The Mech Touch

When Ves asked his two advisors to list the possible downsides to letting the Boojay Family join the Golden Skull Alliance, he received plenty of points of concern.

Calabast started first by explaining the conclusion she had drawn from analyzing the behavioral patterns of the current subject.

"The Boojays are clearly uncomfortable with the life of a pioneer. They are unaccustomed to the high degree of uncertainty, the fast-changing environment, the frequent and ubiquitous conflicts and the lack of territory to fall back upon. What they seek from the Golden Skull Alliance is an easy ride to success, and not necessarily a life of hardship. They won't take losses well."

That sounded like a potential problem down the road, but it was one that Ves was willing to deal with in exchange for strengthening the expeditionary fleet.

"What else?"

"The Boojay Family may be slow to grow over time." Minister Shederin mentioned to him. "Think about how fast our alliance has grown since its founding. Our Larkinson Clan and our allied Cross Clan have opened up our doors and relied heavily on recruitment to facilitate our rapid growth and expansion. The Glory Seekers meanwhile rely on steady reinforcements from the Hex Federation to fuel their own growth. The Boojay Family on the other hand has always remained closed to outsiders. It has relied on the reproduction of its own members as the sole source of its manpower for many centuries."

That indeed sounded like a potential problem, especially when the Golden Skull Alliance was able to maintain its astonishing growth rate in the coming decades.

"What if we can change that?" Ves proposed. "We managed to convince the Cross Clan to change its ways after we granted them a spiritual network of their own that can quickly assimilate and imbue loyalty to large numbers of new recruits."

Minister Shederin's expression became skeptical. "It is highly unlikely that the Boojay Family will change its ways so easily. You have to remember that the Cross Clan at the time was at its lowest point. It had lost many of its long-standing leaders, including Lord Hemmington Cross. Patriarch Reginald Cross is not an effective administrator and likely did not understand the full repercussions of adopting a part of our unique tech. The leaders of the Boojay Family are not so easily fooled or persuaded. Their decision-making process has always leaned towards restraint."

Ves furrowed his brows. This could indeed lead to a greater problem down the line.

"In other words, the Boojays would rather get left out than to take a serious risk that could lead to great profits, is that right?"

"It is not impossible for organizations to change, sir. The most effective way for old, established groups with highly centralized leadership structures to make a radical course change is to initiate a change at the top. However, that is unlikely to happen in the current state of the Boojay Family."

"Calabast?"

"Why are you asking me, Ves? Are you fantasizing about initiating a coup on a future ally? Don't think about it. Not only will it cross a line, it is highly unlikely to succeed. From the intelligence I have gathered, the Boojays are incredibly hierarchical. The younger generations that possess more flexible minds don't have close to the experience, knowledge and seniority they need to take over leadership."

Ves looked at the spymaster with an expression that conveyed his lack of amusement.

"I was not asking for that. I wanted to hear your input about other problems concerning the Boojays. Your Black Cats have dug into their history, right? What skeletons are they hiding in their closet?"

The spymaster smiled. "Surprisingly, not that much. Don't get me wrong. A family that has been around during the Age of Conquest has definitely experienced its fair share of controversies. The thing is that the Boojays are so boring and cautious most of the time that they hardly do anything outrageous, and even their lowest acts are fairly tame compared to what we are accustomed to. The best way to describe it is that they have plenty of skeletons in their closet, but they all come from animals instead of humans."

"I see."

"It is one of the reasons why the Boojay Family successfully survived to this point." Minister Shederin approvingly said. "Certainly, an unwillingness to take risks may have caused it to stagnate, but its continuity will always remain secure unless a drastic external factor comes into play."

That could be both good and bad depending on the circumstances.

Shederin and Calabast provided a few more stories to Ves, but none of them sounded particularly important. The Boojay Family experienced little drama over the centuries as it had always maintained a well-structured hierarchy and a clear line of succession. Every member of the Boojay Family knew his or her place and there were clear paths to promotion for them as long as they were willing to invest many decades of their life to a specific vocation.

Ves asked one more question about the Boojays.

"How does this family earn its keep these days? You told me earlier that it sold all of its previous holdings in the old galaxy. Have they built any industries in the Red Ocean?"

"Surprisingly, they haven't." The old man replied. "The Boojay Family's extensive heritage has allowed them to amass a gigantic investment fund. The family's investment arm has long pursued a strategy of investing in small but promising startups. It does not take much cash to get them up to speed, and while many of them fail in years or decades, the few companies that succeed end up growing so large that they can repay the cost of thousands of failed investments. Of course, the Boojay Family has also amassed a large amount of shares in many old and stable trans-galactic corporations. The dividends they earn from them is considerable after hundreds of years of buildup."

Calabast crossed her arms. "This is a typical way for old money to earn more income over lots of time. It's not quick, but it is safe and it is almost guaranteed to work in the long-term. All it takes are leaders who are willing to make a lot of sacrifices in the early stage so that their later generations can live in prosperity."

The Boojays had not gotten rid of its humongous investment portfolio. While their current spending levels were not sustainable, they at least enjoyed a substantial buffer that could tide them over for a period of time.

The massive amount of profits they earned from Operation Lighthouse should have eased their financial position and extended their longevity.

"The Boojay Family have not stopped their investment activities after entering the Red Ocean." Shederin added. "The Boojays have already started to invest in numerous local businesses in the Red Ocean. Thousands of family members have also left their main fleet and settled down on different planets in order to set up their own businesses. None of these wholly-owned companies amount to much at this stage, but a few of them may become so successful that they may be able to lighten the family's burden in the distant future."

"Well, the Boojays are clearly good at it, so I can understand why they have resorted to this. I don't think that the frontier will be patient enough to give them a century or so to expand its investment portfolio. What they need is lots of immediate income that they can invest in their own mechs and ships so that they can expand their forces and boost their combat strength."

Shederin nodded. "That is what we think as well. The leaders of the Boojay Family recognize this reality to an extent, so this is why they see the merits of joining the Golden Skull Alliance. Our expeditions have always been profitable and the Boojays clearly recognize how good of an investment we are, though I believe they are less charmed at the volatility of our stock."

"The line between investment and gambling has always been blurred." Calabast quipped.

In the end, Ves' enthusiasm for the Boojay Family cooled down. He still welcomed their entry into the Golden Skull Alliance, but he would do so with clear awareness of their numerous faults and limitations.

He soon wrapped up the meeting by giving his current verdict.

"I have no issues with letting the application process proceed at its current pace." Ves spoke. "I am sure the negotiations will address some of the problems that might occur in the future due to the individual circumstances of the candidates. I'm not sure whether the Adelaide Third Fleet or the Boojay Family will stick with us for the long run, but I do not insist on it. I am already happy if they stay for the duration of the Trailblazer Expedition and decide to leave after they have met their initial goals. We can certainly use the help as the security of our expeditionary fleet will drastically rise with the addition of two ace mechs and two mech divisions."

Minister Shederin Purnesse shared this sentiment.

"Those are our thoughts as well, sir. We are currently proceeding with the negotiations on the assumption of letting the candidates join as junior partners. We will still treat them as equals for the most part, but we will also hold back to an extent to make an eventual separation much less painful. We can deepen our cooperation with them if they have proven their willingness to commit to the alliance in the long-term."

That was fine with Ves. He asked a few more questions and found that Shederin and his team of diplomats had extensively covered every possible angle. This was their job, and they were much more thoughtful in this aspect than an amateur like himself.

"Do you have anything useful to report about other potential candidates?"

Shederin shook his head. "So far, we have yet to encounter a third potential candidate that satisfies our heightened criteria. If you are truly desperate to increase the size and effective combat strength of our expeditionary fleet, then we can accept five or six more applicants that have barely failed to make the mark. Their qualities are at the same level of the Adelaide Third Fleet and the Boojay Family, but they are held back due to the fact that we have never fought alongside them in battle."

"That is good. Don't be afraid to turn them all down. We can afford to be more picky, and we should be careful not to expand our alliance too quickly. Too many newcomers will make it difficult for us to absorb all at once."

Once the meeting ended, Ves went back to his other duties while the talks with the Adelaides and the Boojays continued to progress at a steady rate.

The fleet had already drawn close to the Davute System. One of the handy aspects about it was that it was a port system, which meant that the expeditionary fleet could hone in on this destination at a much further distance.

This was why the return journey was significantly shorter than the initial trip to the border region!

With plenty of cargo holds that were filled with loot and salvage, the Larkinson Clan eagerly looked forward to settling down for half a year so that it could digest as much of its gains as possible.

During this time, Ves made use of his network to find a good way to convert a part of his gains into a powerful and highly effective active stealth system for the Ghost Project.

The development companies that he already had business with before all presented him with mixed options.

Only a couple of them bothered to develop stealth systems to begin with, but their expected performance did not meet his standards.

He needed to look elsewhere. After pumping a few contacts for helpful leads, he finally learned of a powerful new product in development that would definitely turn the Ghost Project into an invisible terror!