After going through an acclimation process, the four new Journeyn learned many new aspects about the clan that they didn't realize earlier.
Though they gained a lot of answers, they also gained a lot of questions as well. Many of them were related to the patriarch one way or another. Whether it was his living chs, his glows and the strange entities which he sohow turned into the Larkinson Clan's pet gods, none of this made sense to the new Journeyn!
They beca quite happy once they ended their tours and shuttled over to the Spirit of Bentheim.
The factory ship had beco their main ho and workplace for the foreseeable future.
Janassa and Tifi were fairly impressed by the factory ship, but Sara and Dulo had seen better back when they lived in the galactic heartland.
Nonetheless, it was the people who worked and lived on the ship that were truly remarkable to the new recruits.
"These Larkinsons are truly different." Sara observed as they all gathered in a small conference room.
"That's an understatent. I've studied all of their chs and I still can't figure out where their glows co from or how so of the chs are able to exhibit far greater power than they should!"
Tifi Coslone turned her head to the only empty seat in the room. "I think we'll have answers soon. The source of many of the Larkinson Clan's unique features cos from its patriarch. Our patriarch."
The more they learned about the strengths of the clan, the more they admired and respected the principal person who made it all possible!
Certainly, there were plenty of impressive individuals among the Larkinsons. Its expert pilots, its ch commanders and its other leaders had all contributed a lot to the clan, but none of them were as pivotal as Ves Larkinson!
In the opinion of the four Journeyn, none of them could ever replicate what the current patriarch had accomplished. The main reason for that was because they lacked the ability to grant so many advantages! Their design philosophies weren't so exaggerated!
Though they had already read a lot of impressive stories about Patriarch Ves, seeing how much he had done for the clan caused them to develop a lot of awe and admiration for this impressive ch designer.
This was decidingly unusual as they were all Journeyn who belonged to the sa generation. Even if one of them enjoyed more success than others, it was hard for other Journeyn to bow their heads to a fellow peer.
This situation no longer applied here. Ves had the record and the accomplishnts to prove that he was better than all of them. ch designers always judged each other by their ranks and by the impact of their work, and Ves clearly scored exceptionally well on the latter!
When Ves entered the conference room with his pet Lucky in tow, the four Journeyn all stood up in respect.
"Please return to your seats." Ves said as he casually waved his hand. "We're all colleagues and work partners here. I may be the leader of the Larkinson Clan, but when we engage in ch design-related topics, we are all fellow Journeyn."
"That's hard to maintain so long our contribution isn't able to catch up to yours." Tifi spoke.
"I've heard you have all shown a lot of curiosity in my work."
"Yes."
A short mont of silence ensued. The four Journeyn had so many questions that they simply didn't know where to start.
"I can guess what you're wondering about and what kind of answers you are seeking." Ves smirked as he spoke up. "I can't explain everything I do in words. I've done that a lot of tis and people don't seem to be able to accept all of my claims. I think the best way for you to truly accept what you have already heard from others but can't acknowledge is to experience them in person."
The patriarch lifted up a heavy to with a hard tal cover and an impressive dallion at the front.
"ow." Lucky hovered next to the book and licked its cover.
"Goldie? Can you co out here and introduce yourself more directly to these fine Journeyn?"
Nyaaaa!
To the utter amazent of the four newcors, a bright, golden presence manifested above the Larkinson Mandate!
The beautiful and ethereal golden form that had just appeared into view was unlike anything the Journeyn had seen before.
They ca from different parts of the old galaxy and had all enjoyed an excellent upbringing.
Yet nothing they had witnessed before could ever compare to this brand new life form that made the claims about Larkinsons consorting with actual gods a lot more plausible!
"This… isn't a projection, right?" Dulo questioned.
As Goldie proudly presented her form, Ves grabbed a hold of her body and rubbed her head sily.
Nyaaaa! Nyaaaa! Nyaaaa!
"She's not a projection." Ves said with a grin. "The Golden Cat here is a real living being. Just look closely at her and feel the bond that exists between the two of you. Each and every clansman is tied to Goldie, and that makes her special."
He threw Goldie towards Dulo Voiken who reacted with surprise as the cat phased through his chest and ca out of his back.
This was a pattern that conford to projections, yet during the mont Goldie passed through his body, Dulo could sohow sense that she was much more than a computer animation!
The other Journeyn received their own opportunities to interact with the much-beloved Golden Cat. The closer they got, the more they sensed how she truly functioned as the heart of the Larkinson Clan.
Nyaaaaa~
After Goldie had done her job, she cutely wiggled her tail before diving back in the Larkinson Mandate.
Another silence fell over the conference room.
"Are they ghosts of dead cats and other creatures?"
"No. Don't call them ghosts, Janassa. They're not dead. Well, mostly."
"Then should we call them gods? So Larkinsons have no problem with doing that." She remarked.
Ves shook his head. "Don't listen to them. Not every Larkinson knows what they're talking about. Call them… spirits. That's what I call them at least. They're powerful and possess capabilities that are vastly different from organic, corporeal beings such as you and I, but that doesn't an they are gods. My spirits simply resemble them in a superficial manner."
"How… how many spirits are there in the Larkinson Clan?"
"Uhm, let count." Ves briefly tallied his design spirits in his mind. "We have 11 active spirits at the mont. There's one more that's inactive and another one that has perished. More will continue to join us over ti, so if there isn't a spirit that suits your needs, I'll make sure we get one one way or another."
"Can we have a list of them and an explanation on what they do for the Larkinson Clan?"
Ves shook his head. "No. I would like to, but I don't want to put too many details in a docunt that might end up in soone else's hands. You've already talked to our ch pilots and studied my chs. You should be able to get a pretty good idea of what each design spirit is all about. You just need to put aside your skepticism and accept what you have learned."
"That… won't be easy, sir."
"Well, there's plenty of ti for you to understand the value of our design spirits. I'll fill you in on any details you should know as we begin to work on our design projects. Other than that, I prefer you just perform your own research and make your own conclusions. That is how most people in our clan have co to accept their existence."
This was also the reason why many different Larkinsons developed their own interpretations of the design spirits.
"Design spirits, glows and so on are all related to my design philosophy." He continued. "It's inevitable that you won't be able to comprehend everything surrounding them. In practice, you should just leave it all to when we work on different design projects."
Ves continued to explain a few more basic details about his design spirits before he moved on to another item on the agenda.
"Let's talk about a more interesting and relevant topic to all of us. What are your thoughts on the ch models utilized by the Larkinson Army? Don't pay too much attention to their taphysical properties. Instead focus on their fundantal roles and their value to our forces. How well do you think our ch legions can compete against other human forces?"
The new Journeyn all exchanged glances with each other.
Janassa Pellier, who possessed a bolder personality so far, spoke up first.
"I think we can all agree that our… ch legions are strong in specific scenarios. The isolated standard defensive battles that the clan has fought against several military forces in the past showcases the unique strengths that allows our troops to wipe out stronger ch forces."
"Not every enemy will fail as badly as the Fridayn and the Vulcanites, though." Tifi Coslone said. "The pioneering fleets of the Red Ocean are often stronger, more advanced, better equipped and more nurous. They also put actual thought into their ch rosters that allows them to have an answer for many different battle scenarios, from encountering ambushes to being forced to conduct groundside assaults."
Ves crossed his arms. "I understand what you an. Expanding and diversifying our ch roster is our highest priority for our upcoming round of ch design projects. I already developed a few new ideas to grant every ch legion a mix of models that should be able to synergize with each other. If you have any ideas on how to better accomplish this, then feel free to offer suggestions."
Dulo Voiken imdiately voiced one. "I think we should provide spearman chs for the Living Sentinels, sir."
It made sense for him to propose a new spearman ch design. Ves found it notable that Dulo wanted to dedicate this ch design to the weakest ch legion in the Larkinson Clan.
"Explain, please."
"The Living Sentinels is the equivalent of a state militia, more or less. They consist of ch pilots who are either starting out as active servicen or are not willing to adopt the stricter regis of the other ch legions. That ans that the Sentinel ch pilots always fall behind the others in terms of piloting skill."
"That is all true. What does this have to do with your spearman ch?"
"When we studied the Living Sentinels, we all noticed that they have adopted the Bright Warrior model as their all-purpose ch. While the ch stands out for being easier to pilot, it is still difficult for the Sentinels to make the most out of their Bright Warriors. I can't speak for their use in ranged combat, but when they are deployed as swordsman chs, you can notice a clear difference in effectiveness when the performance of the Living Sentinels are compared to the Avatars of Myth and most notably the Swordmaidens."
The difference in performance when they were all piloting the sa model was too big! The Avatars fought considerably better than the Sentinels, but both were grossly overshadowed by the Swordmaidens!
Dulo continued to explain his proposal.
"The Living Sentinels under the leadership of Commander Casella Ingvar are constantly improving, but there is a limit to how good these second-line ch pilots can beco. There is a better and more convenient thod to increase their battle effectiveness. If we replace their swordsman chs with spearman chs of my design, we can quickly make them more effective in lee combat! This is because I can design a spearman ch that excels at stabbing and doesn't necessarily need to do more. Such a machine is associated with a much lower skill floor as ch pilots aren't expected to perform several different sword techniques in the middle of an intense battle. They only have to stab repeatedly!"
That was quite an intriguing proposal… Ves seriously weighed the rits of this suggestion. Were the Living Sentinels better off with ditching all of their swordsman chs?
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