Though Ves managed to hit it off remarkably well with General Herman Foraine of the Adelaide Mercenary Company, he had less success in befriending the other pioneering groups. They simply had less in common. None of the other delegates were particularly impressed by the Larkinson Clan and the Golden Skull Alliance. So what if Ves was a talented and accomplished mech designer? He was just a young and brash Journeyman at the moment! So what if the Golden Skull Alliance smashed the Sundered Phalanx during the Battle of Pima Prime? The Hex Army did most of the fighting! The other pioneering organizations such as the Lehrer Foundation and the Boojay Family were not weak by any means. In fact, they were all stronger than the Larkinson Clan because they retained their own ace pilots! As Ves tried to mingle with the other delegates, he found that he and his fellow allies suffered from one particular weakness. He sought out Minister Shederin Purnesse and waited for the old diplomat to finish his polite chat with a dignitary from the Santana Group. Shederin did not look surprised when Ves brought up this particular matter. "When we attend gatherings like these, we are supposed to represent the Golden Skull Alliance, but in practice we represent just one of its partners. When you spoke with General Foraine earlier, did you stand up for the Golden Skull Alliance or did you merely speak from the position of the Larkinson Clan?" "It's… the latter." "I thought so. That is your mistake, Ves. If we want to be taken more seriously by everyone, then we must avoid showing too much division and selfishness. Right now, you, Marshal Ariadne odin and Master Benedict Cortez are all representing your respective sides. This is not conducive to forming an impression of a strong and united military alliance." Ves frowned deeply. "Do we need to send just one of us next time? That might be better if we want to form a united front." "No. That is not necessary. In fact, I believe that would be a mistake." "Oh? Please explain, Shederin." "The Golden Skull Alliance does not have a clear leader. Everyone is more or less equal. Our clan used to have the greatest say at the start, but now the Cross Clan is in a more dominant position due to Patriarch Reginald's breakthrough. Nevertheless, the Crossers do not have all of the say. Each of us essentially governs the alliance by consensus. The advantage is that none of us are marginalized. The disadvantage is that we cannot truly present a strong and united voice to foreigners." "That sounds bad." "Is that so, Ves?" Shederin smirked. "There are other advantages to our current state. Explaining them all is beyond the scope of this conversation, but let me just say that speaking with multiple different voices can sometimes be more useful than speaking with a single voice." "I think I know what you mean. Well, if you don't think that there is anything wrong, I guess there is little harm in maintaining our current approach." As time continued to pass, the Geminis eventually invited the delegates to dinner. They all moved to a formal dining hall where the guests began to sample the unique cuisine of the Geminis. The foreign guests were able to meet more members of the family while they curiously tried out the dishes. Ves didn't know what the Geminis ate during normal days, but in this fancy dining setting, they brought out a lot of specialty dishes that possessed a clear theme! "What… is this?" He asked in an uncertain tone. At first, Ves thought that he had received a grilled and stuffed frog. It was only a little later that he noticed that the animal looked like the amphibian version of a Siamese twin! A male Gemini who was seated close by gave Ves a friendly smile. "That is one of our bifrogs. It is a genetically engineered frog species that our genetics company has especially created to symbolize the permanent union of our pairings." The man couldn't help but place his palm on that of his twin sister who also happened to be his wife. Two who shared a great resemblance to each other, but the way they looked at each other was much more intimate than that of brother and sister! "Shall we, sister?" "Let us demonstrate our love, my husband." They picked up their forks and knives and began to cut at the bifrog that had been served to them. The two Geminis mirrored the cuts they made and put their portions in their mouths at the same time. Instead of chewing their bites, they instead turned towards each other and began to lock lips! Ves and several other nearby guests froze in shock as they witnessed the Gemini pair carefully exchange and chew each other's portions! The entire stunt was ridiculous from the onset, but the fact that the pair in question were twins who grew up alongside each other from the start made it ten times as outrageous! Though Ves momentarily felt the urge to vomit, he did his best to maintain tight control over his emotions and body language. He had become quite good at controlling himself so he did not exhibit any behavior that might cause the surrounding Geminis to view him in a worse light. The other delegates also managed to control themselves. Each of their expressions remained firmly neutral as if the ritual of jointly eating a bifrog was just a common occurrence in their eyes. Even General Herman Foraine who normally expressed his feelings without too much restraint conspicuously fell silent while looking down at his own meal. Ves could easily sense the varying degrees of disgust and revulsion radiating from their spirits, but their self-control was so good that he would have been fooled if he did not possess such sharp senses. This was not an unusual phenomenon in gatherings like these. Human civilization was simply too expansive and diverse, and the Red Ocean happened to bring people from all corners of the old galaxy into a relatively tiny volume of space. Clashes between different cultures, values and principles happened all the time. Too many pioneers went to war against each other because they disliked the way another group of people treated their underclass or interpreted the same religious scripture in a completely different manner. Perhaps these motives truly meant a lot to these people, but many of the pioneers who wasted their men, their mechs, their starships and much of wealth on ideological struggles ultimately invited ruin! The smarter pioneers possessed the ability to distinguish between worthwhile pursuits and wasteful pursuits. Those that engaged in the former only picked a fight where they stood to become stronger in the end. Those that engaged in the latter suffered a lot of casualties without being able to replenish what they lost! In a frontier that was devoid of order and security, pioneers with insufficient strength had no right to exist! This was why everyone who attended this banquet meticulously conducted themselves with utmost respect. It was not necessary for them to engage in facetious flattery, but at least they should not engage in any behavior that might cause offense and ruin their upcoming joint operation. The Gemini Family was anything but done with their open displays of affection. As waves of serving bots continued to deliver exotic dish after exotic dish, the twin couples seemingly went out of their way to make a show of their family's atypical cultural norms! "Brother…" A Gemini woman lovingly said as her brother fed a spoonful of thick and hearty pea soup in her mouth. At the same time, the sister did the same for her husband which she grew up alongside with all her life. They then leaned in and began to engage in a long kiss while exchanging the contents in their mouths with each other. The moans and other signs indicated that plenty of tongue action was taking place! Ves and many other guests opened their eyes to how creatively the Geminis turned their meals into rituals of affection. On the surface, it looked as if the Geminis openly revealed their perverted tendencies. However, when Ves looked deeper, he understood that it was far more about creating shock value. Ves could sense the deep and unbreakable love that the couples held towards each other. Every single brother and sister not only adored each other as their siblings, but treated each other as soul mates who they were eternally bound to for the rest of their lives! None of the Geminis showed any unwillingness or rejection towards the matches that their family had arranged for them from the moment they were conceived. Through the unremitting indoctrination efforts of the Gemini Family along with lots of clever gene manipulation, the Geminis not only lost their instinctual revulsion towards incest, but embraced it as the only form of love that they could ever accept! Every Gemini couple was happy and grateful to be able to share their most intimate moments with the brother or sister they knew best. Dinnertime turned into the most enjoyable moments of the day to them. The special meals they formulated weren't meant to be consumed alone. They were dishes that should be savored with their significant others. The Geminis affirmed and strengthened their affection towards each other through the mutual interaction engendered by their meals. It was all too easy for people to treat the simple act of eating their breakfast, lunch or dinner as a solitary moment to fill their stomachs, but the members of the Gemini Family went beyond this point. The Geminis were feeding love to each other's hearts. The display was tender and loving. Ves wouldn't have any problem with this strange custom if not for the fact that the Geminis were too closely related to each other! The Geminis had to be well aware of how extensively they violated one of life's fundamental taboos. The most absurd aspect about this was that the Gemini Family took pride in their choices! Ves did not sense any hesitation, remorse or even shame in the Geminis. They loved their brothers and sisters and wanted to make that known to the entire old galaxy as well as the new frontier if possible! It would have been even better if other humans began to accept and embrace their expression of love! Every member of the Gemini Family played this game. Even the leaders of the family set an example for their subjects. As Patriarch Kobal Gemini finished passing on the piece of lemon pie to his sister and spouse, he turned to face his audience with a smile. "Our Gemini Family thanks you for your tolerance and understanding. Times like these make us glad that there are people that respect our freedom of choice. Please do not mistake our customs as frivolous acts that serve no other purpose than to indulge our fantasies. There is a purpose in everything we do. Everything we do is for love." His wife and sister picked up the thread. "Love is eternal. Love is universal. Love is the source of strength that allows us to rise above everyone else. Our founders and ancestors believe that love is an indescribable force that can give us strength that is far beyond what ordinary machines and people can evoke. They fought against everyone that opposed them and forcibly started a family organization where they could prove their beliefs by producing offspring whose lives are filled with the greatest amount of love imaginable. By binding our twin children with both family love and romantic love, the bonds of affection that they have developed towards their closest relatives as well as fated life partners have become strong beyond any of you have ever witnessed." The patriarch and matriarch of the Gemini Family proudly rose to their feet while raising their wine glasses. "Once we commence our joint operation, our soldiers will most certainly vanquish over the aliens and take their possessions as our own. I wish you all success and hope that our love has inspired you to borrow this force to infuse you with additional strength and purpose. Let us toast to the wonders of love!" "For love!"