A single day after the Larkinson Clan announced that their patriarch had advanced to Senior, it held a lavish banquet to celebrate this historic occasion! It couldn't be helped. So many important people and organizations wanted to talk to Ves all of a sudden for one reason or another. The Larkinson Clan and its various related subsidiaries became inundated with cooperation agreements and business proposals. Such a reaction was highly uncommon. This was the first time that a mech designer's promotion to the rank of Senior Mech Designer produced an enormous change in attitude and treatment. Ves initially thought that all of those people had gone crazy, but after thinking it through, he understood why they acted this way. It was truly worthwhile for them to establish a closer relationship with Ves, or if that was not possible, the Larkinson Clan as a whole. There was a difference between possessing the potential to become a bigshot and being a bigshot outright. There were far too many talented and well-endowed individuals who fell into the former category. Not every flashy and presumptuous punk could withstand the test of time and mature into a leader that could easily affect the lives of trillions of people. Though Ves had not yet grown to this height, he had already taken a substantial step forward! A lot of clever analysts had studied his record and examined all of the information available to the public. They even studied any intelligence collected by their respective organizations. With all of his recent gains, it became clear that even if Ves ultimately failed to reach his potential, he shouldn't be much worse! Investing in him was no longer considered a high-risk investment! In an environment that attracted a lot of profit-seeking pioneers, it made a lot of sense to make overtures to the Larkinson Clan. However, the Larkinsons did not particularly welcome their overtures. The clan prized loyalty and friendship above all. It did not disdain pure transactional relationships, but it was wary of partners who possessed a lot of green but not a lot of principles. Ves had a long history of getting betrayed and stabbed in the back by fair-weather friends. In his eyes, most of the opportunists who wanted to start up a relationship with him because he showed enough value. If that was the only reason that motivated them, then Ves did not want to have anything to do with them. This was because if his enemies ever offered greater value, his 'friends' and 'allies' would quickly turn their faces in an instant! It was the buddies who had stuck with him when he was weaker and not that impressive that Ves valued the most. The Hexers, Glory Seekers, Crossers and certain mechers had all earned his trust to an extent. They had either fought alongside his clan in battle or helped him overcome various other difficulties that he could never resolve on his own. Even if he had increased his status to the point where he could easily exchange all of his weaker partners for stronger ones, he did not think about it for a second. Perhaps not all of his buddies were capable of keeping up with his growth rate in the long run, but that was okay. He was not an ungrateful mech designer. He would definitely be able to give them a hand in the future. At this time, a large number of invited guests converged at a floating restaurant and club in the Austere District. It cost thousands of MTA credits to rent the prestigious venue for a single evening, but the Larkinsons could easily cover the expense. Hundreds of Larkinson mechs had taken up guard positions all around the entire floating structure. The local government did not even bother to lodge a protest or do anything to stop the Larkinson Army from violating a whole host of rules and fielding so many private mechs in one of the most expensive and sensitive districts of Kotor City! In any case, if the government wasn't willing to play ball, then the Larkinson Clan would just host its celebratory banquet elsewhere. This would definitely turn into an embarrassing scandal for Davute as it would show that the Larkinsons simply did not trust the security arrangements of the colonial federation! As the guests started to pour into a large reception room, they soon became enthralled by the various sights. The Larkinsons converted the resplendent room into an exhibition hall that portrayed their patriarch's brilliant accomplishments over the past decade. From competing in the Young Tigers Exhibition to earning first place in the Twin Weapons Tournament. From getting drafted in the last Bright-Vesia War to playing a critical role in rescuing the trapped VIPs in the Davute VII Pocket Space. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮 From journeying into the forbidden Nyxian Gap to completing several successful expeditions into the new frontier. The mechs stole the show. Numerous projected dioramas displayed the full catalog of the Larkinson Patriarch. From showcasing his earliest third-class variants to presenting brief snapshots of his most exquisite masterwork expert mechs, the range of his works along with their meteoric rise in combat effectiveness astounded many guests! Each exhibit made it abundantly clear that Ves was not like any other mech designer. He lived a much more active life and took much more risks than usual. The greater the risk, the greater the reward! It was exactly because Ves had a penchant of making reckless decisions that made other groups reluctant to invest in him. It was only now that he managed get past his weakest period that he became a lot more worthwhile to befriend! Every guest invited to the celebratory banquet reacted in two different ways. The Glory Seekers, the Crossers, the Aducs, the Murphies and other familiar partners all felt lucky that they had entered into a close relationship with such an impressive rising star. Compared to the past where the Larkinsons had to expend a lot of effort into forming a cooperation agreement with them, now the situation had reversed! Third parties had no chance of forming a partnership with the Larkinsons anymore! The Larkinson Clan only showed a willingness to sign modest business agreements with a select number of groups. This was just to ensure that the clan would gain easier access to starships, resources, supplies and other mundane goods and services. The representatives of the companies who were willing to sign much more favorable contracts with the Larkinson Clan did not get to meet with the famous Larkinson Patriarch in person. There was no compelling reason to bother Ves with such trivial affairs. The Larkinson Clan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant departments had more than enough qualified personnel to manage the new relations. Unless a group was willing to gift the Larkinson Clan an entire fleet carrier on the spot, there was no chance that any representative would be able to secure a meeting with Ves in person! Still, as much as Ves wanted to avoid dubious people in this time of celebration, he could not completely say no to everyone. His responsibility as the leader of the Larkinson Clan obliged him to meet with a number of individuals he would rather avoid. "Congratulations for attaining the rank of Senior Mech Designer. Please accept this little token on behalf of President Yenames Clive." Reina Kernsk said as she passed on a decorative box to Ves. "I believe I can speak for all Davutans that we look forward to what you will be able to present to our military in the coming months and years." Ves accepted the gift box as if he was holding a plague locked within a vial. He quickly passed it over to his personal assistant without making it seem as if he wanted to toss it into the trash chute. "I am almost ready to commence work on fulfilling the first major mech design commission." He told the president's chief of staff. "I have regularly met with Master Decimus Horst over the last couple of months. I learned a lot about the type of mechs that he excels at and brainstormed a lot of interesting ideas. It won't take long before I will finish a mech design proposal that your people can evaluate. If they approve of my mech design concept, I can start our new design project right away. I think it is possible to complete it within a year with the earnest cooperation of an experienced Master and the full support of your state." Madame Kernsk looked satisfied with this answer. "Speed is important. The sooner you complete your design, the sooner we can retool our mech factories and produce your new mech model in sufficient quantities. If we can transfer enough copies of your new and promising heavy artillery mech to our strategic planets at the border region, we can stop or at the very least delay the offensives that the Karlachs will undoubtedly launch." Having gone through a Mastery experience that gave him an extensive first-hand experience of how wars were fought on land, Ves gained a much greater understanding of the context and the importance of planetary campaigns. A strong heavy artillery mech that could outperform the models fielded by the opposition could make a huge difference in any war! Ves grinned at the representative of President Clive. "Don't worry. I was already a productive mech designer at the Journeyman stage. Now that I am a Senior, I can work even faster. You will get your new heavy artillery mech in time." Once Reina Kernsk got the promise she wanted, she left with a satisfied expression. More important guests came up. The Larkinsons had carefully screened and selected them so Ves did not grow too annoyed. "Congratulations on your promotion, Ves." General Herman Foraine spoke as he came up next. "We have yet to go on any expeditions, but it appears that our decision to join your alliance has already paid off. The Adelaide Mercenary Company is pleased to be your friend and ally." Ves raised his eyebrow. "Are you speaking on behalf of your Third Fleet or your parent organization as a whole?" "The latter." General Foraine spoke. "If not for the fact that it is not possible for the other fleets to converge on our location in the short term, I am sure that more of us would have clamored to join your expeditionary fleet." "I think we already have enough mechs for the time being." Ves gently replied. "With an effective strength of around three mech divisions, our fleet has already become incredibly large and clunky. It might be better for everyone if we think about splitting up. We can cover more locations and harvest more wealth this way. We just need to make sure that our splinter fleets are close enough to each other that any of them can quickly be reinforced if a major threat is on the way." Herman looked critical. "Dispersing our fleets and mechs comes with considerable risks, Ves. Even if our fleets are located in two different neighboring star systems, it still takes at least a day or two for reinforcements to arrive. This is not a problem if our scouts can detect major threats in advance, but if our enemies manage to launch a sneak attack, it becomes extremely difficult to maintain an effective defense for such an extensive period of time!" "I am aware of these possibilities, my friend. I am just making a suggestion. We can discuss the details of our upcoming expedition at a later date." The two leaders talked a bit more about other subjects. Herman even talked about the possibility of procuring a number of Larkinson mechs. "While we are not looking to break our existing contracts and overhaul our entire mech setup, we are much more open about the possibility of introducing additional living mechs in our mech roster." Herman said. "Are you interested in designing a custom mech for our mercenary company? You can treat it as a formal commission if you would like." "Hmmm…"