1543 Cloud Estate
After giving an extensive speech in front of his Avatars of Myth and Living Sentinels, Ves and Gloriana finally departed to their new home via a well-armored shuttle dispatched by the Glory Battalion.
Escorted by the mechs of the Glory Battalion and Avatars of Myth, the armored shuttle made its way to a site close to the Mech Nursery. Instead of arriving at the headquarters of the LMC, the shuttle instead diverted to a site that was fifty kilometers away.
Lush forests and picturesque hills dotted the landscape. Atop the highest hill, an expansive manion complex stood out. This was the recently-built Cloud Estate that Ketis had been responsible for building!
Now, it became their new home!
As soon as the shuttle landed within the walls of the expansive state, Ves, Gloriana, their pets and their followers all stepped out and took in the sights.
Different from what he imagined, the Cloud Estate was not as empty as he thought. More than thirty young children ran and played across the grounds.
At a courtyard situated close to a large and regal mansion, a number of older people leisurely chatted with each other or watched the children enjoy themselves.
This sight was very familiar to Ves. In fact, if not for the different architecture and the pervasive cloud cover above his head, he would have suspected that he reached the Larkinson Estate on Rittersberg!
"Ves. You're finally home. We have all been waiting for you to return."
Ketis walked up to him in a formal business suit that made her appear far more mature than before. The certainty in her steps and the seriousness in her countenance gave Ves the impression that she had grown up in the year he was away.
She no longer looked like a lost girl from the frontier.
As she came close, Gloriana began to direct a sharp glance at the former pirate.
To her credit, Ketis did not respond aggressively. Instead, she offered a meek smile and stretched out her hand.
"My name is Ketis. Ves has mentored me for years. I'm pleased to meet you, Gloriana. I've heard a lot about you and I admire your skill. I hope to learn from you and work alongside you at the LMC."
Ves almost couldn't believe what he heard. Was this actually Ketis? Did someone replace the Ketis he knew with a poorly-grown clone?
She had never been so polite before!
Nonetheless, her subdued posture combined with her polite greeting won Gloriana over. Ves sensed that his girlfriend let down her guard.
"So you are Ves' first student, are you?" Gloriana smiled and shook the other woman's surprisingly strong and rough grip. "I've heard a lot about you as well. I'm curious to see how Ves has taught you. I will make sure to test you to see if you deserve to be known as his student."
Ves inwardly sighed now that he saw that Gloriana and Ketis managed to get along. He was afraid that his girlfriend might react poorly to other women, but it seemed that he had been wrong.
Certainly, the arrival of Gloriana completely changed the dynamic within his circle. Her status and the way she talked and carried herself made it abundantly clear that she expected to be in charge!
Though Gloriana did not own any shares of the company, the LMC had already registered her as their second lead designer!
By assigning her this position, Ves had made his stance clear. Gloriana was here to stay and would help with designing the company's mechs!
How luxurious!
Many mech companies dreamed of adding a Journeyman of Gloriana's caliber to their design teams. Now, due to her relationship with Ves, she readily put her skills at the disposal of his company for just a nominal salary!
Once Gloriana and Ketis finished introducing themselves, the latter gestured them forward.
"The main mansion is up ahead."
As they walked forward, Ves began to ask the question that had been nagging on his mind.
"Ketis, what is up with the Larkinsons here? I thought I told you to build a private home."
"That was my original plan, but your grandfather, Melkor and some other Larkinsons made a very persuasive case. They wanted to set up a bigger estate for the Larkinsons living and working at Cloudy Curtain. Since you're all family, why not make your home livelier? The Larkinsons don't want you to grow too distant from your relatives."
Ves frowned a bit. The Larkinsons acted a bit presumptuously by turning his home into a copy of the Larkinson Compound.
Nonetheless, seeing the younger and older Larkinsons enjoying themselves on his private territory lessened his objections.
There wasn't much harm in living together with the Larkinsons. Ketis was right that their presence instantly livened up the place. The sight of his relatives brought back pleasant memories of the times he spent at the Larkinson Compound in his youth.
"I'm not very pleased you haven't checked in with me before making this decision, but I'll allow it. How many Larkinsons are living here right now?"
"Over six-hundred. Some have moved out to help the Mech Corps fight the sandmen, though."
Ves widened his eyes when he heard that. "Six-hundred?!"
No wonder the Cloud Estate was so large and featured so many structures!
"What are they all doing here?! Has the LMC really hired so many Larkinsons?!"
"Not all of them are working for you." Ketis gently shook her head. "The LMC, the Living Sentinels and the Avatars of Myth employ a lot of Larkinsons. The mech pilots of your family highly favor working for the Living Sentinels, though a number of them have joined the Avatars of Myth. Many of the norms in your family have decided to work for the LMC, though plenty of Larkinsons have also joined the support staff of your two outfits."
"What about the Larkinsons who aren't working for me? What are they even doing here? Cloudy Curtain is a rotten planet compared to Rittersberg!"
"Ah, a lot of retired Larkinson mech pilots have decided to work as mech instructors at the mech academy they have taken over!"
Ves recalled that he heard about this before. He didn't expect the Larkinsons had actually gone through with this commitment!
"What mech academy?"
"The one in Freslin. They've renamed it the Larkinson Basic Mech Academy! Thousands of young mech cadets are now learning how to pilot mechs by retired Larkinsons. There's even talk of expanding the campus and hiring additional teachers to accommodate the intake of mech cadets from the refugee body!"
The enterprise sounded a lot more significant to the Larkinsons than Ves suspected. If Cloudy Curtain hadn't been flooded by refugees, then the Larkinson Basic Mech Academy wouldn't have been a small and quaint institution.
Yet now that the population of the planet ballooned, the academy suddenly became a lot more significant!
The only other academy on Cloudy Curtain was in Orinoco. At the planet's previous level of population, the two academies were more than enough to accommodate the local potentates.
"The Bright Republic really wants to claim all the refugee mech cadets for themselves." Ketis remarked. "They've invested a lot of money into setting up more mech academies on Cloudy Curtain. They've also allocated a lot of money to the Larkinsons to expand the Larkinson Basic Mech Academy. Your grandfather has even told me that the Larkinsons are in the process of asking for approval to establish the first advanced mech academy on Cloudy Curtain!"
The news came as a shock to Ves. The Larkinsons had never put so much effort in running their own mech academies!
Mech academies consumed a lot of money. Not only did it cost a lot to build all of the expensive facilities and purchase a lot of practice mechs, but it also cost a lot to keep it all in shape and up to date.
There was hardly any profit in running a mech academy! The Larkinsons must have spent the bulk of the dividends they received from the LMC to this endeavor!
"I guess I'll have to talk with my grandfather as soon as I've settled in." He sighed in an exasperated manner. "Far too many changes have taken place while I was away."
"Look on the bright side, Ves. A lot of mech cadets attending your family's academy have become devoted to the LMC. The Living Sentinels and the Avatars of Myth won't lack for recruits."
"Perhaps. I'll reserve my judgement. The Larkinsons don't have much experience in running a major educational institution, let alone two. I'm afraid they're biting off more than they could chew. How many mech cadets do they expect to teach?"
"If the basic mech academy finishes its expansion, then it can enroll up to 20,000 mech cadets. As for the advanced mech academy, it will probably accommodate the same amount of mech cadets at the start."
"That's a lot!"
While Ves knew that there were bigger mech academies, he was worried whether the Larkinsons could even handle 20,000 mech cadets per institution.
Teaching future mech pilots was a big responsibility! While Ves had no doubt that the Larkinsons were more than capable of instructing mech cadets, that did not necessarily mean they were good at running schools.
Ketis noticed his apprehension and gave him a reassuring smile. "You don't have to be worried for your relatives, Ves. The Larkinsons know what they are doing and they're not running a mech academy by themselves. They're constantly hiring a lot of experienced teachers, administrators and support staff to shoulder the burden."
They arrived in front of the centermost mansion. Unlike the other structures, the grandest building of the Cloud Estate was devoid of Larkinsons.
"This is your new home." Ketis introduced and waved at the majestic building. "Only you and your guests are allowed to approach and enter the main mansion. The other Larkinsons who live at the Cloud Estate have already been instructed to stay away from it to avoid disturbing you. Is it to your liking?"
Ves studied the traditional facade. "It looks very stately. However, I remember asking for you to build a defensible home for me. So far, I haven't spotted any defenses aside from mechs."
"This place is tougher than it looks. Your Cloud Estate is far more defensible than meets the eye. The mansions may look pretty on the outside, but their inner structure is made from compressed alloys. There are numerous turrets and other defensive measures around us, but they're currently retracted beneath the surface. Finally, there's a highly-reinforced citadel built under the Cloud Estate that is rated to resist a fair amount of orbital bombardment."
That was just some of the defensive measures protecting the Cloud Estate from threats. Nitaa and the guards of the Glory Battalion listened carefully and nodded in approval.
They entered the palatial mansion shortly afterwards. Everything was very large, from the entrance hall to the stairs leading up to the second floor.
Though the mansion didn't feel very warm or cozy to Ves, that might change once he lived in the place for a while.
"Mhmmm." Gloriana hummed and pressed a finger to her lips. "The interior is a little shabby to my tastes."
Ves helplessly shrugged. "You can do whatever you want."
He knew her well enough that she would change things if she found something displeasing. She was already treating his mansion as her home!
"We need to study and upgrade some of the security measures as well." Melody added on behalf of the Glory Battalion. "Don't worry, Mr. Larkinson. The Wodin Dynasty will cover the costs."
How grateful of them. The Wodin Dynasty probably regarded him as a pauper or something.
"Let's get settled in. I've had a long day and I have a lot of work to catch up to. Ketis, lead me to my office. There's an office here, right?"
She nodded. "I know you like your offices. The mansion has more than enough space to allow you to work from home. Let's go upstairs."