Chapter 7392: Naval Developments As the center of human-occupied space in the Red Ocean, Yernstall was an incredibly busy place. The ongoing wars had not caused traffic and commerce to decline in the slightest. Pretty much every major group or faction established a stronghold in the central star node. This included the Larkinson Clan. Starfarer Berth continued to pump out first-class combat carriers and other sub-capital vessels. Though its limited scale prevented it from constructing any larger hulls, Saint Commander Casella Ingvar recently authorized large-scale upgrades and modernization, allowing the orbital shipyard to produce more effective starships in smaller timeframes. Though the clan could have upgraded and expanded its operations even further, it did not make sense to do so at this time. The deteriorating economy and the unstable supply situation meant that it became more and more difficult to ship sufficient quantities of raw materials. Phasewater became increasingly more scarce. Bulk metals also became a lot more troublesome to procure, as more and more groups preferred to keep their resources in-house rather than trade them away. Fortunately, the Larkinson Clan forged enough business ties to overcome these difficulties. The so-called Open Consortiums helped a lot with bringing different trade partners together. Though many of the members were only small players, they wouldn’t have been able to exchange their goods with each other with so much ease if they did not have access to such a convenient trading platform. Interestingly enough, even though most Open Consortiums had originally been founded by the Larkinson Clan, much of the leadership and management responsibilities gradually shifted to other groups. The Larkinsons maintained a lot of branches in different locations, but most of them were rather small. There was no way for them to maintain a large presence in most zones, so it did not make sense for them to possess such outsized influence in consortiums that they barely used. This was why the Larkinsons deliberately relinquished much of their power and control over the Open Consortiums. The working model was robust enough that even if others took over the regional consortiums, everything should still work well enough, especially if the participants continued to sign the Open Books that compelled them to conduct honest transactions. The only Open Consortium that the Larkinson Clan continued to exert a significant amount of control was the one based in the Krakatoa Middle Zone. It couldn’t be helped. It was home to the Davute Branch, which happened to be the largest branch of the Larkinson Clan. While the regional Open Consortiums were technically independent from each other, their identical origins and many similarities made it easy for them to trust each other. In a period where trade networks continued to experience greater pressure, the clan still had to rely on these Open Consortiums as well as other trade deals to guarantee the supply of goods and materials. Not just Starfarer Berth, but all of the mech manufacturing plants demanded constant input of materials. If not for the fact that the Yellow Jacket was not that picky in terms of materials, it would have been a lot more difficult to keep its costs at a reasonable level. As Ves toured his advanced shipyard, Eric Poderin continued to report on the latest happenings. "We are grateful for the latest upgrades. Combined with access to newer and better ship designs, we have recently been able to produce combat carriers that are roughly 15 percent more effective on average. We even have the option to mount small guns on them, though we have yet to do so as the Red Two have yet to greenlight them for privately-held first-class ships." Ves briefly frowned as he heard that. He still found it rather annoying that the Red Association and the Red Fleet continued to suppress the proliferation of first-class warships. This was in stark contrast to second-class and third-class warships, which had begun to show up increasingly more in the Middle and Lower Zones. Though most of them consisted of civilian hulls that had hastily been converted into military ones, their firepower offered vital support in a way that was difficult for mechs to match. The benefits would definitely be greater if private organizations such as the Larkinson Clan could field its own first-class warships, but their power was exponentially greater. It was understandable that the mechers and fleeters grew nervous about the prospect of random people gaining control over warships that possessed enough firepower to raze entire cities and planets from orbit! However, Terrans and the Rubarthans clearly did not take this restriction. Shortly after they regained their sovereignty, they had already begun to field their own warships. Therefore, the enforcement of rules became increasingly more farcical. The main reason why the Red Two still prohibited the use of first-class warships must have been out of pride more than anything. "I do not expect the mechers and the fleeters to greenlight the private use of first-class warships anytime soon." Ves analyzed. "Most of us will have to make do with mechs. You should continue to focus on building the best possible combat carriers for the Premier Fleet. We can never have too many combat carriers in my opinion." Aside from a few points, Ves was generally satisfied with how Starfarer Berth conducted its operations. The Larkinson Clan was still lacking in terms of shipyards, but the ones it had in its possession operated long enough to produce plenty of hulls by this time. Ves was not too worried that anything would happen to Starfarer Berth. It was based in one of the only star systems that merited the protection of a god pilot. The only downside of operating in Yernstall was that the taxes and fees were extremely high. "The actual cost of producing our hulls has multiplied by at least 3 times." The CEO of Starfarer Berth admitted. "The Saint Commander is aware of this, but she has not issued any orders to trim our expenses." Ves nodded in understanding. He would have made the same decision. "I am not that well-versed in our clan’s revenue and expenses as before, but I think that we should still have money to spare for quality starships. In a time of war and uncertainty, money by itself is useless. Only by converting it into solid goods will you be able to get anything useful. The work that you and your men are doing is extremely important to everyone. We will continue to rely on your efforts." Shortly after they completed their tour, Eric Poderin mentioned an important development. "The Red Collective has approached us recently. The Artifact Warship Department has made certain attainments that it wishes to test by contracting numerous shipyards owned by different parties. We figure that the only reason why this department contacted us is because of the connection with you. The collies want us to construct a so-called artifact warship according to their methods and instructions. What is your opinion?" Ves possessed a bit more insider knowledge on what was going on with the Artifact Warship Department. Leaving aside stolen resonance technology that was still too new to form any conclusions, Ves was generally impressed by how thorough the engineers and cultivation scientists managed to fuse different ’tech bases’ together. That said, there were good reasons why they were still stuck in the experimental phases. "Artifact warships are the future of this industry." Ves stated his own opinion. "Getting an early start is beneficial for you all. While the methods are not yet mature, they still form the blueprint of how artifact warships will be constructed in the future. I recommend that you accept the deal, but make sure to demand that the ship in question will be owned by the Larkinson Clan. We do not work for free. I think that the department will not mind this too much as it is mainly interested in the data. In fact, we can make this deal even more compelling if we use our own methods wherever we can." The Larkinson Clan had its own tricks, and Starfarer Berth already employed a few of them to give their ships a little extra potential. Though the starships in question could not be regarded as fully-fledged artifact warships, they at least possessed a little more life than usual. Perhaps the combination between different methods might produce surprising results. Ves certainly looked forward to the outcome. Later that day, Ves reunited with the rest of his family in order to welcome his oldest daughter. She arrived via shuttle. She appeared alongside a similarly-aged woman wearing a exotic black dress decorated with feline patterns. "Aurelia!" "Miaow!" Before anyone could exchange any greetings, Andraste and Clixie immediately broke the line and scurried forward in order to glomp the young woman wearing a cadet uniform! Both Ves and Gloriana smiled warmly as Marvaine belatedly ran over to join the group hug. A minute later, Aurelia presented herself before her parents, though with a Rubarthan Sentinel Cat in her arms. "Welcome back, dear." Gloriana softly greeted. "How are you doing at the Erwin Klobucar Naval Academy?" "I am doing very well over there, as I have already told you during our previous online exchanges." The girl almost rolled her eyes. "I have learned more about operating starships than I could have ever imagined. My learning ability is higher than almost any other student at the academy. The higher-ups have personally devised an expanded curriculum to take advantage of that. If my plans do not change in the coming years, I will probably minor in both E-technology and FTL engineering." Both were advanced subjects to say the least. Aurelia had a great advantage in studying E-technology as her companion spirit and her notable spirituality allowed her to observe and manipulate intangible variables without requiring cumbersome workarounds. FTL engineering was highly complex, especially if one wanted to study its deeper principles and nuances. Current FTL drive technology was already quite mature, the relatively recent development of superdrives clearly proved that there was a lot of untapped potential in this field of technology. Since combining FTL drives with phasewater-based warp drives could achieve such astonishing results, many people speculated that they could develop even more ridiculous means of superluminal travel with the help of superdimensional matter! Ves fully approved of her chosen fields of study. She may very well contribute to the development of a powerful new drive in the future. Of course, that was assuming other people such as Star Designers did not invent it first, which may very well happen. "We can talk about the details of your studies later." Ves said. "Have you made any new friends?" Aurelia nodded. "Yes, though many of them come from the spaceborn clans. They are normally unwilling to socialize with outsiders, but I have not received much rejection from them. It has taken time for me to identify cadets who seek more from me than forming a strategic connection with you, papa." "Such people exist everywhere." Gloriana said as she reached out to caress her daughter’s head. "You should be intelligent enough to know how to handle relations with a wide variety of individuals. As far as I am concerned, do not hesitate to use your background as a princess of the Larkinson Clan to your advantage. We can always use more friends among the Red Fleet." "Even if they harbor ulterior motives?" "We can handle such people." Ves confidently said. "Do whatever you want. Your time at the academy belongs to you. You can learn as much or as little as you want. If you want to create a wide friend circle, then that is also okay. Just make sure you do not regret the time you have spent in your teenage years." "Ahem." Gloriana coughed in an annoying fashion. "While I generally agree with your father, you should not forget that you are representing our clan. You should ensure that your study results are up to standard before you decide to divert your time on other... pursuits." "I have no problem with that, mama."