Ves needed to make a lot of important decisions after his return. The day had just started and already more and more dossiers fell onto his desk.
His subordinates had already analyzed the pros and cons of many plans and favored many specific decisions. They just needed to check whether the patriarch of their clan approved of their initiatives.
Though Ves had already granted his chief ministers and other important leaders a lot of autonomy, what happened with Ark Larkinson was a warning of what might happen if no one kept these people in check.
For better or worse, Ves needed to take back so of the reins and exert more oversight over the people he empowered to make decisions for the clan.
This was not a trivial change. The clan had grown to the size of a small city-state up to this point. The sheer amount of departnts that rose up during this ti had beco massive entities that spent thousands of MTA credits like running water.
It was impossible for Ves to zoom in and devote his precious ti on every single affair, so he still needed to rely on trusty assistants like Gavin and his team to filter all of the irrelevant crap and pass on all of the truly important stuff.
Ves had already given his assistant an order to present a broad and varied selection of dossiers that provided an up to date snapshot of what was taking place in the clan these days.
It took several hours to patiently go over these dossiers. Ves began to learn more and more about the happenings surrounding the individual ch legions, the clan administration, the Larkinson Biotech Institute and many other departnts and daughter organizations.
He learned plenty of interesting developnts that he hadn't been aware of in the past. He would have never thought that all of this had begun to happen if he did not specifically request an update rather than let his subordinates make all of the decisions under the supervision of the chief ministers.
"What is this about our local ch academy becoming an official affiliate of the Federal Military of Davute?" Ves questioned in a suspicious tone.
"Oh, that. It is a recent change made with the help of General Ark Larkinson." Gavin explained. "The ch academy that we have founded on the outskirts of Davute hasn't been operating that long, but the extensive use of War Squires and the ntal Simulation Training System has caused its ch cadets to improve at a rapid rate. During many periodic contests where ch cadets from different schools compete against each other, the cadets of our First Star ch Academy have consistently won. It has made our school a lot more popular to the point where the local military has gained a strong interest."
"So what, the newly-nad Federal Military wants to take over my ch academy, just like that?" Ves grew upset. "I funded the establishnt of this ch academy early on so that it could turn into an in-house talent factory for our clan. We invested in expansive and superior facilities so that its graduates have beco so well-versed in piloting the chs of our clan. The ultimate purpose is to provide us with lots of ready-made ch pilots that can instantly slot into our Larkinson Army. Now you are telling that Davute wants to subvert one of my pri sources of ch pilots?"
Gavin blinked. He did not realize that a 're' ch academy played such an important role to Ves. Perhaps many other Larkinsons dismissed the local ch academy as a side venture.
"It is not unusual for states to sponsor ch academies that it has faith in." The assistant replied. "Military academies do not always have to be wholly owned by the militaries they are tied to. It is much more common for the military to only beco partially involved, and that is exactly the case for the First Star ch Academy."
Ves grimaced even further. "How much of its budget is the governnt prepared to subsidize?"
"30 percent."
"Too much! I am not going to let these Davutans use their money, instructors and other resources to claim all of the best graduates for themselves! Limit the funding to 20 percent and make sure that the Federal Military can only make suggestions with regards to the curriculum and teaching thods of our ch academy."
"Those are heavy changes, boss." Gavin said with a serious expression. "You will be overriding the agreents that the Davute Branch has already made with the relevant institutions. You can't just do that without suffering serious consequences."
Ves snorted. "I don't give a damn what the governnt thinks. They should keep their grubby hands away from our ch academy. It may be based on this planet, but that doesn't an the local branch can treat it like any other side business. You may think that I am being overdramatic with regards to a simple school, but it is part of a deliberate strategy to reduce our dependence on external recruitnt to replenish and expand our ranks of ch pilots. Rather than continuing to rely on recruiting random batches of ch pilots with lots of random skill sets, it is better to start early and focus on recruiting ch pilots that are not only familiar with our approach to ch combat, but are also compatible with our values. For example, we need to focus on acquiring more personnel that are open to living the spaceborn life."
"I see. I will make sure to pass that on to the Education Ministry. No, I should probably pay it a visit so that I can make sure to convey your policies and stances in person. We should draw up a frawork and clarify that all of the ch academies that we run in the future will also prioritize the needs of our fleet over more local concerns."
"That is the kind of initiative that I am looking for in a handy helper, Benny. Make sure this is the only ti I encounter this problem. Manpower is important, and our internal training is not enough to et our future needs. With the way we are going, we will probably expand explosively in the future. I don't want our growth to be limited by a lack of preparation."
Once he handled this matter, Ves directed his attention to other important affairs.
After going through a number of minor dossiers that did not really matter too much to Ves, he finally encountered another topic that interested him a bit more.
"Ah, the Murphy Family. I haven't seen this na in a while. What is up with them? Are there any developnts in our relationship with our clan and their shipyards?"
Gavin nodded. "First, let remind you that while Murphy & Sons currently operate two orbital shipyards, of which one of them is rated for capital ships, the governnt has already begun to help the company build two more capital-grade shipyards. It will take ti for the Murphys to construct four ships at a ti, but by then they will be able to work on four starships at a ti."
"I already know that. What is new?"
"Well, the Murphy Family wants to collaborate with our clan on co-developing a new line of starships. The Murphy family mbers believe that they can combine their competitive advantages with ours to develop starships that not only fit our needs the best, but also turn into viable and more profitable starships."
That certainly sounded ambitious. "We don't have a strong shipbuilding tradition, Benny. We may have the Diligent Ovenbird, but that is far from enough. Let guess what these Murphys want. They want to combine my glows with their starships."
"The Murphy Family has seen how well glows can work in jointly developed chs such as the Pacifier. For example, if you can employ totems in a clever manner to improve the effective performance of a starship, the Murphys can increase her sale value without increasing her production cost by too much. Their shipbuilding company is already known for building conservative but affordable starships. Take a look at one of the concept blueprints they sent with their offer."
Though Ves couldn't care less about the petty profits that his clan could make by helping Murphy & Sons beat the competition, he beca a lot more interested as soon as his assistant ntioned the word 'blueprint'.
Perhaps the Murphys knew the Larkinson Patriarch so well that they already knew that technical designs were bound to attract his interest.
"Show ." Ves ordered.
A new projection ca to life that displayed an annotated schematic and virtual model of such a starship. The fake vessel was clearly modified from an existing design, but the interior featured a large number of small and subtle modifications that drastically altered the livability and operations of the concept ship!
"These Murphys have certainly done their howork, but…"
The ship design was radical in how thoroughly it integrated glows. The schematic showed a simple combat carrier that relied on hundreds of totems to provide many different glow effects!
For example, the exterior was covered by a large array of totems that could produce disorientation glows.
This would help the starship repel enemy intruders that managed to get too close to the hull for their own good.
Totems of Lufa covered the infirmaries as well as certain pilot ready rooms so that they could give people peace.
Certain eting rooms tried to do the opposite and get people riled up instead. Totems of Zeigra or Bravo made sure that ch pilots and other personnel beca more ready and eager to fight!
There were many more examples like these throughout the entire hull of the concept starship. Ves admired the gumption of those who worked on the design. Even the resident shipwrights of the Larkinson Clan had never proposed to go this far in integrating glows into starships!
As much as Ves was interested to see how such a ship would work out in practice, he reluctantly shook his head.
"No. We will not work on this project."
"Uhm, very well. Are you willing to disclose the reasons why so that we can explain to one of our shipbuilding partners why we are unwilling to cooperate on a joint project?"
"It's not that hard to guess." Ves replied in a bored tone. "First, the Murphys get way more out of this deal than us. They have every reason to cooperate with us, but the sa is not true in reverse. We are no longer dependent on a single shipbuilding company to supply us with additional starships."
"That may be true to an extent, but every capital ship counts."
"I do not deny that, but I don't want us to get taken advantage of by the Murphys. Besides, the amount of totems required to produce enough glows to cover much of the internal spaces of a starship is excessive. Even if one of our craftsn employed by the Creation Association has figured out the knack for mass producing totems, they are not commodities."
"What if these totems of yours can be mass produced in the future?"
"...Then my answer would still be no." Ves replied. "Glows should not be abused to this extent. Constant exposure to them can damage the sanity of any ordinary person. What do you think will happen if they are constantly exposed to the sa influences on a constant basis? It will distort their personalities and who knows what else."
"I didn't expect a glow rchant like you to hold such a stance." His personal assistance reacted with surprise.
"It is fine to make widespread use of glows in ch combat and other specific work circumstances. However, it should always be used in moderation as I do not want ch pilots to beco dependent on this gimmick. They should be able to function well enough without them. This is why I have always made sure that the chs of the Larkinson Army can still put up a good fight even if they lose all of their glows one day."
"I see…"
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