As the main fleet of the Golden Skull Alliance silently fell out of the public eye, the distance to the Pima Prime System became increasingly smaller. The offensive operation that had always seemed far away to the Larkinsons became a lot more acute as the days counted down! The mech pilots trained with considerably greater urgency than before, especially when the fleet was about to enter the territories claimed by the Friday Colonies. Not just the Larkinson Clan, but also every other party that signed up for Operation Saturday Marketbecame a lot more serious about the upcoming action. Once the different attack fleets crossed into enemy space, the chance of encountering hostile Fridaymen forces became a lot greater. Perhaps the intruding forces might very well end up fighting a battle before they could even reach the Pima Prime System! 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶 Fortunately, one of the advantages to attacking a port system like Pima Prime was that the attackers did not have to travel so much through the territories of the Friday Colonies to reach their destination. They only needed to get moderately close enough before they could leap across many more light-years than normal in order to arrive at the doorstep of the Gauge Dynasty's more important colony! At this stage, speed and security mattered more than secrecy. The different Hexer fleets that previously split up and followed all kinds of obscure routes rapidly converged with each other in order to form a large and unstoppable hammer that was clearly aiming to smash one of the key star systems of the Friday Colonies! Many important leaders paid close attention to the reactions of the Fridaymen. So far, the actions that the Fridaymen had made in response to all of the weird and alarming movements did not fall outside of expectation. The different coalition partners retracted most of their patrols and raised the alert level of all of their colonies. The most reassuring sign that everything was still going according to plan was that none of the coalition partners lent their forces to their rivals. None of them wanted to be the unlucky victim that the Hexers chose to beat up with their increasingly more massive fleet! Lending forces to their rivals was pure foolishness to the coalition partners. If close friends such as the Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group did not even agree to cover each other's backs, then the chances were nil that they would offer their aid to the Gauge Dynasty! "Division is the greatest weakness of the Friday Coalition." Calabast contemptuously sneered. "If the Friday Colonies was managed by a single central state authority, then our opponents would have been a lot more proactive about tracking us and forcing us into a confrontation by a united fleet. We would have never been able to pass through hostile space so easily." "I guess what they say about the Friday Coalition splitting apart is becoming increasingly more true." Ves smiled. "Maybe so, but I doubt that the state will disintegrate entirely. They need each other too much at the moment. None of the coalition partners including the Gaugers and the Konsus benefit from seeing their united front fall apart into a handful of smaller and more vulnerable polities. They have to worry about a lot more external pressure than Hexer aggression if that happens." "Do you think we are on track of being able to take the Gauge Dynasty by surprise?" Calabast confidently nodded. "The signs are optimistic so far. Pima Prime should still be the most unlikely target as there are so many easier targets in our reach. It's not rational for us to risk an attack on the crown jewel of the Gauge Dynasty. The Hexers haven't even dispatched any of their own ace pilots for this operation. They have even exposed the current whereabouts of their ace pilots through various means in order to lull our opponents in a false sense of security." "That is good to hear." "You don't sound convinced, Ves." He did not hide his unease from his strategic partner. "I am not used to everything going so well. The Fridaymen are not sloppy pirates or crazy cultists. Their upper layers are comprised of competent and rational individuals. Their decision-making during the Komodo War was excellent. Good leadership was one of the most important reasons why they vanquished the Hexers in the end. To see them behave so passively is… suspicious. I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop." "It is good that you maintain a cautious attitude. Overconfidence helps no one. That said, our Black Cats have done everything they can to monitor the movements of different Fridayman mech units. So far, none of them have shown any signs of departing from their garrisons. The time frame to reinforce Pima Prime and the other core colonies of the Gauge Dynasty is closing within days. After that, it doesn't matter anymore if our actual intentions have become exposed." Fear of accidents caused the Larkinsons to become a lot more cautious as of late. The clan had suffered plenty of bad experiences in the past, so the clansmen were determined not to get caught off-guard this time! However, not everyone in the expeditionary fleet maintained the same attitude. While the Crossers remained professional, the mood among them was a lot more combative! Under the leadership of a powerful ace pilot, the Crossers did not fear their opposition as much. Each of them had faith that their Saint along with the amazing ace mech that was named after as wargod would vanquish any foe! While this sentiment caused the Crossers to become even more eager for the upcoming battle, Ves thought it was dangerous to assume the fight was already won before it started. There were no guarantees that Patriarch Reginald could actually defeat or stall the strongest individual mech stationed in Pima Prime! Since the outcome of the entire offensive operation largely depended on how well the Cross Patriarch could do his job, Ves found it important to hold at least one serious discussion with the Crossers about this topic. One day, he boarded a shuttle that took him to the Hemmington Cross. Just like the capital ships of the Larkinson Clan, the flagship of the Cross Clan had received a major overhaul that improved all of her major systems. She looked considerably thicker and more massive than before. The Crossers had invested much to clad the large fleet carrier with a thick layer of exterior armor plating. When combined with a massive upgrade to her sub-light propulsion system, the Hemmington Cross was able to withstand much more punishment while still being able to accelerate forward as much as before! "The Hemmington Cross will definitely need all of this reinforcement." Ves guessed. She was too big of a target. Not only that, but her symbolic value was great as well. As the ship that carried the name of Reginald's impressive father, the Hemmington Cross served as the eagle standard of the entire clan! Once his shuttle touched down in the hangar bay of the upgraded fleet carrier, Ves and his small escort followed a familiar route to one of the confidential meeting chambers of the vessel. Though the Cross Patriarch had not arrived as of yet, the second-most important member of the Cross Clan greeted Ves with a friendly gesture. "You have come." "Hello, Master." Master Benedict Cortez smirked. "You don't need to call me by my title, Ves." "I am calling you this as a mark of respect." Ves replied as he took his seat at a table. "After all, I am still a Journeyman. I still have a long way to go before I can realize my design philosophy like you. The more I become exposed to high-level mech design, the more I understand how impressive it is for people like you to have made this massive leap." Just the spiritual strength that Master Benedict had gained from his recent ascension was enough to make Ves sigh in admiration! Both the quality and the quantity of Benedict's spirituality had increased by several orders of magnitude! The difference between a Senior and a Master was so great that the latter could probably interfere more directly with reality! Of course, their ability to do so was not nearly as strong as that of high-ranking mech pilots. Their influence and reach was much wider, though. It might even be universal, though Ves had no proof of this assertion. Despite Benedict's dramatic increase in power and capabilities, the former Skull Architect still did not put on any airs in front of Ves. "I wouldn't have been able to grasp my opportunity to realize my design philosophy without getting exposed to your work. As far as I am concerned, you are at least 50 percent responsible for helping me find the right way. Also, don't forget that your mech business is much more successful than mine. Our sales volume cannot even come close to yours." "That's because my expertise and that of my colleagues in our Design Department are a lot more practical for mass production and mass adoption than yours." Ves pointed out. "Your strongest innovations are your Magma Vein System and your Energy Bridge System, but both of them are so high-end that there is no way you can implement them onto standard mechs." The Magma Vein System largely relied on expensive materials and high-quality components to raise the energy management system of a mech to a dazzling height. The energy bridge which Master Benedict referred to as the Endex System these days was even more demanding. The easiest way to implement one was to make one out of the skull of an expert pilot or the biological remains of another powerful extraordinary organism. This was a highly impractical demand! Fortunately, the main reason why Benedict was able to advance to Master Mech Designer was that he had worked long and hard to develop substitute materials and components that could achieve the same effect. While Master Benedict succeeded in creating a version of the energy bridge that was made completely out of inorganic materials, the cost of all of the exotics and the complexity of production made it far too difficult to mass produce the initial version of his Endex System. The newly-ascended Master probably had to devote decades of research in order to optimize and increase the affordability of this powerful innovation. "I don't have the time to spare on increasing the affordability of the Magma Vein System and the Endex System." Master Benedict dismissively said. "Only the better mech pilots can make the most out of its benefits. Giving weaker mech pilots access to these systems is a losing proposition. It is much more efficient to design tougher mechs and arm them with stronger weapons with the same amount of money." "I suppose you have a point. This is a much more foolproof approach." Ves nodded. "What will you be working on instead?" "I have accumulated a large amount of ambitious ideas and concepts over the decades. I did not have the strength to explore them in the past, but my circumstances have changed. I cannot say what I will be working on next, but I will probably be able to introduce new technologies that are just as impactful as my previous two innovations in the following five to ten years. This is a brand-new era for me. When you reach this level, you will find that you can make a lot more of your dreams come true. The only major difficulty is deciding which projects to work on. Just because you can accomplish more doesn't mean it is worthwhile to pursue them. It is not unusual for Masters to spend a century on a single research project." "I see." Ves already knew of at least one Master Mech Designer that committed so much to a massive research project. While the rest of human space moved on, Master Moira Willix still remained stuck in the Komodo Star Sector.