Chapter 7127: The Blitz Watch After Astrid and Athena Jameson eventually became swayed by the ability to speed up thinking, Ves went to work. It was possible but a bit difficult for him to create a companion spirit by relying on the spirituality of Athena alone. To her credit, she did not only rely on her naturally strong spirituality, but also worked hard to cultivate and expand her strengths. Yet it was a bit of a stretch for Ves to create a companion spirit for a woman who only specialized in short-term foresight. Fortunately, the fleeters were quite knowledgeable and brought a variety of different materials and curiosities. Armored guards brought the secure containers into the courtyard after going through rigorous checks. Ves inspected each of the materials. They were mostly exotics or hypers that possessed a special connection with time. Some naturally accelerated the passage of time a few meters around them. Others messed with Ves’ perception and caused him to see a few milliseconds ahead or behind. The value of these materials were extremely high. Each of these special materials could be used to help an individual get started in a time-based cultivation method. They could also be used to promote their understanding of specific aspects or concepts of time. Though Ves wanted to spend a lot more time with them, he had a job to do so he went to work. He picked up a hyper material that accelerated time in the immediate area and began to extract this quality and blended it with the branch of spirituality that he split from Athena. It had been a long time since he created a custom companion spirit, but he did not get rusty at all. He was still familiar with the basic theory and methods. He and Blinky had grown considerably since last time and were able to complete much finer and more delicate steps with less risk of complications. In the end, Athena only had to go through a period of pain as Ves literally rearranged and upgraded a part of her soul. It was worth it as far as they were concerned. At Athena’s request, Ves created a mostly inanimate companion spirit for her. It took the form of an archaic but decorative silver pocket watch. Ves had embellished its design with jewels and symbols that possessed a clear naval theme. It looked good enough to become a masterwork as far as he was concerned. It was too bad that it was only a spiritual product. A part of him felt a bit regretful that it did not take the form of a living organism. It would have been more animate if that was the case, but Athena very clearly did not want to split her identity. While the stopwatch was technically a second personality of sorts, Athena simply treated it as an object that happened to be governed by a smart AI. Though Ves disapproved of her behavior, he only issued her a single warning before dropping the matter. It was ultimately up to Athena herself how she wanted to treat her other self. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 "Done." He said with satisfaction. He showed no hint of fatigue. "That went well. Thank you for being prepared and bringing so many different materials related to time to me. This commission is much easier to complete with material assistance. Is this stuff for sale by the way?" Astrid Jameson immediately shook her head. "I am afraid not. We are under strict orders to bring all of the unused samples back without exception. I am not authorized to trade them to you under any circumstances. Their strategic value is so high that it is unlikely that you will be able to trade for them. We will not give them up even if you are willing to exchange weapon-grade superdimensional matter for them. Time-attributed materials are so rare that just bringing them here was a challenge on its own." Ves was not so sure whether the fleeters would remain so obstinate. It could be just a negotiating tactic meant to persuade the Larkinsons to offer up the good stuff in exchange for these time-based resources. As the RF guards carefully brought the containers away, Ves examined the new companion spirit as Athena gradually grew more familiar with its initial capabilities. "I hope that you are satisfied with what you have gained. What name have you chosen for your new companion spirit?" "I shall call it the Blitz Watch." Athena said. "I am thinking about commissioning an identical pocket watch in reality. If it is designed and assembled correctly, the physical watch may be able to amplify my companion spirit." Ves nodded in agreement. "That has been my experience as well." "Will you accept this commission, then? We only ask you to recreate this companion spirit in reality." Ves thought about it for a few seconds. "I do not think I will accept your second commission, but not because I dislike this job. I have a busy schedule, and it is only going to grow even busier due to all of the agreements that I expect to make by the end of this year. I have already solved the most important problem for you. The Blitz Watch in its current form is more than capable of taking care of this young lady. Any master artisan will be able to create a worthy recreation of your companion spirit." Though the pair of Jamesons briefly looked disappointed, they quickly adjusted. Ves was right. The Jamesons managed to secure their most important goals. There were no more items on the agenda for this meeting. After a bit of small talk, Astrid and Athena rose up in a clear signal that they wished to depart this site and urgently regain connection to the Red Fleet. Ves and Astrid shook hands while Aurelia and Athena cautiously exchanged contact information. "Will the two have any chance to become classmates?" Ves asked as he and the lieutenant-commander observed the pair of kids. "Possibly." The RF officer responded. "Athena has already started her studies at one of our naval academies situated in Yernstall. I can arrange to have your daughter transfer to the same school, but the two are unlikely to sit in the same classrooms, at least at first. After they have passed the initial semesters, then the probability of meeting each other will rise, as every naval cadet must make their own decisions on which courses they wish to pursue. The older naval cadets all follow their own curriculums as only they understand their own wants, needs and capabilities the best." He could understand why this approach could enable the two young girls to intersect with each other. However, Ves did not think that Aurelia would only be able to make a single friend while she was enrolled at the naval academy. She was too charming to ignore! Combined with her parentage and her social skills, Ves believed that she would be able to find her place among the fleeters. Of course, that was assuming the high-and-mighty RF did not make any serious attempts at inconveniencing her life. After the Jamesons finally departed from the courtyard, it felt a lot emptier than before. Aurelia shed her slightly naive and child-like demeanor and carried herself as if she was already an adult. "The fleeters are desperate." That was an understatement. "The fleeters are stuck in a tiny slice of human-occupied space, with two colonial alliances having cast off the shackles of the old order. All of this means that the Red Fleet is only effectively able to draw resources from the Red Ocean Union, and not entirely at that as the fleeters cannot afford to spread dissatisfaction among the states that remain. All of this means that the RF has their supply of raw materials cut off by a huge margin. This is especially bad for the fleeters as they are reliant on building lots of large hulls to replenish the losses they suffered at the frontlines." The Red Fleet simply hadn’t been tested in this capacity. They had to go into this adverse situation without any preparation or gameplan. Even now, they were probably scrambling to reduce the size of their warship designs and possibly cancel or postpone existing battleship construction. Those huge multi-kilometer warships undeniably had power, but they were vastly more expensive to build, run and repair! Aurelia made a profound observation. "Circumstances have dragged the Red Fleet off its pedestal. It is now learning how to operate much like other states and organizations that no longer have access to nearly unlimited resources is strange to the fleeters. Not all of them are handling this transition well." Ves smiled. "The Red Two are long overdue a humbling lesson. So long as the fleeters are able to adapt and survive this difficult period of time, they should be much more in sync with our changing environment." Aurelia took a considerable risk by choosing to attend an RF educational institution as opposed to the many alternatives. If she wanted to become a competent naval officer, then she could have applied to the naval academies set up by the Terran Alliance, the Rubarthan Pact and the Cybernetic Empire. Sure, these star empires might not have a strong and up-to-date understanding on how to operate warships, but they all had long memories. Their databases should definitely contain a lot of old knowledge that should still remain relevant to this day. The merchant marine and military support services likely played an indispensable role in restoring their capability to train and crew warships. There were many differences between operating an armed ship and unarmed ship, but there was a lot of overlap as well. The traditions were not completely different. Spacers who previously served on shipping vessels or carrier vessels should easily be able to crew a warship after going back to school for a couple of semesters. That did not mean that all spacers were cut out to be soldiers, but they might not have any choice in the matter. Red humanity still faced two implacable enemies. If the situation continued to deteriorate despite the emergence of the Cybernetic Empire, then it was conceivable for more and more spacers to be conscripted and assigned to warships. These big vessels needed lots of personnel in order to run properly. There was only so much automation could do, and the fleeters still maintained reasonable boundaries when it came to giving their increasingly more famous smart AIs access to the systems of their precious vessels. "Are you optimistic about the RF’s future?" "No." His daughter responded. "I am not pessimistic about it either. I simply do not know what will happen in the future. My main purpose for the time being is to receive the highest quality of naval officer training. Even if the RF crumbles apart in the next 5 years, the operation of the academy should remain stable. At worst, the academy may be looking for a new owner." "If the RF manages to stabilize its situation, are you interested in entering into its service?" "Who knows, papa. I will wait until I am close to graduation before I make this decision. I do not know enough to make an informed decision at this time." That was a prudent and probably the most correct answer. Ves smiled at his daughter. "I love you so much. I am happy that we have managed to arrange your future education. While your mother and I most definitely want you close to us for a while longer, we are still able to bear your decision to study here in Yernstall so long as you are safe and happy. This location is central enough that it should be easy for the Bluejay Fleet to drop by and give us an opportunity to visit you every now and then. Perhaps I might have to look into buying fixed property or even setting up another branch of our clan. Property prices in this central star node has gone through the roof, but I am sure our clan is able to afford a modest estate."