to a horrible mistake, well, at least the other surviving fleets can learn from my mistake."

That was an interesting way to grow and expand a company. Ves saw many obvious parallels with his own clan. Though he did not intend to make any of the side branches exceed the main branch in any way, he was still open to allowing the Davute Branch to step out of his comfort zone and pursue its own path of success. _{ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom}

That reminded Ves of another problem.

"How can you keep all of these intensifying differences from tearing the Adelaide Mercenary Company apart?"

General Herman Foraine raised his fingers. "We talk a lot. We make sure to stick to a common heritage and tradition. We improvise. We offer financial support to our weaker fleets. We swap personnel with each other. I can go on and on, but it is never any single thing. We continue to engage in each other however we can to keep the gang together. It doesn't matter how many cliques we form over time. As long as we recognize that we are Adelaides, we can always unite when it is needed."

"It sounds as if… you are one big family."

"That is as good of a description as any, patriarch."