Not even the mechs around him were allowed to wield such huge and bulky armaments!
Multiple departments and groups continued to verify the safety and the control of the Tortuous Scream.
The converted alien battleship was not allowed to enter into close orbit of New Constantinople VIII, but instead had to diverge to circling around a sparsely populated moon.
As the Devos Ancient Clan and the Larkinson Clan continued to conduct multiple rounds of verification and such, the time had finally come for Ves and his family to tour their new flagship.
Ves and his family all boarded a shuttle that would bring them up to orbit before moving to the warship that was parked further away from all of the hustle and bustle.
Saint Commander Casella Ingvar and other Larkinsons would not be joining them this time.
They needed to handle other obligations. They suddenly had to take care of a lot of work now that the Larkinsons intended to enter her into circulation.
As the shuttle under escort entered the large and relatively spacious hangar bay of the Tortuous Scream, Ves, his bodyguards, his cats and the rest of his immediate family slowly exited.
The Larkinsons that had already been assigned to the enormous battleship had already formed up into ranks.
Their predominantly red-and-white uniforms were styled differently than what Ves and others were accustomed to, but this was a nice touch that set them apart from the other Larkinsons.
As Ves continued to look around, he could immediately feel as if he had stepped into an alien warship that was only hastily converted to human tech.
The dimensions did not match. Alien tech openly operated alongside human tech, and not always in a harmonious fashion.
The layout of the Tortuous Scream was also relatively unfamiliar to red humanity. The alien battleship possessed a vertical deck layout. This contrasted from other starships that preferred horizontal layouts.
Ves was sure that a lot of Larkinsons would struggle to understand this layout and be able to navigate themselves to the right positions.
After the short greeting ceremony complete with music finally wrapped up, a well-dressed man in a fancier officer's uniform slowly walked up and bowed.
"Welcome to the Tortuous Scream, Patriarch Ves Larkinson. It is an honor to host you and your family on this partially converted alien ship. I am High Captain Gilbert de Raanvanchas-Larkinson, formerly a citizen and retainer of the Dermont Ancient Clan. Although I do not have any practical experience with serving on a bona fide warship, I have studied ahead and earned many of the necessary certifications on how to operate the weapon systems."
That was not as difficult as it sounded. The Tortuous Scream originally boasted a lot of cannons, yet that did not stop her from falling into the hands of the Larkinson Clan.
However, Ves had made the deliberate design choice to rip away tertiary and secondary gun batteries.
Bunkers took their place, offering both shelter and convenience for all of the Larkinsons that would feel more lost in the future.
Ves would be inspecting them soon enough.
"It is good to meet you, high captain." Ves returned the greeting. "If I may ask, what has brought you into my service? The Dermont Ancient Clan is pretty nice. How did you manage to earn the qualifications to captain a big ship like the Tortuous Scream?"
The entire procession began to move towards one of the massive elevators situated further away.
"I have no complaints about my service to the Dermonts, patriarch. They have given me the opportunity to serve on their starships as an officer. I started with a specialization in sensors and communications. I needed to learn diplomacy and relationship management right at the start of my service. Without developing an understanding and good relations with all of the officers in charge of different departments as well as the officers of other starships, friction and misunderstandings can occur. By understanding everyone's stations and responsibilities, I can connect the right people together and communicate with them in a manner that makes them more responsive to different commands."
Ves looked impressed. "It sounds like you were already being prepped for command."
Gilbert smiled in response as he thought back on the good old days. "I was. The Dermont Ancient Clan must have recognized my talent and effectiveness. I received fairly frequent promotions. Each time, I had to learn new knowledge in order to keep up with my expanding portfolio. I was lucky that my ability to find allies and assistants and forge them into a single interest group has succeeded more often than not. Eventually, I realized that a good commander does not necessarily command his troops directly, but instead gives them information and guidelines so that the soldiers can decide their own way forward."
The high captain indeed appeared to be the type that built up a huge amount of social capital and used it in the right moments at the right time.
While Ves felt a little disappointed that the smooth talker of a high captain was lacking in engineering or other technical skills, he understood that he was asking for too much.
Highly knowledgeable technical personnel still enjoyed a distinguished status among the people. "So what made you decide to jump into the Larkinson Clan, Gilbert?"
The high captain faced Ves and briefly evaluated whether he should be truthful.
"Your clan had a vacancy open. I applied and attended many different meetings. I roughly understand why your people are driving these people out. However, such events will lose their novelty quickly. I am gratified beyond measure to make it past a difficult gauntlet that challenged many different people. I thank my luck every night to remind myself of how I managed to enjoy this exalted rank where many others have failed."
Gilbert de Raanvanchas had to possess special qualities beyond the norm in order to remain in charge of the huge warship.
What were his secrets?
"Are you proficient in commanding lots of starships?"
"Yes." Gilbert confidently said. "I may not be the equal of the descendants raised and educated by the Devos Ancient Clan, but I have learned and exercised both squadron command and fleet command."
"That is good news. We already have numerous talents such as Saint Commander Casella Ingvar, but it is best to have alternatives on hand."