Up until this point, Ves perceived no appreciable benefits from becoming a 12th tier galactic citizen. Every Journeyman Mech Designer who recently broke through was eligible to become one when they made their pilgrimages to one of the sector headquarters of the MTA.
Though the mechers over there spoke about how noble and important it was for them to be recognized as proper citizens of the human galactic community, the situation was a lot different outside of their ivory towers.
Pirates and enemies did not pay any heed to the fact that Ves was a galactic citizen! His 12th tier citizenship did not give him more protection or granted him any meaningful rights. At most, his name was put in the huge list of people who were of some significance and couldn't be lumped in with the names of other space peasants.
A jump by two tiers might sound impressive in other circumstances, but what kind of benefits did this bring? Ves had little regard for symbolic rewards.