Ves deeply hoped that there weren't any strong pirate fleets traveling towards Ulimo Citadel.

It would be quite inconvenient to confront another Allidus Alliance trade convoy or something similar.

In order to obtain a better picture of the days and weeks ahead, Ves met with Calabast shortly after he ended his briefing with Major Verle.

She entered his office with an impatient expression on her face. "I'm busy with managing our takeover of Ulimo Citadel. A lot of machines and equipment needs to be locked down and we are trying to preserve as much data and valuables as possible. There are many stubborn pirate holdouts who need to be cleaned up and we are just beginning to disarm all of the boobytraps the pirates have left behind."

"This won't take long, Calabast. How is our cooperation with the pirate defectors proceeding?"

"Quite well, actually." She smirked. "The Xona Stalkers are invaluable. Without their insider access and knowledge of Ulimo Citadel, it would have taken at least five to ten times longer to pacify the pirate stronghold. If everything proceeds as expected, we will likely be able to secure every strategically-important section of the pirate base within a day. It will take a few more days to sweep the remaining areas, but the chances that someone manages to detonate a nuclear bomb or something is minimal. That said, I highly advise you not to step foot inside Ulimo until we have ruled out every potential threat."

Ves nodded. "I'm not in a hurry. Our spoils don't have anywhere they can run to. Speaking of that, have we secured any valuable gains?"

"It's too early to tell. While we have taken over many vaults and warehouses, we can only tell what goods they hold from the logs and database entries. While I believe these records are fairly accurate, there are already signs the pirates have taken away some high-value goods. In addition, there are several secret storage places that not even the Xona Stalkers know about. The Dry Snakes store some of their most valuable hauls from their mining activities in these secret vaults. It will take a lot of searching to find these secret vaults and retrieve the small but incredibly valuable high-grade exotics the pirates have mined from the local asteroid field."

All of this took time, which was something that Ves already understood. This wasn't the first pirate base the Larkinson Clan took over, but it was definitely the largest one to date. The scale of their latest conquest was incomparable, so it took a lot more work to process the aftermath of their victory.

"It looks like we will have to spend at least a week to process our gains and restore many of our damage mechs to fighting conditions." Ves concluded as he crossed his arms. "Our situation is rather precarious at the moment. Even though we can still count on our intact Larkinson and Penitent Sister mechs to guard us, the last thing I want to see is another group of pirates showing up to attack us when we are in our recovery phase."

"While I can't state with absolute certainty whether a large pirate force is on the way to retake Ulimo Citadel, so far I believe this is unlikely to happen." She stated as she began to lean against his desk. "The news has already spread. Defeating one of the entrenched powers of Maynard Fields is a major shock to everyone. The various friends and allies of the Dry Snakes will think twice before approaching us. In fact, it's more likely that they are plotting to take the pirate base for themselves. Everyone knows that our clan has no intentions of staying. Once we depart, the pirates will most likely compete against each other to take over this attractive territory."

"I see. The best way to avoid any further confrontation with other pirates is to avoid making any moves that encroach on their interests."

"It seems you get it. There is hardly any benefit to attacking us. Our remaining combat strength isn't easy to deal with despite our losses. Unless the other pirate groups are willing to commit a lot of superweapons or employ arcane rituals, their chances of winning are miserable. The gains won't outweigh their losses even if they squeeze out a victory. It makes much more sense for them to hold back and wait until we leave on our own accord. We just have to make sure that our task force isn't traveling in the direction of any of the other local pirate factions."

"Don't worry, Calabast. I have no intention of breaking open any more pirate bases." He stated, much to the spymaster's relief. "I don't think our mech pilots can tolerate much more, and so do I for that matter. We all want to end this excursion and return to civilized space."

As for his other goals such as trying to track down and rescue Solok Reyva, Ves didn't care about this mission. He would rather return empty-handed and keep the remainder of his task force than the other way around! It wasn't as if he needed to pay a large penalty for failing a mission that many other Rim Guardian associates failed to accomplish.

The woman smiled in relief after hearing that. She was genuinely afraid that Ves still didn't have his fill for excitement!

"I'm glad you think so. So far, my Black Cats are constantly monitoring the pirate movements in Maynard Fields. We have sent some hints over the galactic net that already suggests that we will soon be on our way out of the Nyxian Gap. Perhaps due to this signalling effort, the major pirate alliances haven't sent any punitive fleets to Ulimo as far as we are aware of. Even if many movements are difficult to track throughout the Nyxian Gap, the passage of a large pirate fleet that poses a substantial threat to us can't be hidden. I will inform you if we notice any news of this nature."

There was still a chance that an enemy like the Allidus Alliance dispatched a fleet to retaliate against the Larkinson Clan despite all of this. Ves did not intend to stay long at Ulimo for this reason. The sooner they left, the better!

Their discussion moved on to the Xona Stalkers.

"So, let's talk about the defecting pirates. This is your brainchild, Calabast. Can you finally tell me what the fuss is all about and why you wanted to absorb them so eagerly?"

She smiled coyly at Ves. "Even if the Xona Stalkers have degenerated to pirates, they still possess much of the foundation of an intelligence unit. Our Black Cats need professionals like them. Do you know how hard it is to hire trustworthy spies who aren't beholden to their old states anymore? Aside from the valuable manpower that we can obtain, they also have some interesting tech, ranging from stealth technology to secure communication methods."

"That sounds interesting, but why do I feel like this isn't the extent of your gains?" Ves looked suspiciously at her. "You're usually averse to risks, but you were one of the biggest supporters of attacking Ulimo Citadel. Don't think I've forgotten about that. From what I know about you, there has to be something bigger at stake."

"You're right, Ves." Calabast sighed. "I admit that I have been acting selfish lately, but there is a good reason for that. Let me handle the current situation for a few days. Without controlling Ulimo Citadel, it's hard to say whether my objectives have been met. Wait for the good news."

Well, whatever she was aiming for, it was not as if Ves would chosen another course if she didn't have ulterior motives. He would have ordered his task force to attack Ulimo Citadel regardless.

It was just that the crisis they faced and the losses they suffered exceeded everyone's expectations. No one discovered the threat of the Hallowed Abyss Temple until it was too late and the cultists already called down the dark sphere.

Ves became a lot warier towards Nyxian pirates after this battle. It was already bad enough they developed a growing penchant for arming themselves with prohibited superweapons. It was even worse when they partnered up with whacky cults that were clearly related to the Five Scrolls Compact!

"What do you think about the.. unusual phenomena we lived through?" Ves curiously asked.

"I don't claim to understand any of it." She simply replied. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I take it you know more."

"It's complicated. Suffice to say, don't underestimate any religious cult that claims to worship dark gods or eldritch horrors. While it might sound a bit ridiculous, not all of those frightening entities are fake!"

"Do gods actually exist?" She skeptically asked.

"Of course not." Ves immediately answered back. "That giant tentacled whale got beaten up by Jannzi, don't you remember? That beast is not a god. He's just a highly-evolved life form that has grown very powerful. Despite that, his powers aren't miracles. They are subject to many of the same limitations as everything else. They can be beaten as long as we have the right means."

"From what we have observed from the battle, it appears that expert candidates and expert pilots are crucial to defending against these energy-based threats. I guess we are very fortunate to have talents such as Mr. Joshua and Venerable Jannzi. We only need to look at the disproportionate losses suffered by the Penitent Sisters to know how worse off we would be without our heroes."

Venerable Jannzi Larkinson. Ves still wasn't used to regarding her with that title. After so many struggles, the Larkinson Clan finally gained its first true expert pilot. Though she was still recovering from her previous overexertion, there was no doubt to every Larkinson that the future prospects of their clan had definitely shot up due to this fantastic development!

"Not a lot of independent organizations can boast having an expert pilot in their ranks." He smirked. He had reason to feel smug! "Since we aren't bound by any states such as the Bright Republic, no one will take Venerable Jannzi away this time, even if she has attained complete resonance after completing her apotheosis."

The sight of Jannzi evoking Qilanxo's energy projection after attaining the mythical Unity of Man and Machine was unforgettable! The clan was already in the process of collecting as much footage from as many mechs and sh.i.p.s as possible to archive this legendary feat in the annals of the Larkinson Clan!

Calabast smiled as well. "Venerable Jannzi is a great asset to our clan. She's even more impressive than a regular expert pilot. Her dramatic feat has elevated her above many expert pilots such as Venerable Ghanso Larkinson. Her presence in our clan is actually one of the other reasons why the other pirate groups are reluctant to attack us. The mere mention of an expert pilot is enough to deter and discourage many pirates from thinking about attacking us! Just look at the Oblivion Hand and how it has aggressively swelled under the leadership of the Dark Cleaver."

She already knew that the Dark Cleaver was his father. She mentioned the Oblivion Hand on purpose, though the comparison was very apt. If Ves was a pirate commander, he would never think about getting close to any expert pilot!

Even if their actual combat power was not as fearsome as everyone thought, the insane amount of hero worship that expert pilots enjoyed elevated their stature and deterrence factor to meteoric levels!

Still, those who were clever enough such as Ves knew that Venerable Jannzi wasn't as powerful as her stellar debut performance made her out to be. Just like expert candidates, expert pilots always gained an enormous boost of strength just after they accomplished their breakthroughs.

What many people tended to overlook was that this boost was temporary!

The breakthrough process was partially like building up pressure in a container. As long as the mech pilot in question managed to create an opening, all of that pent-up pressure released all at once, producing an exaggerated effect.

Yet once the pressure was relieved, the degree of resonance strength that Jannzi could actually exert was much less impressive.

In fact, without an actual expert mech, Venerable Jannzi couldn't even properly channel her powerful new abilities!