<h4>Chapter 2030 Special Applican</h4>
As the Larkinsons from both branches continued to mingle with each other, the n underwent arge reorganization.
After the Battle of Kesseling VIII, the n suffered a lot of losses. All of those missing positions had to be filled. In fact, the n also sought to expand its numbers further in order to ensure it had enough strength to face its challengers!
The Larkinson n organized arge recruitment event. Any Sentinel or upstanding person could apply to join the n!
As long as they possessed valuable skills the n urgently needed, they became eligible to be Larkinsons!
Though this was a rather sudden shift in policy, Ves encouraged it because he was confident that the adoption ritual was sufficient enough to weed out the weak-hearted and treacherous people among the applicants.
The Larkinson n had made it very clear that it wasn''t offering a regr employment opportunity. Instead, they sought people who knew what they were getting into and were enthusiastic about taking part in all of the wealth and woe of the n no matter the danger!
Even if the n listed out an extremely stringent list of demands, the amount of locals applying to join still flooded the administrators assigned to process them! There were far too many Sentinels and other people who heard about the n and envied the people who became a part of it!
It was an especially attractive offer to themoners who led regr lives in the Sentinel Kingdom!
To be adopted by a n known for its wealth, strength and heritage was a dreame true to many locals who once fantasized about bing nobles.
Though the Sentinel Kingdom asionally elevated outstandingmoners into the ranks of nobility, that was a pipedream for many ambitious lowborn citizens. The ss system in the Sentinel Kingdom was still a fact of life for many people!
Though themoners of the Sentinel Kingdom were better off than their counterparts in the Vesia Kingdom, they always yearned for more.
This was why the recruitment opportunities of the Larkinson n were so significant. Though the foreign n didn''t necessarily equate to a noble house, to themoners who didn''t know any better, they might as well be the same!
In their eyes, the wealth, prestige, honor and heritage of the Larkinsons already elevated them into nobles in every way that mattered!
While the Larkinson Family emphatically did not seek to adopt anyone, the Larkinson n was different!
In the eyes of many Sentinels, the n was rather crazy for opening its gate so wide! Over the course of the next two months, thousands of people would receive the chance to be a Larkinson and thereby turn into ''nobles''! The frenzy the news ignited among the popce was so great that passenger liners were struggling to handle all of the demand for transit to Cinach VI!
Some local powers were pleased at this development. House Evenson, despite failing to arrange a meeting with Ves in person, were ecstatic at all of the attention that Cinach VI received!
Others, particrly its rival houses, were not so pleased to see so many skilled and talented people leave their domains.
The Larkinson n didn''t pay attention to the sentiment among the nobles. Their strength and the strength of their Hexers escort meant that there was nothing the local nobles could do to pressure the n into stopping its activities!
So many people applied to the Larkinson n these days that the people responsible for vetting the neers had to allocate additional personnel to handle the influx!
For a time, Ves tried to evaluate the applications in person, thinking that his imnt allowed him to be very efficient at this task.
He soon gave up. When the applications surpassed a hundred-thousand, there was no way he could properly evaluate every individual in aprehensive manner!
Ves soon decided to leave the matter to the n and went back to meeting with important Larkinsons and resuming his work on his ongoing projects.
All sorts of weird and peculiar people applied to join the n.
The handful of members of the old family who looked at the n and wanted to be a part of it all got in without issue. They were the only exception! Everyone else had to go through the normal process, which entailed sessive rounds of inspection in order to filter out the unsuitable!
At arge venue in downtown Torze, hundreds of people were obediently waiting in line to enter the Larkinson n''s recruitment hall. The hopes and dreams of manymoners rested inside the hall where the Larkinsons in their dashing uniforms evaluated each of them for their skills and temperament!
In fact, the crowd outside the hall would have grown bigger if not for the preselection that took ce before. Automated AIs employed by the n already scanned their applications and records and already filtered out the vast majority.
The ones who didn''t make the cut all failed to meet the basic qualifications. Examples included doing badly at school, a history of behavioral problems or a criminal record. Anything that pointed towards trouble or ineptitude need not apply!
AIs couldn''t do everything, however. There was always a chance that the application and records contained lies. Even if some mech technician graduated from technical school with excellent grades, they might have forgotten half they learned after a couple of years!
If there was one thing the Larkinson n and Ves especially loathed, it was ipetence!
Since so many people wanted to be a part of the n, the Larkinsons had the luxury of choosing the very best!
Because expanding the Larkinson n was a very serious matter, the nsmen assigned to conduct the recruitment event all took their duties seriously. They not only had to verify in person that the applicants actually possessed the skills the n urgently needed, but also test their personality and temperament to see if they werepatible with the values of the n!
It was mostly thetter where the applicants received their crushing rejections!
"I''m sorry youngd, but your personality is better served elsewhere." A Larkinson recruiter shook his head.
"What?! Why!" The young man stood up and thumped his fists against the table! "I know starships like the back of my hand! I''m an excellent helmsman! I''m a spaceborn from birth. I studied how to control theplex propulsion systems of trade ships as I grew up and studied interster navigation in university!"
The recruiter sighed. He had seen sights like this all the time. On paper, the applicant was highly suitable. Not only was he a well-trained helmsman and navigator, he also possessed a true spaceborn pedigree, which was something the n desperately needed more of in order to adjust to life in space!
"Your application has already been rejected by us. While it is true that you are very skilled, your personality wouldn''t be a good fit with ours. In particr, we don''t find you trustworthy enough."
"That''s not fair! There is nothing wrong with my behavior! The previous tests didn''t indicate any problems!"
Privately, the recruiter knew that was true, but there was one test which the applicant had failed.
It also happened to be the most important test and the entire reason why the aspiring helmsman and navigator had to look for employment elsewhere!
"Do you remember the instance where you were asked to move close to the Bright Warrior we ced inside this hall?"
"Uh, yes?"
"When you touched it, didn''t you exhibit a negative reaction?"
"I was just feeling ill or something! I admired that mech! I thought it was very impressive with how it can affect my emotions. Just give me another chance and I''ll hold in my reaction!"
The recruiter shook his head. How many times had he heard that excuse. "Sorry. You only have one shot at it. That''s the rule."
The applicantpletely lost hisposure! "That can''t be! I behaved so well! I held myself in so hard in order to be a noble! Please give me another chance!"
As soon as the distressed fellow tried to lunge across the desk, his hands brushed against an energy screen.
Soon enough, a zap from a turret hidden in the ceiling stunned his body to paralysis! A bot soon entered the interview room to haul the reject away.
"This is the seventh time today." The Larkinson recruiter sighed.
Ever since the locals got the notion that joining the Larkinson n was the same as bing a noble, they went through extreme measures to cheat and game the tests!
From bringing government officials to alter the records to presenting a false image of themselves as a model employee, none of their efforts seeded.
This was because they had to go through a hidden ''integrity'' test that entailed exposing them directly to the glow of a Bright Warrior!
While the nsmen administering the tests weren''t quite sure what was going on, their faith in the Bright Warriors all caused them to trust this procedure. This was especially so after the rejects all exhibited problems that they hadn''t shown before when they still had hope!
The next applicant soon entered the room.
Surprisingly, he didn''te alone. Someone else entered as well!
The recruiter frowned. "Applicants are supposed to enter on an individual basis. If it is not your turn, please exit."
"You must be one of the newer Larkinsons, right? I''m Rae Larkinson, an original member of the family. I came to join the n!"
"Oh." The recruiter''s face softened up. "If you are a trueblood Larkinson, then you aren''t required to go through this process. You can join the n right away!"
"I know that. I already received an appointment to the uing induction ceremony. I''m here to support my boyfriend instead!" Rae beamed.
The recruiter turned his gaze at the handsome, confident-looking man dressed in a shirt that failed to hide the muscled contours of his chest and abs.
"Mr.. Ricklin." He said, looking up the applicant''s record from his terminal. "Hmm. You''re young, that''s great. Mech pilot. We need those. Former officer withmand experience. That''s great. Participated in the Sand War and fought in defense of Bentheim. That is an excellent aplishment! Hm.. it says here that you have brought arge number of subordinates. You do realize that we will have to test them on an individual basis, correct?"
"I know." Vincentzily waved his hand. "I already told them the score. If they can''t pass the tests, they''ll just take over my outfit and run it by themselves."
"Very well. We have received multiple instances of people wishing to apply by group, but we don''t do that here."
The recruiter went back to studying Vincent''s records and test results. His face soon fell. "There are certain red gs in your record. It says here you once fought for an illegitimate rebel organization andmitted acts of murder, sabotage and other assorted terroristic activities."
"I received a pardon for that!" Vincent objected! "The Bright Republic, back when it was still decent, forgave my past deeds! I fought tons of sandmen in order to redeem myself!"
"Vincent is not a bad guy." Rae vouched for her boyfriend.
The recruiter found other warning signs. "It says here that there are several.. irregrities.. with regards to your personality. You are too selfish, narcissistic and immoral!"
Rae shook her head. "Vincent isn''t a bastard! He just had a difficult upbringing, that''s all! Come on. Give a fellow Larkinson a favor. Just let him through. He can be a great nsman if you give him a chance! Didn''t he do well in the remaining tests?"
ording to the test results, Vincent didn''t elicit any strong reaction from the Bright Warrior. The absence of a negative or positive reaction wasn''t necessarily good. The most earnest and capable applicants always received a positive reaction from the mech!
"Besides, I know the big guy in person." Vincent grinned and tapped hism. A projection of a very masculine-looking mech appeared into view. "I''m one of Ves Larkinson''s best buddies, you know! Did you know he and his babe designed the Adonis Colossus for me? I smashed so many sandmen with this mech! I even brought it along with me so I can use this mech to fight alongside other Larkinsons. What do you say? Will you let me into the n?"
"I''m not sure." The recruiter looked uncertain. "This is outside of protocol. I will need to contact my superior."
"Go ahead. Just mention what I said and I''m sure it will be fine!"
The recruiter privately contacted his superior and passed on the information he received as requested.
The overworked administrator in charge of some of the recruitment process quickly scanned at the information he received.
"Hmm… these red gs can''t be ignored, but.. The Adonis Colossus? A mech designed by the n patriarch in person? Anyone who received his attention must be someone special!"
The fact that Rea Larkinson personally endorsed Vincent Ricklin was also a mark in his favor.
Five minutester, Vincent Ricklin''s application had been approved!