The Golden Skull Alliance finally made its way out of the Vulit Central Star Node!
This was a new beginning for the people who originally came from the galactic rim of the Milky Way. Though the Larkinsons and their allies had all become fascinated at the fact that they entered a brand new galaxy, the exceptional degree of civilization and development in Vulit gave them the illusion that they were still close to home.
It was only after the Golden Skull Alliance truly left the star system managed directly by the Big Two that everyone soon realized that they had entered the true new frontier.
The basic rules of the Big Two still applied throughout the dwarf galaxy, but everyone understood it was the pioneers who made most of the laws.
As long as they possessed enough power, they could implement their own rules!
Some organizations used this power to build their own states. The citizens and associates of the first-rate superstates had already claimed large swathes of territories in order to expand the influence of the Terrans and Rubarthans in the Red Ocean.
Anyone entering these regions of space had to submit to the regime of whatever Rubarthan principality or Terran ancient clan was in charge!
The Golden Skull Alliance made sure to steer clear of these territories. Neither the Larkinsons, Glory Seekers or Crossers were eager to join one of these two super influences.
Though the benefits were great, the prospect of getting ordered around by arrogant Rubarthan princes or spoiled Terran dignitaries did not sit well with people like Patriarch Ves and Patriarch Reginald!
The Red Ocean was quite big and offered more than enough room for people of many different inclinations. There were still many different zones and regions where unaligned pioneers could roam without worrying about encroaching on the space claimed by the big traditional powers.
Of course, the absence of strong powers also led to a lot more conflicts between smaller parties!
As the expeditionary fleet continued to journey deeper into the Red Ocean, the Larkinsons frequently encountered remnants of past battles.
Mech wrecks, derelict starships and occasionally even entire debris fields floated in the cold of space, but never for too long.
Human scavenging fleets zealously lurked around in many corners of space. They immediately descended on the aftermath of a ruinous battle whenever the original combatants had already left!
The sheer amount of scavenging fleets the expeditionary fleet encountered was mind-boggling.
The Golden Skull Alliance had only just stepped out of Vulit and already encountered so many signs of past battles. Each of them had been fought rather recently if there was still debris left to scavenge.
The Larkinsons would have been a lot more reluctant to head even deeper into the Red Ocean after witnessing all of these sordid sights. The further they traveled away from civilization, the greater the likelihood of getting ambushed!
The actual situation was different. The people of the Golden Skull Alliance were still tense, but did not exhibit too much fear.
The expeditionary fleet frequently encountered other pioneering fleets along its route. Whenever the latter spotted the Simile Halifax traveling in the midst of the Larkinson fleets, they always made sure to keep their distance!
The deterrent of this single MTA frigate was incredibly effective and never failed to keep other humans on their toes.
This allowed the Larkinsons and its allies to relax their guard and focus their attention on other priorities.
Right now, the Larkinson Clan’s main preoccupation was completing the reorganization of its expanded fleet. The mech legions also had to sort out a lot of different affairs after they all stationed their mechs in different carrier vessels.
The Wild Torch was a particular focal point to the Larkinsons. Her new crew were still in the process of learning and mastering her advanced tech and functions. The fleet carrier possessed a lot more depth than the Gorgoneion and could even operate independently if needed.
Still, the 36 combat carriers that he and his fellow Larkinsons had won in various tournaments also deserved a lot of attention!
Each of them were capable of hosting 60 mechs, which was the standard capacity for heartland-level combat carriers.
Aside from that, several of them diverged quite a lot from each other. Each different ship class was designed and built by different shipbuilding companies.
The 20 combat carriers that the Larkinson Battalion had won in the G-Aena League were all identical, but there were many other instances where a single combat carrier had to be operated in a substantially different way than the rest!
The Larkinsons adapted as best they could. No matter what oddities the shipbuilding companies had developed over the course of their existence, every human starship still shared a lot of traits. The crew quickly managed to figure out the basics, but they needed a lot more time to master all of the individual nuances of every ship class.
During these days, many new Larkinsons who had recently been recruited in the clan began to acclimate themselves to their new homes.
The most prominent among them were the new four Journeymen who would soon undertake one of the most important responsibilities of the Larkinson Clan.
Due to their great importance, many Larkinsons eagerly welcomed them aboard their ships. The different mech legions all understood the importance of establishing strong connections to the mech designers who would soon design their new combat machines.
Currently, a pair of female Journeymen looked gobsmacked at someone who looked like a genuine priestess!
“Let me get this straight.” Janassa said in a disbelieving tone. “The strange capabilities to achieve an extremely high degree of accuracy and target prediction is not based on an advanced targeting system or even any technological component for that matter. It’s instead derived from ‘nudges’ that is mentally passed on by your ‘god’ through the medium of your mech.”
“Not just any mech. A living mech!” Priestess Samandra Avikon piously claimed! “Each of the living mechs of the Eye of Ylvaine are machines of faith. They respect and revere the Great Prophet. It is because of their unquestionable belief that they are graced with the ability to hear his gospel! Whenever a believer is in need of deliverance, our prophet will always reward the faithful. Would you like to hear the sermon of Ylvaine yourself?”
“Uhhhh…”
“If you wish to become like our patriarch and design mechs that are blessed with divine power, then you MUST familiarize yourself with our scriptures. Come! Let me lead you to our prayer compartment aboard this ship. I will personally teach you the secret of designing mechs guided by Prophet Ylvaine’s foresight.
Janassa and Tifi helplessly followed the enthusiastic priestess to a compartment that had been transformed into an indoor church!
Though the pair of Journeymen had already heard that the Larkinson Clan wasn’t completely secularist and accommodated other beliefs, they underestimated their importance!
“Hey.” Janassa quietly transmitted to her bosom friend through their private implant connection. “Do you buy the story this priestess is selling?”
Tifi adopted a contemptuous expression. “These Larkinsons are more crazy than I thought. Why does the patriarch even accommodate all of this nonsense? Mechs blessed by gods? This is not a credible explanation! There has to be a logical and rational explanation why these powerful heavy artillery mechs are consistently able to achieve near-perfect accuracy in different battles. I bet the secret lies within the neural interface. The Larkinsons may have added something to it that makes these mech pilots significantly more accurate than normal.”
Though Janassa and Tifi respectfully listened to Priestess Avikon as she explained the history and development of the Ylvainan Faith, they found the stories difficult to stomach.
When the woman began to praise the Bright Martyr, the mech designers simply couldn’t take it any longer.
“Are you serious?” Janassa frowned. “You claim that Patriarch Ves Larkinson is some sort of ‘Bright Martyr’ that is no less important than Prophet Ylvaine?”
“He is our guiding light and our savior who can bring us out of the coming dark! He is the trusted friend and confidant to the prophet in all of his incarnations! He is the god whose hands can lift you into the heavens and turn his mechs into gods!”
There was only so much nonsense that Janassa and Tifi could take.
The rest of the tour in the prayer compartment proceeded in a daze.
They only managed to regain their wits and their interests in the Ylvainans once they approached a couple of dormant Transcendant Punisher mechs.
The heavy artillery mechs not only looked heavy and imposing, but also carried an inexplicably pure and sacred presence.
“So this is one of these glows that all of the Larkinsons are raving about.” Tifi commented.
The two newcomers couldn’t help but become impressed by what the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan had accomplished. They had never heard of any mech designer who could implement something comparable in mechs!
“Ves Larkinson is the real deal.” Janassa said with a touch more respect. “He didn’t win the Wild Brawl Bowl for nothing, though that swordsman mech designer is also impressive.”
The Eye of Ylvaine allowed their guests to study the Transcendent Punishers up close.
The two women generously took advantage of this offer. They brought one of them to a small workshop and partially dismantled the heavy mech.
They inspected every part they came across for any oddities that might explain where its glow and mystical capabilities came from. They even access the complete design schematics that they recently gained access to after they received their new credentials.
None of these studies provided the two with clear answers. The secrets of the Transcendent Punishers remained inaccessible to them despite inspecting a copy from top to bottom!
“Do you think… the Ylvainans may be right?” Tifi asked.
“Hah! As if! I don’t believe any of their claims. There has to be an explanation for all of this. We’re just missing it because we don’t know where to look. Once we meet with our new boss again, we should ask him the truth. We need to understand where these glows and other capabilities come from if we want to collaborate with him in the future. We can’t remain in the dark!”
By the time the two Journeymen ended their first day with the Eye of Ylvaine, they sat in their guest cabin questioning everything they had learned today.
“Well, it shouldn’t matter too much.” Janassa eventually shrugged. “With our specialties, we’ll mostly be assigned to melee mech design projects. We won’t get involved in the design of ranged mechs. Since these Ylvainans are so good at target acquisition and tracking, they should pilot ranged mechs exclusively.”
Her friend nodded. “From what I’ve seen so far, the Eye of Ylvaine is shaping up to be an excellent artillery outfit.”
“Mech legion.”
“Yeah, mech legion.” Tifi said. “Whatever these Ylvainans rely on to achieve such stellar accuracy, this is clearly a proprietary method of the Larkinsons that can grant their forces an unquestionable advantage in any battle. It’s quite impressive how well the Larkinsons have managed to protect this valuable method for so long. In hindsight, it shouldn’t have been a surprise we found nothing during our inspections. It would have been too easy if we managed to identify the source of all of that predictive targeting in a single pass.”
“Maybe we should try again tomorrow and look more closely at suspicious parts.”
“Let’s do that, then. I won’t leave this ship until I get to the bottom of this secret!”
Janassa and Tifi wasted three more days on fruitless investigation before they finally gave up on this matter. They left the Eye of Ylvaine in disgust and chose to visit the Swordmaidens next.
The Swordmaidens were secularists, at least. They should make more sense, right?
“Ahhhh! Why did that woman just cut off the arms of those trainees!? Are you women crazy?!”
“Relax.” Commander Sendra smirked as she led the two new Journeymen around. “We’re used to it. None of these injuries are fatal. See? Our medical bots are already in the process of putting the arms back into position.”
“Even if that’s the case, why would you even do something so barbaric?!”
“We are warriors. When we go out and fight with our lives on the line, we need to be able to bear the pain and death that comes with every battle. If our trainees can’t even bear the loss of a limb, they’re not strong enough to become our sisters!”
Madness… This was madness. The entire Larkinson Clan was filled with crazies!
