The week-long tour deepened Ves' understanding of Terran space and culture.
Although the Terrans and the Devosans in particular weren't as wealthy or advanced as the mechers, the rulers of the New Constantinople System still possessed enough capital to make their superstate proud.
At least that was the case on the surface.
While the Devosans tried their best to project strength and class, Ves couldn't help but notice that he only got a cursory look at the local armed forces.
Even then, his tour guides only led him to the bases of the most elite and well-equipped mech unit stationed on the planet.
Perhaps Ves wouldn't have been able to notice these details if he possessed his old mindset, but now that he understood the greater truths, he became perceptive enough to spot the gaps.
The Devosans were highly perceptive and could analyze a lot from the behavior of their guests.
It was not difficult for the hosts to discover that the recently elevated tier 3 galactic citizen could not be fooled so easily.
This was why Master Laila Devos eventually invited Ves over to hold a brief but honest discussion at the end of the seventh day.
The two looked across the window of the floating restaurant. The city of Sandan remained bright and vibrant even as darkness settled in on this side of the planet.
"What do you think of our territory? Is your stay in the Terran Alliance to your liking?"
"The wealth and tech on display is impressive." Ves replied. "My second-class sensibilities can't help but take note of all of the extravagance around me. This is practically a small paradise in the Red Ocean. It is a pity that we live in the wrong time."
"What do you mean by that, professor?"
Ves waved his arm at the city before him. "While I am sure that your ancient clan has built up a lot of defenses, you could have done more to prepare this planet for war. So many valuable resources have been squandered to construct luxurious buildings. I understand that all of this attracts a lot of trade and commerce to this port system, but this will only form a greater attraction to the native aliens. If I was in your shoes, I would push to fortify and militarize this strategic star system as much as possible. Your ancient clan needs to go on a war footing."
The Master Mech Designer looked rueful. "Numerous people have voiced the same proposal, but it is not that simple for us to change tack. We are constrained by too many factors. These changes normally take place over years or decades. We are more concerned with upgrading and expanding our mech units."
In other words, there was not enough resources and political will to push through the difficult decisions needed to respond to the crisis.
Ves shook his head in disapproval. "The Age of Dawn is an age where warlords will become the dominant players of human society. It takes more than spending money to raise powerful enough mech units that can survive in an increasingly more hostile dwarf galaxy."
"I am aware. I have listened to your Frontier Wisdom lectures. We are open to other solutions."
This gave Ves to present a few proposals to test the willingness of the Devos Ancient Clan to do business with him and his clan.
It was not appropriate for Ves to offer a kinship network as this was a matter that the Terran Alliance preferred to address as a whole.
He couldn't offer anything related to companion spirits or the Carmine System because of the restrictions imposed by the Red Association.
That left Ves with few means to help the Devos Ancient Clan.
Nonetheless, he still possessed enough innovations to attract the Devosans.
Out of all of his suggestions, Master Laila indicated a bit of interest towards one of them in particular.
"Your training mechs have gained great appreciation in the middle zones." The woman spoke. "While the unclear principles of your MSTS is of significant concern to us, I do not believe we have the luxury to let our caution hinder our efforts to improve our forces. How well is your MSTS able to simulate first-class combat?"
"Quite well." Ves confidently replied. "The realism of my MSTS is unequaled. This is not an idle boast. Everyone who experienced it in person has said as much. While we have yet to give any first-class mechs access to the MSTS, it is not difficult to fully simulate the performance of any standard mech model in a short amount of time."
The Master Mech Designer nodded in appreciation. "We have already collected a large amount of information on your training mechs and the special training system that you have invented for them, but we will need more than that to make a major decision. If you can supply us with additional information that is relevant to us, it is not impossible for us to conclude a business deal within three months."
Ves was waiting for this! He understood the value of his MSTS quite well. If he handled this negotiation well enough, then the resulting deal may serve as the first proper anchor of the Larkinson Clan in the upper zones!
He had a short but fruitful talk with the Master Mech Designer after he transmitted an information package that he had already prepared in advance.
Even though Ves strongly believed in the benefits provided by his MSTS, he could not guarantee whether the Devosans would be willing to adopt it in the end.
That was not a problem. Ves still had other ways to be of service to the Devos Ancient Clan, and that was before he had completed his promotion to a first-class mech designer!
After he finally concluded his evening talk with Master Laila, he retired for the evening in order to get ready for the next day.
When Ves woke up the next morning, the atmosphere around him had changed.
The Devos Ancient Clan had its turn with Ves. Now was the time that the Streon Ancient Clan was allowed to approach him next.
Due to the unfortunate incident related to the Ouroboros, General Axelar Streon had become persona non grata on New Constantinople VIII.
The Devosans didn't dare to let him or his potentially uncontrollable ace mech approach the surface of one of their most important planets!
This forced Ves and the Streons to schedule their introductory meeting off-world.
Holding the meeting on the Tarrasque seemed obvious, but neither side wanted to talk on a warship that was under the complete control of the Red Association.
This was why Ves agreed to meet on a small and relatively neutral space station that the Streons had rented for a period of time.
Before Ves arrived, the Larkinsons and the Streons had worked together to prepare for this important meeting.
While the Streons shouldered much of the responsibilities, the Larkinsons made sure not to let their counterparts dominate the setting.
The space station featured a large central hall that was spacious enough to fit plenty of mechs.
This was where the two sides agreed to host the initial introduction.
Banners that represented both the Larkinson Clan and the Streon Ancient Clan hung from above.
Living mechs hailing from the Larkinson Clan stood on the opposite side of an imposing row of first-class multipurpose mechs that belonged to the powerful Terran clan.
Two different delegations of people stood on opposite sides of each other. The staff of the Larkinson Clan was considerably smaller and less skilled than its Streon counterpart, but that couldn't be helped.
Even the heads of the respective staffs became glaringly obvious as they moved to the middle and shook each other's hands.
"It is an honor to meet with you in person, Senechai."
The considerably larger and older man responded with a modest smile. "We look forward to meeting with your talented patriarch. There is no need for you to call me by my title, Mr. Neumann. You may call me Benny."
That evoked a peculiar reaction from the Larkinson. Gavin did not possess perfect control over his expressions, so the elder who had served the Renewer of Terra for over a century picked up plenty of information during this brief interaction!
"It is best if we maintain proper decorum, Elder Smit." Gavin ultimately said. "Given the incident that occurred a week ago, it is not wise for us to deviate from established protocols."
The lifelong servant of General Axelar Streon shook his head.
"That may be true when we are among strangers or rivals, but I can assure you that the relationship between our clans will be different. Call me Benny."
"Very well... Benny." The much younger assistant squeezed out of his mouth.
Gavin Neumann had grown considerably since Ves initially hired him back in Cloudy Curtain. He worked diligently throughout the years and studied hard to keep up with the growing complexity of his work.
Even so, his third-class roots could only take him so far. Without extensive augmentations, there was no way he could serve as a competent assistant to a notable and highly influential first-class mech designer.
This was why Gavin had started to expand his staff and hire much more competent assistants that could undertake much of the actual work at this level.
Still, delegation could only take him so far. He would have to make use of an Ednet quota if he wanted to remain useful in his current capacity.
Compared to the relatively underwhelming personal assistant of the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan, the man standing opposite to Gavin was entirely different!
As General Axelar Streon rose to prominence, the people around him benefited as well.
His chief bodyguard and assistant had long surpassed his prior rank and position as a retainer.
With the support of his patron, Benny Smit-Streon not only married into the Streon Ancient Clan, but also became one of its elders, enabling him to vote on its future direction!
As Axelar Streon grew more influential, it was his subordinates who became responsible for executing his vision.
Benny became so instrumental in taking charge of these affairs that he eventually became known as the Seneschal of the Streon Ancient Clan!
This archaic-sounding position did not exist to the ancient clan in the past, but Benny's contributions had been so large that the Streons created a new tradition just for him! This was the greatest honor of his life!
Even though Senechai Benny already amassed enough power and influence on his own to take up a more direct leadership position, he had never left General Axelar's side.
As far as the Senechai was concerned, he would always remain Axelar's assistant.
Gavin Neumann obviously did his homework. He admired the Senechai and dreamt of making the same attainments.
However, Gavin's confidence dropped when he considered his lack of qualifications. He was far worse than the Senechai back when the Terran was of the same age.
Could Gavin remain useful enough to Ves to stay in place, or would he get replaced by a more qualified assistant in the coming years because he couldn't keep up anymore?
He couldn't let that happen!
The comparison between himself and the Senechai did not depress him in the end. Instead, he acted like a Larkinson and developed the ambition to catch up and surpass his first-class counterpart!
The time had finally come for the meeting to commence.
Both sides just received a notification that Ves and General Axelar had teleported to their own sides on the space station.
The leader of the Streon Ancient Clan entered the central hall first.
He did not come by himself. The large double doors slid open in order to make way for the most powerful mech in the star system!
The Ouroboros by itself was a sight to behold, but now that it was being actively piloted, the black-and-white masterwork mech radiated strength and control!
The entire space station had already become enveloped by a large and powerful Saint Kingdom.
Nothing escaped the attention of General Axelar Streon. This was a necessity under the circumstances as neither side wanted to leave any opening for third parties to eavesdrop on their upcoming talk.
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