Sowing Seeds
The question of hiring retainers was a fairly sensitive topic due to the risks involved.
Hiring a retainer was not as drastic as adopting an outsider into the clan. It was a step up from hiring a regular employee to tend the gardens of the Friedhold Estate.
Ves, Raymond and Ovrin discussed the matter and came to a quick consensus.
Both of the older Larkinsons did not see anything wrong with hiring retainers to fulfill essential roles such as captaining a starship or maintaining the mechs owned by the clan. It was difficult for the Larkinsons to fulfill these jobs themselves. Had anyone heard of a Larkinson becoming a grease monkey?
While it was possible to rely on regular employees for these functions, it was not very wise to do so in most cases.
A nefarious chief technician could subtly sabotage the mechs under his care.
A ship captain might make the wrong maneuver during a space battle that left a ship vulnerable to the enemy.