Prosperous Hill VI was a bustling planet.

It not only featured varied industrial sectors, but also funneled in trade goods produced from the other planets in the inner system or transported over from other star systems in the region.

In turn, Prosperous Hill VI also shipped a lot of goods outwards. The PHTS constantly worked their cargo ships and transports to the bone due to the sheer amount of goods they had to cart back and forth.

In fact, some trading companies didn't even bother to go through this whole song and dance. A huge amount of aging and dubiously space worthy cargo haulers floated permanently in the outer system.

They acted as private warehouses that offered convenient storage space and transfer of goods to any trade vessels that happened to be in the vicinity. It was much cheaper and faster to hand over or receive goods this way, but only if the vessels in question arrived from the right star system.

If not for the fact that the local rulers disapproved of anyone constructing permanent bases and space stations in the outer system, there would have been a lot more commerce in the outskirts.

As it was, the strict rules forced everyone interested in doing business to converge to Prosperous Hill VI where the authorities meticulously kept an eye on every transaction.

A fast courier vessel silently cut through space. The luxurious corvette bore the colors and markings of the Prosperous Hill Transportation Service, as she should. Otherwise, the vigilant-looking biomechs patrolling all of the established routes to and from the inner system would have swooped in to stop the unauthorized intrusion.

Except for vessels belonging to powerful or high-ranking LRA officials, no other ship was allowed to enter the sphere that denoted the inner system. This frustrated every smuggler, terrorist or malcontent that wished to do something that the authorities wouldn't take kindly of. The fact that hardly any news appeared that spoke of trouble arising from external causes was a good sign that this policy was doing its job.

Even if it was possible to circumvent these harsh conditions, the gains weren't worth the costs. Perhaps someone attempted to operate a stealth vessel as a means to smuggle goods in or out, but it only had to get caught once before a very expensive asset had to be written off!

It was much easier to conduct physical exchanges in one of the many forgettable red dwarf or brown dwarf star systems.

That did not necessarily mean that shady business never took place in Prosperous Hill. There were plenty of locals competing against each other and foreigners still needed a central space to conduct face-to-face meetings.

Ves wasn't thinking about that at the moment.

He and Gloriana along with a small group of other clan officials were enjoying the comforts of their current transit vessel. Due to the favorable grid position of the expeditionary fleet, Prosperous Hill VI was actually fairly close, so it wouldn't take too much time to reach the planet.

While Ves was garbed in his formal patriarch uniform in order to denote that he was on official business, he did not intend to spend all of his time in meetings.

Every highly-populated planet offered numerous venues for sightseeing, relaxation, learning and inspiration. Ves was particularly keen on the latter. Every novelty he encountered provided him with different ideas that could cause him to develop an entirely new mech design concept.

The more divergent the locale, the greater the possibility of coming up with a radical new idea.

In that regard, Ves was slightly regretful his first visit did not bring him to Prosperous Hill IV. The fourth planet from the local star was hailed as the true center of biotechnology and biomechs.

He definitely intended to drop by there in the time his fleet was laid over in this star system!

"What are you thinking about?" A female voice asked.

Gloriana wore a fashionable coat over an understated blue dress that accented her slim figure with the help of a belt around her waist. Her perfume was lighter and less distracting, though Ves still enjoyed it all the same.

"I'm just thinking it was a shame that we didn't get accosted by local patrols." He murmured as he looked at the large projection showing random views of scenic spots in the star system. "I would have been able to look at a biomech up close. I've never gotten close to any of these odd machines."

She smiled and patted her dainty hand over his own. "Be patient. We'll be getting close to them soon enough. Even if Prosperous Hill VI is not the focal point of biotech in this star system, it still features plenty of applications."

Practically every settlement in the LRA incorporated at least some form of biotechnology in place of regular technology. This could be as simple as organic air filtration devices to ultrathin biomechanical suits that the Lifers wore in place of conventional vacsuits.

Even though a normal vacsuit already performed well in protecting their wearers against vacuum and moderate radiation exposure, Lifers took an obsessive pride in replacing mechanical products with organic alternatives.

There was a certain rationality about it. Even if these organic alternatives couldn't beat the performance or cost-efficiency of the products that the rest of the galaxy considered standard, then their continued use would lower the cost of production while also spurring further development.

The advocates of ubiquitous biotechnology all thought that humanity would be better off if they made use of organic alternatives.

Ves thought it was better that these advocates remained a fringe group.

Just because he was curious about biomechs and such didn't mean he was ready to embrace them wholesale. He just wanted to take a look, that was all. Hopefully he would get to see plenty of biomechs up close.

"Would you ever accept biomechs in the Larkinson Clan?" He asked.

She crinkled her nose. "You already know what I think about them. Not a single biomech is completely consistent with each other. Small variables during their growth can considerably affect their performance and other parameters. I can't stand the sight. Besides, no one in the clan knows what to do with them. We can't 'produce' or service them. We need to bring in a whole crew of Lifers in order to establish a basic infrastructure that is capable of handling biomechs."

"You're right. It's unnecessary for us to make use of two different and incompatible mech systems at once."

A part of him still felt it was a shame, though. He would have loved to obtain a handful of biomechs if only for him to admire and play around with. Perhaps the recruiters might be able to sign on a sufficient number of Lifer mech technicians to devote a single combat carrier into a specialty biomech vessel.

As Ves and Gloriana chatted, Lucky and Clixie chased each other while threading through the seats and tables. Lucky eventually caught the other cat by jumping on her back and softly biting her neck.

Despite possessing teeth that were sharp and powerful enough to chew through Unending alloy, Lucky's metallic incisors didn't even pierce Clixie's skin!

"Miaow!"

Ves had seen this plenty of times, so he wasn't concerned about Lucky drawing blood. He did grow curious about the teeth issue, though.

Either Lucky exerted perfect control, which was extremely difficult, or there was something funny about his teeth.

One of the theories that Ves formed was that Lucky was able to generate an energy field over his teeth that did the actual cutting. How that worked, he couldn't even begin to guess. He observed Lucky crunching exotics that were as hard as mech armor and still hadn't been able to detect any unusual energy emissions.

Soon enough, the corvette approached the orbit of Prosperous Hill VI. One of the perks of travelling on a small transit vessel reserved for VIPs was that her passengers weren't forced to transfer over to a space station.

After a brief wait, the corvette received permission to descend into the atmosphere.

Neither Ves nor anyone else aboard the vessel noticed any fluctuations. The second-class ship was so well-dampened against vibrations and other fluctuations that everyone felt as if they were still on solid ground.

The transit vessel quickly approached the sprawling city known as Veoline, the capital of Prosperous Hill VI.

As the ship was on her way to one of the quieter and more exclusive spaceports of the metropolitan area, Ves switched the projected view to a direct angle pointing downwards.

"That's a lot of trees." Gloriana immediately noted. "There is far more green in this city than any place I've visited before."

"Supposedly, not all of them are merely trees."

The spaceport that the corvette finally landed at was a prime example of that. It was a broad and sprawling collection of giant structures that all featured walls that resembled wood.

When the Miracle Couple and their entourage took their first step on Prosperous Hill VI, they all couldn't help but gawk at the walls around them. Their resemblance to wood was uncanny, but there was a strange coloration to them that made it clear that they were more than ordinary organic matter.

Yet the walls were nothing compared to the roofs. Huge, sprawling branches extended from the top and soared into the sky. The leaves they bore eagerly absorbed the energy radiated by the local star.

A small delegation of Infinity Guards met the new arrivals in a hallway up ahead. They consisted of armored guards but their weapons were safely stowed on their backs. Only a single person was wearing an ordinary uniform.

That person stepped forward.

"Welcome to Prosperous Hill VI, Patriarch Larkinson, Lady Wodin-Larkinson. I am Irvine Spefan. I am assigned to be your guide and attendant for the duration of your stay on this lovely planet. Should you ever require additional services from us, feel free to ask. Even if we do not provide the service you seek, we have extensive contacts throughout the local economy."

Ves looked curiously at the maroon-haired man. His slightly odd accent stood out from the other Infinity Guards.

"Hello, Irvine. Are you a local, perhaps?"

"Not quite, but I have lived here long enough to pick up the local customs."

"So you're not a part of the main fleet?"

"Oh, no. My assignment is purely ground-based. The Star Striders make a habit of establishing branch offices in every port system. That is where we get much of our business from, after all. We are also able to coordinate with your guard duty to make sure that no one runs afoul with local laws and customs."

"I see."

The group ventured forward. They went through the usual checks, though they were brief because everyone had already gone through more extensive checks and verifications when they stepped onboard the transit vessel.

Soon enough, they were allowed to forward. They entered one of the main halls of the spaceport.

"How beautiful!"

Gloriana gasped.

The interior decoration made it look as if they had entered a garden, but one that still bore all of the traits of a typical public structure. Plants, trees and flowers adorned the space while various strange organisms meticulously attended to them to make sure they were presented in a good light.

There weren't any animals such as birds, mammals or other creatures to complete the scenery. Instead, all Ves spotted were colorful beetle-like creatures that basically functioned as organic bots.

These artificial lifeforms looked rather cute and disarming, though a part of him felt horrified as well.

"Please don't mind the caretaker beetles." Irvine spoke in a tone that made it clear he said this many times. "The beetles are harmless and completely incapable of doing anything outside of their genetic programming. They are used to tend to the organic structures and scenery. Please don't get too close to them. If you accidentally kill or damage them in any way, you'll receive a mark on your record. If you incur too many marks, you'll be requested to leave the planet."

"Is that necessary?"

"Very much so. The beetles are designed to be incapable of resisting attacks. They are not even allowed to run away in the event of an attack due to safety reasons. You cannot believe how many visitors couldn't resist the urge to kick them in the air when Prosperous Hill VI was just starting to grow as a trading destination."

Ves smiled wryly. He was just entertaining that urge himself!