Everything was heading in the right direction. Once Ves visited and inspected all of the important arms of the Larkinson Clan, he became satisfied that his growing organization were doing a good job at digesting the rich gains obtained by the expeditionary fleet. The Larkinsons spent massive amounts of MTA credits, MTA merits and resources in a short interval of time to strengthen its fleet, its mech forces as well as its subsidiaries on the ground. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 Although a significant chunk of that spending flowed into the pockets of the MTA and other foreign parties, the local Davutans most definitely noticed the immense wealth flowing into the regional economy! Many businesses received massive orders, ranging from wild and formidable exobeasts to high-quality premium nutrient packs. The Larkinson Clan as well as the other members of the Golden Skull Alliance threw around their wealth like there was no tomorrow! This was not unusual in itself as the war fever that increasingly gripped the region under the sway of Davute also prompted many other pioneering organizations to invest in their own buildup of forces. However, what was different about the partners of the Golden Skull Alliance was that they were more than willing to barter in extremely precious first-class materials! While it was possible to obtain first-class materials by importing them from the upper zones, shipments were usually fraught with danger and the premiums charged by the suppliers were excessive. In contrast, the Larkinson Clan exhibited so much haste in its urgency to obtain the necessary goods needed to upgrade its fleet and mech army that it had no choice but to dump a certain quantity of valuable plunder at a slight discount in order to close deals quickly! This had triggered a mild frenzy where a small number of suppliers and service providers eagerly lined themselves up to complete the Larkinson Clan's orders at the fastest possible speed! Companies knocked on the doors of the Larkinson Clan every day in order to earn a lucrative order. This was a good development as the increased competition allowed the Larkinsons to become a little more picky and gain more value from the payment they were willing to offer. Shuttles and transports continued to fly to the Cat Nest and the expeditionary fleet in orbit on a regular basis. The scale of traffic flying to and from these Larkinson strongholds further amplified the impression that the clan had entered the big leagues! Combined with the increasingly more aggressive expansion of its various daughter organizations, hardly anyone in the local scene could ignore the ripples produced by the Larkinsons! It was inevitable for the clan to attract attention from higher places. Ves received regular reports from Shederin and Calabast that the Davute Alliance were already starting to mention the Golden Skull Alliance and its partners during different meetings. "Our Black Cats have already received indications that the colonial administration has opened up a dialogue with the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan." Calabast informed Ves one day. That caused the mech designer to raise an eyebrow. "They're already talking to each other? About what?" "I don't need to be a foreign minister to tell you that there are many possible reasons for them to talk to each other, Ves. Davute has many needs and so do our allies. This creates the basis of trade and cooperation. We have already observed many signs that the colonial government is desperate to increase its chips. The powers behind Davute are so eager to win the upcoming war that they are willing to make serious concessions to gain the cooperation of as many powerful partners that they can reach." "What are you trying to convey?" "I have two points." She said. "First, the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan will eventually agree to cooperate with Davute on some level. It may be a big deal or it may only be a distraction to them, but the diplomats working for the colonial government are very good at their jobs, especially when they have the right to offer attractive concessions." "What is the second point?" "Sooner or later, Davute will come to us." Calabast stated. "I can figure that out myself." "That may be the case, but I do not think you understand how serious Davute will treat its coming dialogue with us. We have become bigshots, Ves. You are worth more to a state than any other individual mech designer, and our Larkinson Army is an extremely capable and battle-proven elite mech force. That makes our clan extremely attractive to the colonial government. I've shared my findings with Shederin and he has received his own indications that our clan will become a point of focus. It is almost certain that Davute will put a lot of effort into courting our clan." That made it sound as if the colonial government was extremely eager to seduce the Larkinson Clan like a lover. Ves became disgusted by the mental image. He was not a damsel that was waiting to get serenaded into someone else's bed! He would much rather put on an adventurer's hat and embark on an expedition to the deeper parts of the frontier! "Let's talk about another matter." Ves said as he dismissed this talk about courtship. "I told you during a previous meeting that I am getting tired of the Krakatoa Middle Zone. I think it would be better if we move a little further away from civilization and roam the less settled parts of human-occupied space. Now that the Adelaide Third Fleet and the Boojay Family are well on their way to joining our alliance, I think it has become viable for us to take a trip into the Torald Middle Zone. What do you think now that you have familiarized yourself a bit more with what is taking place in this region?" Calabast moved across his office in the Royal Mansion and looked out of the large, expansive windows. She gazed across the forest and the larger structures in the distance. "Torald is a risky zone. The situation over there is not an exact mirror of Krakatoa back when only a small amount of time had passed since the Big Two swept away the vast majority of alien residents. This time, the indigenous alien races are no longer as complacent as before. The front lines of humanity's invasion of the Red Ocean have stalled, which means that the zones that are close to the thick of the fighting will continue to get penetrated by alien incursions." Ves nodded and tapped his finger against his large and ornate wooden desk. "That is exactly why I want to cross over to Torald. Krakatoa is a nice place, and it still offers plenty of opportunities, but it's like a low-level region that is more suitable to explore for weaker pioneers. Once we regain the Spirit of Bentheim and convert some of our mechs to quasi-first class standards, we can tackle more powerful opponents while incurring less damage. The addition of powerful allies should also enable us to confront strong alien foes and win with ease." The female spymaster frowned. "I thought you already agreed to turn your Trailblazer Expedition down a notch." "I know. I am still committed to that, but what we previously considered risky has now become safe with our rapid increase in strength. We shouldn't go too far in the other direction and get too complacent. I think it is best if we find a new balance by exploring the safer regions of Torald. That way, we won't get too close to the frontlines, but we will still be able earn more profit because too many pioneers are still spooked by the idea of crossing over into this fresher middle zone." His logic was sound. It could truly work out as long as the expeditionary fleet did not get ambushed by a giant alien warfleet that somehow managed to make its way past the Big Two's powerful forces. Calabast didn't entirely like this plan for that reason. It was like playing Russian roulette with a gun that had 100 chambers in the cylinder. Even if 99 of them were completely empty and safe, there was no way to survive the game if the expeditionary fleet was unlucky enough to strike the one chamber that contained a lethal round! The best way to survive this game was to not play it in the first place. It was much more rational for the expeditionary fleet to go no deeper into the frontier than the Krakatoa Middle Zone. Still, seeing how much Ves had become fixated on Torald, Calabast understood that it was impossible to sway his mind on this issue at this junction. She let out a sigh. "Fine. I have compiled a report that summarizes the up-to-date intelligence that we have gathered on what is going on over there. There is a huge difference in activity between the front and rear halves of the zone. The region is still in flux so the local circumstances are changing on a weekly basis. Proper intelligence gathering is vital to our continued survival in this contentious zone." "I am sure your Black Cats are up to the task. I have already tasked the Diligent Ovenbird to begin with mass-producing large quantities of cheap and easy scout corvettes. They're nothing impressive and they don't even have enough capacity to hold a single mech, but they can cycle their FTL drives quickly and can gather a lot of observation data with their relatively extensive sensor suites." "I will make sure to recruit additional naval personnel in the coming months." Calabast dutifully said. "It is a good idea to perform our own scouting. Relying on the intelligence provided by third parties not only leaves us open to the risk of getting lured into a trap, but we may also get led astray as more powerful competitors keep the best opportunities for themselves." They talked a bit more on how many scout vessels they needed to build and crew in order to form an extensive enough early warning network around the main expeditionary fleet. Calabast wanted more. "We already have a decent collection of scouting vessels, but… if we truly want to ensure we are on top of everything that takes place in the surrounding regions, we will need to deploy well over 150 scouting vessels. Don't think that is excessive. There are truly too many star systems to cover in every single direction." Ves looked troubled for a moment."We don't have the shipbuilding capacity to make up for our shortage, but… I think our allies should be able to make up the difference. If not, then let's look if we can buy additional vessels from other parties. It is probably impossible for others to trade their combat carriers and capital ships, but they probably don't care as much for measly corvettes." "I think you will be disappointed on that front. The importance of scouting vessels is obvious to many pioneers. Barring ignorant fools such as Lord Pearian Yorul-Tavik, every decent pioneer above a certain level of strength will do the same as us. We will have to pay an expensive premium in order to convince anyone to trade their scouting vessels, and by my reckoning we are rapidly running out of salvaged goods to barter with other parties. You will have to start trading other valuables such as phasewater if you want to obtain more strategic goods." "We are not trading our phasewater! We need it all for ourselves!" Ves decided to wait for further opportunities. If he couldn't obtain enough scouting vessels to form a completely spherical early warning network around the expeditionary fleet, then he would just have to make do with less complete coverage. For example, the fleet could deploy most of its scouting vessels in the front half where the danger was the greatest. Ves grinned in anticipation. He was not afraid of confrontation at all! As long as the scouts did a good job, the expeditionary fleet should always be able to pick and choose its own battles! "This is the best way for us to gather more first-class salvage!" Now that his clan experienced the many benefits of owning lots of salvage taken from powerful alien warships, Ves yearned to obtain more! He deeply wanted to resume his expedition so that he could convert more of existing mechs and ships into quasi-first-class equivalents!