Shortly after Ves and Gloriana created a rather disappointing first production copy of the Bright Warrior Mark I Version B, the expeditionary fleet finally reached its first true stop!

Hundreds of combat carriers, support ships and capital ships emerged out of FTL in rapid succession.

Their appearance alone represented a considerable show of force!

Even if the overall condition of the fleet was far beyond its peak, the Golden Skull Alliance was still one of the strongest fleets to visit this major port system.

If that wasn't enough, then the emergence of the Infinity Guard fleet a short distance away only furthered the forceful impression.

The vast majority of visitors and local powers couldn't fight against their combined might!

While their obvious strength ensured that no one in the star system would pick a fight with them anytime soon, they also attracted immediate attention from the authorities!

"Welcome to the Prosperous Hill System." Grand Captain Daria-Maria Vraken introduced to Ves. "This is the second-largest port system of the Life Research Association. The Lifers don't take kindly to letting any threatening fleet approach their settlements or space stations. We'll have to wait until traffic control assigns a track to us. They'll want to park us in an empty grid in the outer system to minimize our threat."

"I don't blame the authorities for being so careful. The destructive potential we possess can easily wipe out a city if we go rogue."

The Prosperous Hill System boasted four highly-developed planets and several settled moons. The former boasted populations numbering in the billions.

While that didn't make the planets too crowded, it was far too easy for a ship in orbit to drop something that could easily wipe out an entire city district!

Naturally, it wasn't that easy to perform a terrorist attack of this nature. Second-rate states possessed plenty of tech that could defend against incidental attacks from above.

It was best not to test them, though. The best way to prevent incidents was to deny any ship from entering the inner system in the first place.

Of course, that left the expeditionary fleet and every other visitor with the question of how they would be able to bring themselves and their goods inside.

Authorities in charge of Prosperous Hill had to establish an expansive transit and transportation network in the star system.

Every single starship, transport and shuttle was under their complete control. Only vetted Lifers who came from Prosperous Hill were allowed to design, produce, maintain and crew these vessels.

Prosperous Hill wasn't the only commerce-oriented star system that adopted such a strict traffic policy.

In fact, regimes like these would become a very common sight as Ves continued his travels.

Perhaps looser governments might allow visitors to approach their settled planets with a small number of vessels, but it was out of the question to allow an entire fleet approach for no reason!

Though Ves detested the lack of control, it was useless to lodge a protest. This was a common standard throughout the galaxy. Those who intended to pay a visit to any of the settled planets had to abide by the rules set by the local authorities.

If they did anything wrong, there was no escape! The local government monopolized every possible transportation channel in the inner system.

Soon enough, traffic control formally contacted the allied fleet. The Golden Skull Alliance easily navigated the intricacies of negotiating with traffic control by relying on the assistance of the Infinity Guards.

This wasn't the first time the 14th Fleet visited Prosperous Hill. They actually visited regularly enough for their ships to be a known entity to the local authorities.

With the help of the mercenaries, the Golden Skull Alliance managed to gain a favorable parking spot that was right at the edge of what the locals defined as the border to the inner system.

Not only that, but the Larkinsons, Glory Seekers and Crossers received priority access to local transportation. This and various other conveniences would make their stay much more pleasant in this highly-populated port system.

"There is never enough inner system transit to go around." Captain Vraken told Ves once the brief negotiations concluded. "The Hegemony's busiest port systems are a lot slower, but that is because we don't get too many foreign visitors in the first place. Most foreign traffic consists of trade vessels and trade convoys looking to get a good bargain from our local economy."

Ves twitched a smile. "I can't imagine why foreigners are so eager to shun your welcoming star systems."

"You don't need to joke around. We don't exactly present a good impression to outsiders. The Komodo Star Sector is also very out of the way compared to Majestic Teal. The regional economy is more developed so a port system such as Prosperous Hill naturally attracts greater traffic."

"It also helps that the Lifers have developed a lot of good expert products." Ves noted. "Their famed biotech industries allow them to maintain a strong competitive advantage in this aspect throughout Majestic Teal and the rest of the star cluster."

The great emphasis on biotechnology may have turned the Life Research Association into an attractive business destination, but it also made the Lifers weird. Ves had no doubt that he would be encountering that in person in the coming months.

The captain mentioned another disadvantage.

"There is another downside to visiting Prosperous Hill. Unless you are a prominent citizen or organization of the LRA, you are not allowed to bring even a single mech to the inner system. You're only allowed to bring guards on foot."

Ves frowned even deeper. This was a severe limitation. Any mech would easily be able to squash him if its mech pilot decided to do so. Ves would have scant few means to prevent any hostile mech from taking his life with the power it had at its disposal.

"At least Lucky is small enough to be disarming." He muttered under his breath.

Perhaps it was a bit ridiculous to be afraid of rogue attackers in a highly-regulated port system with a good record of safety, but Ves could not rule out the potential risks. The ambush he recently lived through had taught him how foolish it was to let his guard down.

The older woman reassured him. "It's not that bad. While we aren't allowed to bring our own mechs, the same is not the case for the Infinity Guards. They have told us that they possess a quota of two mechs. While their mechs aren't allowed to enter into many zones on the surface of the settled planets, they still pose enough of a threat to deter most potential threats. If some Fridaymen lurking in this star system ever wants to take your life, they probably won't succeed because they can't overcome the power of mechs."

That was only true if the threat came from the Friday Coalition.

Unlike the Hexers, the Fridaymen were avid traders. Many of them took on careers that brought them to other star sectors in order to foster better relationships, negotiate new trade deals and find other ways to benefit their state.

Since Majestic Teal was close to Komodo, there were bound to be Fridaymen trading and diplomatic delegations in Prosperous Hill, so the threat that Captain Vraken considered was very real.

Yet Ves didn't think the local Fridaymen would be able to do anything. They had to abide by the same restrictions as other visitors, so the total amount of firepower they could bring to bear against him was ultimately limited.

What he truly worried about was the threat he might face from locals. Ves had already been betrayed by governments before.

Still, that didn't stop him from wanting to visit one of the settled planets in person. As the clan patriarch, he needed to represent the Larkinsons in various official meetings. If he didn't show up and handle these high-level meetings in person, his clan would encounter a lot of restrictions that would make it hard for it to rebuild its forces.

For example, renting a couple of mech production facilities to produce his Bright Warrior IB's was not something that any random stranger could accomplish!

Not only did Ves have to meet with various bureaucrats, he also had to accept Dr. Frederico Navarro's challenge.

As long as Ves was able to win over an established Journeyman Mech Designer from LRA, his clan would be able to gain access to a lot more channels and services!

Locals faced much fewer restrictions than foreigners. Prosperous Hill may be known as a relatively friendly trade destination, but it was not a free market.

As Ves learned more about the local circumstances, he became even more determined to lay low. He absolutely couldn't afford to stir any trouble with any powerful Lifers. He and his clan should strictly act like any other trading partner and no more.

"Maybe I should cut short my planned sightseeing tour on Prosperous Hill VI." He muttered.

The star system featured five highly-developed planets in total. Prosperous Hill I hosted most of the local heavy industry. This was also the planet where a lot of classical mechs were being produced.

Foreigners were not allowed to visit Prosperous I by default. They had to gain a measure of trust or familiarity from the local authorities first.

If the Larkinson Clan wanted to rent enough production capacity to produce Bright Warrior IB and other crucial LMC mechs, then Ves had to convince someone powerful enough in the local power structure!

Prosperous Hill III was the administrative center of the star system. It also hosted a lot of locals who mostly kept to themselves. Foreigners were not allowed to step onto the planet at all. Only a handful of exceptions occurred in the past couple of centuries.

Prosperous Hill IV was one of the more exotic destinations of the local star system. It was the regional capital of biotechnology in the surrounding star systems. The planet was a font of green as wildernesses blended together with highly-unusual biological cities where humans lived alongside lots of biotech applications.

Entry to this star system was open to foreigners as the locals there didn't feel threatened at all. Lifers reigned supreme in this weird and exciting place.

Ves eagerly wanted to visit it if only to experience the local biomech industry firsthand!

Finally, there was Prosperous Hill VI. It was the typical tourist trap and trading planet and the favored destination of many foreigners. The planet was famed for offering a lot of shops where many LRA specialties could be bought as long as the purchaser owned the right permissions.

This was also a destination where the Larkinson Clan would be hanging around a lot. This was the best place to recruit talented personnel to replenish and expand its ranks.

He even considered hiring another batch of assistant mech designers on this planet.

In addition, now that the expeditionary fleet arrived in the LRA, the small group of surviving Xona Stalkers were also eager to contact their families again.

Ves wasn't sure how well that would go. The Xona Stalkers had originally been exiled from this state. The only reason why they were allowed to go in again was because they were registered as Larkinsons now, thereby causing them to shed all of their prior ties to the LRA, both good and bad.

When he contacted Captain Reina Ember, the highest-ranking member of the surviving Xona Stalkers did not look optimistic.

"We've tried to contact all of our families and invited them over to Prosperous Hill VI in order to reunite with us. Many of them.. have declined."

That certainly didn't sound good.

"What will you do?"

"What else? We'll meet with the family who hasn't forgotten us and see from there." She replied. "We've been out of touch with the LRA for too long, so it will be good to catch up. Once we are up to date on the local circumstances that aren't known to the public, we can help you navigate the local environment."

Ves nodded in satisfaction. "That sounds good. Take your time and make the most out of your time with the family that cares about you and your fellow survivors."