The big day had arrived.
The Terrans organized a grand gala to announce their latest accomplishnts to the public. They sent out a large amount of invitations to both small and large players.
Given the large number of starships that had arrived in the star system as of late, it beca evident that many groups had accepted the invitations.
Even the Rubarthans and the Cybers had sent out their representatives despite the distance and the location's relatively close proximity to the frontlines.
Of course, they did not send any of their true bigshots, but they had already shown enough sincerity by sending out respectable envoys on short notice.
The Terrans still dominated the venue. All of the clans and ancient clans had sent out their leaders or their future successors. Many directors and senior executives struggled to enter the core halls that could only accommodate so many individuals.
Amidst all of the growing hype and limited access, the Larkinsons remained a lot more relaxed.
As the most important collaborator of the Arboreal Project, the Larkinson Clan did not lack for invitations.
The clansn stationed in the Premier Fleet, the Bluejay Fleet and elsewhere received ample invitations to the point where plenty of them declined to attend.
This did not surprise Ves all that much. Most of his clansn did not feel comfortable with standing alongside such powerful people. Not many of them were accustod to such treatnt. They would rather confront the native aliens on the battlefield or go back to their labs to complete their projects.
Nonetheless, enough Larkinsons chose to attend despite having little to do with the core project. They made an effort to get outfitted with suitable garnts from the tailors working for the clan or one of the many eager Terran fashion outfits.
Ves and his imdiate family were no exception.
He himself donned a shiny velvet burgundy and black suit with understated silver embellishnts. A bright yellow pocket square added a surprising dash of color that increased the depth of his overall outfit.
His wife opted to wear a midnight blue dress that glittered with moving bright dots that resembled moving stars. She resembled a blue and humanoid version of Blinky, though she also opted to wear an extravagant silvery tiara of her own creation.
She made it out of armor-grade superdinsional alloy and embedded it with expertly cut gems grown from the few rare exobeasts that produced them in their bodies.
The slender but eye-catching headdress exuded a sense of exquisiteness that masterfully straddled the line between sophistication and extravagance.
Gloriana clearly tried to enhance her stature without going overboard and ended up claiming credit that she did not deserve.
As a fairly young and ambitious Senior ch Designer, she possessed too much pride to claim any credit for advancing the Arboreal Project.
Nonetheless, she did not intend to miss this valuable opportunity to network with high-ranking Terran socialites and lay the groundwork of her own rise.
Their children also wore adorable outfits.
Andraste twirled around in a cute lavender dress that not only featured a lot of frills, but also possessed a dynamic tail that whimsically moved around as if it possessed a life of its own.
This caused the girl to resemble an energetic cat, though Ves got reminded of the original Devil Tiger.
As for his son, Marvaine wore a relatively simple black tuxedo sized for his adorable fra. A playful red bowtie vaguely marked his allegiance to the Larkinson Clan without outright carrying a label.
Their cats got dressed up as well. Andraste and Marvaine giggled as they took charge of this responsibility.
They adorned Lucky with a cute blue necktie while attaching a colorful array of blooming flowers onto Clixie's tail.
"ow!"
"Miaow~"
Their nanny, Shannon Maris, gently ushered the children and cats into the ornantal shuttle that had been chosen to bring them to a stellar space station orbiting the main planet.
The Terrans had spent a significant amount of resources on overhauling a fairly standard orbital structure into a giant floating tree.
They imported special woods and other forms of biomass in order to expand and reshape the orbital facility.
Both the interior and exterior received complete makeovers that caused all signs of high technology to disappear.
Carved and patterned planks had taken the place of alloy decks and bulkheads.
Floating fireflies and puffy dandelions replaced clinical light sources.
Giant leaves and specially shaped flowers served as benches and chairs.
The Terrans had made a lot of effort to create a special ambiance, they succeeded.
The guests, both Terran and foreign, looked impressed or enamoured by the green ambience. They felt as if they had entered a different universe, one dominated by nature and life as opposed to tal and order.
Those that possessed extraordinary senses experienced a deeper level of bioengineering.
The Terrans did not just bring together a lot of biomass and call it a day. They employed the finest architects, landscape architects and qi cultivators to shape a living ecosystem inside a gigantic tree structure.
Ves could practically breathe the life energy saturated throughout the entire space station.
The entire area had been stuffed with so much life and positive energy that he would have felt unwelco if not due to his high affinity for the life attribute.
Of course, most people did not possess the capacity to sense so much. They simply enjoyed the more passive benefits such as feeling healthier and happier than usual.
Beneath all of the plants and wood, the Terrans made sure to keep the venue as secure as possible.
Though they did their best to stay low-key, Ves did not miss the many armored and uniford security officers patrolling the wide corridors or the open halls.
Clad in dark green, the Terran soldiers and security officers kept a close eye for any potential threats and troublemakers.
Not that they needed to intervene. Most of the guests belonged to the upper classes of their respective polities.
As for the ones that did not receive as much etiquette training, they knew better than to act out and attract unwelco attention.
Of course, boots on the ground only constituted the most basic form of security. Ves possessed enough senses to detect the hidden turrets, shield generators, retracted walls and omnipresent monitoring systems.
Aside from all of that, the entire space station hosted at least 3 ace pilots and likely had even more on standby.
The three ace chs regularly patrolled the imdiate surroundings, but also flew through the internal spaces in order to envelop much of the orbital facility with their Saint Kingdoms.
Though the guests could not possibly ignore the pressure exuded by those powerful Terran ace chs, they all understood that this was a necessary asure to keep away threats.
Only those with ill intentions feared detection.
More and more people arrived at the space station and began to mingle with each other in one of the many halls and gardens.
The children ran off to chat and play with the children at one of the playgrounds especially prepared to keep rambunctious brats occupied.
"ow!"
"Miaow miaow!"
Lucky and Clixie ran off after the kids, finding it far more interesting to play with them as opposed to keeping the boring parents company.
Their nanny strolled after them in order to supervise their behavior.
Gloriana drifted off shortly after that in order to connect with other won, leaving Ves alone for the ti being.
anwhile, Ves approached a familiar face.
"Master Goldstein. It is good to see you again. I did not expect you to go out of your way to enter the Terran Alliance and travel all the way to this location."
"The journey did not take too long. Modern superdrives are a gachanger, and the Red Ocean is nowhere near as expansive as the Milky Way." Master Vayro Goldstein turned around and responded. "I have many reasons to be here. We have heard unsettling rumors about what the Terrans have done and are about to unveil."
That caused Ves to sharpen his gaze. "Do you know what the Terrans have done?"
The bald Master ch Designer humd. He did not deign to respond right away, which signified that even the Red Association experienced unease at the latest antics of the Terran Alliance.
Not a lot of chers chose to attend the big gala.
Ever since the Terran Alliance and the Rubarthan Pact broke away from the hegemony of the Red Two, the latter had been forced to withdraw most of their assets to the Red Ocean Union.
It was impossible for the chers and the fleeters to haul all of their fortifications and strongholds in a short amount of ti.
However, they had moved quickly enough that their active presence had dropped by at least 70 percent.
The remaining mbers of the RA and the RF could not wait to leave as well. Though the Terrans and the Rubarthans had not outright launched any attacks, they had done their best to irritate the unwelco houseguests in many different ways.
The Terrans deliberately limited the number of invitations sent to the Red Association. In fact, the chers should feel lucky that they received them at all considering how much bad blood existed between the two groups.
Master Goldstein therefore carried himself as an ambassador visiting a hostile state. No Terran stepped forward to greet him and not even the servants were willing to cater to his needs.
Fortunately, the man was made of sterner stuff. He ca because he sought to fulfill a mission. Duty called him to witness the ambitious plan hatched by the Terrans.
After a lengthy mont of silence, the Master ch Designer finally chose to respond.
"We have heard… rumors about what the Terrans have in mind. None of them are solid or detailed. Our presence in the Terran Alliance is not as great as before. The advent of new thods and technologies has further complicated our ans of monitoring the activities of these people. We would not have been able to glean any information if we were not as powerful and advanced. What little intelligence we have managed to gather so far has generated unease up to our highest ranks. That should tell you how significant this event has beco. As the lead developer of the Arboreal Project, you will undoubtedly get caught in this brewing controversy."
That caused Ves to frown. He already received hints from others that the Terrans had sothing ambitious in mind, but did not like the implication that he would bear the bla for whatever crazy stuff they were about to unveil.
Why didn't Terrans inform him in advance!?
Couldn't they fill him in on their big secret so that he could prepare for the inevitable backlash? Why did they keep him in the dark?!
Master Goldstein adopted a rueful smile and gently patted Ves on the shoulder.
"I can see that you are not pleased by your current collaborators. You do not understand the Terrans well enough. It is not without good reason why we have imposed restrictions on them for so long. The Terrans are an incredibly prideful people. They are also scared of failing to live up to their supposed illustrious heritage and traditions. This makes them prone to devising grand plans just so that they can maintain the impression of superiority in everyone's minds. The Survivalist Faction has long suspected their leaders for harboring galomaniacal ambitions, and it has only taken less than a standard year for them to realize one of them. The only complint I can give to them is that they have made the right decision to limit your involvent."
"How so, Master?"
"The Terrans are making it clear that they are solely responsible for what they are about to do. No matter how you are related to their latest plan, you are at most an accessory to them and not a core collaborator. That will be an important distinction in the tis to co. We know you well enough to understand this truth, and we will help you make this clear to others as well."
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