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Not even the bodyguards who were mostly instructed to stay at the edges of the venues exhibited any greater vigilance.

They all assumed a posture of routine alertness as if they expected a long day ahead of them where they would do nothing but stand and look menacing.

His own guards were different. The minds of Nitaa and his honor guard were exceptionally alert. They did not hesitate to activate a few more integrated sensor systems than usual in order to detect threats and inconsistencies as early as possible.

They picked up nothing so far. It didn\'t help that much of the guest areas fell under a subtle but pervasive interference field that blocked many forms of observation, but also interfered with communications.

Fortunately, measures like these did not stop Ves from communication with the other elements of his clan.

He felt inordinately pleased that he had developed the habit of wearing a toolbelt years ago. All those times he appeared in public with a hammer hanging on his side and a few other gadgets attached to his waist had essentially defined and normalized his look.

None of the security guards confronted him over this issue as it was too trivial to bother. As one of the most important guests attending this event, the patriarch of the rapidly growing Larkinson Clan earned a few allowances.

It was just one of many examples that humanity never applied its rules fairly.

In a dwarf galaxy where the old adage of \'might makes right\' rang more true than ever, those perceived to be powerhouses no longer had to follow the rules set by society.

Instead, they could set their own rules!

As long as their fist was big enough to carve out a domain of their own, they could shape an entire society with themselves at the center!

That was what this day was all about, essentially. The founding of a new colonial state was an official declaration that the territory around the Davute System became the exclusive domain of its investors and its residents!

However, not everyone agreed with the unbridled claiming of territory.

Karlach sought to expand its own exclusive domain by nabbing the territories close to Davute.

This made it so that the two regional power blocs were on an inevitable collision course!

"All of these stupid power plays are incredibly dangerous and wasteful." Ves muttered under his breath.

Greed and ambition fueled the leaders of both sides. They just couldn\'t settle for the modest slice of territory that they could absorb with great ease. The owners of both colonies just had to go for broke.

To the original investors, the war was just a means to double up on their bet. They were willing to expend so much money, resources and manpower to multiply their colonial holdings that they never paid much attention to the human cost of their ambitions.

"Aren\'t I the same?" Ves briefly wondered.

He never really thought about all of the Larkinsons who perished during the battles that he provoked throughout his journeys.

Still, Ves had always been earnest and open about the risks. He never tried to deceive his own clansmen on what they had in store and opened up the Davute Branch to give an opportunity for more timid Larkinsons to live a semblance of a normal life.

Ves also felt he put more of an effort into rewarding and uplifting his own clansmen. He had put significant personal attention into making sure that his clansmen would never feel left out or discarded as the clan became more powerful as a whole.

There were still plenty of third-raters within the ranks who may not be as good as the second-raters who joined up later, but still managed to keep up in their own ways provided they put in the effort to learn new knowledge.

In contrast, the impression he got from Davute was that the colonial state only cared about the current benefits that it could derive from its subjects and investors.

As long as any party outlived their usefulness, the state was liable to kick it to the curb!

That made Ves feel better about himself. He believed he distinguished himself from these cold and unfeeling states by possessing actual integrity and genuinely wishing that his friends and allies benefited just as much.

"Patriarch Larkinson! It is good to see you again in the flesh!" A boisterous voice called from behind.

Ves turned around and greeted an older gentleman garbed in a ceremonial martial uniform.

"Ah, General Foraine. It is nice to meet you too. It has been a while since we last spoke in person. Operation Lighthouse seems like a lifetime ago. I am glad that our brief time fighting alongside each other has impressed you so much that you want to join the Golden Skull Alliance."

The other man smiled in a good-natured manner. "You can call Herman since we are about to become comrades-in-arms on a more permanent basis."

"You can call me Ves if that is the case."

The two chatted about various topics until they found themselves together. Ves found Herman Foraine to be a remarkably easy person to talk to. This should not be a surprise as a commanding officer of a large mercenary company had to master a lot of social skills.

Not only must General Foraine be proficient in managing tens of thousands of subordinates who came from diverse backgrounds, he also had to learn how to maintain relations with difficult and demanding clients.

Ves could definitely sense that Herman was making a deliberate act of developing a stronger and more intimate bond with the key figure of the Golden Skull Alliance.

Still, just because Herman was pursuing a course of action that constituted good business did not mean he was devoid of sincerity.

It was the opposite. Herman was genuinely a nice person. The impression he made was completely opposite of that of the likes of President Yenames Clive.

That snake of a future president might plaster a smile on his face and talk all day about friendship and mutually beneficial partnerships, but the man\'s inner personality was filled with ruthless calculations.

Though a man who ranked as high as General Foraine could never completely stop making calculations either, he at least retained his humanity. Ves couldn\'t say the same about many other people.

"I had to start from the bottom, you know." Herman casually spoke of his history. "Well, I received officer training while I was attending a mech academy, and chose to go mercenary rather than joining the military. My original intention was to accrue more experience in a more relaxed environment before entering a more professional force."

"I take it you did not go through with that plan." Ves guessed.

"I went off the rails alright. I fell in love with the mercenary lifestyle. Instead of signing up for military service, I applied to join larger and more interesting mercenary companies. Over the years, I fought under the banner of several different outfits, never sticking around for too long for one reason or another."

"What made you settle down with the Adelaides?"

"Hmm… I felt most at home with them." Herman said. "Due to their history, they were more professional and organized than other mercenary companies, but they also knew how to let go and ease on the formality. I think the biggest reason that attracted me the most to the Adelaide Mercenary Company is the brotherhood that they have formed. The old school members are the most tight-knit band of mercenaries that I have ever met."

That sounded similar to what Ves had built in his clan. He was curious how the Adelaides managed to pull it off without relying on a spiritual network.

"Has it been easy for someone who wasn\'t a part of the original deserting mech regiment to worm your way into this inner circle?"

Herman let out a breath. "You can argue that I have never joined this circle. Your clan is too new, so you probably haven\'t experienced this dynamic yourself, but here among the Adelaides, we remain separated by many qualifiers. There are the generational differences that you have just referred to. There are also the fleets that cause us to become more unique over time. The fleets founded at a later date are especially different from the oldest ones."

Ves became more and more intrigued by Herman\'s descriptions. The growth and splintering of the Adelaide Mercenary Company may be a precursor of what the Larkinson Clan would be going through!

"Tell me more."

"The original old soldiers have largely died off or retired, but the ones that are still around watch the company and its people fiercely. Then there are the second and third generation of mercenaries that are just starting to take the reigns. I count myself among them. We may not have the experiences of the founding generation to call upon, but our lack of burdens and our fresh perspectives are beginning to steer our mercenary company into a different and arguably better future."

"That sounds interesting." Ves said as his interest remained high. "Do you think that the shifting of leadership from older mercenaries to younger mercenaries is a source of renewal within your mercenary company?"

Herman Foraine nodded. "Change is always necessary. As much as the original generation of Adelaides have laid the foundation of our mercenary company, they were also limited by their own choices. I arrived later and have experienced the growth of the company from a fresher point of view. I know what has worked and what still needs to be done. I think that one of the reasons why I was put in charge of the Third Fleet was because I am more open to shifting our focus away from pure mercenary work. I took the initiative to bring my fleet to the Red Ocean and explore the frontier without pursuing any explicit mission objectives."

"Did you encounter a lot of criticisms and objections within your own company?"

"More than you can know." Herman ruefully smiled. "However, I had a good talk with the old dogs who are largely retired by now. Even though they do not fully understand my own goals and vision, they believed just enough in me to give me a chance. They also have the luxury to make this decision because I am only in charge of a single fleet among a dozen others. Our mercenary company can afford to experiment. If my fleet is doing well, the other generals may decide to move to the Red Ocean as well. If my boys and I all perish due to a horrible mistake, well, at least the other surviving fleets can learn from my mistake."

That was an interesting way to grow and expand a company. Ves saw many obvious parallels with his own clan. Though he did not intend to make any of the side branches exceed the main branch in any way, he was still open to allowing the Davute Branch to step out of his comfort zone and pursue its own path of success.

That reminded Ves of another problem.

"How can you keep all of these intensifying differences from tearing the Adelaide Mercenary Company apart?"

General Herman Foraine raised his fingers. "We talk a lot. We make sure to stick to a common heritage and tradition. We improvise. We offer financial support to our weaker fleets. We swap personnel with each other. I can go on and on, but it is never any single thing. We continue to engage in each other however we can to keep the gang together. It doesn\'t matter how many cliques we form over time. As long as we recognize that we are Adelaides, we can always unite when it is needed."

"It sounds as if… you are one big family."

"That is as good of a description as any, patriarch."