<h4>Chapter 5619 Need More Hulls</h4>


    As the Bluejay Fleet continued to journey back to New Constantinople VIII, Ves busied himself with checking up on his projects and developments.


    For example, Ves received an update on the matter of Vulcanites sending their Novice Mech Designers to him in order to benefit froi "The Eternal Vulcan Empire is based further away, so it will take time for the Novices to arrive in the New Constantinople System." "The Vulcanites expect a lot from you. They hope that at least two or three of the young dwarven mech designers will be able to des end of their stay. As long as you can satisfy this demand, we will gain ownership of a serviceable first-ss fleet carrier. The Vulcan refit the ship to fit our needs."


    "I really hope those dwarven Novices arepetent enough." Ves said. "I can''t guarantee any results. I can only try and do my best obtain additional first-ss ships from other parties. We can''t rely on the Vulcanites alone to fulfill our first-ss ship needs. They to give us another ship after they have given up a strategic fleet carrier."


    The value of first-ss starships was too great. Everyone needed more of them. The more first-ss hulls under their control, the s weather the ongoing storm!


    Gavin had his own ideas on how to address this issue. "Our position has improved by a lotpared to before. The sess of the Ft rtionship with the Destroyer of Worlds and our newly obtained stake in Isthmus Manufacturing has elevated our reputation and ] level. It should be possible for us to approach major parties and trade their shipbuilding services for other major favors."


    He was right. Ever since Ves got promoted to a tier 3 gctic citizen, he already had the option to cooperate with other groups on th However, his background and backing were still too thin for him to establish a stronger bargaining position. He would have to make order to obtain even a single first-ss hull.


    This time was different. The deal he had made with the Vulcanites might be affected by other factors, but the fact that he was able t teaching obligation for outright ownership of a first-ss fleet carrier was a definite sign that people really started to take him serii Ves felt much more confident in his ability to negotiate much more lucrative deals with major yers.


    "I have been thinking about forming new deals with the Terrans and the Rubarthans respectively." Ves spoke. "I don''t entirely trust but it is undeniable that he carries a certain amount of weight in the Rubarthan Pact. He can definitely arrange a shipyard to build a carrier or fleet carrier for us. The only concern is what we need to pay in exchange for this expensive deal."


    Gavin grimaced when he thought about the prices of those vessels.


    "The price of a proper first-ss warship fluctuates widely depending on the volume, the chosen materials and the chosen modules you are fine with buying a first-ssbat carrier on the cheap, you are still looking at a hull that costs at least a billion MTA crei beginning to end."


    A first-ssbat carrier was so much more expensive than a second-ss equivalent that it wasn''t even funny!


    A billion MTA credits!


    That was an unimaginable sum to Ves in the past!


    It was surprising how quickly his horizons had widened. It might not be possible for the LMC to earn a billion MTA credits in profit of the Fey Fianna and Supremo Projects, but it was only a matter of time before his partnership with Isthmus Manufacturing gave V This was because Isthmus Manufacturing earned revenue from selling other mech lines, including first-ss ones!


    The profits of selling first-ss mechs was always high, particrly if they were mainstream models that were always in demand.


    This was one of the real benefits of gaining a whopping 20 percent stake in the Rubarthan mechpany.


    The Larkinson n could effectively earn a hefty share of profits from business activities that were not rted to any of its living m Of course, the Rubathans weren''t stupid. They made sure to demand that Ves continued to supply Isthmus withmercial mech d in order to retain the right to own all of those shares.


    The entire deal was structured in a way that effectively turned Ves into a retainer of the Rubarthans and more specifically the Impre Ves provides his services by designing living mechs. He received a huge amount of payment and possibly other benefits for his effor Right now, Ves wondered whether he should leverage this new rtionship to ask for a first-ss starship.


    "First-ss starships should be in short supply in the Rubarthan Pact as well, right?"


    "That goes without saying. It should theoretically be possible for you to order a starship from them, but the rules of supply and den replied.


    "Hmmm."


    "I have a suggestion."


    "Please tell me your thoughts."


    "Ordering the construction of a new first-ss starship is a massive undertaking. The Rubarthans will be highly reluctant to spend starship production capacity to fulfill our demands. Instead of going for a new starship, we can ask them to upgrade one of our exist happen to have a very suitable hull that has recently been refurbished for this precise eventuality."


    "The Spirit of Bentheim!" Ves gasped.


    "Yes!" Gavin grinned. "The mechers have already reinvented it as a quasi-first-ss starship. I am not an expert on all of the techn what I have heard, it only takes a rtively short time in a shipyard in order to upgrade our factory ship into a true first-ss vesse The most difficult and time-consuming changes had already been made. The entire hull and internal structure had been upgraded t only reluctantly.


    Completing the first-ss upgrade process was as simple as recing the remaining second-ss systems with first-ss equivale Bentheim was highly modr, the recement process should not pose too many hindrances.


    The biggest concern was whether the Spirit of Bentheim remained safe and reliable after acquiring a lot of really powerful modules 1 performance difference was so high that a lot of new problems were bound to emerge!


    Even so, it was still worth it for the Larkinson n to upgrade its factory ship!


    "There is no need to hurry." Ves quickly said as a few other thoughts crossed his mind. "The rise of hyper technology is revolutions industry as well. It is best to wait a few years for the rapid pace of innovation to slow. By then, the shipbuilding sector should be abl powerful upgrade solutions than before."


    "The more borate the upgrades, the longer it takes toplete all of the upgrades." Gavin frowned. "If you have a need of the Sp best to start its refit process sooner rather thanter."


    His personal assistant made a good point. Ves had great ns for the next decade.


    Once the greater beyonder gate opened up, the era of warlords would begin in truth!


    That was the time where many different human powers wouldpete against each other for supremacy!


    It would be a lot more convenient if the Spirit of Bentheim became avable for the riskiest and most lucrative missions.


    "I''ll think about it." Ves eventually said. "It may be possible for us to apply certain upgrades ourselves. The Diligent Ovenbird grant shipbuilding capabilities. As long as we implement all of the simpler upgrades ourselves, it will take a lot less time and effort for a n to implement the remaining upgrades."


    He even thought about applying this approach to other Larkinson ships, but he quickly dismissed this option.


    Ships such as the Vivacious Wai and the Dragon''s Den were second-ss starships from top to bottom. Upgrading them to first-i require aplete rebuild.


    A shipyard might as well construct a brand-new first-ss capital ship if that was the case!


    Ves and Gavin talked about other possible opportunities to acquire additional first-ss starships.


    "Don''t forget about the Terrans." Gavin reminded Ves. "Now that we have formed strong rtionships with the Rubarthans, the Te anxious about deepening their own rtionship with you. You should take advantage of their desperation and see if you can add a fi two in your negotiations with them. The Devos Ancient n is currently in a tight spot, but there are severalrger Terran ns the to build a starship for our n."


    That was certainly a viable option, but it was questionable whether the Larkinsons could gain more than one or two first-ss hulk "This is too slow." Ves voiced his dissatisfaction. "What about second-hand starships? It should be much easier and faster for us to previously owned hulls."


    "Don''t get your hopes up, Ves. We are far from the only ones who have this idea. The best starships tend to be traded directly betwe organizations. The remaining second-hand starships in good condition are actually being put on auction as ofte. The seller wants amount of profit possible, and auctions are always effective at driving up the price."


    Ves immediately lost his mood when he heard that. The Larkinson n should be able meet the requirements to attend these exclus whether it could win a bid was another matter!


    "I see. Please pay attention to these auctions and tell me if one is starting in the near future. I might want to take a look and see hox willing to pay for a used first-ss starship. I take it that lots of other goods get sold during these auctions as well."


    "I presume that is the case. Alexa Streon can probably tell you more about them. I don''t advise you to participate in an auction too s to build a warchest first. If you attend one too soon, you might get distracted and depressed by how much money you need to earn i anything good."


    Ves did not quite agree with this argument. He felt it was better to gather intelligence in advance so that he knew what to expect wh earnest next time.


    He suddenly came up with another idea. "If these high-level auctions center around putting rare and highly desirable goods up for 1 be able to earn at least a part of the necessary funds!"


    Of course, this was easier said than done. Ves was sure that he could earn a lot of MTA credits from selling the opportunity to obtair but the Red Association restricted him from handing out this reward to outsiders.


    Without this obvious solution, it would take a lot more effort for Ves toe up with goods that could sell for hundreds of millions Gavin was clearly skeptical about this idea. "It will take more than a masterwork mech or art piece to raise the necessary funds. The in these auctions are not stupid. They are not willing to squander exorbitant amounts of money on second-ss luxury products. W so the most desired goods are those that can directly increase people''s chances of surviving the Red War."