Ves did not reject the arrangents made by the Streon and the Devos Ancient Clans because he was not eager to et with one of his forr Mastery hosts.
He also did not want to speak with General Axelar Streon without sufficient preparation.
The huge amount of information and insights he gained from his extensive examination and exchange with the Ouroboros had given him a lot of food for thought.
Ves had only been able to conduct a superficial analysis of the state of the Ouroboros for the ti being!
This was far from enough to talk about the Ouroboros in a more productive and helpful fashion.
He needed to spend a lot more ti on analyzing the exact deficiencies of his old work and figure out effective ans to unlock its potential.
It might already be too late to undo all of the damage, but Ves believed he should be able to develop other solutions that could help the Ouroboros unlock the shackles that were holding it back.
As Ves left the underground hangar and rejoined his family, the evening banquet had already co to a close.
The Devosans clearly understood that it was no longer suitable to entertain their guest of honor any further, so they told Ves to take a good rest before they returned the next day.
This was more than fine for Ves as he remained almost fully engaged in his latest preoccupation.
Gloriana practically rolled her eyes when she saw him in this state. "Not again. Has he fallen into his old habits again, Lucky?"
"ow." The gem cat confird.
"Will we be able to shake him from his one-track mind?"
"ow ow."
"Typical."
The family along with their cats were already accustod to this. They left Ves to his own thoughts as they moved to a highly secure villa that was tightly surrounded by the first-class chs of the Bluejay Fleet.
The villa was located well within the campus of the Eden Institute, making it easy and convenient for Ves and his family to stay on New Constantinople VIII during their visit.
While Ves always had the option of teleporting back to the Tarrasque in high orbit, he hated the frequent use of teleportation. There were so many possible ways that it could go horribly wrong that he found it crazy that the first-raters trusted it so much!
A restless night went by as Ves only slept for a short ti.
He spent more ti on thinking about all of the complexities involved with the Ouroboros that he couldn't bring himself to stop for a long ti.
Even though he had not made any agreents with General Axelar Streon, Ves wanted to fix the Ouroboros sohow.
All of his other thoughts and considerations about the old living ch and its pilot went out of the window as Ves beca fixated on a single overarching purpose.
"I have to fix this ch!"
It would have been okay if Ves only ever saw the Ouroboros from a projected image.
Yet now that he had co close enough to reconnect with his old work, there was no way he could allow its glaring deficiencies to persist without making any attempt to fix so many obvious mistakes!
There was no deep or complex reason behind this compulsion. It was simply a part of his nature as a ch designer and a service provider.
His principles and the tenets of his design philosophy made it unthinkable for him to leave the Ouroboros to its own devices. This was especially the case when it actively reached out to its progenitor to make it right again!
At this point, Ves longer cared as much about the implications of this course of action.
He originally wanted to maintain his distance and take Miss Alexa Streon under his wing so that she could gradually learn the skills needed to correct the Ouroboros.
While this was still a viable solution, it would take far too long to fix living ch in distress.
If 'saving' the Ouroboros was the greatest priority, then it was much faster and more efficient for Ves to take action instead!
Besides, it was his responsibility to begin with. His unfortunate design choices and actions during his past Mastery experience had caused a living ch to grow up without proper guidance and direction for so long.
Even if Ves hadn't taken the Ouroboros all that seriously at the ti, its remarkable growth and survival up to the present day forced him to acknowledge this living ch!
A lot of different ch designers up to the Grand nder had worked on its design over the years, but Axelar's decision to retain its living traits ant that the Ouroboros still belonged to Ves in the end.
As far as he was concerned, Ves had designed the essence of the Ouroboros and brought it to life.
All of the other ch designers that ca afterwards only worked on the less essential aspects of the increasingly more powerful living ch.
Ves was thankful to all of those ch designers for respecting his original vision and intent.
Even though these Terran ch designers did not know him at all, the people of their profession were still able to understand each other by analyzing their works.
Ves felt a strong urge to find a way to get in touch with the Grand nder so that he could hear her thoughts on the Ouroboros!
In any case, as long as the original essence of the Ouroboros remained alive, Ves knew that he had a bit of room for manipulation!
As morning dawned, the Devos Ancient Clan clearly wanted to resu its engagent with Ves and the Larkinsons.
Ves did not maintain as much interest in dealing with the Devosans as before, but he knew that he needed a lot of buffer ti before he was ready to engage with General Axelar Streon.
This was why he tolerated the schedule set for him. He tried his best not to put too much of his mind on the Ouroboros as his current hosts sought to make up for what happened yesterday.
When Ves got in touch with Alexa Streon once again, the young lady briefly explained how the two ancient clans quietly resolved their differences.
"We have to pay significant reparations to the Devosans in a way that makes it clear that we have suffered the consequences of our blunder. Before this happened, it may have been possible to arrange an early introduction between you and my grandfather, but that is completely out of the question at the mont. The Termite Hill isn't even allowed to linger in orbit of New Constantinople VIII to prevent any further incidents."
Of course, Alexa mainly referred to the possibility that the Ouroboros might take unilateral action once again. There was no way that General Axelar Streon would make such a mistake.
Ves found it a pity that the Ouroboros was being moved away from him, but he knew that it was only a matter of ti before he would get in touch with his old work once again.
"I understand. Has this accident inconvenienced your ancient clan a lot?"
"Initially, we thought so, but our leaders are trying to make the most out of this unanticipated developnt. There is an opening for our two ancient clans to build a closer relationship and expand our business ties. With the war against the native aliens heating up, it has beco increasingly more important to expand our base of support. With this incident as an impetus, we can make extensive gains by cooperating with the Devosans. It is just that the other party will profit more from this due to our mistakes."
This was how the Terrans preferred to solve a disagreent. Neither side wanted to deepen their animosity towards each other as that would only drain their resources for no good reasons.
Since it was in their best interest to cooperate with each other instead, the Terrans were able to set aside any impulsive ideas and work towards a more desirable resolution.
Ves admired the way the Terrans resolved their differences so effectively.
"This doesn't happen often, professor. It is just that the Devosans are in a weak and vulnerable position. Their ancient clan is not strong to begin with, and the new age has put them in a particularly precarious position as the Agamnon Upper Zone is too close to the frontlines."
In other words, the Devosans were much more desperate for allies that could back them up in the difficult tis ahead!
It was easy enough to understand how the Devos Ancient Clan benefited from a closer partnership, but what about the other party?
"How does your clan benefit from this outco?"
"1 cannot divulge the full details, but 1 can tell you that our clan seeks to build a coalition among the Terrans. It is no secret that my grandfather has always sought to reform a newer, more modern and more dynamic Terran state. The Devosans are likely much more willing to play along because they can gain the protection of our powerful ard forces."
"I see."
Due to General Axelar Streon's strong commitnt to the Red Ocean, the Streon Ancient Clan had definitely invested much more in its colonies than the other Terran clans.
The 1st Streon ch Army at full strength was one of the strongest backbones of the Streons in the new frontier!
Even though it was highly troubleso and expensive to maintain and update the 250,000 chs that were dispersed throughout Terran space, the collective combat power of this renowned ch army was enough to make the Red Two nervous!
The Devos Ancient Clan had not invested nearly as much in the Red Ocean. While the Devosans could raise large ch armies comprised out of inferior chs with relative ease, it was impossible for them to form a strong ch army with more elite specifications in a short amount of ti!
Ves suddenly widened his eyes.
He suddenly realized that there were many golden opportunities for him to do business with the Devos Ancient Clan!
Before the Great Severing occurred, the Devosans took a more asured and laid-back approach to colonizing the Red Ocean.
Not only had they entered the new frontier relatively late, they had also been taking their ti on building up their colonies.
This had many adverse consequences.
Their ard forces were not only smaller in number, but many of the military chs weren't the best.
Their population was lacking in comparison with the other ancient clans.
The Riston Territory was smaller and did not offer as much resources.
There weren't enough elite ch academies and other educational institutions to et the demand of the ard forces in the future.
Ves had always held the image that the Terran Ancient Clans were all so powerful, thorough and ticulous in their actions that they hardly ever needed any outside help.
This might not be wrong back in the Milky Way, but it was substantially different in the Red Ocean!
This was the new frontier!
This was a place where Ves felt much more at ho than all of these stuffy and high-minded Terrans!
Ves suddenly sharpened his eyes.
"Alexa?"
"Yes, professor?"
"I would like to receive your rundown on the state of the Devos Ancient Clan." He said with renewed purpose. "You don't have to share any dark secrets about the Devosans to , but I would like to receive more extensive information than what I can gain through common channels. I will consider it a favor if you satisfy this request."
Alexa Streon was smart enough to guess what Ves had in mind. She paused in thought as this was not the kind of matter that she could decide on the spot.
A dozen or so seconds passed before she eventually nodded.
"My grandfather has just given permission to do so." The young lady responded. "This is a ti where the Terrans must co together as much as possible. If you can et the needs of the Devosans and earn their trust, then that will facilitate greater trade and cooperation in our region of space. Perhaps it is good for a third party to co in and shake up the status quo in advance."
Ves grinned at that "I like the way you think "
Even though Ves and Axelar Streon had yet to et in person, they had already ford a tentative blueprint of cooperation, all without speaking directly with each other!
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