Ves looked troubled the next day. Though he admittedly gained a lot of satisfaction after he released all of his pent-up 'energy' yesterday, the circ.u.mstances of his discharge was anything but usual!

"Technology has gone too far!"

He shook his head. Though he felt a bit weirded out, he had to admit he enjoyed it quite a bit. The Darkbreak module simulated Gloriana's physical properties to such an accurate and realistic degree that he could hardly name the differences!

If Gloriana offered to go for another round, Ves would likely nod his head and say yes!

He eventually shrugged and readied himself for another day of work. After he finished his breakfast, he met with Major Verle and Calabast in his stateroom.

"Meow."

Lucky curiously looked up at the two older Larkinsons as Ves rubbed his head.

"Good morning." Ves greeted. "I take it that we have approached yet another pirate base, right?"

"That is indeed the case, sir." Major Verle waved his hand, activating a projection that showed a map of their surroundings. "Our forward scouts have managed to approach a famed pirate base called the Ulimo Citadel."

The projection shifted to a base built into the surface of a small moon-sized asteroid. "Ulimo Citadel is the stronghold of the Dry Snakes. According to second-hand intelligence, the Dry Snakes are able to field around 1700 mechs, which is enough to secure their foundation in this rich patch of Maynard Fields."

The visible structures of Ulimo Citadel looked considerably more formidable than Xiphard Base. Part of it was because it was built into a much larger moon-like environment. Another part of it was because the Dry Snakes invested considerably more resources in its construction!

What Ves found remarkable was the elevated amount of traffic going in and out of Ulimo Citadel.

"Is this open base?"

Calabast nodded. "Ulimo Citadel is one of the rare pirate strongholds that has opened a limited public market. It's similar to Frostbite Fortress in that regard. While Ulimo doesn't host the largest pirate marketplace, it is especially attractive towards smaller pirate outfits and independents."

"Why so?"

"Many pirate marketplaces are very dangerous to visit if you aren't strong enough. The pirate groups who oversee them also have a penchant for ripping off their visitor. What is remarkable about Ulimo Citadel is that the Dry Snakes charge very low fees for landing a vessel in its hangar and various other services. This turns Ulimo Citadel into an affordable place for sc.u.m to gather."

Trade, recruitment and many more activities took place in this surprisingly lively pirate base.

"How is the reputation of the Dry Snakes?"

"Fairly good. They mostly abide by their responsibilities. While their guards aren't always proper, according to word of mouth they don't abuse their power too often. It helps to bribe them, though."

Ves snorted. "I suppose that is the best that you can expect of pirates."

"Don't underestimate Ulimo Citadel, Ves." Calabast glinted her eyes at him. "Under normal conditions, the Dry Snakes are mainly counting on their formidable base defenses along with their 1700 mechs to hang on to their lucrative base. Aside from the trade that they have attracted, the Dry Snakes mainly earn their living by mining the more interesting exotics from the surrounding asteroids. This particular portion of Maynard Fields doesn't offer as much Kavenit as other places, but in return there is a good chance that prospectors are able to stumble on small deposits of medium or even high-grade exotics!"

Ves leaned forward from his chair when he heard that. He stopped petting Lucky, much to the cat's complaints.

"Meow!"

"Ulimo Citadel must contain a lot of wealth if that is the case."

"That is probable. The Dry Snakes are considerably stronger than the Crona Lords. This also means that they are much more formidable. Attacking this base is very risky even if we have the help of Lucky."

"I find that hard to believe." Ves stated and gestured towards the projection of the base. "Oh, I'm sure this base has a lot of nasty surprises, but we haven't encountered any pirates who are able to do anything about my cat!"

"Meow meow." Lucky preened with pride.

Major Verle spoke up at this moment. "The issue that Calabast is alluding to is the notoriety that we have built up as we have sought out several pirate groups. After Xiphard Base, we knocked over three other pirate bases, thereby ending the lives of many pirates!"

Task Force Predator went on a pirate hunting spree after profiting considerably from defeating the Crona Lords. Calabast researched and picked out several smaller pirate bases in order to refine their methods and obtain some quick and easy loot!

Lucky managed to eat a considerable amount of valuable exotics!

Ves expanded his collection of B-stones with two extra samples!

He also obtained dozens of test subjects, each of whom were confirmed pirates with spiritual potential!

The mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan accrued even further experience!

The task force looted plenty of valuable materials!

Though none of the pirate bases held anything truly remarkable, the entire task force had become a lot more accustomed to attacking them. With Lucky's help, the Larkinsons should have no problems cracking Ulimo Citadel!

However, Calabast disagreed.

"The situation is more complicated than we thought. According to the long-ranged observation data from our forward scouts, there are much more mechs and sh.i.p.s present at Ulimo Citadel."

She tapped the projection, causing it to highlight four different groups of mech forces.

Ves frowned. "I take it the largest group are the Dry Snakes."

"Yes. We already anticipated their presence. What is problematic are the other three pirate groups. According to investigations, they are the vassal pirate groups that normally roam elsewhere. The fact that they have congregated at Ulimo Citadel is not a good sign."

Major Verle let out an exasperated breath. "We have toppled too many pirate groups. In each and every attack since we entered the Nyxian Gap, we completely devastated our opponents. You have to know that all-out attacks on pirate bases don't happen very often. Now that an outside factor such us have entered Maynard and shown that we do not abide by the rules, the local pirate organizations have all begun to respond to your actions."

"The Dry Snakes have summoned the Xona Stalkers, the Farmund's Own and the Hapid Qlinters to reinforce Ulimo Citadel. While these pirate outfits are weaker, their numbers and individual strengths can't be overlooked."

Calabast provided a brief overview of the vassal outfits.

The Xona Stalkers attracted her attention the most. Presumably founded by intelligence officers and operatives gone rogue, the Xona Stalkers were famed for using stealth mechs and stealth shuttles based on outdated stealth tech.

However, despite losing access to newer iterations of stealth tech, the Xona Stalkers still managed to maintain their foundation. These days, they were able to field 400 mechs, though this was only what everyone knew on the surface.

Several rumors swirled around the Xona Stalkers.

One of them stated that they were still secretly backed by a lawful organization, most likely a Sentinel noble house.

Another rumor claimed that the Xona Stalkers somehow managed to get their hands on some alien stealth tech in the Nyxian Gap.

The most improbable rumor stated that the Xona Stalkers secretly maintained a research team that consisted of scientists who specialized in stealth technology!

"Regardless which of these rumors are true, as long as we plunder the Xona Stalkers, we'll likely be able to take over all of their possessions." Calabast grinned. "While their stealth gear is probably inferior, the exotics used in making them is very valuable to my Black Cats. It's quite challenging to obtain stealth materials in the Nyxian Gap."

Her personal interest in attacking Ulimo Citadel became clear. The Xona Stalkers was led by former spies like her. This caused Calabast to become a lot more excited about plundering this specific pirate outfit!

"The Farmund's Own are a lot more boring in comparison. It's founded by a number of military veterans, so their discipline and training is a lot better than the typical pirates. They're able to field 700 mechs, and they are generally strong in ranged combat and defending strongholds."

"That's quite a lot of mechs. Don't the Dry Snakes feel threatened by their vassal?"

"It's complicated." Calabast shrugged. "The third group is the Hapid Qlinters. Unlike the other two vessels, the Hapid Qlinters share a different origin. The leaders of the Qlinters don't come from civilized space. Instead, the Qlinters are fully made up of Nyxian pirates who were born and raised in the region. While they are known for their aggression, they are also famed for their lack of discipline and restraints. They are able to field around 650 mechs."

The Hapid Qlinters sounded like upgraded bottom feeders to Ves. They likely consisted of thugs who lucked out on some raids and managed to grow stronger instead of getting annihilated by the Peacekeepers.

Though these subordinate pirate outfits weren't particularly threatening to the Larkinson Clan when they were alone, it was a different story now that they answered the call of the Dry Snakes.

Disregarding Ulimo Citadel's fixed defenses, confronting over 3000 pirate mechs at once was still a risky endeavor!

"What do you think?" Ves asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"The Dry Snakes are ready for us." Major Verle responded. "It is not a wise idea for us to hit a tough and prepared target. Even if the pirates here aren't aware of how we managed to sabotage the defenses of the previous targets that we've hit, there is no way that the pirates will remain complacent when it comes to guarding Ulimo Citadel. I fear that Lucky won't be able to get away with as much mischief as before."

"Meow!" Lucky raised his tail.

The major ignored the disgruntled cat. "To be honest, I think we have done enough in the Nyxian Gap. You set out to travel here in order to bloody our combat forces and earn a large amount of MTA merits. After we have cracked open four pirate bases, how many merits have you earned?"

"Almost 2 million merits. Those pirates we've attacked have all been naughty. With the MTA offering double rewards for every violation of the taboos, we've quickly made progress towards obtaining passage to the Red Ocean."

Ves was quite happy with the rapid progress. It didn't take much time to earn a princely sum of merit that other Journeymen needed years or decades to accrue.

"The only reason why you managed to earn so much merits was because the Nyxian pirates we attacked weren't fully prepared for us. It's different now. There are hardly any pirates in Maynard Fields who aren't aware of our threat. Ulimo Citadel isn't too far from the last pirate fortification we hit, so the Dry Snakes should definitely be on high alert. It will take months or word of our task force's departure or annihilation for the pirates to lower their guards."

He made a very good point. There was a huge difference between prepared and unprepared targets. Ulimo Citadel was already pretty strong to begin with. Now that the Dry Snakes called for reinforcements and elevated their guard, there were many chances for an assault to go wrong!

Ves curiously turned to Calabast. "You don't seem as pessimistic. Do you think we have a chance to succeed in assaulting Ulimo Citadel?"

"It.. depends." She said. "Ordinarily, I agree with Major Verle that it is not worth the risk to attack Ulimo. However, after examining some scattered intelligence, I have reason to believe that this fortress is of considerable interest."

"What is it?"

"There is a small chance that Ulimo Citadel's marketplace is one of the places where B-stones are being sold. In fact, the Dry Snakes may even be the ones who have mined it, processed it and put on sale!"

"What?! Are you sure?!"