Chapter 6953: In Transition |
When Ves returned to the Tormented Scream, he remained in a subdued mood.
The latest events had thoroughly derailed his plans.
Suffice to say, the risk of losing control over his true body severely disrupted his plans to augment his own gear.
The most immediate consequence was that his own clan could no longer unconditionally place his trust in him. So long as 'Sev Larkinson' continued to hide within his true body, he could always turn into a liability at any time.
Although Ves remained confident that Sev would not be able to make an appearance unless he took the initiative to unfold his true body, he did not have any proof to back up his assertions.
Even if the probability was only 1 percent, the prospect of Sev silently taking over Ves' body while he remained in a human form was enough to trigger the paranoia of the Larkinsons.
Ves did not blame their caution, but that did not mean he felt pleased by his new treatment.
It never felt good to be on the receiving end of suspicion.
Although the rank-and-file clansmen remained in the dark for the time being, the upper echelon had already been informed for the reason behind the abrupt transition of power.
That became clear when he returned to his office and discussed his new situation with his personal assistant.
"For all intents and purposes, you have become a lame duck patriarch." Gavin Neumann told him without any ambiguity. "You still hold the office, but the people who are normally supposed to obey your instructions will no longer do so without question. This means that you can no longer arbitrarily transfer personnel, requisition significant amounts of strategic resources, buy or sell military hardware, create or dismiss departments and so on. You will still be allowed to make smaller and less consequential decisions on your own, but anything that affects the Larkinson Clan past a moderate threshold must be approved by other leaders."
Ves grimaced as he leaned back in his chair.
Lucky hovered in his vicinity.
"Meow."
The gem cat kept careful watch over him in case Sev unexpectedly took over and tried to mess around.
"Who are my babysitters?"
"For the time being, any of your decisions concerning the Larkinson Clan's civilian affairs must be approved by a chief minister. Any decisions that are related to our military affairs must be approved by Saint Commander Casella Ingvar. This is a temporary stopgap measure that will still allow you to do what you want. You just need to vet your more important decisions, which is different from before."
That did not sound too bad. The Larkinsons still respected their patriarch. Ves did not automatically lose access to all of the phasewater, superdimensional matter and other expensive goodies.
He just needed to make sure he could justify his resource utilization. This was especially the case for medium and high-grade superdimensional matter. There were too many mechs that could make good use of these new wonder materials.
"Am I still allowed to develop phase lord-grade wargear for myself?" Ves asked.
It would be a shame for him to abandon his current side projects and leave him undergeared if he had no choice but to stand up for himself.
"You can still continue to design your raiment and armaments, boss." Gavin answered. "However, you will need to obtain approval before you are permitted to withdraw large amounts of superdimensional matter and other expensive materials needed to fabricate your gigantic gear."
"How likely do you think I will gain that approval?"
The assistant paused for a second. "It should not be too low. From what I have learned about your circumstance, your alter ego 'Sev' may hold very different attitudes compared to yours, but he is not necessarily a threat to the Larkinson Clan. So long as he is willing to fight on our behalf, it is not a bad idea to outfit him properly. We recognize that there may be instances where it is more advantageous if we allow a phase lord of our own to represent our clan."
It would be harder for Ves to do that if he no longer occupied the position of patriarch, but oh well.
"So the clan is willing to let Sev come out and play?"
"That is the plan for now." Gavin confirmed. "It is one thing to deal with a rogue phase lord when we are not equipped to defeat him. It is another thing to deal with him when we have two ace pilots at our disposal. Under the premise of absolute force suppression, we do not have much to fear from Sev. The First Sword Mark III will be your unofficial minder for the foreseeable future. Her superdimensional characteristics grants her an absolute advantage against all phase lords, you included."
There was no way Sev could beat an ordinary ace pilot.
One that happened to pilot a full high-grade superdimensional mech was even more unbeatable!
Ves did not resent the First Sword Mark III's presence. She was a genuinely good superdimensional ace mech. He had contributed to her design, so he knew quite well how her blades could literally slice and dice him into phase lord sushi if she had any reason to resort to violence.
The threat of getting chopped by the superdimensional ace mech not only gave Sev a strong reason to remain honest, but also granted the Larkinsons a huge amount of peace of mind.
If the Larkinsons lacked such a powerful force, then they wouldn't have let Ves off so easily. It would have been a lot more awkward for him to remain in the clan when there were no easy ways to suppress him if he ever lost control over himself.
He talked a bit more with Gavin about the changes to his life.
"Will you stay by my side and continue to help me run my affairs, or will you offer your services to the next patriarch or matriarch to come into office?" Ves inquired.
Gavin gave him a rueful smile. "I feel insulted that you felt the need to ask. I am staying with you, compromised or not. My loyalty to you is personal. I care about the clan, but I have not forgotten who has brought me from a planet as backwards as Cloudy Curtain to becoming the gatekeeper of one of the best mech designers in the Red Ocean. Even if Sev has completely taken over your body, I still won't leave. He may not be the man I pledged my loyalty to, but there is always hope that you will be able to make a return. Once you do, you will need my help to integrate back into society."
Ves felt touched by Gavin's declaration of loyalty. Their bond went way beyond duty and friendship. They were comrades who originated from the same planet. Both of them had traversed across the stars while surviving one crisis after another.
"Thank you, Gavin. I appreciate your words. You don't need to stick to me if doing so will pose a significant hazard to your health. Be careful and make sure you have an exit route in place at all times. I cannot guarantee that Sev will attempt to harm you to impede my causes."
Gavin stared back at Ves without showing much fear or emotion. His latest augmentation had drastically altered his personality.
"I will not leave your side. If Sev somehow takes control, then I will persuade him that it is in his best interest to retain my services. So long as he accepts, I can attempt to temper his decisions and prevent him from ruining everything you have built."
That was a dangerous and risky responsibility that he had taken upon himself. While Ves felt touched by Gavin's loyalty, it would be a tragedy if he suffered a needless death.
Still, Ves would not disrespect Gavin's vow by persuading him to choose differently. People like Gavin might not be soldiers, but still yearned to fight for a noble cause.
It would be disrespectful to force Gavin to back away from his pledge. He was not a child. He was an adult who was fully capable of making his own decisions. Whether he was right or wrong, it did not matter so long as he was willing to take responsibility for his own actions.
"Let's move on from the Larkinson Clan." Ves decided to change the topic. "What is the stance of the Red Collective? Do I need to make preparations to resign from my position as the chief councilor?"
"The Red Collective is a much larger and more divided organization. It is much less agile than the Larkinson Clan, so do not expect a quick resolution over there." Gavin said while shaking his head. "While the collies have yet to publish an official stance, I have spoken with Andrea Vos of the Moloch Squadron. We discussed a number of interesting probabilities. We believe that the RC is not as afraid of your alter ego as others."
"Oh?"
"Well, the Collective already has the Phase Lord Department. Compared to the questionable human phase lords over there, you are much more preferable due to your unequivocal attachment to your humanity. This puts you in a unique position. On the one hand, you are a proven human supremacist. On the other hand, you are also a phase lord that has already placed a foot on the other side. This means that you are one of the few people that can straddle the divide between the human phase lords and the other cultivators of the RC. This is a politically advantageous identity that can open up numerous new possibilities."
Ves narrowed his eyes even as he began to pet Lucky's back. "Are you suggesting that I should set aside the Larkinson Clan and move to the Astral Octagon to build up my influence within the Red Collective?"
"I do not presume to tell you what you must do, boss. I am only pointing out that the collies work with stuff that sounds similar to your condition on a more frequent basis. Many cultivators that have decided to practice risky high-end cultivation methods are prone to suffering mental disorders. That has made them much more tolerant towards abnormal conditions such as yours. They will not have a problem with you as long as you subject yourself to reasonable safeguards. The value that you can provide to the RC exceeds the potential harm that you can cause."
"I see."
"Besides, your seat at the high council is pretty much guaranteed by the Evolution Witch." Gavin added. "She is hardly the most mentally stable among god pilots. She is one of the living embodiments of the concept that might makes right. As long as you remain in her good graces, it will be difficult for the collies to unseat you. This is another reason why you have more room for maneuver in the Red Collective as opposed to the Larkinson Clan."
It was a sad reality where Ves could no longer do what he wanted in the clan he founded with his own efforts.
A part of himself felt upset at this, but there was another part of himself that felt proud of what he built during a relatively short amount of time.
The Larkinson Clan was like a mech that he had designed and built with great care and attention.
However, just like a father who eventually had to let his children grow to the point where they were ready to take on the cosmos by themselves, Ves believed that his clan had grown to the point where it could survive and thrive without needing to rely on his guiding hand.
That gave him a strong sense of satisfaction that resonated with his ethos as a mech designer.
Ves was not in a hurry to decide if he wanted to move to the Astral Octagon and become involved in the running of the Red Collective.
He still needed to know what the collies thought about his recent issues.
He also had to know whether he would still be able to design his mechs on his own terms. It would be significantly harder for him to coordinate with the Design Department if he moved away from the Larkinson Clan.
All of this required a lot of consideration.