Chapter 1867. Ylvainan Navy (1/2)
Ves actually became so concerned at all the Ylvainans joining the fleets of the Avatars and Sentinels that he decided to take a look in person.
Together with Nitaa, Lucky and his bodyguards, he took another shuttle trip to orbit where he stopped by some of the ships.
The brand-new light carriers weren't very impressive to Ves. They possessed the same level of performance as the Greenfeather and Redfeather. In fact, in some areas, they were even worse!
His forces didn't have any choice, though. With the supply of materials curtailed and prices ballooning by as much as an order of magnitude, shipyards were only able to supply their customers with their cheaper offerings!
The persistent lack of combat carriers within his fleets had always been a sore point for Ves. The only way for him to make up for this shortcoming was to leave the war-stricken regions and head to a more stable and prosperous region.
The greater the chaos, the greater the demand for ships!
No one wanted to be stuck on a planet when doom approached the star system. The Sand War already showed how fatal it could be for people to lack an escape route!
When Ves met up with some of the captains and key crew of his new ships, he came across a lot of very enthusiastic Ylvainans!
”It's an honor to work for you, Bright Martyr.”
”I have dreamt of serving a Martyr Follower for all my life. It is a great pleasure to captain one of your ships with the Great Prophet's blessing!”
”Sir! I have made a vow to devote my entire service to you! Prophet Ylvaine himself has willed us to be at your disposal!”
The reactions of every Ylvainan he met sounded similar. No matter where he walked, the spacers around him paused and bowed with utmost sincerity towards him. They literally believed that he was one of Prophet Ylvaine's agents in the mortal realm!
Ves tried his best to maintain a pleasant facade. Inwardly, he either groaned or cringed. There had been no attempts at all to curtail the Ylvainan's expressions of faith within his fleet.
Perhaps the only compromise the new Ylvainan ship crews had made was to keep the interior of the ships neutral. Unlike other Ylvainan ships, there weren't any shrines or religious artwork dedicated to their faith in the corridors or public compartments!
In order to coordinate the growing number of carriers and support ships across all of the mech forces, the position of fleet coordinator came into being.
Not quite an admiral, but more than a fleet commander, a fleet coordinator essentially oversaw the fleets and kept them organized at the higher level without exercising direct command.
No Larkinson could fulfill that position. It was difficult to hire Brighters with this level of knowledge, training and experience.
The only choice to fill this position was to resort to an Ylvainan!
By some strange reason that seemed more deliberate than accidental, a very senior ship officer of the Kronon Dynasty just happened to be available.
Fleet Coordinator Ophelia Kronon possessed a long and storied record. She was an 80-year old matron who had commanded military ships and fleets for many decades with distinction. Due to her long service, she had plenty of time to develop her management and administrative skills.
What this meant was that she was exactly the sort of person his enterprise needed to organize the higher-level command and control structure of his fleet assets.
Working with both the Avatars, Battle Criers and Sentinels, Fleet Coordinator Ophelia already achieved a lot of results since she came into power.
Most notably, she shuffled around spacers so that the distribution of critical personnel became more even. No ship was lacking in chief engineers and senior officers!
The old but driven fleet coordinator also leaned on logistics to hasten the delivery of essential supplies! Without these necessities, the combined fleet would only be able to subside in space for a month before encountering critical shortages. This was a very precarious situation to be in, so Ves was very thankful that Ophelia took care of these issues!
When Ves met with Ophelia aboard one of the new Ylvainan-produced light carriers, he already developed some expectations of what he heard.
From most accounts, Ves figured that Ophelia was similar to Colonel Lowenfield. Both were women who were appointed to clean up a mess. Both of them excelled in this aspect, though their battle experiences and crisis leadership were not as solid.
Ophelia was a Kronon however, and every Kronon was a soldier. Despite her age, the old woman exuded a sense of command and experience that couldn't be faked!
”Madame Kronon. I am pleased to meet you. I appreciate what you have done so far in wrangling my growing fleet. Keeping my ships and spacers from running into each other must be an exhausting chore.”
”The worst will pass, sir.” Ophelia replied with respect. ”Within a single month, our fleets should be ready to embark on a lengthy journey.”
The two discussed the state of the organizing fleets before Ves was satisfied with what he heard. Even though the new personnel still had to settle into their jobs and the ships still showed a lot of teething issues, most of these problems could be dealt with during the journey.
If some sort of crisis occurred that compelled them to evacuate, then they could still flee the star system as long as they left some assets behind. The new carriers and other ships would still remain liabilities though.
All of that was important but not really interesting to Ves. As a mech designer, fleets and naval vessels never held his interest for long. He much preferred to talk about mechs!
That said, Ves was also interested in Ophelia as a person. As long as she remained hale and healthy, she would probably be his most senior fleet officer for the foreseeable future! Developing an accord and understanding with her was essential!
”You don't seem as.. zealous as the other Ylvainans about your new employer.”
The woman nodded. ”I am a Kronon. My faith is my duty. My duty is faith.”
”What does that mean?” Ves scratched his head in puzzlement.