After concluding her speech, the Rubarthans made further arrangements to accommodate her stay. They made sure to transfer the Amaranto Mark III to a deeper part of the space station where she would reside in a highly protected compartment whenever she was not in the field. The hosts also provided tours and accommodations for the Larkinson mech technicians and low-ranking mech designers that accompanied Saint Stark and the Amaranto on the courier vessel. Although the Rubarthans offered to let their own mech technicians and specialists who had studied the basics of archetech to help with servicing her ace mech, Saint Stark immediately shook her head. "The Amaranto Mark III remains property of the Larkinson Clan. The patriarch himself has already reminded me that only Larkinsons are authorized to service and repair her in case she is damaged." "Excuse me, ’her’?" "Ah. I have forgotten that you are not familiar with living mechs. The Amaranto Mark III is not a simple machine. She is alive and intelligent, and I do not mean that the Larkinsons have installed her with an advanced AI chip. This is one of the reasons why the Larkinson Clan only entrusts its own trained and experienced personnel with the responsibility to keep mechs like my own in healthy condition." This discussion and others reminded Saint Stark that it had been a long time that she had fought alongside soldiers other than the Larkinsons. Stark had spent so much time among them that she could rightfully call herself half a member of the Larkinson Clan! Even if she was not connected to their magical ’Larkinson Network’, she was sucha familiar face to them that they treated her with almost the same warmth and camaraderie they directed to all clansmen. It was endearing. She genuinely liked the Larkinsons, or else she wouldn’t be so satisfied with fighting alongside them. She only regretted that she would have to leave their side sooner or later. Nothing lasted forever in this bleak galaxy. While the maintenance crew dedicated to keeping the Amaranto Mark III in good shape settled into their temporary berths, Saint Stark was being led towards one of the luxury compartments dedicated to the most powerful champions in the Kayana System. She could already feel their presence long before she arrived at their doorstep. Continue reading on freewebnovel Unlike the tentative and nearly formless domain field surrounding Davia Stark, the domain fields projected by the older and much more powerful saints up ahead was much more developed! Even if they were massively weakened due to being outside of their respective ace mechs, the pair of Rubarthan senior ace pilots still exerted control over the surrounding compartments like a pair of sovereigns laying claim over a small piece of the cosmos. Saint Stark’s domain came into direct contact with the domains of the two powerful ace pilots, and lost out directly. The only reason why Stark was still able to keep her back straight and unbowed was because the two aces exerted so much control and discipline over their powerful domains that they accepted the entry of a third domain. This was quite remarkable. Usually, multiple strong headed ace pilots couldn’t help but clash against each other. Their strong willpower made it so that they were often unwilling to concede even if they were outmatched! Bad blood could often arise among ace pilots who were not familiar with each other and did not share much in common. One of them always had to admit defeat and submit to the strength of the strongest in the gathering. However, Saint Stark did not experience anything like this. Not only were the Rubarthan ace pilots remarkably open towards strangers, but they were also able to accept each other’s presence with no discernable tension or friction. That was even more impressive. Stark had only witnessed this sort of harmony from the infamous Gemini Saints of the Gemini Family. The Gemini Family went to extremes in terms of family planning and eugenics to produce a result like Saint Sandro Gemini and Saint Kaia Gemini. Not only did the twin brother and sister grow up together without interruption, but they also married each other when they turned into adults! Although many such Destiny Teams had failed to live up to their potential, the Gemini Saints were living proof that their warped schemes could bear fruit! When the ace mechs of the two Gemini Saints merged into the Embodiment of Love and Sacrifice, the two ace pilots were able to lend their willpower to each other without any obstacles! This effectively enabled their junior ace mechs to gain the effective combat power of a senior ace mech! Right now, Saint Stark was convinced that her new mentors were capable of fusing their domains and lending their power to each other. All of this matched with the records that Saint Stark had read about them, who just happened to be twins as well. Their ace mech, which unfortunately came with a perplexing name, was not a typical machine of its kind. The Lamia Kailamassu was a dual-pilot ace mech! It was as if a pair of ace mechs like the Embodiment of Love and the Embodiment of Sacrifice decided to physically merge together… and never come apart again. This was even more extreme as far as Saint Stark was concerned! There were advantages to integrating their strengths so closely… but if anything bad happened to one of them, the other would also suffer the same fate! Saint Stark would never make such a heavy commitment, but that did not stop her from respecting those that were willing to take this risk. After a final but largely redundant security inspection, Davia Stark finally passed through the hatch. She entered a white space that was covered by shiny and reflective marble-like materials. A huge amount of internal space had been devoted to creating a white and largely tiled interior compartment that was largely devoid of furniture and other obstacles. The huge amount of negative space might seem disturbing to most visitors, but Saint Stark immediately appreciated the sparse decor. The large compartment only contained a minimal amount of tables, couches, chairs and cabinets. The furniture was all crafted to the highest standard, yet seemed incredibly simple and monotonous. Most of it came in simple combinations of black and white. There were no tints or patterns to add more complexity to the decor. No artworks adorned the walls either. The only concession to aesthetics was the large wall on the far side of the compartment. The occupants of this space had chosen to turn the entire bulkhead surface into a projected panorama that showed an enhanced view of the large space station, the planet it was orbiting, the orbital defense ring, the predominantly Rubarthan starships in the vicinity, the red backdrop of the Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy and the subtle golden glow emanated by the distant Messier 87 Galaxy. The view was breathtaking in spite of the fact that Saint Stark could easily see it for herself when she deployed her ace mech in space. What struck Saint Stark the most out of this entire compartment was that it conveyed a sense of peace that was far more natural than Lufa’s glow. There was a distinct lack of human intimacy in the decor. The designers went out of their way to remove any overt human factors from the environment. That was the reason why Saint Stark felt so at peace. She had many grievances towards humans and aliens, so entering a private space that was completely devoid from all of those complicated aspects was relaxing. She already felt she could drop her mask and let out her true self. There was nobody here aside from a pair of Rubarthan ace pilots who suffered similar pains and sought relief through isolation. Saint Stark’s Larkinson-issued knee-high boots clacked particularly loudly on the tiled deck. Her two mentors sat close to the projected display. They sat on a simple black leather couch while enjoying their company in silence. When Stark moved close, the female sibling turned her head. "Welcome to the Rubarthan Pact, Saint Stark, retainer of the Larkinson Clan." Davia Stark inclined her head. "Thank you, Saint Jerivern Chevor." The male sibling turned his head to face the new arrival as well. "Come sit with us. We all know why you have come. The HHC thinks that ace pilots with scars such as yours will benefit from spending time in our company. So let us do that. We will not be able to enjoy moments like this too often in the near future. The native aliens will soon be done mustering their forces on a determined assault." Stark moved around and sat at a modest distance from the twins. She stared at the two ace pilots with open curiosity. Aloretzi and Jerivern Chevor had gone through a lot of ordeals to get to this position today. Known as the Stewards Siamesia, the two were actually born as Siamese twins! It was fairly rare for them to be born in this day and age. This was especially the case in second-rate states as medical technology was good enough over there to nip these problems in the bud. For whatever reason, their family hadn’t been able to detect the problem in time. This gave their mother no choice but to birth them as two babies sharing the same bodies. Fortunately, there was no problem with separating them afterwards. They just needed to grow long enough for their health to grow strong enough to withstand any potential complications. Despite being able to grow up as two healthy and more importantly separate children, the twins still remained as close to each other as if they were still merged as one. Stark couldn’t help but stare down at the empty sleeves on the left sides of their bodies. The two ace pilots strangely lacked their left arms. The Stewards Siamesia naturally detected what their new guest was staring at. Few people could help but take notice of their imperfect conditions. "You have read the stories about our arms, correct?" The male Chevor spoke. "I have." Stark nodded. "The two of you fought in the military of your former second-rate state. The conduct of the armed forces of both sides was… deplorable. War crimes and avoidable civilian deaths took place with such great frequency that it broke your illusions about the glory of warfare." Jerivern closed his eyes. "That is true. From the moment the straw broke the camel’s back, we broke through and became expert pilots. We also made a vow that we have upheld to this day. However, that did not absolve our culpability in past crimes. Even if we did not kill the weak and defenseless ourselves, we enabled the ones that did. That was unforgivable to us, so we cut our arms as punishment and as a permanent reminder to us that we can never allow ourselves to be used as tools to conduct indiscriminate massacres ever again." Saint Stark’s eyes grew sharper for a moment. "Do your sympathies extend to the native aliens as well?" "To be honest, Davia, we never considered the aliens when we made that vow." Jerivern admitted. "This is one of the lingering doubts that we must solve if we want to come closer to taking the final steps. Do not misunderstand us. Despite our vows and restrictions, we will not stand by and let the native aliens massacre innocent humans under our watch. We have chosen to contribute in a fight in our own ways while simultaneously ensuring that we will never turn our strength against the people we are obligated to protect." Saint Stark knew that he meant all of it with all of his heart. His domain conveyed absolute belief and sincerity in his vows and principles. What was impressive was that Aloretzi was of one mind with her twin brother. The two’s thoughts aligned so well that there was not a single difference! Stark slowly began to smile in relief. She felt for the first time that she was in the presence of kindred spirits.