When Saint Commander Casella Ingvar arrived at New Constantinople, the Larkinsons assigned to Diandi Base trotted out and formally greeted the powerful ace commander. The predominantly first-class members of the Premier Branch had never met the famous Saint Commander in person. This was a rare treat to them as they had long admired her command prowess. It was too bad that Casella Ingvar was in no mood to entertain her fans. Her heart remained with the expeditionary fleet. Only the Larkinsons who had fought side-by-side with her for multiple years earned her recognition and affection. These other Larkinsons were predominantly strangers. They had never served in the expeditionary fleet. They had never faced the threat of death against human or alien opponents. They lacked understanding of what a true Larkinson was supposed to be. All she saw in these first-class clansmen were soft civilians whose only merit was their superior education and intellect. Although the Saint Commander knew that she was being a little too unfair towards people who contributed to the Larkinson Clan in their own way, her headspace was not in the right place at the moment. The expeditionary fleet’s withdrawal from the Bortele System still weighed heavily on her mind. Meanwhile, the news circulating on the galactic net painted a grim picture. The 5th defensive band had become a joke in the Middle and Lower Zones. There were still plenty of linefighters that tried their best to keep the alien menace at bay, but their advantages dwindled with every push made by the native aliens. The crush of superior numbers and the oppression of the phase lords left many defenders helpless to hold the line for long. Even so, the linefighters should have been able to hold out longer. There were many people who expected the 5th defensive band to hold out a lot longer due to the buildup of defensive works. Unfortunately, the obvious reduction of support from the rear inflicted a heavy blow to morale. Humans were capable of transcending their mortal limitations so long as they had confidence in themselves. What happened when their confidence disappeared? People only needed to look at what was happening at the frontlines to see the result. The Upper Zones largely managed to hold out. The abundant reinforcements and supplies funneled to the most contested star systems ensured that the first-raters remained relatively safe for the time being. However, it was hard to find anyone that still maintained a lot of confidence and optimism in the Middle and Lower Zones. The space peasants all felt abandoned by the bigshots. Although the vast majority of them had yet to figure out the deeper conspiracy behind red humanity’s lack of effort to defend the Middle and Lower Zones, the residents of those places were rapidly becoming disillusioned with the major powers. The Red Association did not protect them. The Red Fleet did not protect them. The Red Collective was not able to offer that much help, but most people did not mind that they did not expect much from the young superorganization. The collies even managed to earn a lot of goodwill by lowering the redemption requirements for premium curated cultivation methods. Although there was a much larger chance that would-be practitioners would fail to get started with these advanced methods, those that did manage to get past this hurdle usually became a lot stronger in a short amount of time! Was it enough to give them a better chance to survive while stuck on a blockaded planet? Not really. Unless these qi cultivators possessed production or support capabilities, all they could do was make it a little more difficult for the aliens to wipe them out. Becoming stronger might not allow them to survive, but it should at least make them feel a little better as they fought against their fate. In any case, the Red Collective was not strong or influential enough to change the prevailing trend. It was precisely due to the blatantly unequal treatment afforded to the different zones that the contradiction between first-raters and the so-called ’space peasants’ grew so serious. If red humanity ever managed to survive the ongoing crisis, the two groups would never be able to get along as well as before. The heartless strategies employed by Human High Command had permanently severed the fragile bonds of trust between the upper and lower segments of humanity. Ves found this to be a sad state of affairs. Red humanity may be on the way to fracturing if it managed to survive the Red War. It was better than getting exterminated, though. Due to the ongoing crisis, the Premier Branch did not organize a welcome banquet or other festive occasion. Everyone was too busy with work and no one was in the mood to party. The Saint Commander did not do much during the first day of her arrival. She largely remained in her guest room and only began to wander around the next day. "Is it hard for you to fight all of the time?" Andraste looked up to the ace pilot and asked. "It is not easy, girl, but that is no excuse for mech pilots like myself to shirk our duty." Casella responded with an indulgent smile. "When you take up the life of a soldier, you often do not get to fight on your terms. The native aliens are especially fond of attrition warfare. They will throw phasefighters and warships at us on a repeated basis until we cannot take it anymore. The longer you can endure these assaults, the more people you can protect. That is what motivates us to keep fighting. We never want to give up early because so many civilians are counting on our protection." Explore stories on freewebnovel "It must have been hard for you and the rest of the expeditionary fleet to retreat." Casella sighed and softly patted Andraste’s head. "We have a duty to protect the people, but also a responsibility to do right by our people. If necessary, we are willing to lay down our lives to protect the Larkinson Clan. That does not mean that we are willing to waste our lives for marginal gains. When you grow up and possibly take charge of your own mech force one day, you should never treat your subordinates as currency to spend on battlefield gains. The soldiers who fight on your behalf are your friends and family. There may be situations where you have to throw them into the thick of battle in order to win a crucial bout, but there are other times when it is better to abandon an unwinnable effort and pull back in order to regroup. That is what we have done." Andraste attentively nodded as if she was seriously taking notes. Ves doubted that Andraste would retain much interest in the valuable words of wisdom of a rare ace commander. He knew enough about his second daughter that she would rather follow Saint Dise’s example and focus on developing extreme martial skills. She had developed very little interest in commanding troops. "I would hate to be in your shoes." Andraste honestly admitted. "I do not think I can bring myself to make these difficult decisions. I didn’t know it was so difficult to do the ring thing." "Truly good people tend to die early in the Red Ocean." Casella whispered while frowning. "Those that have a higher chance to survive tend to be selfish." "That sucks." "That is reality for you, Andraste. It is not a bad idea for you to settle for developing your martial skills. As long as you have trustworthy people by your side who can do the thinking, you should have little to worry about. If you become strong enough to kill enemy champions, then you will always be valued by others." "That sounds like Saint Dise. She is really strong. I am really looking forward to seeing her next swordsman mech." "That day will come pretty soon if everything goes smoothly." While the Saint Commander and Andraste continued to chat while sitting on a bench located in a small green park, Ves gradually approached. "Hello Casella. As for you, aren’t you supposed to do your homework, young lady?" Andraste petulantly huffed. "Homework is boring. I can do that later. I wanted to talk to the Saint Commander first! I am learning valuable lessons about piloting mechs and how to survive on the battlefield." "I applaud your enthusiasm, but it is too soon for you to immerse yourself in this stuff. Run along now. Your mother will be angry if you haven’t done your homework by the time she returns home." The mention of her mother was enough for Andraste to take her homework more seriously. She jumped off the bench and turned towards the Saint Commander. "I have to go now. Can I talk to you again? I really want to hear more about what you’ve learned on the battlefield." "You can seek me anytime I am not preoccupied with serious matters." Casella responded. "I should be available until the end of my stay in this facility." "Okay. I will see you tomorrow, then!" As Andraste scampered off, Ves took the place where she previously sat and made himself comfortable. "So. Thoughts?" "It’s too peaceful here." The Saint Commander mentioned the first overarching thought in her mind. "I still cannot believe it. Everything gives me the illusion that the Red War will never touch this star system. While I haven’t visited the nearby city or anything, if the clansmen and other groups in this base are representative of all of the first-raters, then I think they are in for a rude awakening. " Ves did not refute her argument. "I think so as well. It is rather frustrating to see that many Terran locals are still stuck in a pre-war mindset. The war has not sunk into their minds as of yet. The true leaders and soldiers of the Terran Alliance are certainly aware of the brutal fights being waged across the frontlines, but it is hard to impose stricter measures." Saint Commander Casella scowled. "Martial law is a complete joke here. The readiness of the troops of the Premier Branch is too low." "The servicemen that we have recruited in order to staff our upcoming first-class fleet are predominantly young and inexperienced first-raters. Their theoretical knowledge is impressive, and their skills when operating standard mechs and equipment are also great. However, it is not easy for us to send them to the frontlines, so they have yet to get blooded." The Saint Commander looked around. She could easily spot the top half of the mechs walking around inside the base. Many of them belonged to the mechers who were assigned to the Bluejay Fleet. Only a handful of the mechs consisted of training mechs that were being piloted by first-class mech pilots recruited into the clan. Casella clearly did not look impressed. "Are these supposed to be my new colleagues and allies?" "Not entirely." Ves respodned. "There are still major vacancies, especially when it comes to mech pilots. Tell you what. If you don’t like the first-raters that I have recruited, you can take charge of it yourself. You will need to keep yourself busy somehow, so what better way to make yourself useful by screening applications and interviewing promising talents? This way, our first-class fleet will be staffed by enough first-raters that you have approved that you should be able to place your trust in them. It is better than leaving this job to less qualified or knowledgeable personnel." It did not take long for Casella to accept this offer. "I would very much like to be in charge of recruiting, but only for as long as my Minerva still needs an upgrade. Once you have finished this job, duty will take me elsewhere." "That’s okay." Ves smiled. "You should focus your time on recruiting more mech pilots. You understand them better than the rest of us. Perhaps you may even find a special talent that can become much more special when affected by your Enfeoffment ability."