The commotion died down after that eventful first day. Although the Devosans incurred a lot of ridicule in the Terran community, they quickly and deftly defused the crisis by using this incident to establish greater cooperation with the Streons. The two ancient clans were quite different from each other. Their varying degrees of investments and commitment to the Red Ocean had caused their strength and accumulation to diverge enormously from each other. If the Red Ocean still retained a connection to the Milky Way, then the Devosans could still transfer a lot of funding and assets from their home territories. Unfortunately, the unexpected transition of the Age of Dawn had caused this crucial link to disappear, so the Devosans assigned to the new frontier suddenly found themselves stuck as one of the smaller sharks in the pond! While an ancient clan still possessed far more capital than an ordinary clan in the Terran Alliance, that did not change the fact that the Devosans had much less fault tolerance than their peers! What was worse was that because they entered the Red Ocean rather late, they had little choice but to settle their colonies in a place like the Agamemnon Upper Zone, which was positioned closer to the center of the dwarf galaxy. The Terrans did not consider this to be a disadvantage in the past. After all, so long as the pioneers retained access to an active transportation channel to the Milky Way, it was inevitable for humanity to push the native aliens out of their own core territories. The Devos Ancient Clan and other latecomers were not only able to take advantage of a better developed infrastructure in the Red Ocean, but could also occupy colonies that were located in relatively richer and more promising regions! However, whether a condition was beneficial or detrimental depended on the circumstances. Red humanity had turned from a domineering invader into a stranded group of exiles. The sudden change in fortune caught everyone off-guard and prevented parties such as the Devos Ancient Clan from calling in further support. This had great implications for the Terran Alliance. The lack of buildup in the early years did not seem to matter at first, but suddenly gained great significance. With all of the changes that had taken place, the Devos Ancient Clan who previously regarded itself as one of the alphas of the Terran superstate suddenly became the most vulnerable big fish on the chopping block! Not only was the Riston Territory too small, too far forward and too underdeveloped to adequately defend itself against future alien incursions, the armed forces of the Devos Ancient Clan also weren't numerous or elite enough to take sufficient advantage of the New Elites Program! "The Terran Alliance owes a large amount of gratitude to the Fist of Defiance for enacting a plan that allows us to retain our culture and heritage." Alexa Streon explained to Ves. "However, the god pilot has made it clear that only the strongest wolves among us have the qualifications to enjoy this right. Every group must nurture at least one high-level warlord to fend off challenges and retain the right to hold a large amount of territory. This is not a concern to my own ancient clan, but the Devosans have started to sweat ever since the implications became clear." Alexa plainly laid out the crisis that had befallen the Devos Ancient Clan as she sat in front Ves inside the guest villa's lounge. Lucky calmly rested on her lap, causing her to frequently get distracted by his mysterious and alien archemetal construction. "Meow-" The gem cat yawned as a delicate hand gently rubbed his metallic back. The young lady had never met a mechanical pet this wonderful or magnificent. Lucky's design did not match the style of his owner, and few people understood archetech well enough to be able to create such a small and sophisticated technological marvel. Who created Lucky? Who upgraded him to his current state? Was it the Xenotechnician? Or was another highly competent Master Mech Designer behind Ves? Alexa did not allow her speculations to distract her from her current task. "In conclusion, the Devosans are most affected by the struggle for survival. They cannot retreat from the Agamemnon Upper Zone, because there are no promising star systems available anymore in the other upper zones. The loss of territory, population and resources will destroy so much of their remaining foundation that they will lose the qualifications of an ancient clan. They can only regress into a lesser clan and lose all of the rights and influence that came with their prior status." This was an enormous shame and a deathknell to the Devosans! They could not allow themselves to shame their ancestors and fail in such a humiliating fashion! It would be better if they stood their ground and fought against the invading aliens to the bitter end, but even that was a challenge because their standing armies were too inadequate for the job. Ves looked thoughtful. "I never expected the situation to be so bad for the Devosans, but the logic of this is quite clear. If your analysis is correct, the whole image of class and sophistication that the Devos Ancient Clan has presented to everyone is a mirage. The reality is that it is an ancient clan in name only. It only takes a bit of external pressure to pierce through the falsehood and uncover the weakness that they have tried so hard to obscure." This told him that the Terran Alliance was not doing as well as he expected. Collectively, the Terrans still possessed a lot of strength and accumulation. However, the Terrans rarely united as one. The ancient clans may regard each other as peers and maybe even friends, but they were also rivals. This meant that the ancient clans were not inclined to go out of their way to save the ones in distress. Strength was the ultimate foundation in human space! An ancient clan that no longer possessed the strength of one did not deserve to exist any longer. It would be better to let the weak and unqualified groups disappear so that stronger and better adapted newcomers could take their place! "What is the stance of your ancient clan towards the Devosans?" Ves inquired Alexa. The woman frowned. "I am not too certain, to be honest. Previously, we did not want to waste our limited resources on supporting an ancient clan that does not have good prospects. Yesterday's incident forced us to change our stance. The Devosans had fought hard to enlist our aid, and it was better for us to cooperate due to the need to restore our reputation." Reputation was extremely important in Terran circles. No one wanted a prominent leader or an ancient clan to break the rules and upset the balance within their society. The Devosans knew that and exploited this condition to extract the greatest possible benefits from the Streon Ancient Clan. Although the Streons originally did not want to get involved in the many problems faced by the Devos Ancient Clan, they at least managed to gain enough benefits to barely make this risky venture worthwhile. "The Devosans have made a secret agreement with us." The young lady said in a quieter tone. "If our ancient clan can help them weather the storm, they will throw their support behind my grandfather's New Terran Federation Movement. This is a dream come true for him, and it may be the opening he needs to snowball his initiative." Perhaps other people might just dismiss General Axelar Streon's political ambitions as an ordinary power grab, but Ves already figured out the deeper truth after he examined the Ouroboros. In order to balance out all of the death and destruction that he had wrought as a militant, he needed to do the opposite and engage in a more productive pursuit. It was a pity that Axelar was not a mech designer, an engineer or an artisan. The only way he could contribute to society in a productive fashion was to take advantage of his backing and his power base to create a new society of Terrans! Since the deal between the two ancient clans had the potential to bring Axelar one step closer to becoming a god pilot, the Streon Ancient Clan ultimately agreed to make a lot of concessions that it wouldn't have agreed to under normal circumstances! Ves rubbed his hairless chin in thought as he considered all of the implications. "This deal will tie your ancient clan to that of the Devosans." He concluded. "If the Devos Ancient Clan falls, your grandfather will not only lose the chance to make progress, but he will also take a severe hit. After all, he at least made an indirect commitment to protect his allies and prevent them from collapsing. They are already participants of the New Terran Federation Movement even though it hasn't been formalized." Alexa understood this truth as well. "What we ultimately need to do is to strengthen the Devos Ancient Clan just enough to allow it to stand on its own. Our clan can provide limited reinforcements and other forms of support, but we cannot afford to sacrifice our own progress in nurturing New Elites." "Are you hoping that I will cooperate with the Devosans and employ my own means to strengthen their troops?" The young woman nodded. "Your solutions are known to be far more cost-effective and less resource intensive than the alternatives. This is exactly what the Devosans need in this dire time. In the following days, they will do their best to charm you and solicit greater cooperation from you. However, they will not allow you to dictate your terms. Their situation may be dire, but their pride and their cognition has not fully caught up to their current status." "I see." Ves kept this in mind as he thanked Alexa for her valuable insights. Master Laila Devos eventually arrived at his guest villa and invited him and his family to go on a tour. Several days passed by as the Devosans tried to impress the Ves, his wife and his children by dragging them across New Constantinople VIII. Even if the planet was not as developed as the ones owned by the other ancient clans, the Devosans were still one of the greater Terran powers, so the cities weren't shabby by any means! The capital city of Sandan clearly received the greatest share of investment, so the Devosans were especially keen on dazzling the Larkinsons by showing them the local sights. They visited a few museums and mech galleries where they could admire brilliant works, each of which cost over 1 million MTA credits to produce. Ves had to drag his wife away from the luxury fashion stores. Even though the Devosans offered to gift the Larkinsons millions of MTA credits to shop to their heart's content, everything had a price! He would be forced to reciprocate any expensive gift sooner or later. This was how the game was played, and he wasn't eager to participate in it at this time. Ves also stepped into the real classrooms of the Eden Institute for the first time. Though he was distracted by a lot of different affairs, he still enjoyed the opportunity to teach his students in person as opposed through projections. His children giggled and laughed as they flew in the enormous playground of a floating garden. Other Terran children played tag or different sports that were specially designed for this peculiar environment. The cats chased after them as well as the peculiar zero-G environment attracted a lot of tame and well-behaved pets as well. The Larkinsons even visited an exclusive elementary school where the descendants of the most prominent local Terrans sent their youngest children. The atmosphere was nice, the facilities were excellent and the teachers were all worth their obscenely high salaries. "We need to send our children here right away." Gloriana concluded. "Just the connections they can make here is worth the admission." "Let's not be too hasty." Ves cautioned his wife. "This is hardly the only decent school on this planet. Besides, I haven't decided yet whether I will stay." "You have to, Ves. There is no urgent reason for us to return to a nomadic lifestyle. We are no longer a part of the expeditionary fleet. Our main priority is to establish a firm footing in the upper zones. We should at least stay long enough to get our Premier Branch up and running." "Maybe you are right..." Even as the Devosans worked hard to impress the Larkinsons, the Streons did not remain idle during this time. As the week slowly passed by, Ves began to prepare for his first meeting with the Renewer of Terra.