Ves had many possible ideas in mind for the Flower Parasol.
However, none of them sounded particularly exciting.
Straightforward material upgrades, like fortifying the umbrella shaft with superdimensional matter, sounded far too simple.
Incorporating common sense tech such as a small azure shield generator bored Ves.
He wanted to do far more with the Flower Parasol than that. He wanted to convert this lottery reward into a masterwork and a living creation that exemplified his craftsmanship.
At the same time, he did not want to go too far and ruin the original mysterious design that enabled this replica of a high-level artifact to possess such amazing thematic abilities.
Vulcan had plenty of ideas on how to straddle the line between both, but his expertise in this particular subject was not perfect.
Much of what he knew about craftsmanship was borrowed from a multitude of artisans who worshiped Vulcan for good luck or to gain his inspiration.
That was great for traditional crafts that had always been going strong such as modern blacksmithing and leatherworking.
However, Vulcan clearly possessed a much more limited understanding on how to work with high-level artifacts because there simply weren't that many people who made them up to this point.
Ves and Vulcan needed to devote time to figuring out how to upgrade the Flower Parasol and turn it into the worthiest gift for Aurelia.
As Ves continued to cycle through ideas, he realized that it would be best if he did not finalize a design too soon.
It would be better if he waited until he arrived at Yernstall and took a look at all of the tech and interesting goods he could buy from the biggest marketplace in the Red Ocean.
Although the Terran Alliance and the Rubarthan Pact had withdrawn themselves from the Red Two's jurisdiction, their trading companies still resided in Yernstall and continued to engage in business as usual, or at least as much as they could do during a time of upheaval.
Not even an event as massive as declaring independence could stop these greedy businessmen from making money!
This was why Ves sought to enlist the services of a brokerage firm in order to help him find useful stuff.
Gone were the days where he needed to enter a shop or warehouse and browse goods in person.
A man of his status could easily order people to do the hard work of sifting through goods and picking out the most interesting — as well as expensive — items that met his criteria out of an ocean of trash.
Ves was sure he would miss out on countless potential treasures if he delegated this matter to others, but he had no other choice.
He was only one person. Even if he resorted to an extreme and used his mechanical avatars to manually visit every shopping boulevard, it would literally take years before he was finished with visiting every mall and boutique!
Yernstall's population density may not come close to matching Bridgehead One's ridiculous numbers, but it still numbered into the billions!
Many of those people had devoted themselves to commerce, so shops were one of the most ubiquitous businesses in the star system. Many people across human-occupied space ventured here to sell their goods or purchase them at a central location.
The amount and variety of stuff for sale had become so insane that many shoppers who did not exactly know what they wanted to purchase easily got lost in all of the commercial chaos.
This was why brokerage firms had risen up like mushrooms. They knew the market like nobody else, and they made a lot of people happy by setting up mutually beneficial transactions. The best brokers also managed to form connections with dozens of powerful and high-status individuals.
Given Ves' status, brokers were falling out of their chairs in order to persuade him to be their client!
Ves did not bother to evaluate them in person. He threw all of this work onto Gavin.
"Find me a broker who has connections to the Hunting Association and is good at sourcing powerful but unusual materials." Ves told his assistant.
Gavin nodded in acknowledgement. "Do you have any other demands?"
"It would be nice if he or she can obtain samples of high-end but obscure tech as well, but this is not too high in priority. You should already have a good idea of what I want, Gavin. I am looking for stuff I can use to upgrade the Flower Parasol in my possession. Power is important, but what I appreciate more is new and interesting features. Do your best to match me with a capable brokerage firm."
"I will get right on it, Ves."
With that taken care of, the Bluejay Fleet continued to venture through space until it finally arrived at the busy central star node.
Just as Ves expected, Yernstall did not lose any traffic due to recent events.
In fact, people had flocked even more to Yernstall as it had become the unofficial capital of the safest colonial alliance of human-occupied space.
Everyone knew that it had become a lot more dangerous to live in the Terran Alliance but especially the Rubarthan Pact these days.
Certain individuals who previously resided in the Rubarthan Pact moved to the Red Ocean Union if they had the ability to move.
A few determined groups and individuals even willing to abandon their foundations in Rubarthan space if they had any, which did not endear them with the people they had left behind.
It was rather shameful for these cowards to run to the Red Ocean Union before the Rubarthan Pact even had time to prove it was strong enough to defend its borders against two major threats, but this was human nature.
In any case, there was another reason why Yernstall managed to maintain so much activity.
"The Cybernetic Empire has sent a delegation of its own trading companies to Sapphire of the Red Ocean." Gavin informed him when the fleet was close to arrival.
Ves raised his eyebrow. "Why haven't I heard of this? The arrival of Cybers looking to conduct business should be big news."
"Nobody publicized it because they are seeking to keep all of the initial benefits for themselves. It is not in their interest to let others in on the action. I only managed to find this out with difficulty by pumping your contacts at Yernstall."
Interesting. From what Ves could surmise, the Cyber visitors did not hail from the government, which meant that they did not directly answer to the government. This gave them a layer of separation from official authority and allowed them to get away with stuff that a direct representative of the Polymath could never dream of doing.
Ves smelled an opportunity to establish a new and fruitful business relationship.
"Do your best to get me in on the action." He firmly instructed.
"I shall do my best." Gavin said. "It would help if you told me what you are willing to offer in exchange. Also, will you be transacting with them on behalf of the Larkinson Clan or as an individual?"
Ves thought about it for a moment. "Tell them that I am primarily willing to obtain advanced tech and knowledge in exchange for my services. I will be looking to do business with them in my own name. The new Larkinson Matriarch is already negotiating directly with the Cybernetic Empire. She does not need me to interfere with the ongoing talks."
"Alright. I shall contact the parties involved and try to gain entry for you. We are late to the party, so do not expect guaranteed results."
As the Bluejay Fleet continued to venture to the inner system where much of the commerce took place, it started to break apart.
The RA and RF temporarily recalled many of the combat carriers and warships that previously accompanied Ves. Now that they entered a stronghold of the Red Two, they might as well service the hulls and apply upgrades when it was convenient.
The fact that Ves and his family already conveyed their intention to stay in Yernstall until they concluded Aurelia's birthday celebration gave the mechers and fleeters valuable time to upgrade and modify hulls like the Red Fleet's Babylon Excavator.