The Larkinson Clan obtained a number of other mech models, but they were just as disappointing as the first three ones.

"Why so glum?" Ves frowned as he turned around. "The commercial mechs I've ordered may not be impressive compared to other second-class mechs, but they are solid, reliable products with proven track records. Don't forget that each of them perform far better than any of the third-class mechs we are getting rid of. You can finally say goodbye to your paltry and outdated Desolate Soldiers, Doom Guards, Deliverers and Aurora Titans."

His mech commanders grew even more morose.

"We may have outgrown those mechs, but they're special to us." Melkor voiced. "I know we don't have room for them anymore, but it feels wrong to part with them. They're living mechs, are they not? Shouldn't we treat them better?"

Ves responded with a rueful smile. "In an ideal reality, I would like that as well. It's not possible, though. Carrying capacity is one of the scarcest and most precious resources of any fleet. Each additional starship we acquire increases our burdens and slows us down. We cannot justify bringing along too much junk. I'm willing to retain retired mechs that are either exceptionally valued or possess a lot of historical significance. Everything else must go. You should at least be grateful that most of the mechs we are parting with will have a second life under another owner."

As long as the mechs weren't exclusive to the Larkinson Clan, Ves was willing to put them up for sale. The second-hand mech market was willing to accept any used products as long as they were in decent shape.

"It's a shame the performance of these mechs can't match up to your existing second-class mech models. Why can't we use some of them instead?"

"Do you want your Avatars to pilot Hexer mechs?" Ves raised his eyebrow at the Avatar Commander. "As long as your men are willing to pilot Blessed Squires, I'll supply as many as you want."

"Uhm, no thanks." Melkor quickly replied.

He would rather remove the visor from his face than to force any of his men to pilot such an insulting mech model!

Besides, the Blessed Squire was primarily a landbound mech design. It was troublesome to adapt them for space combat.

"Sir, we are still slated to receive our Valkyrie Redeemers, correct?" Someone asked.

Ves nodded to Commander Valerie Chancy. "Correct, but it will take some time. Every mech company in the Hegemony is running at full capacity. They're busy churning as many mechs as possible to replenish the Hex Army's losses. From what I've been told, the Hegemony will bundle the shipments of Valkyrie mechs with the delivery of our starships."

Both the Penitent Sisters and the Glory Seekers were allowed to field the Hexer mechs he designed for the military. Both of them had already approached him in the past about procuring the highly-acclaimed Valkyrie mechs.

Since both of them wanted to obtain hundreds of them, Ves was forced to order them from the Hegemony. Without his factory ship, his fleet simply didn't have enough production capacity to make so many mechs. The Valkyrie Redeemers were high-end military mech models that boasted incredibly complexity for their size.

These problems only increased Ves' yearning for his factory ship. Though the additional upgrades he recently ordered made his future flagship more impressive, they also delayed her completion by a couple more weeks.

It was worth it though! With 20 high-end production lines, his factory ship could spit out 20 Valkyrie Redeemers every 3 days once they fully ramped up. If Ves added in the mech workshops, then his new industrial vessel was capable of outputting even more products!

Of course, it took a lot of effort to get to this point. His mech technicians had to be retrained to operate the advanced second-class production machines. His fleet also had to procure all of the raw materials needed to produce so many mechs.

To be honest, his clan still lacked too much qualified manpower. It would be great if the LMC managed to activate 10 production lines within the first month of receiving the factory ship. This was only possible by relying on the trainers supplied by the Hexers and by borrowing the mech technicians hailing from the Penitent Sisters and the Glory Seekers.

Ves was already satisfied if he could operate his factory ship at half or even quarter capacity. He not only wanted to produce more Valkyrie mechs, but also a lot of very crucial Transcendent Punishers.

As the primary fleet defense mech of the Larkinson Clan, Ves would never contract its production to another mech company. It wasn't all about keeping the design schematics confidential. While it was important to hide the weaknesses of the artillery mech, Ves had a more important reason to rely on internal production.

Only his own production crews were able to produce better LMC mechs. While the LMC stopped using its label system as much, that did not mean it had become irrelevant.

Ves was a bit dissatisfied by the impersonal and efficiency-oriented production approaches adopted by many third-party manufacturers. The LMC wasn't able to force them to change their methods just so that they could output slightly better LMC mechs. The tradeoff simply wasn't worth it for many companies.

Only the mech technicians and production workers of his own clan abided by his standards. As long as they followed his methods, the Transcendent Punishers produced by his factory ship should come with stronger spiritual foundations, thereby giving more play to its distinctive spiritual qualities.

This meant that The Transcendent Punishers became drastically more accurate as a result! The difference might save the lives of hundreds if not thousands clansmen down the line.

During the remainder of the inspection, Ves explained some of these logistical considerations to his mech commanders. They needed to know that it would take time to supply their troops with excellent mechs.

"You don't have to wait that long to get some better mechs. In half a year, the Bright Warrior Mark II will become available. With our factory ship, we should quickly be able to supply each of your forces with the new backbone of our clan. Just remember that the Mark II's role is different from the Mark I. Its standing is lower than that of specialized mechs."

Melkor frowned. The Avatars of Myth adored the original Bright Warriors. Many of them even owed their lives to its amazingly strong defense.

"I get why you did that, but won't this shift go against the original purpose of the Bright Warrior model?"

"You can make an argument for that." Ves admitted. "It's inevitable that the role and purpose and a mech will change when classing them up. It's folly to keep everything identical."

"Still, you're turning what used to be the most premier mech of the Larkinson Clan into a version that is only one or two steps up from the Princess Jeckas and the Vima Suns. You'll be breaking the hearts of many of my mech pilots."

"They won't cry for long once my Design Department starts rolling out more specialized mech designs. Right now, we are about to design a very good light skirmisher. All of the light mech pilots in our clan will stop complaining once we complete it. The Penitent Sisters can look forward to something even better."

Commander Valerie Chancy was very pleased to hear that. She may have lost her former head designer, but she gained a very powerful supporter in the LMC's crucial Design Department. With Juliet in charge of the design project, the Penitent Sisters shouldn't have any worries!

The round of inspections finally ended. Major Verle had already divvied up the shipment of mechs. Each mech force received a variety of mechs depending on their force makeup and mech doctrines.

For example, there was no need to transfer any Vima Suns to the Swordmaidens. Commander Sendra was already content with receiving a lot of Princess Jeckas.

The Living Sentinels obtained the most mechs because they had the most mech pilots, each of which needed hands-on training. Showering them with second-class mechs would also do wonders in repairing their damaged self-esteem.

Commander Melkor acted like a spoiled kid who got an apple from his mother when he actually wanted to eat some sweets. The Avatars of Myth was supposed to be an elite mech force. Piloting the second-class equivalent of budget mechs did not conform to its style!

The remaining mech forces were just as dissatisfied, though it was hard to argue that the new shipments represented a downgrade from what they had before.

Overall, the strength of the Larkinson Clan started to rise again. Shipments continued to trickled in in the coming days. While the trading companies charged a hefty fee for importing mechs across star sectors, the Larkinson Clan saved a significant amount of money by taking advantage of bulk discounts.

A lot of people were secretly dissatisfied with Ves. He was the main driver behind procuring so many budget mechs. There wasn't a single decent second-class mech in any of the shipments!

"The men aren't shy about complaining about the disappointing specs and lack of features of their new second-class mechs." Gavin reported to him during a routine briefing.

Ves leaned back in his office. "You can't please everyone, Benny. I thought you should know that since you're a marketing expert. There are good reasons behind our frugality. Aside from reserving our funds for the production of LMC mechs, we also have to build up our war chest for some big expenditures."

"Meow meow."

On his desk, Lucky pounced on the Larkinson Mandate and tried to draw out the Golden Cat.

Nyaaaaa.

For some reason, Goldie didn't want to come out today. When Lucky became a little too insistent, the Larkinson Mandate unleashed a strange kinetic blast!

"MEOW!"

The gem cat soared across the stateroom and slammed straight into the bulkhead!

Gavin spoke up once this distraction passed.

"We know you are prioritizing the future, boss. There is nothing wrong with that. It's just that some of us believe you're going overboard with hollowing the present in order to accomplish your ambitious goals."

Ves leaned forward. "I don't like to be wasteful. We need to make the best use of our resources. Know that we will be getting rid of many of our ships and mechs once we reach one of the beyonder gates. The Gate Consortium only allows a limited amount of ships to pass, so it's impossible to bring everything. We will be in the best position to start our adventure in the Red Ocean if we focus mostly on building up our capital ships and expert mechs."

"Is that safe? I heard the stories about the Nyxian Gap Campaign. A lot of mech pilots and other personnel lost their lives because their mechs weren't up to the talk."

"You don't have to worry about that, Benny." Ves chuckled. "Our mechs might not amount to much, but we've ordered a lot of them. Being able to field thousands of mechs is already intimidating enough. If that's not enough, we can borrow the strength of our upcoming allies."

"You mean the Cross Clan, sir."

"Correct. Do you have a problem with them or something?"

"We know too little about them. They're foreigners and they have their own ideas. They're also stronger than us. The quality and quantity of their mechs are much greater than ours."

"The Crossers won't do anything. There is hardly any benefit. If their new guest designer is able to exert enough influence, then I am pretty sure the Cross Clan will cover our backs."

It was a bit of a gamble, but one he was willing to take. The negotiations between the Larkinsons and the Crossers had reached the final stages. The two clans formed an elaborate treaty over the past few weeks.

What was remarkable about this treaty was how many opportunities it opened for cooperation.

The Larkinsons agreed to make some of their formidable production capacity available to their allies.

In turn, the Cross Clan promised to dispatch some highly-experienced mech instructors and trainers to the Larkinson Clan.

These were just two of the exchanges stipulated in the treaty!