The remuneration issue kept bothering Ves as he tried to get back to designing mechs.

The inquiry from Miles signalled that Ves couldn't keep avoiding his issue. The more he tried to push it away, the more his integrity as a mech designer rose up and made him feel like a scumbag.

Normally, this shouldn't be a big deal. Ves was used to defying his principles when they became inconvenient. He should have been able to brush aside the stock sharing issue, but to his consternation, it kept nagging him while he worked.

His guilty conscience prevented him from working in peace. It seemed that without clarifying this issue to his mech designers, he wouldn't be able to maintain his best state.

He interrupted his work and began to develop a plan. He consulted several people in order to figure out a solution that would placate the demands of his fellow mech designers without giving too much away.

"Ownership in the company is a reward that the founders and leaders of a mech company bestows to mech designers that are useful." Gavin explained his own views. "From what I have studied about the mech industry, it is a custom that has arisen out of a need to retain talent that would have otherwise quit and started their own business instead. When mech designers make the leap from Apprentice to Journeymen, they have gained enough capital to go independent."

Ves nodded as he leaned back on his new floating chair.

Considering the importance of meetings to a leader like him, he took over and furnished a large and spacious office compartment aboard the Spirit of Bentheim.

While he could have held his meetings at his private office at his grand stateroom, he intended to use it as his private sanctuary where not even Gloriana was allowed to barge in at her will.

His new main office not only exuded a lot of luxury, but also offered versatile seating options. He could summon and retract as many chairs and couches as he wanted and alter their configuration in countless different ways.

If he wanted a meeting to go shorter, he could alter a chair so that it became more uncomfortable to sit in over time.

If he wanted his visitors to be more forthcoming, he might increase the comfort level of the chair as well as manipulate the temperature and air composition in order to lower their guard.

He had access to many new features that he never even heard about. After discovering how extensively he could manipulate the environment to his advantage, he felt a lot of admiration for the people who developed these tricks.

When it came to manipulating people, other leaders were much further ahead than him! Compared to their exquisite, subtle techniques, Ves was like a brute. His limited repertoire of bold-faced lying, matching interests and abusing glows introduced way too many loopholes.

"Your situation is different from that of other mech designers." Gavin continued to explain. "You are officially a Journeyman who only advanced a couple of years ago. You haven't designed too many mechs since then. Yet are you really comparable to other young Journeymen such as Gloriana?"

Ves immediately shook his head. "That's absurd. Ordinary Journeymen, whether they are second-class or third-class, can't come close to leading a mech company that is able to pull hundreds of billions of hex credits in profit on a monthly basis! An average Journeyman in the old Bright Republic should be able to earn a few billion pre-inflation bright credits in the same amount of time, which amounts to around a hundred million hex credits. As for second-class Journeymen, their earning potential is higher, but they face much stiffer competition. Perhaps a good one is able to earn a couple of billion hex credits a month."

"There is a lot of fluctuation in the industry, boss. There are many Journeymen who don't excel in anything attractive or flashy. Their earnings may be just a tenth of the figures you've just mentioned. Only a minority of Journeymen earn at or above those sums."

As Ves did some quick research on the galactic net, he found that his assistant was right. "If that's the case, then the Journeymen earn below the mean may be better off working under the umbrella of a stronger mech designer. They're not capable of creating star products, but they are more than sufficient to add some strength to a collaborative mech design project."

"Those Journeymen are still good in their own way, though. If the conditions offered by a mech company aren't attractive enough, then they won't be motivated to stay. In order to retain these valuable talents, a mech company must offer one or several attractive conditions. These can range from guidance by a Senior or Master to access to an expansive distribution network."

"What about giving away shares?"

"It's a custom that is often used when leaders can't offer enough attractive conditions, which is often the case when you aren't a Master. As a Journeyman yourself, you shouldn't be able to retain other Journeymen. You are technically equals on paper. However, we both know that's not the case. The LMC's situation is special. Not only is it an arm of the clan, but every mech designer who works for you are Larkinsons as well. There is much less mobility. Combine that with the fact that the LMC earns at least a hundred times more money than a typical Journeyman-led mech company, the value of a share in your company is completely different."

"You look like you have a plan, Benny."

"I do." Gavin nodded but hesitated a little. "It's a bit risky, though. It entails breaking customs. While I believe you have the capital to do, it will definitely affect your image among your subordinates."

That didn't bother Ves too much. "I'm not looking to win a popularity contest. When it comes down to it, I am the LMC. Even if every other mech designer quits, I can still sustain the same level of success as before. My specialization is the basis of our current level of success. No one can take that away from me. Not even my wife."

He spoke with an abundance of confidence. He wasn't as dependent on help as other mech designers. As long as his bargaining power was high enough, he didn't have to go out of his way to flatter other mech designers!

As Gavin outlined his plan, Ves quickly decided to adopt it. He commanded the LMC's Legal Department, Accounting Department and other related departments to draft a new set of contracts and rules.

It only took a few days to finalize the plan. Once everything was set, Ves entered the main design lab and gathered every mech designer together.

Gloriana, Juliet, Miles, Ketis and every other Brave and Erudite mech designer assembled before him. They all appeared curious at what he had to say. The last announcement happened just a few days ago when Ves revealed the name of the factory ship.

Though a lot of people in the LMC worked on the plan, Ves hadn't informed any of his mech designers yet. Even his wife was left in the dark.

"Fellow mech designers." He began. "The Living Mech Corporation has come a long way since I founded it back on Cloudy Curtain. From selling a bunch of variants from a shabby workshop to expanding our reach across the star cluster, our growth has been phenomenal. I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish as the founder, chairman CEO and lead designer of the LMC. Under my leadership, my mech company will continue to prosper in the future. Do any of you doubt my predictions?"

"No!"

Mech designers weren't stupid. Perhaps some didn't possess much sense for business, but that didn't stop them from observing how the LMC continued to expand at a rapid pace.

Even if there was a limit to this growth, the mech company's current growth trend showed no signs of plateauing anytime soon!

Ves smirked. There was a very good reason to open his announcements with those boasts. He aimed to increase his stature within the LMC as much as possible. This also had the effect of diminishing the standing of the other mech designers, which was very crucial to what he was about to reveal.

He waved his hand. A projection appeared into view. It depicted the basic hierarchy of the Design Department.

"As you can see, our Design Department has grown as well. In the beginning, it was just me. Over the years, my team has slowly expanded up to its current form. As time goes by, this organizational chart will only grow more expansive."

He pointed his finger at the projection, causing two distinct names to glow. They rose up from the level of assistant mech designer and reached the height of lead mech designer.

Ketis and Miles both looked expectantly at this change. Their names had risen!

Ves smiled at the crowd. "It is possible that we might welcome two additional Journeymen in the future. When that happens, this organizational chart becomes a little confusing. Just because my name is on the same level as the other four doesn't mean our importance to the Design Department is the same. I am ultimately in charge here by virtue of my ownership in the company and my contribution to the LMC's success. Back when it was just me and Gloriana, it didn't matter too much if we were on the same level. However, now that we are starting to welcome more Journeymen in the fold, we need to refine the hierarchy at the top. For this reason, I have decided to create a new position in our department."

In the organizational chart, a new band appeared above the height of lead designer. Ves' name automatically rose up to occupy this new band by itself.

"From today onwards, I am the principal mech designer of this department." Ves announced with a steady voice. "This is not a change. This is a recognition of the actual reality within our Design Department. If you disagree, please stand up now and voice your objections."

The authority he exuded along with his existing standing within their circle suppressed every other mech designer. There was no way any assistant mech designer would rise up against his move!

The only possible mech designer who could have stood up to Ves was Gloriana. She had always considered herself to be an equal partner to him even though her design philosophy hadn't contributed too much to the LMC's success as of yet. However, her pride might compel her to object.

Ves stared at his wife. He could sense some of her emotions. She looked intrigued, surprised and even a bit offended.

However, she eventually schooled her face and held herself still. Thankfully, she didn't intend to spoil his power play.

That brought him a lot of relief. His plan wouldn't proceed as smoothly if Gloriana kicked up a fuss.

After sending her a brief smile, he faced the rest of the crowd again.

"Very well. Now that you have unanimously agreed to my ascension to principal mech designer, I intend to make another change. More specifically, as we welcome more Journeymen and lead designers to the fold, we need to expand and formalize our reward structure in order to ensure that every lead designer is adequately compensated for their work."

He waved his arm to the side, summoning a second projection. This time, the projection displayed a document that outlined the rewards the lead designers of the LMC were entitled to. The heading of the document announced the name of this new remuneration scheme.

"Let me introduce you to the Exemplar Plan!" Ves announced with a smile. "This will be our new standard for remuneration going forward. We have customized this plan according to our specific circumstances. Since the conditions of our mech company are very different from the norm, the standard solutions won't work."

Ketis couldn't hold her curiosity any longer. She raised her arm. "What is the Exemplar Plan exactly?"

"Good question! At the heart of it, the Exemplar Plan is a profit-sharing scheme for lead designers. Any mech designer who qualifies won't receive any shares in LMC, but they are entitled to receive cash dividends equivalent to a certain level of ownership in my mech company. In other words, as long as you become a Journeyman, you will immediately begin to earn billions of hex credits!"

His entire audience looked shocked. They never expected Ves to roll out such a scheme!