Chapter 2415: Insistent Invitation Ves had to exercise his Devil Tongue to the limit in the next half hour! Under Master Willix's direct questioning, he could not gloss over the details he most wanted to skim over. He continually had to find creative angles to direct attention away from sensitive matters throughout the session. "The pirates summoned these supremely powerful dark gods…" "Our newly-advanced expert pilots fought against these terrible alien gods and acquitted themselves well for demi-gods. It's unfortunate that they weren't able to hold out against the Nyxian gods after they exhausted their initial breakthrough release…" "Our multiple expert candidates managed to distract one of the enemy gods, the one the pirates call the Inexorable One. They stood even less of a chance against this Avian God than Venerable Tusa, since they only attained a bit of divinity. Their mechs aren't as good and their releases didn't have as much power…" As for explaining what happened afterwards, Ves talked as if nothing about it had anything to do with him and his clan. "The Nyxian Gap is not a completely dark place!" He falsely enthused. "In our darkest hour, we gained the assistance of a friendly god! I don't know who she is or why she decided to lend a hand against us, but it was clear that she is opposed to the dark gods. The divine confrontation that subsequently took place shook the surrounding space and knocked everyone unconscious for some reason." "Including you?" Master Willix pointedly asked. Ves nodded. "Yes. Do you know how powerful those dark gods are? Mortals can't withstand their majesty! While I was a bit better off than most, I eventually missed out on what the friendly god proceeded to do. All I know is that when I woke up shortly afterwards, every god was gone. We won, apparently, and I was not about to let the surviving but snoozing pirates off! I woke some of my people, who proceeded to wake our other clansmen and swept the Gravada Knarlax and other pirate assets before the scum even had a chance to mount a proper resistance!" "I.. see." Master Willix drawled. "How did you conclude that your side has won the battle?" While she retained her composure, it was clear that she did not enjoy the fact that he and the rest of his people conveniently lost consciousness at some point! "Oh, that's simple. When I woke up, none of the gods were present. If the dark gods managed to beat the friendly god, then they would have proceeded to crush us while we were still knocked out. That didn't happen, so I guess the friendly god succeeded." "This 'friendly god' had to face three of her kind. How do you think she won?" "Beats me." Ves ignorantly shrugged. "I guess she's stronger. I think I did feel that she possessed remarkably more strength than any of the dark gods alone. She also looks human, so she probably employed strategy rather than brute force to overcome her enemies. It's a shame she left before I woke. I would have wanted to show my gratitude to her for saving us. Maybe she isn't interested in regular humans." A pregnant pause ensued after he spun this tale. While his words sounded outrageous, he made sure to don a mask that truly believed that the battle proceeded in this fashion. Master Willix frowned while remaining silent. Ves guessed that she was going over the data that he transmitted in her implant. She could also be corresponding with other MTA officials who were paying attention in the background. "I am sorry, Mr. Larkinson, but I find it difficult to believe that 'gods' have interceded on behalf of both sides. Do you have any solid proof of this account?" "We already sent our sensor data and logs to you. Our expert mechs and expert candidates clearly fought against the gods for a time." "The amount of noise in the footage and sensor data is remarkable. The sensors of your ships are very deficient. It is rather astounding how even the surviving vessels of the Penitent Sisters are hardly able to resolve more details." "The Gravada Knarlax focused all of her heavy firepower onto our second-class ships. They correctly concluded that the Penitent Sisters pose the greatest threat. I guess it was hard to leave them alone when it became clear that we converted them all into suicide vessels. We lost all of the combat carriers that carried the best sensor systems without being able to retrieve all of the data they collected." "What about the other Penitent Sister ships?" Ves helplessly smiled. "They're merely logistics ships, and rather low-specced ones at that. The Hexers who exiled the Penitent Sisters didn't want them to get any of the good stuff." "Your Scarlet Rose is a considerably more modern Fridayman vessel, though. I know for a fact that her sensor and scanning systems are quite capable for her class." "She's just a frigate. What can you expect from a ship this small? When those gods appeared onto the battlefield, my ship was already having trouble keeping track of them in battle. Almost everyone fainted except our expert pilots who managed to keep their wits, but they exhausted themselves quickly after expending their strength against these powerful existences." "We would like to interview them." Master Willix stated. "That.. is going to be a problem. They are still recovering from their breakthrough and subsequent battle." This happened to be the truth. Ves did not have to lie about this. While it was possible for expert pilots to recover quickly after they had broken through, each of them overdrafted their strength in order to resist the dark gods. "Please bring them before us as soon as they are fit to talk. In fact, we would like to invite all of you to speak with us more extensively about this battle. Gods or not, this is an extraordinary achievement and one of the few instances where a native mech force has overcome a stronger fleet that is centered around actual warships. We are already dispatching a fleet of ships to receive your forces outside of the border of the Nyxian Gap. We are happy to escort you and your expert pilots straight to Centerpoint." That was exactly what Ves didn't want to hear! He seriously doubted that the MTA would ever want to let him go after confirming that the Larkinson Clan truly welcomed so many expert pilots and expert candidates in its ranks. Ves modestly shook his head and spread his hands. "I am afraid that I have to decline your generous invitation. I have a wedding to catch. In addition, our clan doubtlessly wishes to celebrate our grand victory. People will raise a lot of questions if I am absent. I am sure the public is eager to witness this historic and defining moment for our star sector." While the MTA did not have to pay attention to the public, Ves hoped that their expectations would be able to play at least some role. After all, the upcoming wedding of the Miracle Couple was already gearing up to become a high-profile spectacle involving guests from other star sectors! Master Willix didn't give up that easily, though. "We can hold a much grander wedding for the two of you in Centerpoint. With our support, we can turn your wedding into the most perfect possible occasion. You can also celebrate your clan's considerable contribution to society at the same time. Our Association is willing to organize and fund the events." "That's not entirely appropriate, ma'am." Ves coughed. "My fiancé is a Hexer, and I'm already on the side of the Hegemony. Hosting and organizing our marriage will definitely break some neutrality rules, I'm sure. What will the Friday Coalition think? Those poor Fridaymen will all have the impression that the MTA wants them to lose so that the Komodo Star Sector turns into a bastion of female supremacy as soon as possible. In fact, not just the Fridaymen, but also many other people from other star sectors will begin to think that the MTA is not beneath playing favorites." This was not something that the MTA could easily patch up! One of the biggest reasons why most human states in the galaxy put up with the Big Two was because all of the petty kingdoms and republics were still able to run their societies in their own way if they kept within their boundaries. If the MTA did anything that broke its image of neutrality, a lot of people would begin to think they were better off living under the heel of the Big Two! "Perhaps you may have a point, but we would still like to bring you and some of your men to our headquarters. We can wait until you have your little wedding and victory celebration to transfer you to Centerpoint. We can then properly verify your accomplishments and award you with the merits that you are entitled to. The proof and testimony that you have provided to us so far is not.. sufficient." Ves inwardly grumbled. The MTA really wanted to 'debrief' him and his men in their stronghold! Master Willix even implied that she would hold back the astounding amount of merits he was supposed to obtain. No one was allowed to touch his merits! Seeing that Master Willix was so insistent on this course of actions, Ves decided to adopt a firmer tone. Since persuasion alone didn't work, he felt he needed to employ more tangible means to stop the Association from carting him off to Centerpoint. He relaxed his shoulders and pressed his fingers against each other. His slight change in demeanor was fairly obvious. "I have places to go and merits to earn. I am hungry to explore the greater galaxy. I am sure that Centerpoint is a cozy place for professionals like you, but I'm the kind of mech designer who will go crazy if I stay in a single place for too long. I could have never accomplished so much so quickly if I didn't travel and explore so much. So please, if you want to investigate us, you are free to step aboard our ships and question our men while we are on our way back to the Cinach System." "There are several important people here at Halcyon Citadel who wish to meet with you, Mr. Larkinson. It is not possible for them to leave their posts at this time. These are very powerful and influential people, so it is not wise to snub them. Just get over here already and satisfy our curiosity. We can learn so much from studying the circumstances that led to the advancement of so many expert pilots and expert candidates." She finally revealed the actual reason why the MTA really wanted to get their hands on Ves and his expert pilots. If he was in her place, he would probably issue the same demand! That made it difficult for him to parry this request. One of the main goals of the MTA was to find ways to increase the rate of advancement of mech pilots. The more expert pilots, the better! A larger pool of expert pilots produced more ace pilots, which in turn produced more god pilots, which the MTA was desperately short of! Halcyon Citadel was probably slobbering over the opportunity to present revolutionary research that actually increased the chances of mech pilots advancing to the next rank! Though Ves wanted to retort that the MTA would never be able to accomplish this without his help, he knew the local MTA officials wouldn't believe him. He needed to give them a reason to back off and let him go on his way. He directed a pointed stare at Master Willix. "I would like to suggest a proposal to you, ma'am." "Oh?" She curiously raised her eyebrow. "I suppose your proposal is not a trivial request." "Not at all! I would never waste your precious time. I believe you will be very interested to hear what I am about to suggest." "Well, let's hear it, then, Mr. Larkinson. I am all ears."