The Mech Touch

There were hardly any star systems that attracted pioneers more than port systems. Their natural advantages in relation to human FTL drive technology meant that each of them became such attractive destinations for trade and transit that they inevitably grew into enormous cash cows!

And this was just one of the benefits to ruling over a port system!

It wasn't just the gigantic amount of revenue that made port systems so attractive.

They also attracted a high amount of competitive personnel and companies. Ves only had to look out of the window of his Royal Mansion to see how a port system like Davute had managed to attract millions of mech companies, research companies, biotech companies, trade conglomerates, art museums, resource processing companies and more.

If each of these useful organizations settled in the Larkinson Clan's backyard, a portion of their productive activities would become directly available to him and his fellow Larkinsons!

The circumstances of his clan would change completely. Instead of needing to beg for advance tech from numerous high tech development companies, these R&D institutions would instead take the initiative to offer their goods to their new overlords!

The change in status and gaining access to much greater revenue and support all sounded great, but what were the chances of the Larkinson Clan ever earning the right to rule over Karlach?

The only viable way was to earn more war merits and make more contributions than any other participant in the war!

Ves briefly thought about how much chance his clan had of winning the top spot.

"It is doable." General Verle quietly said. "We will need to meet many requirements in order to make it possible. First, we have to help Davute conquer the Karlach System. Second, your mech designs should have as much impact on the Federal Military as your previous Hexer mech designs have done for the Hex Army during the Komodo War. Third, the military division under General Ark Larkinson must win multiple war campaigns. Fourth, General Ark must not only advance to ace pilot, but also defeat at least one other ace mech in combat with his own ace mech."

It took a huge amount of effort and risk just to fulfill one of these requirements. Trying to meet all of them by the end of the war sounded like a pipedream!

"That is like winning a roulette bet four times in a row!" Ves quietly hissed. "It is not difficult to win one or two times in a row if you bet on red or something, but trying to make it happen four times without messing up is highly improbable!"

Minister Shederin did not look surprised. "That is the point, I believe. Davute cannot promise to give us its second-most important crown jewel to a clan that is not a part of its inner circle. Too many other stakeholders that are much greater and much more important than us will become upset if that happens. The only way to convince them that we 'deserve' to govern over the Karlach System is if our clan has contributed so much more towards victory that there can be no doubt about the winner of this contest."

Ves sneered. "I see. That makes a lot of sense. If we don't meet this excessively high standard, I suppose we'll have to make do with a province or a couple of star systems."

"That does not sound like a bad deal." General Verle commented. "Any territory is already a massive step up for our Davute Branch. A complete port system may be too big and complex for our own good. Our clan has no experience in governing such a massive trade and industrial hub."

"We can hire enough outside help to take over all of the essential institutions that are necessary to run this place. I think that there should be a huge amount of people who would love to become a mayor or run a planetary department. Trust is not that big of an issue for us given the distinct advantages of our clan, so we should be able to take it over with much greater ease. I'm not even worried about rebels and partisans, although it will probably take many years to root out all of the cells."

Ves hadn't forgotten about the shenanigans of the Bentheim Liberation Movement back in his former home state. The BLM managed to persist for centuries despite being rooted in the most important port system of the Bright Republic.

Nonetheless, Ves believed that his clan had plenty of unique tricks at its disposal that should help with preventing saboteurs from messing around.

The Larkinson delegation chatted a bit more about the possibilities of gaining control over the Karlach System.

Neither of the three Larkinson Leaders were blind to the fact that President Yenames Clive clearly used this possible reward as bait to incentivize the Larkinson Clan into working harder for Davute.

Ves felt really tempted to suspend his Trailblazer Expedition and go all-out on fighting for the Colonial Federation of Davute. It was not every day that his clan would gain the opportunity to become the rulers of a complete port system!

It normally took a coalition of wealthy partners to build up the infrastructure and defend these special star systems. The chance to take over an existing port system, even if much of it had crumbled into ruins due to getting scarred by war, was invaluable!

"I believe there is another reason why the federal president has added this term in the revised contract." Minister Shederin shared another conclusion that he had made. "that certain leaders and advisers within the colonial government may actually become pleased if we can take over Karlach."

"Oh?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "Explain, please."

"It is a matter of balancing the power of different interest groups, sir. If the president wants to retain his effective power over the state, he cannot allow any other rival to gain too much power. The more powerful and influential stakeholders will become too strong for their own good if they take over a part or the entirety of the Karlach System. In time, they can either become separatist or contest the presidency of the colonial federation. This is detrimental to the interests of Yenames Clive or the Clive Consortium behind him. It is in their nature to do anything possible that their 'Clive' faction remains as dominant as possible."

Ugh. Politics again. Ves was tired of dealing with this kind of crap, but he was not naive enough to think he could avoid it entirely.

"Okay, I can see the logic in denying powerful factions and interest groups the possibility of becoming strong enough to threaten the established regime. Why us, then? Isn't the president afraid that he may inadvertently turn our clan into a threat to his own power base?"

The old diplomat shook his head. "That is likely not the case. Davute possesses a great understanding of your motivations and the overall purpose of our clan. The president knows that you have no personal interest in playing the political game in Davute. Our side branch may have other ideas, but without support from you and the main branch, General Ark Larkinson and Branch Director Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson will never be able pose a serious threat to the establishment."

That also made a lot of sense. Ves felt mildly offended by the thought that President Yenames Clive never saw the Larkinson Clan as a serious threat to his political ambitions, but it was hard to argue with the truth.

President Yenames Clive was simply too good at this stuff. This could clearly be proved by how well he managed to placate Ves and his fellow Larkinsons by proposing an altered contract.

The two sides talked a bit further about how the colonial government wanted to redefine its relationship with the Larkinson Clan.

Ves understood that Davute wasn't being so generous without a reason. For one reason or another, the Larkinson Clan had become an important symbol for the colonial state.

While there were plenty of other groups that were much more powerful and more integral to the economy or the military establishment of the state, the Larkinson Clan's fame accrued over many notable successes had turned it into something of a mascot to the citizens of Davute!

If such a famous and prestigious organization decided that Davute was a lost cause and pulled out entirely, then this departure would spur on many other people and organizations into doing the same!

By the end of the talks, both Ves and Yenames Clive shook hands with each other. They had managed to form a new understanding over the course of a single session.

Ves and the Larkinsons hadn't done much talking to be honest.

The Davutans retained the initiative from start to finish by offering so many attractive incentives that the Larkinsons simply couldn't argue about the concessions. No one wanted to look at a gift horse in the mouth.

By the time that President Yenames Clive and his entire retinue and guards departed from the Cat Nest, Ves still looked numb to an extent.

"The president is a businessman by nature." Minister Shederin ultimately remarked. "His approach to resolving the resentment we hold towards his state is typical of his kind. It may sound callous, but a straightforward bribe can solve many problems that seem insurmountable at first. Everyone has a price, and it appears that Davute has successfully bought our forgiveness."

All of this reeked of manipulation. Even if Ves and his fellow Larkinsons were aware of it, they couldn't really do anything because rejecting the government's goodwill would put them in a worse position.

Ves eventually shrugged. "If Davute wants to throw free money and stuff at us, I am fine with that. It doesn't really matter if the colonial government screws up again. I will make sure that my fleet and I will be many light-years away when that happens!"

"Good strategy." General Verle chuckled in a good natured manner. "Discretion is the better part of valor. There is no need to incur the risk of failure with anything related to Davute."

"We are probably not the only ones that Yenames Clive intends to bribe. His schedule must be really busy as he needs to placate many other groups that have suffered greatly in the previous surprise attack. Will Davute have any money and resources left by the time he is done?"

Shederin shook his head. "You should note that not all of the concessions that the government has made are frontloaded, sir. It is easy to promise us priority rights on selecting a territory in conquered territory when the war against Karlach has yet to commence. Davute is only obliged to reward us for our contributions if it wins the war. If that happens, the state does not have to surrender any of its existing territories, but merely pass over the spoils that had yet to be integrated into its growing empire."

"It will make the possible gains from winning the war a lot less dramatic, though." Ves pointed out. "Davute will turn into a true federation. Many pioneering organizations will turn into moderately powerful regional powers that all become strong enough to have a say in how the colonial state should be run. It won't be easy to balance so many quarreling interests."

Shederin shook his head. "I disagree, sir. The emergence of many moderately powerful interest groups can be advantageous so long as the president is skilled enough to manipulate them. It is much more preferable than the alternative, which is trying to rein in the growing ambitions of a handful of major powers."