The Larkinson Clan entered into a calm period of ti.
With all of the excitent surrounding the wedding over now, the Larkinsons all readied themselves for the most important event of their lives.
The grand expedition.
The dream started by Ves had beco an obsession for the entire clan. Hardly any clansn did not look forward to escaping the corner of the galactic rim and venture out to explore what the rest of the multiverse had to offer!
Reaching the Red Ocean was a dream to many, but the Larkinson Clan already possessed enough confidence to reach it. With the enormous amount of MTA rits in the patriarch's pocket, there was no way they were missing this ride!
As Ves busied himself with managing the upcoming deliveries of second-class ships, chs and other assets, many other Larkinsons got busy as well.
For example, ever since the Larkinsons set up the Hall of Heroes, every expert pilot beca occupied with establishing themselves as a semi-autonomous unit.
This was quite rough for a number of expert pilots. Commander Rosa Orfan and Commander Dise were no longer allowed to lead the Flagrant Vandals and Swordmaidens.
It took quite a lot of placating to make them accept the new reality.
Lieutenant-Commander Abis Firelight took over as the new leader of the Flagrant Vandals. He already ran the Vandals for the most part as Venerable Orfan wasn't known for being a diligent administrator.
In the anti, Venerable Orfan set up an elite spearman squad within the Hall of Heroes. She recruited so of her closest Vandals and a few other Larkinson ch pilots who excelled in piloting spear-wielding chs to join her Radiant Hoplites.
Lieutenant Sendra took over for Venerable Dise as the new commander of the Swordmaidens. Despite her promotion, everyone knew that she was rely a stand-in for the true leader in the hearts of many Swordmaidens. Venerable Dise's prestige was secondary to the legendary founder of their ch force!
As the spiritual leader of the Swordmaidens, Venerable Dise still favored her sisterhood very much. To fill up her new Blade Mistresses squad, she hand-picked a handful of younger Swordmaiden ch pilots and also snatched up so other promising swordsman ch pilots from the Avatars of Myth. She initially didn't want to, but the Hall of Heroes awarded plenty of Larkinson rits should she succeed in ntoring more ch pilots into powerful warriors.
Venerable Davia Stark was a rather odd existence within the Hall of Heroes. She had emphatically refused to join the Larkinson Clan, yet she promised to fight on behalf of the Larkinsons.
Clansn or not, Venerable Davia was not only a powerful expert pilot, but also one the few within the Hall of Heroes who excelled in piloting ranged chs!
Under Commandant Cristoph Larkinson's urging, she reluctantly set up the Lost Soldiers to ntor other Larkinson ch pilots in improving their marksmanship.
Unlike the other expert pilots who either sought companions among their own circle or from the elites, Venerable Davia solely recruited Living Sentinels.
Perhaps she took pity on them or thought they shared sothing in common with her, but the Sentinels were highly enthused that such a powerful figure was willing to shower them with attention!
The Sentinels experienced a lot of changes lately. Commander Magdalena resigned her leadership position within the beaten and demoralized ch force and moved on to work directly under Major Verle.
Unlike the other ch forces that went through a leadership change, the Sentinels did not have a strong and proven officer at hand who were imdiately suited to beco the next commander.
Whoever took over the Sentinels had to clean house and right the ship. No average leader would be able to infuse so vitality in a ch force that had just lost a horrendous amount of ch pilots in the Nyxian Gap!
So people even suggested that the Sentinels needed to look outward in order to find their new commander. Various suggestions circulated within the Larkinson Clan. After being led by an old and grizzled war veteran, many Sentinels actually favored being led by soone younger.
They wanted to be led by soone with a fresh perspective and who wasn't rigid. The Sentinels considered various options ranging from Commander lkor to Lieutenant Dietrich Krotz.
Neither of those choices were suitable. lkor had been with the Avatars from the start and would be like a fish out of water if he suddenly took charge of the Sentinels. Lieutenant Dietrich Krotz had only just received a promotion and was too unproven to lead thousands of ch pilots.
As Major Verle beca increasingly more distressed about finding a suitable leader, a surprising figure volunteered to turn the Sentinels around.
Captain Casella Ingvar of the Avatars of Myth applied to take over as commander. As soon as this news beca known, everyone was floored!
She led the Second Spaceborn ch Company of the Avatars. Not only that, she had just advanced to expert candidate and was expected to dedicate herself to training in order to beco an expert pilot as fast as possible.
For her to take on the difficult and ti-consuming work of leading the largest ch force of the Larkinson Clan made little sense!
The hopeful new commander t with Ves and Major Verle in order to explain her decision in person.
Two people along with two pets entered the conference room of the Scarlet Rose.
Ves was already familiar with the Ingvar siblings. He paid more attention to the pets they decided to adopt.
Captain Casella opted to adopt a small goldfinch. The little bird rested happily on the female expert candidate's shoulder.
However, as soon as the little bird spotted the two cats in the compartnt, she flapped her wings in a warning manner.
"ow?"
"Chirp!"
"Ah, sorry about that, sir. Mirrie isn't used to all of the cats in the Larkinson Clan."
"It's okay." Ves waved away the issue. "Being surrounded by so many natural predators can make any bird nervous."
Nothing would co to harm to Casella's pet. Every pet in the Larkinson Clan was sentient, so they shouldn't go out of control.
"Woof!"
An eager-looking hound padded forward. Imon Ingvar had co as well along with his wagging dog.
"You are not invited to this conversation." Major Verle remarked.
As one of the Senior Larkinsons within the clan, he too sought to adopt a pet as soon as he returned from the Nyxian Gap.
"uw."
A cat that resembled a traditional British shorthair lazily laid on the desk next to Major Verle's data pad. Hayden was a rather docile cat. Just like almost every other cat adopted by the Larkinson, he was a high-end designer cat who originated from Felixia.
Ves clapped his hands. "As lovely as it is to bring your pets to work, let's get to business."
Each of the animals behaved and restrained themselves. Just because the Larkinsons allowed people to bring their pets to work didn't an they were allowed to run wild!
Once Casella and Imon sat down, Major Verle went straight to the point.
"Captain Ingvar, I admit that I am surprised at your request. You have fought well in the Nyxian Gap and managed to beco an expert candidate along with your brother. Most people in your place would choose to lessen their burdens so that they can devote more ti towards training. Why do you want to beco the commander of the Living Sentinels?"
"I am a leader." The Avatar Captain replied. Her confidence and aristocratic bearing conveyed a lot of certainty. "Before all of this, I have led the household troops of my forr house. I have to admit that I was not the best at leading my troops back then. With the collapse of House Ingvar, my own subordinates rebelled and took over everything."
Her failure caused her and her brother to beco stranded in Kinner space. They were in their lowest monts at the ti.
"I know what it is like to fail. I am very grateful to our patriarch for giving my brother and I a chance to pick ourselves up. I worked tirelessly to learn from my lessons and relearn how to lead a unit when Commander lkor entrusted a ch company to . While leading 40 ch pilots is incomparable to taking charge of every Living Sentinel, my prior experience as a ch officer of House Ingvar is still helpful for . The Sentinels may be larger than anything I have ever touched, but I am confident that I can inspire them to regain their battle spirit."
Both Ves and Major Verle sensed determination from Captain Casella. She was serious. She did not think about taking over the Sentinels on a whim, that was for sure!
Ves turned to her brother. "Mr. Imon Ingvar, what do you think about your sister's choice?"
"To be honest, I think she's stupid for running off the Sentinels. She's too good for them!" Imon bluntly said.
"Brother! We talked about this! This is what I'm ant to do. I need to prove that I can lead!"
"You just want to make up for the fact our old household troops mutinied on us! Damnit Casella, haven't you gotten over this old wound yet? We aren't nobles anymore!"
Major interrupted their argunt. "Please be honest. While I agree that the Sentinels will doubtlessly welco an expert candidate as their new commander, your brother's remarks are concerning. Is this personal to you, captain?"
The female Ingvar nodded. "It is, sir. I won't hide this from you. I feel I need to make up for my regrets. My past as a failed leader is haunting . No matter how much I try to move on, I am still weighed down by my mories. I don't think I can achieve apotheosis with so many doubts. Venerable Jannzi told that expert pilots must have absolute certainty in their purpose and life. I have decided that taking on this challenge is the best way for to move on from my past and prove once and for all that I am ant to lead ch pilots into battle!"
Ves and Major Verle looked at each other. Both of them possessed so understanding of expert candidates and expert pilots.
Though the major still looked doubtful, Ves was more optimistic.
"I think most expert pilots such as Venerable Dise or Venerable Orfan aren't suited to run a large ch force." He said. "However, there are a few exceptions among high-ranking ch pilots who are driven by responsibility. My uncle, Venerable Ark Larkinson, is a good example. I see sothing in you, captain. Let be clear. The Larkinson Clan doesn't want you to sacrifice your chance of reaching the rank of expert pilot. We can find more Larkinsons to lead the Living Sentinels, but we don't have as much choice when it cos to nurturing new expert pilots."
Captain Casella remained confident. "I share your concerns, but I won't slow down because of this. In fact, I will be better off once I succeed."
After a lengthy discussion, Ves and Major Verle finally decided to approve her application. From now on, Commander Casella Ingvar beca the new head of the Living Sentinels!
Though Imon was regretful that his sister would be moving out of the Avatars of Myth, Casella exuded a sense of purpose once Major Verle formally promoted her to her new position.
"The Living Sentinels will turn around. I will make sure of that, sir."
"Don't be too eager yet." Verle carefully warned the ch commander. "You have a lot of problems on your hands. Don't move too quickly. While I am willing to put my trust in your decisions, it is best if you sound out your ideas to first."
"Understood." Commander Casella replied with a serious expression. "I will keep you in the loop. I may need to draw upon additional resources in order to transform the Sentinels."
"You will have all of the support you need. We will try to oblige your requests as long as you produce results."
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