Just as predicted, the expeditionary fleet safely exited the Smiling Samuel Star Sector without any further incident.
Though the Golden Skull Alliance eventually declined to accept an escort from the armed forces of the Empire of the Lost, the exiled humans did not miss the upheaval that took place across the border.
The Lost mobilized a lot of reservists and readied its mech armies and other military assets for anything that might happen in the coming period of turbulence!
The spreading war tension also affected the other states that lived next to the Vulcan Empire. If the dwarves ever decided to lash out at its neighboring humans, the latter were determined to defend their homelands!
Though many people didn’t have a choice where they lived and where their hearts were rooted, even those who had the choice to emigrate to a different state still chose to remain loyal to their roots.
Now, these brave and patriotic citizens were answering the call of duty and taking up arms in preparation for whatever the dwarves did next.
It might be that this was just an overreaction and that the Vulcan Empire would eventually settle down again. That would have made these mass mobilization orders a huge waste of time and money.
However, the threat posed by the Vulcanites was so great that few leaders wished to take the chance that their precautions were unnecessary.
Slowly but surely, the drums of war began to beat in the Fermi Star Sector! If the Crown Uprising wasn’t enough, now a dominant element within the Vulcan Empire was actively agitating to attack the humans!
No matter how foolish or ill-advised such a notion sounded, the fanatical believers in the true dwarven god were not known for their rationality. Even if declaring war against every tall folk in the star cluster was mad, the Vulcanites could still do a lot of damage with their large and well-equipped mech armies!
It was in this troubling climate that the culprits that sparked this tension returned to the Amswick System.
The Lost were already in the process of reinforcing the defenses of the strategic port system.
Military vessels belonging to different mech regiments poured into Amswick on a constant basis.
Multiple construction vessels were erecting defensive platforms and supply bases throughout the star system.
The inhabited planets all went on a war footing as the cities were being transformed from commercial and industrial centers into hardened fortresses that were supposed to become strong enough to withstand orbital bombardment!
A lot of foreign and neutral trading ships hurried to complete their business and leave this developing hotspot with great haste!
“Those crazy dwarves always talked about conquering the rest of the star cluster, but how was I supposed to know they’re being serious? I’m sorry for breaching our contract, but I would rather lose my money than my life!”
The local economy underwent a huge upheaval as lots of traders changed their minds and pulled out of Amswick and the Empire of the Lost.
Fortunately, the government anticipated that this might happen one day. The administration offered plenty of support to its local businesses and also provided large incentives for traders to supply essential war goods such as raw materials, ammunition and mechs.
Where there was money, there was greed. The flow of trade no longer centered around consumer goods. Instead, luxuries such as organic food and toys made way for nutrient packs and spare parts.
“It’s all your fault, by the way.” Gloriana commented as she and her husband enjoyed a sober breakfast in their grand stateroom. “If the Lost ever do something to us, I know who to blame.”
“Miaow.”
“Meow.”
Their two cats briefly lifted their heads above their food bowls to nod in agreement.
“Hey, how could I know the Vulcanites are mad enough to defy the MTA?! No one in the galaxy ever does that!” Ves defended himself.
“Hmph!”
“Besides, have you looked at the news media lately? The Lost are celebrating us, not blaming us! We’re the first humans in a couple of decades who have managed to beat the Vulcanites. We’ve managed to break their spell of invincibility!”
Even though the Larkinson Clan showed a lot of impressive tricks that many powers wished to grasp, it was not worth the risk to force the issue.
Just as Minister Shederin predicted, the Golden Skull Alliance turned into heroes. The huge civilian population of the Lost had become fans. The local humans thought that the Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers deserved a reward for giving the Vulcan Empire a black eye!
The foreign minister also went out of his way to warm the clan’s relations with the Lost. Though Shederin still had to abide by his patriarch’s desire to maintain distance, a friendship was not an alliance. The smooth operator managed to cultivate numerous new relations with individuals in high standing who have always obsessed about taking back the territories they lost in Smiling Samuel!
Obtaining the backing of the war lobby of the Empire of the Lost was a huge step forward! The only price the Golden Skull Alliance needed to pay was to provide a detailed and accurate accounting of the Battle of Fordilla Zentra. The Lost were highly interested in learning more about their potential future opponents, so they demanded a lot of information about the dwarven mechs and the tactics they employed.
The more information the expeditionary fleet provided, the more gratitude it received from the local humans.
Another guarantee of safety was the contracts the Golden Skull Alliance signed with a handful of large and reputable mercenary organizations.
Each of them were large, trans-cluster security companies that could easily dispatch at least half a mech regiment each. They all signed on to protect and escort their clients for up to half a year or until they reached a gate system.
“It doesn’t matter whether the thousands of mercenary mechs are reluctant to fight any large private organizations or government forces.” Minister Shederin informed Ves. “The presence of the mercenaries are meant to discourage fights from happening in the first place. The security companies they hail from are large, well-connected enterprises that enjoy powerful backing and maintain a lot of friendly ties to important institutions.”
Ves nodded in understanding. “I’ve worked with security companies before, so I’m already aware of this dynamic. Do we have to sign so many expensive contracts at once, though? Chief Minister Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson has already been complaining to me about the financial hole you’ve dug by spending hundreds of billions of hex credits!”
The foreign minister remained unapologetic. “You wanted to prioritize safety over frugality, so we did as you instructed. The risk of betrayal or noncompliance is rather significant if we entrust our safety to just a single security company, but if we pull in half-a-dozen of them, the chance that all of these mercenary organizations are willing to collude against our best interests is virtually nil. I have carefully selected them to make sure that they are based in different regions and maintain different relationship networks. That also makes it more expensive to bring them over. Don’t forget that you usually get what you paid for. I think a successful entrepreneur like you should understand this concept.”
“You don’t need to patronize me.” Ves responded with a grim expression. “Besides, I’m not sure how good I am at business after hearing how many times our financial position keeps growing weaker.”
Raymond became increasingly more concerned about all of the debt the clan was accruing. Certainly, the LMC was still as profitable as ever, but the lack of new commercial products and the lackluster sales of the Sanctuary Treatment Editions resulted in stalling revenue growth.
This was quite inconvenient as the Larkinson Clan kept spending more money every month!
Though all of these expenditures were necessary in order to start off his true grand expedition on a stronger footing, when Ves saw that the debt his clan owed to various creditors kept moving closer to the psychological barrier of 10 trillion hex credits, he began to get really concerned!
Ves was not without his options though. If the clan truly required a short-term cash infusion, he could always adapt one of his exclusive mech designs such as the Ferocious Piranha IB to the commercial mech market.
In fact, he was already planning to suspend his rule of not selling any of his second-class mechs once he reached the Red Ocean.
No matter what storm he ignited in the Yeina Star Cluster, Ves would already be hundreds of thousands of light-years away!
He could even turn his former stomping grounds into his experimental playground once he became assured that none of his mistakes would come back to haunt him in the Red Ocean.
Minister Shederin just happened to bring up their plans for the future.
“It would help my work immensely if you told us what you have in mind after our fleet has completed its repair and reorganization efforts.” He said as he gazed at Ves right in the eye. “Whatever goal you intended to pursue in the Vulcan Empire is not attainable anymore. The Vulcanites do not welcome us and the growing war tension has increased the danger factor of this region by an order of magnitude. Our strength is miniscule compared to the main players. There is no rationale for us to get caught up in their game any further. The most prudent course of action is to resume our journey to the beyonder gate and leave all of our troubles from this old galaxy behind.”
“…”
This wasn’t the first time someone advised Ves to forget about the Vulcan Empire and just move on with his life.
“I haven’t made a decision yet.” Ves slowly responded. “I can’t give up my goal just like that. Not yet. Our fleet isn’t going anywhere until the emergency repairs on the Graveyard have concluded, so I still have plenty of time to consider my options. I’ll get back to you in a few weeks about this topic.”
“You’re leaving a lot of people hanging by remaining indecisive.” The Purnesser warned. “Our clansmen and our allies are all left with uncertainty while you keep weighing your choices. At some point, their patience will run out. Many of us chose to follow you because they believe you can lead them to prosperity. Once they believe that you are about to do the opposite, then…”
Ves irritatingly gestured his hand. “You don’t need to remind me. There are greater issues at stake here that are not convenient for me to explain. Let me just say that I will not choose to stay here any longer once I am certain that I have exhausted all of my options.”
The two separated after a fruitless discussion. Ves refused to give up on his goal even though his prospects of attaining it had shrunk to a miniscule possibility.
He was aware that it wasn’t logical for him to remain stuck at this juncture. Timpala Steel had to be an extremely rare substance for it to be valued so highly by the Mech Designer System, but he was pretty certain that there had to be other sources of this substance out there. Humanity definitely came in touch with it once for the System to refer to it with a clear human-sounding name.
Years had gone by without any progress on his Supply Missions. Ves could easily wait a couple of years or decades more. The materials the System demanded were too high-end for a Journeyman like him to get in touch with. He suspected he had to advance to Master before he could even begin to inquire about them in the open!
Ves crossed his arms. “Am I being too hasty for my own good? Maybe I should learn to give up for once and just wait for another opportunity. It’s impossible that the Smiling Samuel Star Sector is the only place where I can find a chunk of Timpala Steel.”
Human civilization was vast and it was about to expand even further. The Red Ocean concentrated so many powerful and well-connected pioneers together that he might be able to obtain what he sought through trading with their backers!
“Why should I go through all of this trouble to dig up treasure when I can just pay someone else to do the heavy lifting instead?”
This was how mech designers truly obtained what they wanted. Ves just thought it was a pity to abandon this opportunity to complete a Supply Mission early considering that the System went out of its way to set it up during his last Mastery experience.
Yet he couldn’t deny the dangers were too great this time. The game had escalated to the point where individuals were no longer able to exert any influence anymore!
Only the major factions and power players of the surrounding states were strong enough to play the game going forward. While Ves had thought about working together with them, the risk of getting used only to be tossed away was too great. His previous experiences with politicians and official institutions had burned him too many times for him to put any trust in the likes of the Empire of the Lost!
Maybe it was best if he learned his lesson and acknowledged his current reality. He couldn’t keep endangering others in order to satisfy his greed.
His thoughts briefly lingered on his unborn daughter. Just the thought about dragging her in the middle of another battle caused him to feel pained!
“I’m about to become a father soon. Perhaps… I need to learn to let go.” He whispered to himself.
