As the design of the Amaranto's new weapon became functionally complete in a surprisingly short amount of time, Ves and his fellow collaborators only had to optimize it before they could complete the project. One of the difficulties of doing so was that the new luminar crystal cannon made use of extremely expensive materials. Ves did not limit the budget of this weapon design project too much. He made liberal use of expensive high-grade exotics and tried to maximize the amount of phasewater he could stuff into the cannon without making it too unstable. This made it unviable for him to build a prototype and forced him to make do with testing the performance of the new weapon in simulations. The MSTS provided him with a surprisingly effective simulation environment. It was capable of testing the basic performance characteristics of the new energy cannon with a high degree of accuracy. This was mostly because the MSTS already possessed countless pieces of data on the performance of many different luminar crystal weapons. The only issues that the MSTS had trouble with was reproducing the effects of newer and less familiar phenomena. The MSTS could not accurately produce results on blessed weapons because no such items existed in the past. Ves did not possess a database that could be used to accurately model and extrapolate the performance of different blessed weapons. This was not a new occurrence to Ves or any other mech designer that worked on high-ranking mechs. So much about these powerful machines defied established natural laws so the only way to verify a lot of features was to build an actual copy. Ves could only rely on his confidence in his latest innovation to carry this weapon design project forward. Still, both Gloriana and Master Benedict believed that the final product would be able to present revolutionary results once it was made! "The estimated firepower and penetration characteristics of this new energy cannon are so exaggerated that it may cause alarm once it is put into use." Master Benedict told him one day. "What do you mean by that?" The projection of the Master Mech Designer gestured at the latest iteration of the energy cannon design. "According to our latest estimates, our upcoming weapon has the potential to become so effective at its job that it can almost match the firepower of an ace mech. In other words, it can threaten weaker ace mechs by piercing through their Saint Kingdoms and high-quality armor." Ves briefly smirked. "That doesn't sound like a bad outcome to me. It is unlikely that the Amaranto can strike an actual ace mech, though. If the target is anything like the Neo Amadeus and the Mars, then the enemy machine moves way too fast to guarantee a successful hit. We need to impair the mobility of the hostile ace mech before the Amaranto can come into play." "Be that as it may, the MTA has always paid close attention to the destructive potential of any weapon. The mechers may be willing to tolerate weapons that bend or break the limits in the case of high-ranking mechs, but they are only willing to extend so much leeway a second-class expert mech. If this new energy cannon allows a mid-tier expert pilot such as Venerable Davia Stark to come close to matching the offensive power of an ace pilot, then that will spark alarm within the halls of the Association." Ves relaxed his posture. "Oh, that? Don't worry, Master. I already thought about this problem beforehand. I already shared my plans to Master Dervidian of the Transhumanist Faction. I have a decent relationship with him so he gave me his blessing without too much fuss." That surprised Benedict. "He let you off too easily. I would have expected the MTA to exert more scrutiny towards this weapon design project." Ves smirked in response. "You may not have paid attention to this, but the MTA officially recognizes me as a senior contributor of restricted technology, specifically with regards to luminar crystal technology. That means I have much greater leeway to try out different stuff related to this tech. I just have to make sure to abide by the conditions that the mechers have specifically imposed on my work." Master Benedict didn't buy this excuse. "The key innovation of your upcoming weapon isn't limited to luminar crystals. It can be applied to more than luminar crystal weapons." "Hahaha!" Ves laughed. "That may be true in the future, but for now my blessed equipment concept should be treated as an extension of luminar crystal technology." "That… is not an intellectually honest statement, and you know it, Ves." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 "Didn't you advise me to cozy up with the MTA so I can get away with more stuff? I am still working on it. I need to buy more time right now so I can seek out a new patron that can offer stronger support to my research. I can make a better case for myself if I can present dramatic examples like our upcoming energy cannon. Nothing excites mechers more than introducing them to powerful new tech!" Seeing that Ves already took this potential problem into account, Master Benedict did not pursue this matter any further. As the lead designer of this project, Ves bore all of the responsibility for its success and failure. It would be him who would attract all of the heat if anything went horribly wrong. p-A- n-d-A-n-0-v-e-1、(c)om Just as the weapon design project neared the point where Ves was about to finalize it, the expeditionary fleet had reached an important waypoint. "We've arrived in the border region, sir." General Verle spoke to Ves over the comm. "Not only that, we have entered the Norbit System, which is an important and highly frequented stopping point for many pioneering fleets that come from the same direction as us. It is highly advisable for us to travel to the inner system and visit the temporary trading post that a coalition of highly entrepreneurial pioneers have established." "Oh?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "What is this trading post that you're talking about?" General Verle transmitted an image that depicted a large and well-defended commercial space station. What was special about this space station was that it was not a single enormous space construct. Instead, Ves could clearly see that the overall structure of this floating space station was made up of five different capital ships that had been merged together! "This is Pentahull Station, a temporary hub that is engaged in commerce and entertainment." Verle introduced. "It is owned and managed by the Pentahull Coalition. I think you can already guess how it works. The coalition regularly searches for regions that have become hotspots and moves its entire fleet to a traffic node before setting up its semi-modular space station." pand(a-n0vel.c)om Ves was impressed by the guts of the Pentahull Coalition. This clever business model was anything but cheap! Not only that, but operating a huge space station in dangerous territory exposed a lot of expensive assets to potential bad actors! It took a huge amount of military might to protect such a valuable asset from sabotage and destruction. When Ves looked up the star system, he did not exhibit any surprise when he saw that the Pentahull Coalition had a lot of mech forces at its disposal. The most powerful member of this coalition even had an ace pilot on retainer! The presence of a Saint was enough to make every visitor honest, including the Golden Skull Alliance. Ves could already see from the plot that over thirty separate fleets had approached Pentahull Station. Of course, the fleets weren't allowed to park close enough to pose a threat to the temporary space station, but there was no doubt that their owners were already taking advantage of the available services. "Is it necessary for us to visit this space station as well?" Ves asked. "It is not strictly necessary, but it would be helpful for us if we do, sir. Director Calabast and her Black Cats have issued a strong request to approach the space station. They can gather a large amount of intelligence from this site, much of it will be relevant for our subsequent actions in the border region." Ves consider the situation for a moment. "While that sounds helpful, we already formed our own strategy to handle the search for the missing lordling. Is it worth it to delay our journey to allow our agents to collect more gossip on the ground?" "It's not just about that, sir. Our fleet could also use this opportunity to obtain rare materials that are unique to this region. We can also give our clansmen the chance of enjoying shore leave. It is fairly safe for them to visit the space station. The same goes for you and your family. If you want to expand the perspectives of your children, then I think it would be a good idea to bring them along, provided we can convince the Pentahull Coalition to make more security guarantees." He did not expect General Verle to make this kind of a suggestion. Ves immediately uneasy at the thought of visiting an environment that was under the control of others. It was fairly fine for Ves to reside on a planet as well-developed and orderly as Davute, but Pentahull Station did not exactly give him the same impression. The place looked rather sketchy in his opinion. "I'll think about it." Ves replied. "If the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan are okay with it, then go ahead and approach the space station. I suppose if Lord Pearian Yoril-Tavik hasn't been found yet, there is little harm in taking a small detour." The Golden Skull Alliance soon decided that it was worthwhile to visit this temporary trading hub. One of the main reasons for visiting Pentahull Station was because it was a popular place to get in touch with other pioneering groups. Weaker parties could band together and form a larger fleet before heading into dangerous waters. Even if the Golden Skull Alliance had no intentions of joining forces with unreliable pioneers, it would still help with reducing suspicion if Ves and the others succeeded in their mission. Though Ves mostly spent his time on finalizing his ambitious new weapon design project, the expeditionary fleet swiftly moved to the inner system before arriving at a location that was isolated from the space station and other visiting fleets. The Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers quickly sent out their first batch and transports to Pentahull Station. No major problems took place. The Pentahull Coalition maintained a proper and robust security force that made sure that everyone, including the members of the coalition, abided by the house rules of the space station. This gave the visitors a lot more confidence that no one would mess around in this place. Seeing that Pentahull Station was both safe and welcoming to its visitors, Ves seriously considered the suggestion to take his little family on an excursion to the curious space station. No matter how much effort the Pentahull Coalition put into maintaining order, it was still undeniable that its greatest asset was a product that fit with the rougher parts of the new frontier. The vibe, atmosphere and culture of Pentahull Station was substantially different from that of Davute or Karlach! Ves did not want his children to grow up in insular environments where they might develop the mistaken assumption that the rest of the cosmos was just as prim and proper as the Davute or the expeditionary fleet! He decided to share his idea with his wife. Her response was predictably explosive. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! PENTAHULL STATION IS A HAVEN FOR SCOUNDRELS AND DESPERADOS! IT IS ALREADY BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU WANT TO GAMBLE WITH YOUR LIFE AGAIN, BUT I WILL NEVER ALLOW YOU TO DRAG OUR CHILDREN INTO YOUR ESCAPADES!" Ves let out a sigh. "You're being unfair to Pentahull Station and its visitors. No second-class pioneering group is made up of lowlives and bottom feeders. They wouldn't have been able to earn enough MTA merits to enter the Red Ocean if that was the case. I'm sure it will be fine to pay a brief visit as long as our forces are closer at hand." "LIAR!"