The Larkinsons who survived the calamities on Prosperous Hill VI received a warm welcome once they reached the heart of the Larkinson Clan.
Though the progress of their return had stalled a bit due to the dubious space worthiness of some of their biovessels, the entire Golden Skull Alliance moved forth in order to receive their clansmen, both old and new.
Ves had already recruited thousands of new clansmen while he was on the surface. Each of them had pledged an oath to join the Larkinson Clan, but they never really developed a good idea of what they were getting into while they were all stuck on the surface.
All of that changed now that they beheld the massive fleet that would become their home now. Though the former Lifers among them felt rather disturbed by the abundance of metal objects and lack of organic machines, they had already received plenty of forewarning about this situation.
Anyone who made the decision to leave their state had to grapple with the reality that biotechnology was not ubiquitous in the rest of human space. They had to do their best to adjust to the galactic standard and be able to stay cool even when surrounded by cold, hard metal.
Fortunately, there were a few sights in the expanded fleet that gave the Lifers some comfort.
The Larkinson Clan had not been idle while its fleet lingered in the Life Research Assocation. Even when its patriarch remained inaccessible, the various leaders who stayed behind continued to work on fulfilling the priorities they set before.
They not only continued to recruit a lot of mech pilots and biotech experts, but also managed to expand the fleet by acquiring a small number of quality biovessels.
It was easier than usual to acquire them during the civil war. The devastation that had taken place on planets like Prosperous Hill VI not only led to massive loss of life, but also ruined a lot of companies. So many of them went bankrupt that a considerable number of their bioships were put up for sale.
Though the difficult times had put a premium on the price of starships, it was not that difficult for the clan to outbid the locals who were all earning less due to the war.
General Verle did not go crazy, though. He only decided to acquire a total of five organic combat carriers and ten organic support ships. This was a relatively hefty flotilla to normal people, but trivially small to the Larkinson Clan.
Of course, these sub-capital ships were not enough to impress the Lifers.
The Golden Skull Alliance already possessed a handful of capital ships from the beginning. The Spirit of Bentheim, the Indigo Tremor, the Hemmington Cross and the Antonio Cross all served as the anchors to hundreds of sub-capital ships.
Yet compared to a month ago, the fleet welcomed two new void giants to the fold.
After trading away the valuable but risky Auralis that the Larkinsons had managed to capture from the Fridaymen, the clan received two second-hand but decently serviceable capital ships in return.
The Graveyard turned into the new flagship and headquarters of the military wing of the Larkinson Clan.
Since she came into operation, she not only housed the Military Bureau, the Hall of Heroes, the Mech Pilot Management Bureau and several other military institutions of the clan, but also entered the Larkinson fleet's battleline due to her prodigious defensive properties.
Of course, all of that mass on her hull caused her to become quite ponderous, but there was little that anyone could do about it. The lumbering defensive ship single-handedly dragged down the average sub-light travel speed of the entire expeditionary fleet!
The only consolation was that her lack of mobility only mattered in realspace conditions. As long as the fleet primarily engaged in FTL travel, then she did not have to rely on her barely adequate propulsion systems to traverse distances.
This meant that the fleet would not suffer any slowdowns as long as it hopped from star system to star system without bothering to approach any planets.
Ves cared a lot about this because he did not want his journey to the nearest beyonder gate to suffer any further annoying delays.
Of course, the thousands of Lifers that had joined the Larkinson Clan only spared a brief glance at the Graveyard. Though she looked impressive in her own way, there was no getting around to the fact that her exterior consisted of scrap! The Lifers who were most repellant of modern metallic aesthetics couldn't stand the sight of this practical but messy starship!
Instead, their eyes drew towards the Dragon's Den. Though the large capital ship was only half-organic in nature, she was clearly designed with Lifers in mind. Designed and built by a local shipbuilding company, the vessel once sailed the stars under the flag of the Life Research Association.
Strangely enough, the capital research and beast transportation vessel entered the second-hand market after her former owners got caught with performing illegal experiments that violated several taboos.
That seemed to happen a lot in the Life Research Association.
In any case, the Dragon's Den now became the property of the Larkinson Clan, and the former Lifers among the clansmen eagerly embraced the ship that resonated the most with them. Though her hull incorporated plenty of metal components, her exterior was largely made of flesh and bone.
This made the Dragon's Den rather easy to maintain outside the LRA as much of her most critical elements utilized conventional ship parts that could be procured in any modern second-rate state.
As for the organic components that were mostly visible on the surface of the bioresearch vessel, the Dragon's Den contained a modest biogrowth facility. Though the production capacity was not much, it nonetheless allowed the capital ship to grow additional biomechs, bioship parts and other assorted bioproducts.
This was quite useful to Ves! Though he did not intend to adopt biomechs on a wide scale, he was not willing to give up on them entirely after he discovered that organic components were exceptionally compatible with his design philosophy.
Besides, he also had some future projects in store where the capability to grow organic products was indispensable. He already started to grin when he thought about combining those ambitious experiments with the serum in his hands.
"Wow. Is that going to be our new home?"
"You betcha. I told you that the Larkinson Clan welcomes anyone. We're an open-minded bunch of people. We even make room for different faiths."
"I'll miss my home, but I wouldn't want to miss this opportunity. I'm about to travel to an entirely new galaxy!"
When Ves surveyed the overall sentiment among the survivors who were departing their home planet, he was glad to hear that the Lifers didn't express much regret for their decisions.
The ruined planet they had just left played a large role in that, but Ves also sensed genuine excitement at the prospect of traveling to an entirely new region of space.
Ves needed his clansmen to maintain their enthusiasm to travel and explore. He did not want to raise a bunch of lazy colonists who intended to stop and plant their flag at the first dirtball they came across that looked nice.
His experiences on the surface of Prosperous Hill VI only strengthened his determination to avoid getting shackled to fixed locations!
"Planets are bad. They can't move and enemies can easily pin you in place. Ships are good. Ships can move and can easily run away in order to avoid enemy pursuit."
While he understood the appeal of starting a new colony that could eventually grow into a prosperous state, the downsides were far too great to him. As a mech designer with trans-galactic aspirations, he felt it was beneath him to get too attached to any state or piece of territory!
As the survivors continued to admire the impressive fleet, the refugee vessels eventually split up and approached different ships.
Most of them converged towards the Dragon's Den. Among the refugees that Ves had managed to pick up on the surface, a considerable proportion of them consisted of valued talents. These doctors, geneticists, implant surgeons, beast designers and even low-ranking biomech designers were about to join their counterparts which the clan had already recruited prior to the outbreak of the Supreme Revolution.
Even though the Larkinson Clan had yet to meet its ambitious recruitment goals, Ves did not worry about lacking suitable biotech experts anymore!
Only some vessels proceeded further ahead. A handful of transports slowly approached the Spirit of Bentheim and landed in one of her hangar bays.
When Ves stepped out with his bodyguard, he finally felt he had returned home. The air of his own ship along with the familiar glows of the LMC mechs stored nearby caused him to relax for the first time in a very long time.
He comfortably walked forward, luxuriating in the feeling of wearing more normal clothes. Back when he was still stuck on the surface, he did not dare to shed his Unending Regalia for fear of losing his life due to a moment of incaution.
He even slept in his armor!
Though he had designed his combat armor for the possibility of long-term use, it was not comfortable by any means. Humans weren't adapted to wearing the same bulky suit of armor for weeks and months on end. Now that he had returned a place he considered to be a lot more secure, he was finally able to regain a sense of normalcy.
"Ves." A female voice uttered.
His wife awaited his return. She had dressed up a bit this time. She wore a frilly purple dress with a long shawl and other accessories that accentuated her femininity.
As soon as Ves came close, they hugged and kissed each other with no regard to what kind of impression they made to other clansmen.
A light floral scent wafted in his nose as he luxuriated in the warmth that he had missed nearly every day. Though his relationship with Gloriana wasn't always smooth, they were still bonded by love.
"Never do that again." She growled even as she tenderly stroked his smooth-shaven cheek. "Do you know how much I have suffered while you were gone? Each day, I had to face the prospect of hearing about your demise. Do you know how many people got killed in Veoline and the surrounding regions? Every time, I feared that you would be one of them. Don't put me in this position again!"
Gloriana even pinched his smooth and hairless cheek to express her dissatisfaction.
"Honey! Don't do that!" Ves removed her soft and small fingers from his aching face. "I made it back. Shouldn't you feel happy about that? Let's leave aside the nitty gritty details for later. For now, I just want to enjoy your company and take a long break."
While husband and wife reacquainted themselves with each other, their pets also reunited.
"Miaow?"
Clixie, who was wearing a cute pink bow above her head, looked upwards with a curious expression.
Lucky wasn't moving under his own power this time. Instead, Ves supplied his pet with a small lifter platform which the lazy cat used as his portable bed.
"Meeeeooooowwww…"
Clixie jumped on top of the platform and began to lick Lucky's hard face. None of it helped the gem cat recover faster, though. Only time could restore his energy!
Many Larkinsons returned to the expeditionary fleet. A small number of Glory Seekers and Crossers also returned to their respective berths.
The Infinity Guards, who hadn't been able to play much of a role during this crisis, were still under contract, so they performed their protective duties as if nothing special had happened.
"Your orders, sir?"
"You know the plan. Let's get out of here!"
After abandoning the biovessels that the Larkinsons had 'borrowed' from the surface, the Larkinson fleet flew straight to the nearest Langrange point and transitioned out of the star system pronto.
Even though several government authorities wanted the Larkinson Clan to stay in order to cooperate with some investigations and inquiries, there was no way that Ves would agree to that!
"This marks the end of our visit to the Life Research Association. What happens next in this stupid state is none of our business. Let's leave this place behind as soon as possible before something else blows up in our faces!"
