The initial banquet proceeded rather smoothly. It helped that the space between the tables was rather large in order to allow the Cross Clan's latest trophies to take up the best space.

As warriors themselves, the Infinity Guard officers all became fascinated by the debris and other spoils of war. They were especially impressed with the pieces that originated from the enemy expert mechs.

Mercenaries generally didn't retain the services of expert pilots.

They generally never fought against mech pilots of this caliber. They also found it too expensive to meet the needs of an expert pilot. If an outfit or group couldn't make an expert pilot happy, then much of their investment would go to waste if the demigod walked away!

Perhaps the larger mercenary organizations such as the Star Striders may be able to afford retaining some expert pilots, but their 14th Fleet obviously hadn't benefited. Their roster was completely filled with standard mech pilots.

There was nothing wrong with that. Though his recent experiences may have suggested otherwise, the vast majority of forces hailing from private individuals and organizations were pretty much in the same boat.

As long as everyone was on the same level, there was no need to make excessive investments.

States were fine with this as well. They hoarded as many expert pilots as possible and did not want to see any of them slip away in order to work for a bunch of mercenaries or something.

The superiority of mech militaries in this aspect was one of the many ways they maintained their dominance over private forces. The latter could only dream of fielding expert mechs but would never make the decision to change this aspect.

Unlike a military force, a private force had to generate a profit. Even if it didn't have to, it eventually belonged to an organization that had to be smart about its spending.

The Larkinson Clan was a good example of that. The LMC's current business success enabled the Larkinsons to invest in expert mechs. Yet business was volatile and the good times might not always last.

Expert pilots also had their standards. A mercenary career was not the most glamorous or honorable that mech pilots could choose. Generally, only those who weren't good enough to serve in the military to begin with considered jobs in the private sector.

Once an expert candidate or expert pilot emerged in the private sector, the state always moved to offer an opportunity to these previously-unnoticed mech pilots.

Ves had fallen victim to this treatment as well when they initially took away Jannzi.

Would she have ended up with a more mellow personality if she remained in his service?

"What is it about the Mech Corps, anyway?" He muttered in confusion. "On the one hand, it was able to facilitate the rise of a great expert pilot in the form of my uncle Ark. Then they go on to produce absolute terrors like Ghanso and Jannzi."

All three of them were Larkinsons, but the latter two somehow became awful for no reason. Was the Mech Corps incompetent or had someone in the ranks deliberately tried to sabotage the Larkinson Family?

"Hmm, that sounds like a stretch." He shook his head.

As Ves continued to eat and chat with a couple of Infinity Guard officers, Lucky looked a bit dejected.

The Cross Clan provided Clixie with a bowl of alien fish that many cat species loved for their taste.

As for Lucky, the hosts merely provided a portable battery so that a mechanical cat could plug in its tail and top off its energy reserves.

"Meow…"

"Just bear with it, buddy. Once you go back, you can eat a proper meal."

"Meow meow."

Ves ignored his cat and went back chatting to one of the chief engineers.

Pelmud Nurde was the chief engineer of the Indefatigable. He was a relatively older man at 70 years old. While he was not one of those 150-year old fossils who had lived through multiple generations of starship technology, he was still an incredibly knowledgeable man who possessed a wealth of technical knowledge on second-class ships.

"The Auralis is truly a fantastic ship that I would love to get my hands on." He complimented to Ves. "The quality of the materials used in her construction and the modern systems that I have been able to identify are all in the upper range. The Auralis makes our Indefatigable look like a discount product."

"Are the Infinity Guards or your parent company interested in acquiring the Auralis, perchance?" Ves asked.

The older man shook his head. "Headquarters will decide. My superiors may ask for my input, but that is hardly the only voice they listen to. While I would celebrate if our fleet can turn the Auralis into our new flagship, I shouldn't get my hopes up. A ship that incorporates so many advanced and demanding systems must have a very high upkeep cost."

In other words, the Auralis wasn't good value for money. Most organizations similar to the Star Striders weren't interested in acquiring her when they could already accomplish their goals with a more affordable capital ship.

"What are the capital ships in Majestic Teal like?"

"They are no different from the capital ships that are typical in the surrounding star clusters." Chief Nurde responded. "If I have to identify a distinguishing element, it is that we favor smaller and more affordable flagships. The economies of our star sector aren't poor, but their scale is not as big. The various states prefer to go for quantity over quality."

"Hmm. I can see how that can be the case. Is there anything else that is notable about the local capital ship market?"

"You can always buy a second-hand capital ship if you quickly need to expand your fleet. Visit any major port system and you can probably spot a number of capital ships anchored around a satellite."

"Is the demand for capital ships not high enough?" Ves raised his eyebrow.

"I wouldn't say so. It's more accurate to say that the supply is too much. Quite a lot of factional struggles take place in these parts. Fleets regularly get defeated and their flagships sometimes fall into the hands of the victors."

Ah. Just like the Larkinson Clan, the winning side might not always want to take the risk of putting a captured ship to use. The security risks were too substantial.

In fact, this concern was giving Ves a lot of headaches. Unless a vendor was able to provide some solid guarantees, Ves preferred to exchange the Auralis for a new order.

The banquet quietly proceeded as the mercenary officers became more familiar with their clients and vice versa.

The relations between the two had thawed. Once the Golden Skull Alliance established its might and prestige, there was no need for the Larkinsons and Crossers to throw their weight around.

It was more important to establish a good working relationship with their new protectors. The Infinity Guards had to be able to mesh well with their clients in order to cooperate in any battle that might occur.

Colonel Pendulum soon began to talk shop with Colonel Ariadne. The two senior officers discussed basic arrangements such as the distance the Infinity Guard ships should keep to the expeditionary vessels, how many mechs were allowed to get close and other details.

Once these talks came to an end, both sides affirmed their commitment to the contract.

"The Infinity Guards are proud to take on the responsibility of guarding your fleet." Colonel Pendulum spoke with an officious voice. "We are eager to do business with you and serve as your companions during your stay in Majestic Teal."

The meeting soon came to an end. Neither side was in a hurry to deepen their shallow bond. There was plenty of time to do that in the days to come. For now, it was more important for them to head to safety and remove the risk of falling victim to an ambush yet again.

Once everyone returned to their own ships, the fleet briefly waited until every vessel cycled their FTL drives before leaving the star system.

"The mercs are actually quite decent." Ves summed up his thoughts. "They're better than I expected."

Gloriana didn't agree. "I'm not sure that you should put too much stock in your first impressions. Mercenaries are much more skilled at presenting themselves in a good light than putting up an actual fight."

"Hmm, you have a point, but I don't think the Infinity Guards are unreliable."

Perhaps they were judging the Infinity Guards too harshly. The Star Strider Security Group was a private company. It was unfair to compare its fighting prowess to that of a state-backed military.

After making it through the Battle of Reckoning, Ves had become too used to comparing his mechs and forces to that of the Fridaymen. Their elite mechs and expert mechs had turned into his internal measuring stick.

This was also why he pushed to overhaul his current design projects. Mechs such as the Bright Warrior IB had to do more than fighting against a typical military mech on an equal basis.

It had to be stronger!

Only by giving his second-class mechs an advantage would they be able to keep more friendly mech pilots alive next time.

No more excitement took place after the Infinity Guards formally started their protection mission. The presence of these familiar mercs instantly changed the expeditionary fleet's security situation.

Previously, whenever the Golden Skull Alliance emerged out of FTL travel, they always attracted the attention of scout ships that just happened to be in the neighborhood.

Even though these innocent-looking corvettes were several light-hours away, it was obvious that they were scoping the expeditionary fleet out. The owners of these corvettes may be plotting something nefarious.

All of that changed once the Infinity Guards showed their presence. The 14th Fleet was a known presence in Majestic Teal, so the various forces that were showing interest in the foreign visitors tactfully withdrew their eyes.

The obvious changes brought a lot of relief to Ves and the other leaders. Their decision to hire the Infinity Guards turned out to be the correct one. None of the locals wanted to provoke a fight against the 14th Fleet or its parent organization.

Even if the Infinity Guards were beatable, what about the rest of the Star Striders? Their main fleet back in Winged Serenade was far more formidable than any of their branch fleets!

Ves found this to be an interesting dynamic. The strength of the parent organization effectively sheltered its branches. He believed he might one day make use of it as well. After all, it might not be possible to keep his entire fleet together all this time.

As the days went by, Ves no longer paid attention to the mercenaries and fully invested himself in his work.

He focused much of his attention on completing the Bright Warrior IB Project. By prioritizing this project, he hoped to be able to start with mass producing the new Larkinson mechs as soon as the expeditionary fleet arrived at its first stop in the Life Research Association.

The output of the Spirit of Bentheim was not good enough to meet the demands of the Larkinson Clan. Ves wanted to obtain thousands of his new Bright Warrior mechs, and that entailed purchasing a huge amount of raw materials as well as borrowing a lot of additional production capacity.

A port system was the ideal place to make this happen. The abundant amount of trade and industrial development would allow the Larkinsons to accomplish all of their production goals as long as they paid enough money.

"It's also a convenient place to sell our salvage."

Of course, the Larkinson Clan and its allies intended to do much more than that. They needed to perform a lot of repairs and recruit a lot of replacement personnel.

This presented Ves with a difficult question.

Should he allow his clan to recruit second-raters?

Previously, he resisted this decision. Talented and well-trained second-rate citizens were usually entangled with existing institutions. None of them were as clean and unentangled as third-raters.

Ves glanced at the Larkinson Mandate and shook his head. "Ah, what am I worrying about? I have the Larkinson Network! Spies and saboteurs won't get the chance to stir up any trouble!"