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The news came as a huge surprise to a lot of clansmen!

A torrent of discussions ensued as many clansmen became more interested in joining the side branch that previously held a marginal status in the clan.

The prospect of earning greater status, respect and prosperity in the Davute Branch if its armed forces performed well in the upcoming war produced a lot of transfer applications.

Tens of thousands of clansmen who were previously assigned to the main fleet had chosen to take up permanent residency in Davute!

Many of them had also volunteered to take up positions on the brand-new Davutan fleet carriers and combat carriers that the colonial state had promised to provide to Ark Larkinson's future command!

The sheer scale of personnel transfers messed up a lot of roster and generated a lot of extra work for managers.

Fortunately, the Larkinson Clan was already numerous and professional enough to handle these disruptions without producing any significant delays.

The overwhelming majority of personnel were easily replaceable. No matter how many starship engineers, mech officers, mech pilots, mech technicians and low-ranking mech designers transferred to the Davute Branch or registered to join Ark Larkinson's future command, each of them could easily be replaced once they had left the fleet.

The clan's recruiters had become a lot busier once again as they lowered their standards and acted more proactively in order to increase the intake of new Larkinsons.

The rapid growth of the clan along with its recent successes made recruiting a breeze. As long as the recruiters weren't too picky, they could easily make up for the shortfalls in a matter of weeks rather than months.

As all of these movements took place, Minister Shederin Purnesse and his negotiation teams held multiple talks with their Davutan counterparts.

Any major agreements with regards to the military service of Ark Larkinson and his fellow Larkinsons mainly pertained to the Davute Branch. This was a term that Ves and several other important Larkinsons insisted upon.

This would allow Ves to maintain the polite fiction that he and his fleet were not officially enemies of Karlach.

Though Ves couldn't care less about his relations with a single colonial state, he wanted to make sure to set a precedent and preserve his clan's ability to trade with many different trading partners in the future.

For now, there was no need for him to step forward and talk to that smug bastard President Yenames Clive again for the time being. The two sides needed to hash out an extensive agreement that spelled out all of the necessary terms in great detail.

If the Larkinson Clan was about to go in bed with a colonial state that already showed a penchant for scheming against others, it was best to err on the side of caution!

Given the amount of progress the negotiators from both sides were making, the final contract should hopefully be finalized just before the much-anticipated founding ceremony commenced.

If they were lucky enough, mechs and soldiers of the Larkinson Clan may even play a small but active role in this historic ceremony!

This produced a sense of urgency among many Larkinsons, including the expert pilots that the clan treated as strategic assets.

Inside a hangar bay built into the expansive underground complex below the Cat Nest, they had all decided to gather in order to exchange their opinions.

"So what do you think about Ark's invitation, Jannzi?" Venerable Joshua asked as he sat down on a chair in front of his Everchanger.

"Not interested." Jannzi stoically said as she crossed her arms. "I can understand what Ark is yearning for, but to be frank he is going to lead us into a bloodbath that is just as worse as Ves' expeditions. Whether we go out and fight against human mechs or alien warships, the results will always be the same. A lot of good Larkinsons will get killed in order to fuel the ambitions of others. In this case, it won't be Ves' goals we are advancing, but that of my good uncle."

Venerable Rosa Orfan slapped her palm against her leg. "Show some more respect, Jannzi! A long time ago, everyone including me looked up to Colonel Ark Larkinson. He was one the bright spots of the Mech Corps. Those times may be over now, but I have no doubt at all that he will become a hero once again in this new war. Who knows, he may even become the first native Larkinson ace pilot. Soon, we will all be looking up to him again like old times!"

Most of the adopted Larkinsons did not know much about Ark Larkinson until recently. Few of them originated from the Bright Republic so they did not hold any prior awareness of one of the most famed expert pilots and mech officers produced by the original Larkinson Family.

It was therefore jarring to hear that Venerable Jannzi Larkinson expressed disdain towards her blood relative!

"I swear there is something about this clan that is making so many people crazy for battle. I had a good talk with Melinda recently. Ark always disapproved of senseless fighting prior to arriving here and linking up with the Davute Branch. Yet now that he and the members of the old family have been in contact with our clansmen for over a month, the Larkinson who was supposed to be the most responsible among us has decided to pull off another Ves but on his own terms!"

"Who the hell asked for your opinion? You can't even fight anymore until Ves completes your new expert mech." Venerable Vincent Ricklin gave Jannzi a sour look. "Ark is a real man! He's the real deal and it will be great to fight under his command! Not that there's anything wrong with staying in the fleet, but I haven't been able to punch anything good with my C-Man lately. Those aliens aren't fun to fight against when you pilot a melee mech like I do. I think I have much better hope of finding good old-fashioned enemy expert mechs if I jump into this war."

Jannzi looked at Vincent with pity. "I sincerely hope you will find what you seek on the frontlines of the war between Davute and Karlach. War can be horrible. I thought you already knew that when you went through many hardships during the time you fought as a rebel and a scumbag."

"That was a different time! I received amnesty for what I've done. Besides, I was weak back then and got saddled with too many crappy mechs to count. It's a different story now. I have not only become a thousand times stronger than my old self, but I also have Bravo and the C-Man by my side. We're going to beat up tons of Karlach expert mechs!"

As Jannzi and Vincent continued to quibble against each other, Joshua turned to Venerable Dise.

"What about you? I think your First Sword will fare much better against the Karlachs as well since it is also a melee expert mech."

The Swordmaiden expert pilot did not look moved. "I will stay in the fleet. I did not take up the life of a mech pilot because I am looking for a fairer fight. Ves makes strange decisions sometimes, but he is always good at stumbling upon giant space monsters and titanic warships. Don't you think it is more meaningful to exceed our limits and defeat enemies that others consider unstoppable? These expeditions are hunting trips on a galactic scale. My Decapitator hungers to cut through stronger prey."

Venerable Dise had a clear reason to remain in her current position. She also felt she needed to stay and watch over the Swordmaidens who also remained attached to the fleet for the most part.

"Imon?" Joshua probed. "What is your decision?"

The young man looked conflicted. "I don't know, Joshua. I kind of agree with Rosa here. I think I can get a lot more combat experience outside the MSTS if I join Ark's command. I just can't bear the thought of separating from my sister, though. She needs my protection. We synergize too well with each other. What will she do if an enemy comes close and I'm not around anymore?"

Commander Casella Ingvar interrupted her professional demeanor so that she could smack her idiot of her brother on the back of his head!

"Ouch! What was that for, sister?!"

"I can stay and watch over the troops that are protecting the fleet without your help." Casella grumbled. "You have been growing far too dependent on me over the years. I am not a doll that needs your protection all of the time. My Minerva and I can defend ourselves quite well, and there will still be enough expert mechs by my side to cover for any enemy assaults."

"Yeah, but they can't channel your power like I can. Whenever you activate your Single Empowerment resonance ability on me, my Blade Chaser Mark II becomes powerful enough to give a high-tier expert mech a run for its money!"

"I think that the two ace mechs that will soon be joining the expeditionary fleet can help me out in a pinch. Just go with them, brother. Learn to fly on your own. Your psychological reliance on me has become too much of an impediment of your growth, and the easy availability of my true resonance is making you soft."

Imon did not like it when his own sister was pushing him away, but he was no match against her intellect. Her well-founded arguments broke down his resistance to the point where he became so muddled that he no longer questioned her recommendation!

Joshua meanwhile had already turned to the next expert pilot.

"Have you given any thought to the offer, Isobel?"

Isobel Kotin looked reluctant. "I want to fight in the war as well, but I owe too much to Ves to leave his fleet. Besides, my specialization makes me the most effective ship destroyer among us all. I was born to fight warships."

"Tusa?"

"Same as Isobel. I learned a lot of cool tricks with Ves' help." Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson replied.

"I thought you would really go over as your grandfather Raymond is in charge of the Davute Branch."

The light skirmisher specialist shrugged his shoulders. "So what? Ves is my cousin as well, you know. I think I will do fine either way, but as I said, I owe Ves too much. I respect and admire Ark a lot, but I don't owe him near as much. Besides, if I want to become more powerful in my own right, I shouldn't be looking up to Ark all of the time."

"Fair enough." Joshua said.

The remaining expert pilots including the ones that were still waiting to receive their expert mechs all made their opinions known.

Venerable Davia Stark had no desire to take part in a purely human conflict that did not seem important in the greater scheme of things.

Venerable Kolak Glendale that had broken through during a recent battle exhibited a clear preference for joining Ark. He felt it was much easier for him to get up to speed and survive when fighting enemies that were more on his level.

Venerable Zimro Belson also owed Ves a lot, especially when he recently learned that the patriarch vastly strengthened the technological features of his upcoming stealth expert mech.

If Venerable Ark Larkinson was added to the picture, that meant that the Larkinson Clan would be transferring 5 expert pilots and their expert mechs to the new military mech division!

There was always the possibility of more as the ones who decided to not to transfer may change their mind in the future.

All in all, Joshua and the others who decided to stay close to Ves and the fleet would have to bear a significantly greater burden, at least until more demigods emerged to relieve their burden.