"Why are you so stupid, Ves! The Riot Mark III is just an expert ch! Until Venerable Orfan has successfully broken through, she does not deserve to pilot a
superdinsional ch! It is much more logical for us to use it to protect our ace chs instead! We are still working on the Minerva Mark II Project, so we can easily incorporate armor-grade superdinsional matter in the design. I just need to gain access to samples as soon as possible so I can figure out whether it can be combined with archetech. Even if it is not possible, we can still use superdinsional matter to construct an exterior shell around an archetal ch fra."
Ves winced a bit when his wife went on her usual tirade. He expected her to respond negatively to his tentative decision to reserve armor-grade superdinsional matter for the Riot Mark III as opposed to a 'worthier' ch.
"Not now, Gloriana. The kids are here, rember? Let's not disturb one of the few monts of the day when we can keep them company."
One of the consequences of their increased workloads was that Ves and Gloriana unfortunately had to make sacrifices in the amount of hours they spent with their children.
They still tried their best to be around their kids in the morning and the evening, but the children could only settle for school and their nannies in between.
Both parents had tried to bring one kid or another to their workplace when they had a free day, but that resulted in many distractions and far too little work being done.
Fortunately, the children were doing pretty well for themselves. They were smarter and more thoughtful than their peers and also understood the plight of their parents. There were plenty of Larkinsons around them that could keep them company.
Sotis, they stopped by their great-grandfather to hear about the old days of the Larkinson Family.
Other tis, they played virtual gas together.
"ow~"
"Miaow-"
Naturally, the cats played a large role in keeping the children happy.
At this mont, Lucky was pressed up to Marvaine's side while Aurelia was gently brushing Clixie's fur. The two cats purred as they enjoyed this blissful mont.
Gloriana tended to stop yelling pretty quickly once she received a reminder that she was showing her ugly side to her children.
She threw Ves a an look as if to convey that they were not done with this argunt before plastering a smile on her face as she headed back to the living room.
"Aurelia, how are you doing at school as of late?" The mother asked as she sat down on the couch and embraced her oldest daughter in a hug.
"I already completed this year's mandatory courses in advance, mama," Aurelia spoke with reserved pride even as she continued to groom Clixie. "I managed to win lots of praises in my singing, dancing and music classes. I even earned the qualifications to perform in a theater. However, the theater shut down most of its scheduled programs due to martial law. More of us are being encouraged to take classes on military history and military theory. It is as if we are being prepared to attend officer school."
That disturbed Ves and Ketis. The Joan Devos Elentary School predominantly enrolled the children of the rich and powerful of New Constantinople VIII. The remainder were children who had shown exceptional intelligence and other gifts at an early age. It was pretty much one of the premier young talent factories of the Devos Ancient Clan.
The school's clear and obvious shift from civilian pursuits to military classes said much about the ancient clan's expectations of its future.
Even if red humanity managed to weather the Red Tide Offensive, the war between humans and the native aliens of the Red Ocean would probably drag on for many years. Society had to beco a lot more militarized in order to et the needs of the next few decades.
Ves and Gloriana exchanged worried glances.
Should they encourage their oldest and youngest children to pursue military careers as opposed to civilian ones?
After all, what use was there to beco a good politician or ch designer when only fighting could give them a chance to fight for their own survival?
However, an entire civilization cannot be run by soldiers alone. They needed proper direction as well as scientists and engineers to arm themselves with the right gear.
At most, Aurelia and Marvaine should sign up for extra classes to learn how to defend themselves and how to find their places in an army if they were forced by
circumstances.
"Aurelia." Ves gently spoke.
"Yes, papa?"
"Your tenth birthday is coming up." He said. "You know what will happen at that ti, right?"
Aurelia paused in petting Clixie and adopted a more serious expression. "I will get to learn my genetic aptitude."
"That is correct. Genetic aptitude is not as important as before as everyone can beco a Carmine ch pilot these days, but those with good aptitudes still enjoy a
w ,
to attend the ch academy or a normal school?"
11
"I don't want to beco a full-ti ch pilot. Aurelia said with clear eyes. "I think I can do much more if I run the institutions that facilitate our soldiers rather than to
beco a soldier myself."
"You can always choose to beco an officer, dear." Gloriana said. "Not a ch officer such as Saint Commander Casella Ingvar, but more like a normal officer such as General Quinlist Verle. Our family line must always maintain control over the military arms of our clan. Right now, the Saint Commander's popularity is growing by the day. The Larkinson Army is becoming more and more inclined to follow her orders over that of Ves, and that is not a healthy developnt. If we want to ensure our ch pilots understand who should be in charge, it is best if one of us sits at the top." Aurelia looked confused. "Andraste is supposed to be in charge of the military, right?" "Yes, but only if she chooses the command track." Ves replied to his eldest daughter. "If there is one lesson I have learned from observing so many high-ranking ch pilots develop before my eyes, it is that passion and doing what you like the most are most conducive to breakthroughs. Andraste, tell honestly. Would you like to study to beco a ch commander like Saint Commander Casella Ingvar or Saint General Ark Larkinson?"
"No way!" Andraste honestly voiced as she crossed her arms. "I an, I will learn how to issue orders if I have to, but I want to beco strong above all else. I don't want to sacrifice my own strength to make my minions stronger like Casella. I also don't want to beco an ace commander like Uncle Ark who is only strong when he is popular. I want to be more like Saint Dise, who mainly relied on her skills and willpower to beco strong!"
In other words, Andraste strongly preferred to stick to martial pursuits to the extre.
Prospective champions like that tended to care less about other activities such as
commanding troops.
In their opinion, it was better to delegate these tedious distractions to professional officers.
Though Ves did not entirely agree with this sentint, he did not discourage his second daughter from pursuing her own dreams.
"Do you understand, Aurelia? Your younger sister won't be able to command any troops if she wants to beco really good at fighting. I would not object if you want to beco her commanding officer. A good ch can get a lot more stuff done on the battlefield if a competent commander is in charge."
Aurelia frowned and shook her head. "I will do it if I have to, but I think that there are enough Larkinsons who can do this job. I don't need to be in charge of our ch army. I can be in charge of the person who is commanding our troops instead." Ves made another suggestion. "If you don't like to run a ch army, then you can also opt to follow a naval track instead. Our clan has the right to field 2 warships, of which 1 of them is almost ready to enter into service. I think that we will continue to earn more Warship Tokens as the war progresses. Soon enough, we'll be able to amass a sizable first-class warfleet that will form the core of our clan. It will be very useful if you know how starships work and how to command warships in combat. Learning to beco a naval officer should also prepare you fairly well for civilian leadership
positions."
That sounded more compelling to Aurelia, but she was not inclined to agree.
"I still want to follow my original plan." The first daughter stated in a calm but firm voice. "I think I can be much more useful if I run organizations such as the Larkinson Clan or the Red Collective. I have learned in school what good leadership can do. During humanity's worst monts during the Age of Stars, wise and farsighted leaders bravely stood up to the trend of xenophilia and advocated that our race can survive without appeasing alien bullies. I think we need that kind of leadership in the future when red humanity begins to go astray."
"Do you think we will?" Ves asked.
"I do not know." Aurelia shrugged. "It depends on how well we are doing in the Red
War. Even if we do not get outright defeated, more and more people will grow weary of all of the fighting. Many of their relatives are dying every year. If our people begin to lose hope, they will advocate for peace or surrender. Good leadership can help them regain their confidence in themselves. I want to be a part of that. If I want to beco good at inspiring the masses, then I want to take the best possible classes that I can take in the Red Ocean. Papa has done sothing similar with his morable speeches, and he has never received proper training. I can do much better once I have mastered
the proper skills."
Both Ves and Gloriana could clearly sense their eldest daughter's strong belief and conviction on this matter.
She was anything but a whimsical child who casually said they wanted to beco a
doctor or a lawyer.
Despite her youth, Aurelia already developed a clear understanding of her purpose and how she could best fulfill it. She also understood that she could not afford to take any detours. Doing so might broaden her horizons, but also spread herself too thin. Gloriana couldn't help but soften her eyes as she bent down to kiss her proud daughter on the head.
"If that is what you want, then we will support you to the best of our abilities. You are
right that good leadership is still very necessary in the future. I only hope that you are
not born too late to have an opportunity to lead our clan and our society to a better
future."
All of this talking and dreaming would beco moot if the native aliens managed to breach the frontlines and wipe out red humanity from this dwarf galaxy.
Ves felt a renewed sense of urgency. He had to do more to arm his custors with stronger chs and gear.
He already had an idea on what he could do in the short term. He ntally dug up the
incomplete design schematics of the Riot Mark III and thought about applying an extre transformation on the expert spearman ch.
He not only wanted to turn him into a superdinsional ch, but also a D-ch! What would happen if he tried to combine the two? Was it even possible to make it happen, or would sothing go catastrophic wrong?
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