The final hours counted down.
The distant energy signatures, particularly the huge one belonging to the Gravada Knarlax, hadn't stopped their approach. In fact, they even accelerated a bit as if the pirates crewing the ships were eager to crush the brazen Larkinson Clan!
Ves thought about what he wanted to say in his upcoming speech. He knew from Major Verle that words had a very powerful effect on the morale of his troops. If he said all of the right words, his ch pilots might be able to perform twenty percent better.
In contrast, if he spoke words of doom and defeat, then the effective performance of his ch pilots might drop by as much as fifty percent!
In a battle with such high stakes, these were enormous swings! Anything that could help their side fight a little harder and prevent more deaths was worth pursuing.
In fact, Ves ca up with an idea to go a step further. What if he took advantage of the Larkinson Network while he held his speech? What he tried to integrate spiritual manipulation in his words on a deeper level?
"What if I can speak to their souls rather than their ears?"
It was an interesting idea, and one that Ves thought had a lot of potential. While a part of him felt a bit exasperated at himself for trying to employ spiritual techniques in situations where they weren't needed, he was fascinated by them as well.
As Ves returned to his stateroom and sat next to Lucky, his attention shifted from the projection of the local area.
Ever since the Larkinson Clan received word that Lord Hivex dispatched a formidable punitive fleet, Ves had left much of his ch design work aside and instead focused most of his creative energies on developing spiritual solutions.
Oh, he spent plenty of his ti on chs. Upgrading and customizing the chs for his expert candidates took up most of his month.
"It's more of a chore, though."
Ves didn't invent anything new while he perford all of that work. Even the most powerful upgrade that ca in the form of Unending ch weapons actually didn't require any intensive effort at all. This was because the Unending alloy he used was already strong enough to do all of the work!
Instead, he had beco quite passionate and obsessed about advancing his spiritual engineering and spiritual manipulation abilities. He correctly surmised that the best way he could strengthen his forces was to explore the spiritual angle further.
There were thousands of Larkinsons in the task force who were already able to upgrade the physical performance of every ch and ship at their disposal. Ves could leave the job of servicing them and upgrading them to the ch designers, ch technicians, chief engineers and other knowledgeable clansn.
He could not turn to anyone else when he needed to accomplish sothing spiritual in nature.
Certainly, Jas and perhaps Ketis might help, but neither were even close to matching his spiritual capabilities.
Admittedly, his capabilities were very shallow compared to his mother, but he still stood head and shoulders above those who still believed that the extraordinary didn't exist!
As Ves reflected back on what he had accomplished in the last month, he realized that he had beco a lot more passionate about spiritual engineering than ch design.
Of course, part of that was because he had stalled his involvent in the LMC's ongoing ch design projects. Yet that did not excuse his excessive preoccupation with spiritual engineering.
"Am I a ch designer or am I a spiritual engineer?" He asked himself.
Lucky tiredly looked up at his face. "ow."
"Heh. That's easy for you to say. Your gem production pretty much runs on autopilot. Are you even capable of exerting any control over this process?"
"ow!" His cat turned away while flipping up his tallic tail.
It was not as if Ves was much better. When faced with an impossible project, he decided to take a crooked road and invented an entirely new spiritual production thod.
Ves felt this thod had a lot of potential. Its applications were endless, but Ves felt a bit disturbed in the direction he was going. Was he trying to pursue spiritual engineering regardless whether his actions were related to ch design?
"What am I turning into? Can I still just call myself a ch designer?"
He imagined that this question must be plaguing many other ch designers who dabbled in other fields. It was not unusual for ch designers to be dissatisfied with relying on third-party ch parts to design their chs. This was why Master Olson learned how to develop her own ch engines and how other ch designers learned how to design their own key parts.
Yet no matter how far they ventured into these side paths, they were still able to cling on to their primary identities as ch designer.
Ves found it increasingly more difficult to do the sa. The temptation to pay less attention to ch design in order to reserve more ti for spiritual engineering kept plaguing him. There were almost an endless amount of ch designers in human space, many of which could design fantastic chs that rivaled his own in value or functionality.
There weren't as many spiritual engineers or spiritual sorcerers, though.
While it was rather precarious to engage in spiritual engineering in full view of the Big Two, as long as he maintained his identity as ch designer and continued to work with chs in his daily life, he could probably get away with a lot!
Still, Ves felt a bit reluctant to beco more like his mother. Even if he did not follow the sa path as hers with regards to spirituality, he believed he definitely possessed the potential to match and surpass her strength one day!
Right now, his domain encompassed both life and chs in equal proportion. This duality reflected his split obsessions towards life and chs.
"I'm a ch designer. I'm a spiritual engineer. I'm both."
No matter what, if he ever managed to leave the Nyxian Gap, he would return with enormous gains related to the latter. This would surely encourage him to go down this path even further.
"Why am I even questioning myself about this when there's pirates about to barrel down on my forces?"
He shook his head. This was not the ti to get swept up by irrelevant concerns.
His eyes sharpened as he reminded himself of his actual priorities.
"I have a clan to lead into battle."
Ti passed by as the Larkinsons all ate the best als they had in awhile. Ves even ate another Ulimo nutrient pack to pamper his taste buds and fill his stomach with a pleasant rolling warmth that would keep him satiated and energetic for hours.
It was a fitting al to prepare him for what was to co.
As the reality of the situation dawned on the Larkinsons, they slowly fird up as they mustered up their courage.
They already prepared for this battle. Each of them had worked hard to pass the most difficult tests of their lives.
Hardly any ch force achieved victory against a force of actual warships! The last example of this happening in the local region was when the sandn overwheld the understrength MTA warships dispatched to defend the Bentheim System.
As confident as Ves was in all of his preparations, he did not feel his forces were as strong as the sandn back then. He appreciated the parallels, though. Much like the aliens, his Larkinson Clan had upgraded its strength quite a bit since their last battle.
Hopefully, the Allidus Alliance would be caught off-guard much like the hapless MTA warships at the pivotal Battle of Bentheim!
When the countdown had almost reached the end, Ves began to suit up. He slowly donned his Unending Regalia and checked each and every piece of individual equipnt. He also helped Lucky equip the Misfortune Harness Mark II.
Though the chances were small that he would ever end up in a fight where he needed to fight man-to-man, it didn't hurt to be prepared.
"Are you ready for a show, Lucky?"
"ow."
Lucky did not look eager to go out. His stomach was still busy trying to digest the B-stone that Ves had employed as a laxative for his cat.
"Well, tough luck, you're going out anyway. I'm not leaving you here to sit out the entire battle."
Ves picked up his suited-up cat and held him against his shoulder as he stepped out of his stateroom.
With Nitaa's large and looming form following from behind his back, his armored suit clanked across the tal deck as he strode towards the bridge.
Once he entered, he sat in the central chair, various projections already popping up around him to give him a solid overview of his assets and the surrounding space.
Major Verle had already moved to the Redfeather to command the battle. The Scarlet Rose was many things, but she was not a good command ship.
"Status report. What is the condition of our forces?"
"The Avatars of Myth are fully deployed and ready for action."
'The Living Sentinels are just about to deploy their final chs."
"The Battle Criers are surrounding our ships."
"The Flagrant Vandals are covering our flanks and rear."
"The Swordmaidens are keeping all of their chs in reserve."
"The Penitent Sisters are already in the process of evacuating their converted combat carriers."
As Ves listened to the various reports, the hatch to the bridge slid open. Calabast, having eschewed her tight black uniform for a high-tech Hexer infiltrator suit, strode up to his seat.
She bent down a bit to caress Lucky's head.
"ow~" The cat squinted in pleasure.
"Why are you here, Calabast? Do you want to take Lucky on a risky jaunt or sothing?"
"No. Not yet. It's too dangerous to attempt an infiltration under the current circumstances. Maybe there will be an opportunity later in the battle, but for now it's too dangerous."
"Then why have you co?"
"I want you to remind you of our backup option. The engines are already ward and ready to engage."
"Pass."
"I'm just looking out for you, kid."
They chatted for a bit, but Calabast didn't have anything else to say. She just wanted to see how confident he was and whether he was still committed to fighting the pirate armada.
Once she left, Ves closed his eyes. He ran through the plan one more ti. This was the ti to see whether the stratagems he devised would grant his side enough advantages to resist the pirate onslaught.
"Open a channel to every ship and ch." Ves spoke as he gathered his thoughts. "I'm ready to address the entire clan."
His armored form creaked on the chair as he raised himself to his feet. His heltless face looked suitably heroic, and upon a silent command, a billowing red cape extended from the rear shoulders of his Unending Regalia.
Every Larkinson waiting for the final hour to count down all directed their attention to the lifelike projection of Ves appearing in front of their faces.
The entire fleet montarily fell silent. Aside from the ch pilots who were stationed in the periter of the fleet, everyone directed their attention at their leader.
Ves stared at the wide projection that popped up in front of him. A random panorama of faces greeted him. Avatars, Sentinels, Swordmaidens and more each looked at him via his projections. Seeing their faces in real ti allowed him to gain a more personal connection with those he addressed. He could also adjust his speech if he noticed his clansn weren't taking his words very well.
Before he spoke, he took a deep breath. At the sa ti, he stretched out his hand.
Nitaa placed the Larkinson Mandate in his armored grasp.
Ves needed the prop for what he was about to do. He concentrated his mind a bit and began to connect to Goldie and the Larkinson Network.
Then, he proceeded to do sothing he had never done before. He attempted to push his presence through the network!
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