The Mech Touch

Naturally, the Golden Skull Alliance decided to turn the treaty signing into a large occasion to commemorate this historical event.

Everyone gathered at a luxury hotel situated in the Austere District of Kotor City.

Though Ves wanted to host this event in the Ascension Gallery or another location in the Cat Nest, that would put a bit too much focus on the Larkinson Clan.

"We cannot give the impression that we are trying to become the unilateral rulers of the Golden Skull Alliance." Minister Shederin warned Ves. "We may be able to get away with dictating the direction of our alliance when we are working with trusted comrades such as the Hexers and the Glory Seekers, but we cannot operate as carelessly as before. The Adelaides and Boojays do not trust us to this extent. They agreed to join us because they assume they will have a real voice in how the alliance is run."

"Ah, thank you for that reminder. I wouldn\'t have paid attention to this if you did not point it out." Ves modestly said.

His foreign minister raised a crucial point. He had much more control over the original form of the Golden Skull Alliance because it was easy for him to leverage his influence among the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan.

While he couldn\'t persuade them to do anything he asked for, he could easily get them to support his expeditions and travel to any destination he liked!

That might not be as easy anymore now that two powerful groups had joined up. The Adelaides and the Boojays both had strong mech forces as well as their own ace mechs at their disposal! These factors alone meant that Ves needed to be a lot clever in his interactions with their representatives!

"I will be counting on you to keep us on their good side, Shederin." Ves patted the old man\'s feeble shoulder.

The minister and advisor radiated a lot of confidence. "My men and I shall handle this responsibility to your satisfaction. I am well-versed in diplomacy. With the full backing of you and your clan, I shall endeavor to lower the barriers between our clan and the two new alliance members."

The first steps to developing true friends between the Larkinsons and the other two groups was to make them feel welcome during the treaty signing.

After everyone important arrived at the hotel and started to sign an extensive series of contracts and official documents under the witness of an MTA representative, the just-expanded alliance immediately threw a welcoming party!

Lots of Larkinsons, Glory Seekers, Crossers, Adelaides and Boojays began to mingle with each other in a grand reception hall.

"Wow! That\'s a pretty kitty? Can I pet it, please?"

"Sure! Don\'t worry. Clixie is a nice lady."

"Her fur is so soft and smooth."

"Miaow~"

While his kids started to chat and play with the well-dressed children of the Boojay Family, Ves met up with both General Hermain Foraine and Matriarch Rezzie Boojay.

The two had grown quite familiar with each other during the months of negotiations. They were both new to the Golden Skull Alliance and automatically stuck together for solidarity for that reason.

They made for an immediate visual contrast. General Foraine looked every part of a mercenary leader, complete with a slightly irregular green-and-beige uniform that was designed to impress clients.

Matriarch Rezzie Boojay on the other hand wore a ceremonial ensemble that was part of the distinct culture of her family. It consisted of several layers of purple and orange garments that made it seem as if she was wearing several thin robes.

Rezzie also seemed keen on wearing a lot of jewelry. The abundance of rings, necklaces and other ornaments made her look wealthier and added a lot of gravitas to her stature.

"I have a question for you, Ves."

"Ask away, Herman."

"Why are we called the Golden Skull Alliance?"

"..."

"I mean, I have asked the same question to the other members of your alliance, but they all gave me different answers. I have the impression that hardly anyone understands the meaning of the name and the reason why you have settled on it. I was told to go to you in order to obtain a satisfactory answer. I understand why you used the word \'golden\' as it is strongly associated with the symbolism of your clan, but where does the skull come from? Why did you settle on such a macabre word, and what meaning does it convey?"

Ves needed a few seconds to think on how he should respond to this question. 

He couldn\'t very well answer that it was a subtle reference to the Skull Architect.

"We needed to develop a unique and distinctive identity that conveyed the right message to outsiders." He began. "We could have called ourselves the Jolly Peace Organization, but that would have presented our friends and allies with a completely different impression. We needed to convey strength and the determination to bite back if enemies mess with us, so calling ourselves the Golden Skull Alliance helps with that. Just the image it conveys is enough to make people think twice."

"Is that all?"

"It\'s been a long time, alright?!"

Matriarch Rezzie frowned in disapproval. "Names have power, for both goood and ill. Skulls do not have a positive association. It will not be difficult for enemies to slander us in the public sphere. It will also be harder for us to befriend and form business relationships with more timid or benevolent parties. I did not choose to raise this matter before we joined your alliance, but now that our new treaty has come into effect, I would like to propose a formal name change."

That caught Ves and General Foraine off-guard. Neither of them expected for the Boojays to care so much about the name that they did not wait until a single day had passed before they already wanted to exercise their power!

"We shall not change our name." A different voice interjected. "We have already built up the brand of the Golden Skull Alliance over the course of several years and many notable battlefield victories. We will generate a large amount of confusion and lose much of the name recognition and the formidable reputation that comes with it if we relabel ourselves."

The female leader turned and greeted the well-dressed man with a welcoming smile. "Ah, Master Benedict Cortez. I am honored to meet with you again."

Every alliance partner had at least one unique advantage that set them apart from their peers.

The Cross Clan was the only group that had a Master Mech Designer!

While the Adelaide Third Fleet and the Boojay Family both had multiple channels available to them that could give them access to the services of friendly Master Mech Designers, the latter did not directly work for the former.

This caused both Rezzie and Herman to grow envious at the Cross Clan.

Master Benedict not only worked for the Crossers on a full-time basis, but also channeled much of his earnings into the coffers of the Cross Clan!

"I did not expect the name to mean that much to you, Master." Rezzie spoke with a bit of puzzlement in her tone.

Skulls and Master Mech Designers did not seem to go together, but appearances could be deceiving!

"I may tell you the story behind the name one day." Benedict mildly smirked. "For now, it shall remain a secret between Ves and myself."

If the Boojays and the Adelaides hadn\'t already figured this out, the relationship between Ves and Benedict was remarkably good!

Neither mech designer showed any awareness of the rank difference between the two. Ves did not look up to Benedict just because he was a vaunted Master while the former Skull Architect did not patronize his much younger colleague.

The four leading figures talked a bit more about various practical subjects now that the Golden Skull Alliance grew from 3 to 5 members.

"Have you considered whether you wish to add any of my products to your mech rosters?" Ves asked the leaders of the two newcomers. "The Glory Seekers are really happy with my work, you know. I think that a couple of living mechs of mine can benefit your troops a lot. Our current downtime is the perfect window of opportunity for your troops to learn how to get along with my works. It will be a lot more difficult to reorganize your forces once we are on the move again."

Both Herman and Rezzie exchanged glances with each other.

"We are not in a hurry to explore this subject." The matriarch of the Boojay Family responded. "We appreciate your offer, but our family has long relied upon mechs that are designed by our own in-house mech designers as well as numerous friendly Seniors and Masters. We do not want to worsen our relationships with our long-term allies."

Ves turned to the leader of the Adelaide Third Fleet. "What about you, Herman?"

"We are in a similar position." The mercenary general responded. "Our parent company employs its own mech designers. Our company policy also compels us to rely on in-house mech models as much as possible. Our Third Fleet is not prohibited from purchasing more local mechs, but we have to justify the added expenses and changes in our operations."

"Ah, I see. Well, if you are ever ready to adopt my mech models, give me a call, okay? Our production capabilities are quite strong. Once our clan regains the Spirit of Bentheim, we will even gain the ability to supply you with mechs in the field. Of course, it would be helpful if you can place your orders in advance. We don\'t bring an endless amount of raw materials in our expeditions. We are better off leaving the cargo space empty so that we can ship more loot back to safety."

Everyone grinned at the mention of loot. Traveling to the deep frontier and plundering alien treasures had become the primary motivation to join the Golden Skull Alliance!

"Speaking about loot, have any decisions been made about the future direction of the Trailblazer Expedition?" Rezzie Boojay inquired.

"Not yet." Ves shook his head. "We have only made a broad decision to leave the Krakatoa Middle Zone and explore the Torald Middle Zone. My subordinates are in the process of scouting the neighboring zone and collecting as many clues as possible. I will have more substantial information available to you all once we are closer to our departure date. You are welcome to perform your own investigations. You may even propose alternative goals for us as long as you think there are better opportunities for us. That is your right as a member of our alliance. We pretty much treat each other as family."

"That is good to hear."

The expansion of the Golden Skull Alliance meant that the Larkinson Clan had much less right to speak than before.

Nonetheless, Ves thought it was worth it because the Adelaide Third Fleet and the Boojay Family strengthened the expeditionary fleet to a massive degree!

Though Ves hadn\'t checked the numbers yet, he expected that his expeditionary fleet would probably swell to the point where it possessed the equivalent combat power of three mech divisions!

This was more than enough combat power to raze small to medium-sized colonies!

If all of them decided to take part in the upcoming war between Davute and Karlach, this singularly powerful fleet could easily act as an unstoppable raiding force!

The idea tempted Ves for a second before he immediately pushed it out of his mind.

Attacking human colonies was a waste of time! The true prosperity of a colonial state like Karlach was mainly concentrated in its port system and other highly defended star systems.

There was hardly any worthwhile loot to be found in its lesser colonies!