Ves had many possible ideas in mind for the Flower Parasol.
However, none of them sounded particularly exciting.
Straightforward material upgrades, like fortifying the umbrella shaft with superdinsional matter, sounded far too simple.
Incorporating common sense tech such as a small azure shield generator bored Ves.
He wanted to do far more with the Flower Parasol than that. He wanted to convert this lottery reward into a masterwork and a living creation that exemplified his craftsmanship.
At the sa ti, he did not want to go too far and ruin the original mysterious design that enabled this replica of a high-level artifact to possess such amazing thematic abilities.
Vulcan had plenty of ideas on how to straddle the line between both, but his expertise in this particular subject was not perfect.
Much of what he knew about craftsmanship was borrowed from a multitude of artisans who worshiped Vulcan for good luck or to gain his inspiration.
That was great for traditional crafts that had always been going strong such as modern blacksmithing and leatherworking.
However, Vulcan clearly possessed a much more limited understanding on how to work with high-level artifacts because there simply weren't that many people who made them up to this point.
Ves and Vulcan needed to devote ti to figuring out how to upgrade the Flower Parasol and turn it into the worthiest gift for Aurelia.
As Ves continued to cycle through ideas, he realized that it would be best if he did not finalize a design too soon.
It would be better if he waited until he arrived at Yernstall and took a look at all of the tech and interesting goods he could buy from the biggest marketplace in the Red Ocean.
Although the Terran Alliance and the Rubarthan Pact had withdrawn themselves from the Red Two's jurisdiction, their trading companies still resided in Yernstall and continued to engage in business as usual, or at least as much as they could do during a ti of upheaval.
Not even an event as massive as declaring independence could stop these greedy businessn from making money!
This was why Ves sought to enlist the services of a brokerage firm in order to help him find useful stuff.
Gone were the days where he needed to enter a shop or warehouse and browse goods in person.
A man of his status could easily order people to do the hard work of sifting through goods and picking out the most interesting — as well as expensive — items that t his criteria out of an ocean of trash.
Ves was sure he would miss out on countless potential treasures if he delegated this matter to others, but he had no other choice.
He was only one person. Even if he resorted to an extre and used his chanical avatars to manually visit every shopping boulevard, it would literally take years before he was finished with visiting every mall and boutique!
Yernstall's population density may not co close to matching Bridgehead One's ridiculous numbers, but it still numbered into the billions!
Many of those people had devoted themselves to comrce, so shops were one of the most ubiquitous businesses in the star system. Many people across human-occupied space ventured here to sell their goods or purchase them at a central location.
The amount and variety of stuff for sale had beco so insane that many shoppers who did not exactly know what they wanted to purchase easily got lost in all of the comrcial chaos.
This was why brokerage firms had risen up like mushrooms. They knew the market like nobody else, and they made a lot of people happy by setting up mutually beneficial transactions. The best brokers also managed to form connections with dozens of powerful and high-status individuals.
Given Ves' status, brokers were falling out of their chairs in order to persuade him to be their client!
Ves did not bother to evaluate them in person. He threw all of this work onto Gavin.
"Find a broker who has connections to the Hunting Association and is good at sourcing powerful but unusual materials." Ves told his assistant.
Gavin nodded in acknowledgent. "Do you have any other demands?"
"It would be nice if he or she can obtain samples of high-end but obscure tech as well, but this is not too high in priority. You should already have a good idea of what I want, Gavin. I am looking for stuff I can use to upgrade the Flower Parasol in my possession. Power is important, but what I appreciate more is new and interesting features. Do your best to match with a capable brokerage firm."
"I will get right on it, Ves."
With that taken care of, the Bluejay Fleet continued to venture through space until it finally arrived at the busy central star node.
Just as Ves expected, Yernstall did not lose any traffic due to recent events.
In fact, people had flocked even more to Yernstall as it had beco the unofficial capital of the safest colonial alliance of human-occupied space.
Everyone knew that it had beco a lot more dangerous to live in the Terran Alliance but especially the Rubarthan Pact these days.
Certain individuals who previously resided in the Rubarthan Pact moved to the Red Ocean Union if they had the ability to move.
A few determined groups and individuals even willing to abandon their foundations in Rubarthan space if they had any, which did not endear them with the people they had left behind.
It was rather shaful for these cowards to run to the Red Ocean Union before the Rubarthan Pact even had ti to prove it was strong enough to defend its borders against two major threats, but this was human nature.
In any case, there was another reason why Yernstall managed to maintain so much activity.
"The Cybernetic Empire has sent a delegation of its own trading companies to Sapphire of the Red Ocean." Gavin inford him when the fleet was close to arrival.
Ves raised his eyebrow. "Why haven't I heard of this? The arrival of Cybers looking to conduct business should be big news."
"Nobody publicized it because they are seeking to keep all of the initial benefits for themselves. It is not in their interest to let others in on the action. I only managed to find this out with difficulty by pumping your contacts at Yernstall."
Interesting. From what Ves could surmise, the Cyber visitors did not hail from the governnt, which ant that they did not directly answer to the governnt. This gave them a layer of separation from official authority and allowed them to get away with stuff that a direct representative of the Polymath could never dream of doing.
Ves slled an opportunity to establish a new and fruitful business relationship.
"Do your best to get in on the action." He firmly instructed.
"I shall do my best." Gavin said. "It would help if you told what you are willing to offer in exchange. Also, will you be transacting with them on behalf of the Larkinson Clan or as an individual?"
Ves thought about it for a mont. "Tell them that I am primarily willing to obtain advanced tech and knowledge in exchange for my services. I will be looking to do business with them in my own na. The new Larkinson Matriarch is already negotiating directly with the Cybernetic Empire. She does not need to interfere with the ongoing talks."
"Alright. I shall contact the parties involved and try to gain entry for you. We are late to the party, so do not expect guaranteed results."
As the Bluejay Fleet continued to venture to the inner system where much of the comrce took place, it started to break apart.
The RA and RF temporarily recalled many of the combat carriers and warships that previously accompanied Ves. Now that they entered a stronghold of the Red Two, they might as well service the hulls and apply upgrades when it was convenient.
The fact that Ves and his family already conveyed their intention to stay in Yernstall until they concluded Aurelia's birthday celebration gave the chers and fleeters valuable ti to upgrade and modify hulls like the Red Fleet's Babylon Excavator.
The sa went for the first-class multipurpose chs.
The Bluejay Fleet would erge from Yernstall stronger and better equipped to handle any unexpected surprises.
Ves even heard that the chers thought about upgrading them to low to mid-grade partial superdinsional chs.
This would be a gachanger and make these chs a lot more effective against all manner of opponents.
They could even pose a credible threat against a lesser phase lord if caught off guard!
With the Bluejay Fleet reduced to just the Tarrasque and the Moloch, Ves felt a lot more exposed than before.
It was a good thing that he could rely on the defenses of the entire central star node if anyone sought to make an attempt on his life.
There was no need to tempt fate though. He did not think of taking his wife and children out on a day.
It was not safe for a man with an astronomical bounty on his head to casually stroll down the shopping boulevard!
Perhaps he might be able to get away with it if he made an effort to disguise himself, but so long as he had to inform the local authorities in advance, anyone could leak his true whereabouts.
Besides, Ves and his wife had more important things to do on this day.
"We can et with the Star Designers right away?"
Jovy smiled and nodded. "That is correct. The secretaries of the Resonance Smith and the Web Mistress have your itineraries. They estimated our arrival ti and made sure to keep the schedules of their principles clear enough to be able to et with the two of you. After all, you did specify that it was better if you t with them sooner rather than later."
Gloriana blanked out while Ves blinked in surprise.
"We did say that, but I didn't think that the Star Designers would be willing to et us shortly after we arrived. Neither of us have prepared for this. We expected to be able to wait for a few days or a week before it is finally our turn."
Jovy gave them an optimistic smile. "Well, both of the Star Designers are willing to et with you early, so count your blessings. I doubt you need any further preparation ti since you have already spent enough ti on it during the journey. It is best not to keep His and Her Excellencies waiting. We will teleport you straight to a hangar bay where you will board separate shuttles that will take you to secret locations. It is there that the Star Designers are working and holding audiences with any guests that may co."
Star Designers were hardly defenseless, but it was still not a good idea to let everyone know where they resided.
Even with their amazing tech and their powerful escorts, Star Designers were not combatants by themselves.
A powerful enough enemy could still get past all of the defenses and make an attempt on a Star Designer's life.
The Red Association therefore went through a lot of effort to obscure the locations of its Star Designers.
If that was not possible, then they would try to have a large army or maybe even a god pilot in the area to guard against sneak attacks.
The Red Cabal and the Cosmopolitan Movent have both proven their capacity to plan out sneak attacks and assassinations in the past.
What happened to Ves a few months ago could easily happen to any other high-tier galactic citizen!
Although Yernstall was supposed to be absolutely safe, no system was infallible. Even Ves had to remain on guard and make sure that his super-class gadgets were active and in working condition in case he needed to rely on their features.
"Let's go."
User Comments
0 comments from readers