The departure of Brutus Wodin and his charity case didn't affect the Larkinson Clan. Ves felt almost just as secure as before.
Certainly, the emergence of an enemy expert pilot would definitely inflict a lot of pain. Without one of his own constraining such a powerful actor, a single powerful mech could wreak untold havoc in his ranks.
While the Larkinson veterans and the Flagrant Vandals received training on how to resist the aggression of an expert pilot, it was easier said than done to put it into practice!
The natural awe and fear towards expert pilots was a huge detriment to the effectiveness of such massed tactics.
Cases where a single expert pilot managed to disintegrate a force consisting of a thousand mechs weren't unheard of in the galaxy!