Two important Larkinsons sat down on a park bench.

The simulated sky projected on the ceiling of the 12th deck displayed a few puffy white clouds. Various cats with collars lazily lounged on tree branches while some birds twittered around while flying out of reach.

"Mrow! Mrow!"

"Maw-maw."

"Twit twit twit."

"Chirrrrrrp!"

The introduction of pets in the Larkinson Clan had certainly livened up the Larkinson Clan. The Spirit of Bentheim was no exception as countless pets mingled together with their human owners.

Due to the high intelligence of each sentient pet, they didn't require strict supervision. The animals liked to run off on their own sometimes and hang out with their own kind in parks like these. The monitoring system of the Spirit of Bentheim continuously tracked the activities of each pet and made sure they did not hunt each other or touched something important.

Of course, nothing was perfect. The pets were still willful and their intelligence did not always override their instincts. They also made a lot of noise, demanded attention at the strangest times and got in the way of work sometimes.

The Larkinson Assembly had already passed a proposal that limited the presence of pets at work. Hence why 'New Dorum' was currently filled with pets. The animals were too bored to sit around in the quarters of their owners.

Ves smiled as he took in the liveliness of all of the pets hanging around in the park.

Giggling children approached a bunch of cats and began to pet the ones that allowed themselves to be touched.

Retired veterans took their dogs out for a walk and threw powered frisbees that soared far enough away that their companions would have a good workout.

Mothers proudly held their cute rabbits and tried to compete over which one was the cutest.

All of the happiness around Ves invigorated him. He felt a sense of peace and satisfaction that was difficult to describe. As the leader of the Larkinson Clan, it was he who largely pushed for the integration of pets in the daily lives of his fellow clansmen.

It was a whimsical decision that wasn't backed up by any solid reasoning, but now that he saw the results, he felt it was one of the best decisions he made.

As someone who possessed a strong interest in life, he never wanted to transform the Larkinson Clan into a rigid, military organization that no longer knew how to have fun. Where was the fun in being part of an organization that only lived to serve and obey?

Life revolved around more than service. If there was one trait that Ves admired the old Larkinsons, it was that they prized family and the importance of providing a good life for their relatives. They were not completely lost in their obsession to serve the Bright Republic.

Perhaps it was not just his mother alone that pushed him to develop a life domain.

While she possessed an abundance of power, his mother's spiritual attributes were strongly slanted towards predation and the crueler side of nature. Whenever Ves sensed her spirituality, he felt as if he was facing an apex predator that swallowed everything that did not kill her. Despite her affection towards Ves, her true nature was not as gentle and kind as she appeared back when he was a young child.

This was why he prized his Larkinson heritage even more. The Larkinson Family approached life from a civilized and more humble angle. His relatives never thought about becoming the top predator in the jungle. They thought of themselves as humans who defended the Bright Republic out of duty and to build a better life for their descendents.

Certainly, Ves thought that the Larkinsons back then were too naive and servile. They had become so tamed by the government that they no longer knew how to hunt and provide for themselves.

So what did that make Ves, who inherited the traits of both? Was he a ferocious, solitary tiger or a communal housecat?

As Ves mused about this question, the expert pilot sitting next to him flared her force of will as she became enthralled by her own thoughts.

"I won't let you ruin this happiness." She grunted.

Her remark threw Ves off-guard.

"I built this paradise in the first place, Jannzi. My work is pivotal to propelling the Larkinson Clan into prosperity. Do you think it's easy for us to get our hands on a factory ship worth 2 trillion hex credits by designing some average mechs? I worked harder and took more risks than many other mech designers to build our clan up to this point. While I admit that I have made some mistakes, that is the price to leap past our peers. I have never kept this truth from our fellow clansmen, though in hindsight I should have placed more emphasis on the dangers."

Venerable Jannzi sneered. "I hate it when you talk like that, Ves. You sound like you're admitting your mistakes, but I have been with you long enough to know that you are still the same person as before. You just think about your own interests and never pay much attention to the tragedies you've inflicted on the helpers who entrusted you with their lives."

"I'm not driving them to their deaths, Jannzi! From the founding of our clan, I have always said that we are swimming against the current! If living well is our only goal, then I would have taken it easy and developed like any normal Journeyman. That's not what I want and that's not what the Larkinson Clan is about either. Many of the people who joined our clan are the same as I. None of us are content with living an average life."

"That doesn't mean you had to push us deep into the Nyxian Gap!" Venerable Jannzi pushed back. "You don't have any credibility in my eyes, Ves. Ever since I advanced to expert pilot, I have become incredibly attuned to any potential threat to our fellow Larkinsons. Do you know what my senses are telling me now? You are still as bad as before. Throwing away the lives of thousands of Larkinsons who believed in your rotten plan wasn't enough to turn you around. I'm afraid you're about to pull us into another vortex."

Ves tried to remain calm. "The entire multiverse is filled with vortices. The Bright Republic we used to live in was just a smaller one. Now that we have jumped into a bigger vortex, we need to strengthen ourselves quickly or risk capsizing. Look, I don't expect you to understand the pressure we are all facing. I just don't like it when you judge my decisions without taking in the entire context."

"What is there to think about?" Jannzi frowned. "It's really simple to me. You are driving us way too hard. As a mech designer, you could have just quietly accumulated wealth and settled for training us steadily. Sure, training without actual combat is not as effective in raising the best soldiers, but we don't need that! As long as our methods are solid and our soldiers are disciplined enough, we will be more than capable of defending ourselves against threats! Whatever shortcomings you think our mech pilots have can easily be compensated by providing us with better mechs!"

"You still don't understand, Jannzi. The strength of a combat force does not entirely revolve around obtaining the best hardware. The strongest mech is a piece of scrap in the hands of a weak-minded mech pilot. I have been focusing a lot of effort into maturing our mech pilots because that is the right way to make us strong! Only when both our mechs and mech pilots are strong will we be able to match or exceed the likes of the Friday Coalition or the Cross Clan!"

Both of them held different stances. No matter how much they argued, they simply couldn't reconcile their views. Ves didn't even know why he was arguing against an expert pilot in the first place.

"Earlier, you became pissed because I brought up Qilanxo, right?" Ves spoke again after a moment of silence.

The expert pilot narrowed her eyes. "And I told you that you had no right to mention her. Qilanxo is far more noble than yours. She is a mother and cares for all of her family, unlike you. She's a far better than the Superior Mother because she doesn't care about gender. She lives to protect, while you live to destroy. Don't deny it. You make war machines that are solely designed to kill people and destroy objects. You founded the Larkinson Clan, but not to improve the lives of your fellow relatives, but to raise them up as your soldiers and lackeys. I don't like the direction you are heading into. It goes against everything that Qilanxo stands for. Preserving the lives of your relatives doesn't even rank in your top 10 priorities."

Her accusations went too far! Ves grew angry for a moment. Instead of yelling back at her, he did something else. He concentrated his mind and attempted to borrow some of Qilanxo's presence!

The powerful spiritual entity reacted with surprise, but she did not resist his move on account of their trust and friendship. She generously cooperated and allowed Ves to borrow some of her strength!

The change was immediate. Ves turned from a human into an avatar of a sacred god!

Jannzi's eyes widened and her force of will rippled as she detected the same welcoming presence that she constantly felt when she piloted the Shield of Samar!

Ves was expending some of his spiritual energy while he maintained this state. He did not dare to channel Qilanxo too much. He just borrowed enough of her presence to drive home his point.

As a protective glow radiated from his body, Ves stared straight into Jannzi's eyes.

"I don't think you know who Qilanxo truly is. She is a protector, but she is also a warrior. She is the matriarch of her kind and has fought alongside her brutal husband for centuries. As a mother, she is far more ruthless to her offspring than you think. From what I recall of her species, she probably had lots of children, but only a fraction of them lived to adulthood. The rest turned into rotten bones or ended up as meals to other beasts. Even when we killed her 'husband' and took her into captivity, she soon turned into our friend without feeling much guilt or remorse."

Venerable Jannzi looked shocked! She may have developed a close bond with Qilanxo, but she had never shared much of her past.

"E-Even if that's the case, aren't you going too far with this? We are humans, not animals!"

"Humans and exobeasts are more alike than you think." Ves smirked as he continued to channel Qilanxo without any problem. That signified that he was still in sync with the design spirit. "Both of us are struggling to survive amidst a cruel and savage environment. The savage ecosystem of Aeon Corona VII may be different from the galaxy, but the rules of the jungle still apply."

"You're wrong! We live in a society, Ves! The time where we need to fight against each other in order to feed our stomachs is long over. It's completely unnecessary to push your fellow Larkinsons to this extent!"

Ves shook his head. "I disagree. There are too many predators and not enough resources to keep them fed. The weak will not be able to feed themselves. In fact, they might end up as prey as well! Now that we are on our own and have to rely on ourselves, the last thing we want to do is to bury our heads in the sand! True safety and prosperity can only be attained by becoming stronger and more ferocious than our competitors. This is what it truly means to protect!"

He spoke with so much authority when he channeled the sacred god that Venerable Jannzi simply could not refute his arguments!

Every word he spoke resonated with Qilanxo's being. The truth was undeniable.

The expert pilot's image of her patron spirit had shattered. Jannzi looked empty for a moment as a storm raged in her mind.