<h4>Chapter 1949 Worthy Larkinsons</h4>


    Expand the Larkinson n!


    Invite thousands of employees and retainers to take up the Larkinson name!


    If his grandfather Benjamin and his uncle Ark heard this suggestion, they would probably use him of ruining their heritage!


    This was not within his ns!


    In his dreams, he wanted to grow the Larkinson n organically. Over several generations, the children and grandchildren of the current nsmen would solve its number shortage and transform it into a stable entity!


    Yet Ves had to admit that if past events were anything to go by, the amount of Larkinsons born might not exceed the amount of Larkinsons who died or left.


    While he was confident he could navigate this problem on his own terms, what Cbast proposed was nothing less than using a mech to swat a fly!


    Expanding the ranks of the Larkinson n by adopting a couple of meritorious retainers was within an eptable tolerance.


    It wouldn''t be much different from weing outsiders who had married into the n. The main bloodline of the Larkinson heritage would still remain vigorous as it flowed through their children.


    Yet if the n suddenly invited more than ten times the number of trueblood nsmen to be its members, it would not be easy for Ves and other original Larkinsons to remain in control!


    What was most egregious about this suggestion was that the introduction of so many neers risk diluting or outright destroying the Larkinson heritage!


    "This is uneptable! I refuse!"


    "Are you that insecure about the strength of your n?" Cbast retorted. "You have the Larkinson Mandate, right? You''ve built a very strong culture and you have made a lot of strides in earning people''s loyalty. The True Believers under the lead of James aren''t Brighters or Larkinsons. Yet they have forsaken their own state and fought alongside the Larkinsons against a force led by second-ss mechs. They may be Ylvainans, but they exemplified the very same traits that define a Larkinson!"


    He had to admit that she was true, but her conclusion was absurd! Turning Ylvainans into Larkinsons sounded wrong! They were cultists who were more liable to listen to James than him! They were deeply religious and believed in all kinds of superstition. Those were traits that he would very much want to keep out of his n!


    "The True Believers aren''t the only ones who want to be a Larkinson." Cbast continued. "I want in as well. The reason I formed the ck Cats is because I want my subordinates and I to be recognized as a part of your n. Though I haven''t always seeded in protecting you against every threat, I have contributed considerably to your safety and the safety of your n."


    Ves looked aghast at Cbast. It was already bad enough that she was a fly that continued to buzz around his orbit all the time. To turn her into a Larkinson was unthinkable!


    "Are you serious? You''re a Hexer! Why do you want to be a Larkinson?! That doesn''t make any sense!"


    She steadily looked at him in the eyes. "I''m not joking, Ves. Not this time. I have thought a lot about this issue and I have shared many ideas with James. Allowing us and everyone else who is working for you to join the Larkinson n will benefit everyone involved. It''s a win-win-win arrangement."


    "There are drawbacks as well." Ves retorted. "For example, our n risks losing its identity! Everything that has the potential to make it great will be drowned by all of the values introduced by the neers!"


    "You''re exaggerating the problem, kid. Didn''t I tell you to trust in the foundation that you have built? Everyone who has decided to stick with you such as Calsie and Gavinn are fullymitted to your ventures. Brave mech pilots like Joshua King have confronted the mechs of the Coalition Reserve Corps directly. They are just a sample of the thousands of fighters and workers who have abandoned their old lives to follow you to the Red Ocean and beyond. Hardly any of them will refuse the offer to join the n because bing a Larkinson is one of their greatest honors!"


    Ves vigorously shook his head! "This is still a step too far! We already have a process in ce to motivate them to work hard! The most hard-working employees are eligible to be retainers, and the ones who proceed to perform meritorious services are considered for adoption by the n. What will it mean for the n when bing a Larkinson stops bing rare? Our name and reputation will turn into amodity!"


    "You''re exaggerating again, Ves." She said. "Let me show you the people you fear will destroy the Larkinson n from within."


    She activated a projection that provided Ves with snapshots of the people of his fleet.


    He saw Fleet Coordinator Ophelia Kronon hold a conference meeting with every captain. She not only disyed a high degree of professionalism and leadership, but she made sure that the oue of the meeting benefited the Larkinsons.


    He witnessed Joshua guiding a number of new recruits through some challenging battle simtions, many of which were based on the Battle of Kesseling VIII. Joshua not only taught them how to pilot the Bright Warrior, but also reminded him what the Avatars of Myth stood for and who they were obligated to protect with their lives.


    He witnessed Gavin quietly working alongside Raymond and the other leaders of the LMC to keep the sprawling mechpany together. The recent hostilities with the Friday Coalition caused many of its client states to suppress the LMC''s business activities.


    Sales dropped and local bank ounts were seized in every state aligned to the Friday Coalition. This resulted in a considerable setback to the LMC and forced everyone who worked at the roving headquarters to do their best to preserve as much assets as possible!


    He saw a crowd of Ylvainan spacers praying earnestly in front of a statue of the Great Prophet erected in a spare room aboard one of the new carriers. After they said their prayers, they returned to their stations and diligently kept the ship in peak condition.


    He witnessed even more Ylvainans among the Living Sentinels. Though they were a rather recent addition, the mech pilots and support personnel tried their best to mingle with the old guard, with mixed results.


    Though they were rather weird to the Brighters, they were very earnest and truly wanted to be a part of the Living Sentinels. They embraced its culture and its ideals with hardly any resistance. In many ways, they seeded in blending their old beliefs with new values.


    The final two clips were a bit more dramatic than the others.


    The next projection that came forth was a snippet of footage of two allied forcesing to the rescue of the Avatars, Sentinels and Glory Battalion beleaguered by thendbound forces of the CRC!


    The Swordmaidens fought valiantly and lost a considerable amount of mech pilots in order to ground and neutralize the CRC''s powerful knight mech!


    The Kronon mech pilots who defected from the Protectorate died by droves as they fearlessly threw their mechs against an elite CRC squad!


    Despite the horrendous tech and quality disparity, neither the Swordmaidens nor the Kronons flinched from the odds despite the fact that it wasn''t strictly their fight!


    Thest clip was obviously stolen from a station-wide monitoring system. It''s impact on Ves surpassed that of the previous footage!


    He recognized the small and distant figures of Rae and Ketis escaping a Bentheim space station under the lead of someone he didn''t recognize.


    "She is one of my agents." Cbast helpfully pointed out. "Without cing her in the vicinity of your cousin and your student, they would have never escaped the government''s manhunt."


    Ves observed all of the footage and did not deny that she seeded in driving her point.


    There were people who didn''t share the Larkinson name who earnestly worked on behalf of himself and the n. While he wasn''tfortable with adding so many new faces to the Larkinson n, he wasn''t as conflicted about it as before.


    "Okay. The people in the footage are truly suitable to be Larkinsons. However, the Larkinson n is supposed to represent something unique."


    "The new additions will introduce some changes that can''t be stopped. However, your precious Larkinson heritage, values and principles will still retain their primacy. Everyone who is working for you wants to be closer to you. If they didn''t like the Larkinsons, they wouldn''t have chosen to work for us in the first ce."


    "What is the point of all of this?" Ves asked. There had to be something more to this proposal than expanding the Larkinson n. "Why should we take such a huge leap and transform the Larkinson n into an entirely different beast?"


    Cbast spread her hands. "The divisions within your organizations can''t be sustained. Not in the long-term. If you manage to form your expeditionary fleet and set out for the Red Ocean, everyone who takes part in the expedition will share all of the wealth and woe of your n. In thewless, frontier environment of the new dwarf gxy, do you think they can just resign and work for another employer on the fly? Those workers are all bound to you and your n, and you need to recognize that. Even I gave up a promising career at DIVA to be your partner!"


    He sneered at her. "You''re a leech, Cbast. You recognized my potential and decided you would rather suck my blood than the Hegemony''s blood."


    "Hahaha!" She chuckled with amusement. "What a nice analogy. If you think about it, everyone is a leech. Your fellow Larkinsons are all leeches who you''ve managed to lure by offering them the prospect of feeding off your blood. All of those Avatars, Sentinels, Swordmaidens and Kronons who died at the Battle of Kesseling VIII are leeches as well. They fought for something greater than themselves, not because they are good samaritans, but because they believe in you or the Larkinson n."


    The way Cbast turned around his argument left him rather stumped. Even his new Archimedes Rubal imnt was not enough to gain the upper hand in their discussion!


    "Why do you want to be a Larkinson?" He asked. "I never imagined you would want to be a part of our humble family."


    "I''m quite charmed with you Larkinsons, actually. I held a different stance in the past, but the more I interact with the n, the more I''m impressed with what you are all trying to build. While I value my independence, humans aremunal creatures. Even I want to be part of something greater. Your Larkinson n can fill this need for me. I''m being very serious when I say I want to be a Larkinson. The Ylvainans think the same way, and so do most of your workers."


    Though a part of Ves felt ttered that so many people desire to be a Larkinson, he feared he might open Pandora''s box if he epted her suggestion!


    The change was simply too radical for Ves to ept right now!


    "I can''t make a decision right now. This proposal is far too big to be decided on the spot. Besides, the Executive Council and the Larkinson Assembly will have to agree as well. I doubt they are open-minded enough to embrace your proposal."


    "Perhaps they might surprise you." She grinned. "In any case, soon enough we''ll make our voices heard. We don''t mean to apply pressure to your n, but we intend to prove that joining it will benefit everyone involved."


    The scary thing was that Ves fully believed her words. "I''m not going to help you advocate your case. I''ll let the n decide first before I issue my own judgement. Just take note that I can veto any decision as long as less than eighty percent of the Larkinson Assembly is in favor, so don''t try to sneak anything under my nose."


    "It''s for the best, Ves. The Larkinson n will need to be arger, stronger and more cohesive entity to survive the challenges toe. All of the organizations won''t be as disjointed anymore once you roll them under a single andmon banner."


    Would this new entity be stronger than his original vision for his n? Probably.


    Would he like it? Ves wasn''t sure!