The Mech Touch

The temporal anomaly that gulped the Nova Krakow and froze a third of the fleet served as a big wakeup call to the Larkinson Clan.

The Nyxian Gap was too dangerous and unfathomable to everyone. Since anomalies had a higher tendency to emerge at places with a high concentration of energetic exotics, powerful sh.i.p.s such as the Scarlet Rose and the combat carriers of the Scarlet Rose were at greater risk than others!

This meant that if the chance of a random vessel disappearing was one percent, then the chances of the Scarlet Rose suffering the same fate was at least three percent!

Despite the risks, Ves did not opt to leave his personal ship. The weaker vessels in the task force might offer him a greater chance of survival against inexplicable anomalies, but they were much more vulnerable against pirates!

What if a group of pirates fired a warship-grade laser cannon at the ship he was on? A third-class light carrier that boasted relatively frail armor such as the Redfeather would instantly crumble!

In contrast, the much smaller Scarlet Rose might get heavily damaged depending on the power of the attack, but would more than not survive a direct blow.

Since the Nyxian Gap was infested with pirates, Ves figured that protecting himself against material threats was a lot more important than mitigating his exposure to the unexplainable!

The strange incident left a scar in the hearts of the Larkinsons. In order to restore everyone's morale and make them willing to attack Ulimo Citadel, Major Verle visited each and every ship and held a speech to the crew in person.

Though this was a very time-consuming endeavor, his speeches nonetheless managed to get the members of the task force to focus on what was important.

"Will you let the missing clansmen down by running away like a coward? The Nyxian Gap will not break us! If you want to become a true Larkinson, then summon your courage and prove you have the guts to laugh in the face of danger!"

Even though a number of scientists still worked on the futile task of deciphering the anomalous effects that had engulfed the fleet, fewer and fewer people paid attention to the disappearance of the Nova Krakow.

Through Major Verle's deliberate manipulations, even the Avatars of Myth began to direct their attention to the future rather than the past.

This was exactly what Ves wanted. There was no benefit to worrying over the Nova Krakow and her crew.

While many of his clansmen believed that there might be a way for them to pull the Nova Krakow from whatever temporal hole they dropped in, Ves knew that the Avatar light carrier had long moved out of reach.

The strongest indication for that came from the Larkinson Network. When Ves held the Larkinson Mandate and attempted to find the clansmen who crewed the Nova Krakow, the bonds that connected them to the Golden Cat had snapped.

Nyaaa.

Goldie looked truly upset at the disappearance of hundreds of Larkinsons. She knew each of them for months or years, but now the anomaly had moved them out of reach, if not wiping them out entirely!

"I know, Goldie." Ves sighed as he caressed the embossed surface of the book. "Chasing after riches is always accompanied by danger. No one, not even us, can avoid these threats."

Nyaa nyaa?

"In an ideal reality, we wouldn't need to take so many risks. Sadly, we don't live in that reality. There are great threats in this galaxy. If our Larkinson Clan wants to thrive, we will inevitably come into conflict with others. We need strength in order to survive these clashes. What we are doing here in the Nyxian Gap is vital to our future success."

He had already harvested plenty of gains from this excursion. The loss of a couple of hundred loyal and committed Larkinson mech pilots and other personnel was regrettable, but within his range of tolerance.

As the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan, Ves actually had a duty to safeguard the lives of his fellow clansmen. However, he had made it clear from the start that those who became a part of the Larkinson Clan would not be enjoying comfortable lives.

Ves promised plenty of rewards to those who actively took part in this dangerous excursion. This was the compensation that he was willing to pay in order to obtain the fighting strength needed to accomplish his goals.

Therefore, he felt no guilt for leading hundreds if not thousands of clansmen to their deaths. The loss in talent and manpower pained him quite a bit, but as long as his gains exceeded his losses, everything was worth it in the end!

Of course, Ves knew that voicing his true thoughts would not go well with his clan, so he kept them firmly to himself. Only Goldie understood his rationale, and though she was a lot more sentimental than him, he had raised her with the belief that sacrifices were always necessary to achieve ambitious goals.

Per angusta ad augusta!

As the living embodiment of the Larkinson Clan, the Golden Cat ultimately abided by its motto.

Personally, Ves felt that her reaction to the disappearance of the Nova Krakow was too sentimental. While he wanted the ancestral spirit of the clan to be compassionate, that did not mean he wanted her to grow soft and weak!

"We live in a violent, wartorn reality." Ves taught her. "Human space alone is filled with conflicts between humans. The Komodo War that is causing millions of citizens to die each day is just one of many instances of instability. Anyone caught in the vortex of one of these confrontations must have the strength to defend themselves. We are no different. If we do nothing, we will remain weak, allowing anyone strong enough to wipe us out to the last man. This is why I'm working so hard to progress my career and strengthen my clan. As long as we join the ranks of the powerful, we will have a lot more capital to survive!"

From the Age of Stars to the Age of Mechs, a lot of spacefaring powers emerged in human civilization. Many of them shot up like rockets, but few of them avoided crashing after the passing of a couple of generations.

While Ves did not spend too much time on performing his duties as a clan patriarch, he still took the time to study the rise and fall of various organizations.

What he admired the most were states and organizations that managed to withstand the test of time. They managed to achieve continuity through good times and bad times by displaying exceptional patience and planning.

For example, the Greater Terran United Confederation used to reign over the entirety of human civilization, but had now devolved into a diminished state that had to abide by the strictures of the MTA and CFA.

It was no secret that the Big Two wanted to get rid of the first-rate superstates. Yet even after suffering great damage from the Rubarthan Rebellion and the defection of a lot of warfleets to the CFA, the Terrans still survived to this day!

Many people eagerly learned from the examples set by these ancient and enduring powers, but few managed to succeed.

This was because everyone's circ.u.mstances were different. What worked for the Terrans and Rubarthans might not necessarily work for others.

What Ves merely did was to study some of the successes and derive some good practices that he could easily apply to the Larkinson Clan.

One of the most important lessons he derived was that suffering setbacks was inevitable. The Terrans failed to overcome the Rubarthans and the Big Two surpassed them both.

Perhaps in the future, the great Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance might succ.u.mb as well. Their continued survival depended upon whether they could adapt with the changing times.

If even the most powerful organizations of human civilization couldn't guarantee their continuity, how could Ves remain complacent about the continued survival of the Larkinson Clan?

For this reason, he consciously wanted to push his recently-founded clan to its limits. Heading into the Nyxian Gap was just one of the ways he came up with to stimulate his clansmen. He wanted to prevent them from growing stagnant in a phase which was very conducive to rapid growth.

As he explained all of these theories to Goldie, the young ancestral spirit reluctantly accepted his rationale.

Nyaaaa.

"I don't want to destroy our clan, Goldie." He whispered to the intangible spirit as he stroked her back with a spiritual projection. "However, you should know that creation is often accompanied by destruction. Without tackling any challenges, how will our clansmen be able to exceed their limits? The upcoming battle will be our final and most dangerous test."

All he cared about right now was cracking open Ulimo Citadel in order to harvest a huge amount of loot and merits. Once he accomplished this feat, Ves immediately intended to leave the Nyxian Gap as fast as possible.

As for the various goals he set such as searching for his parents, rescuing Sokok Reyva, learning the mystery behind the spiritual vortex raging in the imaginary realm, Ves had long thrown such considerations away.

The Nyxian Gap was filled with unknowns, many of which bore a lot of relations to spiritual phenomena. If Ves had the time and leisure to stay, he didn't mind going deeper in order to study some of these secrets.

His time happened to be in short supply, though. He not only had to make it back in time for his wedding, but also had to acc.u.mulate tens of millions of merits.

While Ves recognized that defeating pirates who employed taboo weapons was a great way to earn a lot of merits, he knew very well that the Larkinson Clan had attracted too much notoriety in the region.

The Nyxian pirates who dared to defy the Big Two weren't afraid of Task Force Predator! As long as the locals banded together, even the Penitent Sisters might not win!

Aside from that, the inability to defend against the onset of anomalous hazards had also frightened him a lot. Even a habitual risk taker like him did not wish to linger any longer in the Nyxian Gap than necessary!

Since Ves firmly pushed the task force to attack Ulimo Citadel, every clansman in the fleet worked hard to prepare for the tough battle ahead.

With thousands of mechs, elaborate defense matrices and a huge arsenal of taboo weapons, there was no way that Task Force Predator would win while suffering negligible casualties this time!

Therefore, Major Verle and every mech commander frequently met together in order to plan their upcoming assault. Even Commander Chancy of the Penitent Sisters dropped some of her airs in order to voice her own concerns during these meetings.

As for Ves, he temporarily dropped his design duties in order to help with the preparations. He claimed the mech workshop of the Scarlet Rose to himself and fabricated a number of products.

A lot of valuable exotics and materials kept pouring into the Scarlet Rose. In return, the ship disgorged some containers that held something of greater value.

While all of these preparations took place, the mech pilots of the various mech forces each took part in many simulated drills.

Ever since the Mirror Raiders transmitted a lot of data on Ulimo Citadel and the pirates that defended it, the Larkinsons finally understood a bit of what they were up against.

Many of these simulated battles did not go well. As long as the Nyxian pirates made use of just a portion of their superweapons, the Larkinsons easily suffered catastrophic losses!

The initial results proved that if the Larkinsons wanted to defeat their foes, they had to take these superweapons off the board right away.

"It's difficult, but not impossible!"

Ves often glanced in the direction of Ulimo Citadel during this time. No matter what, in order to advance his ambitions, the base must fall!