Although Lanie Larkinson only reached 164th place in the Davute Star Tournament, the Larkinson Clan was already pleased with the performance of other champions. There was no suspense about Ketis. She unquestionably became the undisputed champion of the Ultimate Warrior Tournament. Other Swordmaidens and Heavensworders also attained high rankings, but there was no one who dazzled the audience more than the only swordmaster in their midst! To be honest, Ketis was disappointed by the caliber of opponents she fought against. She held a certain expectation of meeting other extraordinary warriors. Human space was enormous. A lot of different heritages had formed over the millenia and it was not outlandish to think that there were more unusual fighting methods than traditional swordsmanship. Unfortunately for Ketis, no warrior had come up to her and tried to pummel her with fists of steel or axes that could cut through the fabric of space. As long as she held a sword, even if it was just a practice blade that was deliberately blunted in order to prevent fatal injuries, there was no human warrior that could stand against her might! It had only been a week since she had wielded the legendary Heavensword and slaughtered over a thousand pescan soldiers. How could these ordinary mortal champions possibly stand a chance against her transcendent might? Ketis even tried to make the fights more thrilling for herself by completely suppressing the enhancements bestowed by Sharpie, but even then her transhuman physique and limit-breaking swordsmanship were too much for others to bear! This completely robbed her of any satisfaction and sense of accomplishment for winning the tournament. Of course, she did not show her true feelings to anyone. She was conscientious enough to look pleased and enthusiastic for being able to vanquish over many powerful opponents, many of whom dedicated even more lives to becoming the ultimate martial warriors. She had done her part to bring glory to the Larkinson Clan. Once the Larkinsons returned to the Cat Nest with their new trophies and prizes in their hands, the festive atmosphere brought by the founding festival slowly came to an end. The Davutans had already partied long enough. They needed to get back to reality and restart their old lives, though much had changed in the past two weeks. For one, the formal establishment of the Colonial Federation of Davute had tied together a vast amount of people who previously treated each other as separate groups! Even though a lot of trade and friendly exchanges had already taken place between the Davute System and the surrounding colonies, it was only now that the residents of both places truly came together as one people. A lot of Davutans needed time in order to adjust to this mental shift. The colonial administration also had to implement a lot of legal and bureaucratic changes in order to fully integrate the outlying colonies in the same power structure as the colony of Davute. Fortunately for the politicians and administrators involved, the governmental structure did not insist on pursuing too much centralization. A federation was made up of many smaller territorial units. All of the colonies and provinces under the sway of Davute largely retained their existing ownership and governance structures. None of the founders who invested a lot of money and resources into building their own planets had to completely change their methods of ruling their colonies. Perhaps Davute would slowly be able to lessen the differences between its main port system and every other star system within its borders, but that would probably take decades if not centuries. None of that had anything to do with the Larkinson Clan. Now that Ves and many other clansmen had done what they could to show off their strength, they needed to get back to their duties. The Davute Branch under the leadership of General Ark Larkinson and Branch Director Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson continued to increase their cooperation with the remarkably accommodating institutions of the colonial government. The main branch of the Larkinson Clan resumed its efforts to prepare for the resumption of the Trailblazer Expedition. The clan invested a lot of effort into upgrading and refitting their starships. The clan was a lot wealthier and more endowed with resources than before. Even if there was a persistent shortage of orbital drydocks that could help with reinventing existing starships, the clan could still conduct a lot of basic internal work as well as EVA operations. The Larkinson mech pilots went back to training and polishing their skills. Their tournament runs had broadened their horizons and helped many of them obtain crucial insights that could elevate their combat abilities to next level. Ves meanwhile had to address a bunch of different issues that had been piling up on his desk during the founding festival. For example, the MTA finally made contact with him after investigating the circumstances surrounding the Davute pocket space. Surprisingly enough, the Association did not send a familiar to him this time. Ves expected to meet with the likes of Jovie Armalon or Master Vayro Goldstein of the Survivalist Faction. If the Survivalists didn't come, then the MTA should at least send a member of the Transhumanist Faction such as Master Termaneo Dervidian. Instead, the mechers only sent out a single investigator. The man wearing the uniform of the MTA might occupy a respectable rank, but he was not a mech designer or anyone tied to the true core power structures of his organization. Ves didn't take the investigator seriously and just treated the interrogation session as a chore. "We know that you have landed in a cell as soon as you and the people around you were pulled into the abandoned pocket space. How did you manage to leave your cell and appear in the corridors when all teleportation devices had become ineffective?" Ves rolled his eyes as he sat on the opposite side of the table. "Trade secret." "Can you be more detailed? We are aware that you carry one of our emergency single-use teleportation devices on your person, but they are not rated to overcome barriers at the level of the transphasic walls of the alien prison." "As I said, it's a trade secret." Ves affirmed. "I have a right to remain silent and protect my secrets, especially if they are related to my mech design work." "None of your mechs were pulled into the pocket space." The investigator stated. "So? My answer will still reveal too much proprietary knowledge that will expose my methods. I do not think that the MTA has an inherent right to coerce other mech designers into coughing up their trade secrets. Who would want to work with your Association if people like you have a habit of stealing the hard work of others?" The investigator could not press any further after this. He did not possess the authority or the mandate to press harder. Perhaps the man would have been able to intimidate ordinary mech designers by using his exalted status as a member of the Association, but Ves had long lost his awe and worship towards the MTA. The mechers were unquestionably powerful, but they were hardly united and fully aligned with each other. The MTA was so huge a lot of different political factions and interest groups divided all of the power and resources amongst themselves. Ves hadn't figured out whether the investigator belonged to any notable faction or group within the MTA, but it appeared that he was just an ordinary schmuck who had been told to do a simple job without any special instructions. His questions were annoying, though. "Your subordinate Ketis wielded a remarkable glowing sword and unleashed power that is far in excess to that of a human. How was she able to defeat so many alien soldiers by herself?" "What methods or tech did you employ to coerce the surviving leader of the pescan remnants to cease any further resistance?" "What are your intentions with keeping the survivors of the pescan race alive and in captivity?" "We have detected definite signs that a phase whale remained captive within the innermost cell of the alien prison for an indeterminate amount of years until recently. Do you happen to have any information or clues where this former captive alien can be found?" Suffice to say, Ves tried his best to answer as vaguely and ambiguously as possible. Even if he knew what had happened, there was no way he would provide accurate and detailed information to the MTA for no good reason! After Ves finally managed to live through an hours-long interrogation session, the investigator issued his final verdict after he submitted an electronic report. "The Mech Trade Association appreciates what you have done to safeguard your fellow humans and foil the malicious plans of the indigenous alien population that managed to enter this ancient alien pocket space. However, we cannot extend you any claim towards the ownership of this pocket space and anything found inside. We have concluded negotiations with the Colonial Federation of Davute that fully recognizes their ownership of pocket space and the right to use it for their own purposes so long as we can supervise their activities." "Okay." Ves simply answered. He never really had any hopes that his attempts to claim partial ownership of the pocket space would succeed. The planet and star system belonged to the government, so it was only natural that its claims were the strongest. The investigator smiled. "We can give you the reward that you deserve. Given your contributions in this action, our Association has decided to award you with 8 million MTA merits. We are also bestowing the Journeyman Mech Designer known as Ketis Larkinson with 2 million MTA merits. Do you have any comments or objections?" That was it? Ves somehow expected more. Perhaps he had been far too spoiled with the hundreds of millions of MTA merits that he obtained during his previous adventures. These days, a couple of million MTA merits was nothing to him. He wouldn't be able to exchange anything really good aside from interesting gadgets or access to knowledge related to more accessible high technologies. Oh well. "I have no objections." "Very well, Patriarch Larkinson. This concludes our debriefing. Have a good day." This entire session ended far too simply. Ves expected a lot more poking and prodding from the MTA, but he wouldn't look at a gift horse in the mouth. "Maybe the mechers are preoccupied with far greater matters." He muttered. It was no secret that the Big Two's warfleets continued to get stalled in the frontlines of the conquest of the Red Ocean. While news of successful breakthroughs and territorial conquests continued to trickle down from time to time, the pace of expansion still remained awfully slow compared to the early years of the opening of the new frontier. In any case, Ves threw all of these matters aside and tried his best to finish his remaining administrative duties. "Once I have dealt with all of this stuff, I am going to throw myself into my design work." He told his wife over dinner. "I have harvested so much inspiration and ideas from the last couple of weeks that I cannot wait to adjust my existing projects and bring my visions to life. The Dullahan Project and the Ghost Project will definitely break a lot of ground! I can guarantee that you will be amazed with what you will see half a year later!" Gloriana did not look enthused or interested for some reason. She kept circling her spoon in her soup bowl while pinning Ves with a stern expression. "Ves?" "Yes, honey?" "What is this I hear about recruiting a female mech designer that goes by the name 'Jocasta Clive'?" "Oh, that? I want to poach her from the Clive Consortium. I've interviewed her a bit and I think that she is a remarkably talented Journeyman Mech Designer who is being completely stifled by her current superiors. Don't you think it is a good idea to pull her into our clan so that she can design tons of powerful mechs armed with penetrating kinetic weapons?" His wife began to scowl after hearing his answer.