Chapter 7280: The Return of Jovy Armalon

Ves and Gloriana continued to work on early stages of the Promethea Mark II Project.

The ace rifleman mech carried their hopes and dreams of being able to present a powerful counter against both the native aliens and the mutated voribugs.

Although the pair of mech designers had yet to present a more enduring solution against the voribug menace, the Promethea Mark II should at least attain total dominance in any tactical situations. They could think about solving the much greater strategic threat another time.

Aurelia's absence became more and more obvious. Their family simply wasn't the same anymore now that their eldest daughter had departed for school.

Even though it was easy for Aurelia to connect to her parents and her siblings by remote, such moments would likely become a lot more rare once she began her studies.

All of the naval academies demanded much from its cadets. Their work and study loads were personally tailored for each of them in order to bring the utmost of their learning potential.

Even a young lady who happened to be endowed with greater advantages than others would find herself intellectually challenged. The greater her study burden, the more promising her subsequent career within the Red Fleet.

If she chose to decline a commission after her graduation, then she would still be able to return to the Parkinson Clan with a broad range of naval acumen.

Aside from these considerations, the naval academies themselves were closed facilities. Information control was very important, and it was best not to let all of the cadets remain in contact with the rest of human-occupied space all of the time. Each of them only received a handful of opportunities to call their parents per semester.

Since that was the case, the family she left behind would have to become more accustomed to life without a lovely and calming girl by their sides.

"Miaow..."

"Don't be sad, Clixie. You still have me!" Andraste tried to console the depressed Rubarthan Sentinel Cat by snuggling up to the furry cat.

It was no secret that Aurelia had been Clixie's favorite companion. The two matched well with each other. Their temperaments were similar and they had even formed an extraordinary bond.

That bond still existed, though the rapidly increasing distance between the two caused it to become stretched to the point where it no longer had any discernable effect.

Ves found that to be a curious development. He intended to keep monitoring Clixie to see whether this bond would persist or break in the coming years.

If not for the strict no-pet policy at the RF's naval academies, then he would have been fine with letting Clixie accompany his eldest daughter.

Oh well.

"Papa?"

"Will you send me away when I become 10?"

He reached out and gently bopped her silly head. "It's too early to talk about stuff like that. Let's wait until we find out your genetic aptitude. You can make a final decision at that time. If you really want to, you can stay with us and learn directly from the mech pilots around you. Sure, you might not earn a fancy diploma in the end, but the rules of warfare are changing so quickly that the value of academic certification is not as great as the wisdom of experienced mech pilots. If Saint Rosa Orfan wakes up and manages to maintain her sanity, then it is not impossible for you to receive her tutoring."

"I want to learn from Saint Dise!"

"We may be able to make that happen as well." Ves thought for a moment. "On second thought, it may be better to send you off to a mech academy. I have no doubts about your talent and your learning ability. It is your discipline and mentality that gives me concern. You need more structure in your life. I love you too much, and so does your mother. We aren't able to rein you in all of the time. It is as if you have inherited all of my restlessness."

Andraste did not like the sound of that. She pettily turned around and spent her remaining time cuddling with Clixie.

Just as Ves was halfway done with browsing the Cybernetic Empire's restricted tech library for advanced components, he received an important notification.

The supply fleet led by Jovy Armalon had finally arrived in orbit of Philaster Crestia III.

The RA's convoy had already arrived sooner, but it took a bit of time for the warships and transport ships to navigate the increasingly more voribug-infested space and safely reach the inner system.

The fact that the 'other half' of the Philaster Crestia System became more and more infiltrated by voribugs was an ominous sign.

It showed that the Goliath Hive was gradually rounding up its 'experiments'.

The time of the decisive battle over the sun system drew closer. It might break out next week or even the next day depending on how long the Goliath Hive wanted to accumulate its bug swarms.

Despite this development, Ves did not feel too concerned. With 30 Ascended Giants at his disposal, it might not be possible to hold the planet in the face of an overwhelming voribug offensive, but it should be easy enough to fight their way out of an encirclement.

In any case, despite the limited amount of combat power of the supply fleet, it still managed to reach the globe under siege without requiring the help of the local forces.

Ves had been looking forward to this fleet. The material aid was very welcome and happened to make up for the shortcomings of the Bluejay Fleet's hasty departure from the Yernstall Central Star Node.

While Gloriana went off to inspect and receive the new materials and goods, Ves welcomed Jovy Armalon back to the Tarrasque.

"I have returned, and I will bring news." A slightly older and more serious Senior Mech Designer said as he boarded the heavy cruiser. "Let us move somewhere more private."

Ves wordlessly nodded as they both walked towards the mech labs.

Even as they remained silent for a time, Ves could clearly tell that his friend had undergone significant changes.

His augmentations received an upgrade. That was obvious enough. Jovy also carried himself as if he received a greater burden than before. Whatever weighed him down must be pretty heavy for his demeanor to change so much.

Once they entered Ves' personal mech lab, they sat down even as the entire compartment locked down.

Of course, Ves had already notified his Apocalypse Warden bodyguards to stay outside, as he knew that Jovy must have brought back confidential information.

The new arrival relaxed now that he was here. "First, let me congratulate you on your successful promotion. Becoming a tier 2 galactic citizen is a dream for many mech designers. It is unthinkable for a Senior Mech Designer such as yourself to grow so tall. Your political achievements have arguably surpassed your technical contributions. Many people back at the Association are... not entirely pleased by that. They think that you are squandering your potential and future by becoming too consumed by temporal power. Your sudden takeover of the Phase Lord Department will take up too much of your time that you could have better spent on your mech design work."

These criticisms might be tainted by jealousy, but that did not make them invalid.

Ves grimly nodded. "I am aware of that. My condition is rather complex, though. Leading the Ascended Giants will do me more good than harm in my opinion."

Jovy did not remain fixated on that. He simply shrugged in response. "It is your choice. It is up to the Red Collective to determine whether you remain fit to hold your leadership position. Since the collies deem you acceptable, then the Red Association does not intend to interfere."

"That is great to hear. By the way, I have been wondering why you departed the Bluejay Fleet so suddenly. What kept you away for so numerous weeks?"

"Much has happened to me." Jovy vaguely responded. "I cannot divulge everything that I have experienced, but what I can tell you is that the Red Association has rewarded me for diligently serving as a bridge between the two of you. The Survivalist Faction has become much more concerned about the dire state of red humanity. The emergence of the mutated voribugs has revised our estimates on how likely it is for our race to survive in the Red Ocean."

"Let me guess. Those estimates are a lot more pessimistic than before."

Jovy nodded without too much of an expression. "Plans have been dropped, accelerated and drawn anew. We are still in the midst of a transition. Cooperation between different groups and factions have... deteriorated, causing numerous problems to occur. We seek your help in a number of them. It is not mandatory for you to help us, but we will provide you with matching rewards whenever you are able to

succeed."

Now that sounded a lot more intriguing!

Ves raised his eyebrow. "I can hardly imagine that the Survivalists and mechers need the help of a little tier 2 galactic citizen to get things done. You don't want me to design another Carmine mech, right? We are already collaborating on the Polymetal Mech Design Project. Let us finish that first before considering other Carmine mech designs."

"Ah, that will not be necessary, Ves. We seek other forms of assistance from you. As I have mentioned earlier, your political achievements are significant, both in the new frontier and... the old galaxy."

That caused Ves to become a little more guarded.

He had always known that the Red Association still maintained secret lines of communication with the Mech Trade Association back home.

"And that is relevant because...?"

Jovy raised his palms. "Let me state to you that while we are aware that you and your mother are engaged in... controversial activities, your willingness to cooperate with the Red Three and accept an official position at the Red Collective speaks well of you. The Evolution Witch personally vouches for you. We are all convinced that you have red humanity's best interests at heart. We cannot ask more from you. The Red Association that I am a part of can only work hard to protect the humans who reside in this dwarf galaxy. As for the humans who have remained behind in the Milky Way Galaxy, they have their own advocates. We have left so many god pilots and Star designers left behind that if they have fallen for the schemes of their enemies, then they are no longer qualified to lead original humanity."

"That is... cold."

"The Age of Mechs has made us all soft." Jovy uncharacteristically smirked. "It is just right that both of us

are being tested. Survival was never meant to be easy. In the past 400 years, original humanity has focused much of its attention on rebuilding, but it has failed to address numerous hidden dangers. The fact that they have now broken out is a consequence of our conceit. No matter how much upheaval takes place in the Milky Way, we still remain confident that at least one branch of humanity will reign supreme. That is enough for the Red Association. We can even accept the downfall of the Mech Trade Association. Just because we share the same root does not mean we share the same interests." Ves had long been afraid that the two branches of the same Association would still treat each other as brothers, but his fears had been overblown.

Jovy might not be truthful, but Ves personally did not think that was the case.

It made sense for the MTA and the RA to diverge so much from each other. The fundamental reason why was because they served different groups of humans. So long as they absolved themselves of the responsibility to protect the humans that had left their reach, then they were forced to pursue different strategies in order to serve their mandates.

As long as this was the case, Ves could freely target the MTA without worrying about drawing the ire from the RA! (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)

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