<h4>Chapter 3383: Cbast''s Scheme</h4>


    As the expeditionary fleet crossed over into the Anti Star Cluster, the environment had changed remarkably.


    The Sticky Pernois Star Sector neighbored the Tarnished Crown Star Sector, which meant it saw a lot of traffic.


    Not only were a lot of other pioneering fleets making their way to the gate system in the center of the Anti Star Cluster, there were lots of other people trying to earn extra profit from the convergence of so many powerful people and organizations.


    Some of the strongest, wealthiest and most well-connected people who originally resided in the neighboring star clusters all headed over to Tarnished Crown in order to realize their ambitions!


    A lot of them had deep pockets and were willing to spend a lot to strengthen their respective fleets. This resulted in a huge influx of potential employees as well as a huge amount of essential trade goods.


    In short, business was booming. Even a ce that was a bit further away from the gate system had already started to reorient its businesses towards serving prospective pioneering organizations such as the Golden Skull Alliance.


    It became easier than ever to purchase arge amount of mechs, colonization machines, mining equipment, construction bots, modr space stations and other gear needed to found a new colony in the Red Ocean.


    No matter whether a pioneer was strong or weak, pretty much all of them wanted to take advantage of the early stage of the invasion of the Red Ocean to im some of the abundants that were ripe for the taking!


    Even though the new frontier was just a dwarf gxy, the amount of star systems and suitables was still overwhelmingly great! Competition and pressure for most of these potential colonization targets was fairly light, both due to the abundance of choice and the limited number of pioneers.


    As such, even a weak, third-ss pioneering fleet might be able to seed in founding their own little colony somewhere! Of course, such a group needed to be careful to stay in the right zone and avoid iming an attractive.


    However, to many pioneers at this level, it was already worth it if they were able to found a quiet and modest colony akin to the old Cloudy Curtain.


    More powerful pioneers who came with greater strength did not limit their ambitions to ruling an entire. They all wanted to realize their dreams of founding a new state, and would inevitably persuade its weaker neighbors to offer their support in exchange for protection.


    Despite the risks, the attraction of ruling an entire and bing a part of the ruling ss of a new state was almost fatal!


    Hardly any pioneers thought about doing anything else in the Red Ocean. People would probably think the Larkinson n was crazy for nothing thinking about founding any colonies! There were so many juicys and star systems avable that it would only take a moderate effort to nt a g on them. As long as the initial investment and construction period was over with, the profit that came with owning a functional colony was both great and continuous!


    Ves remained unmoved, however. He had a phobia about tying himself to any fixed location and no amount of persuasion from the n would change his mind.


    During a visit to the Blinding Banshee, even Cbast attempted to sway his opinion!


    "This is thest chance for us to purchase and stock up on essential colonization gear. Once we reach Tarnished Crown, the price and avability of these hot goods will be much worse. Are you certain you don''t want to pick up these goods?"


    "Squeak."


    Arnold seemed to concur with Cbast as he ate from a bowl of especially-prepared meat.


    Ves looked tly at the woman.


    "You know exactly what I''m like and what I feel about this topic. Do you really think that I have changed my mind?"


    She shrugged. "It was worth a try. I thought that seeing all of these other pioneers preparing to colonize their owns would spur you into iming your own territory. Don''t you think it''s a nice way for your children to settle down in the future? What if Aurelia wants to rule her own little state? Daddy Ves surely isn''t cruel enough to crush her wish."


    "Stop joking around." Ves crossed his arms. "What my children want is not a matter of discussion at the moment. I''m quite aware of the benefits we are missing, but that also means we''re skipping most of the risks. As a mech designer, my need to rule over a territory is much less than other people. Most leaders can do little else but start a colony in order to reach a higher station in life, but I can reach the top just by progressing my career. Settling a only brings more burdens to a mech designer life myself."


    The spymaster no longer tried to persuade Ves to change his stance. His mind had already been set and it was extremely difficult for someone with his experiences to lower his guard.


    Fortunately, there were still other people in the n that were more open-minded than Ves. Little Aurelia was a nk sheet and might develop different ideas than her father.


    As the de-facto crown princess of the n, a lot of Larkinsons would try their best to influence her opinions in theing decades!


    After rejection Cbast''s suggestion, Ves turned to the topic he truly wanted to talk about. He was not one for roundabout chatting so he bluntly brought up the matter.


    "I heard a rumor that you''ve been dating Chief Minister Novilon Purnesse."


    Cbast raised an eyebrow. She looked a lot more intrigued than before.


    "My personal life shouldn''t be of interest to you. What would Gloriana think?"


    Ves let out a tired breath. "Just tell me what you''re up to. Novilon is not an average fellow in the n. What''s your game?"


    "Can''t I just tell you that I find him charming, elegant and smart enough to enjoy hispany?" Cbast smirked. "I genuinely enjoy hispany. There aren''t many men of his caliber in the n. No offense, Ves, but every other fish can''t reach my level. I have absolutely no attraction to people I look down upon. Novilon is one of the few lovers that won''t bend to me. His father Shederin Purnesse is even better, but he''s too old and already taken."


    "All of that sounds great, but I doubt that''s the whole story. What are you trying to aplish?"


    The spymaster saw that Ves was being serious this time, so she finally decided to get a little serious.


    "Let''s just say that I find the members of the former Purnesse Family interesting."


    "Interesting in what way?"


    "Our n has gathered arge number of misfits and groups. With the help of our unique advantages, we have managed to integrate many different people from religious zealots like the Penitent Sisters to intellectual secrists such as the Purnessers. Due to how our n is structured, every Larkinson is technically equal, but is this truly the case in practice?"


    Ves was not blind to the limitations of the current structure. "Nothing is perfect. Ideally, I would like every nsman to be treated equally and have the same opportunity as others, but as a parent I can understand that certain people want to favor their own family and support circle. This isn''t something that I can stop since I am essentially taking advantage of this phenomenon."


    Ves was willing to break any rule and ignore any tradition as long as they hindered his children in any way!


    Cbast nodded as if she already expected such an answer from him. "The Larkinson n is changing, Ves. It''s always been changing. It''s growing bigger, moreplicated and more powerful. All of those different groups I''ve mentioned might still be able to live in harmony in the same n, but you can''t suppress theirpeting interests. There is only a limited amount of resources avable and every interest group wants to im a bigger slice of the pie."


    "I know all of that, but what does this have to do with you hooking up with one of my chief ministers?"


    "Anyone with a little bit of political acumen can see that different factions will emerge among our people. These factions will fight for power and try to influence our n in specific directions. As patriarch, you can choose to stay above the infighting, but that doesn''t mean you should turn a blind eye to it. As far as I''m concerned, I''m doing you a favor by keeping the Purnessers under observation. I can guarantee you that one of the strongest factions that will arise in the n will center around these n members. Out of every Larkinson, the Purnessers are the most proficient in operating under these circumstances."


    She made a lot of sense. Ves never really thought about the rise of factions in the n because it was still too young and small for it to matter. His own prestige in the n was also strong so he didn''t have to pay too much attention to the opinions of any groups.


    That might change in the future, though. Once the poption of the n becameparable to an industrial or even an entire state, the weight of the masses became a lot greater rtive to his own. This was the best time for factions to rise.


    "You make a good point, Cbast, but you haven''t answered my question. What does this have to do with your new rtionship?"


    Cbast looked a bit annoyed. "I''ve already said this much. Can''t you think of the answer?"


    "Are you… supporting the Purnesser agenda?"


    "No." She shook her head. "Not really. The Purnessers generally want to gain more influence and decision-making power in the n. One of the policies they are pushing for is to make the top positions more fluid. As long as posts like your own can be decided by voting, the Purnessers are confident that their experience in operating political machines will give them the upper hand."


    Ves mirthfullyughed. "Ha! Do they really think they can persuade every Larkinson to follow the orders of gutless bureaucrats? There is arge number of military servicemen in our n who don''t respect this sort of people."


    "That''s correct. The military will form its own faction in due course, and they will serve as a powerful counterbnce to the Purnessers. That doesn''t mean thetter will remain powerless. This is their arena. They are morepetent than others in tying different interests together in order to build support for their own causes. Leaving them will allow them to be increasingly more dominant."


    "So your solution is to enter the orbit of the Purnessers?" Ves skeptically asked.


    "Essentially, yes. It''s not as simple as it sounds. A short exnation is that a rtionship between myself and Novilon will restrain the Purnessers. It is easy enough for them to figure out that I belong to your camp and that I will not ept any policies that weaken your authority. That means that Novilon, who is one of the highest leaders among the Purnessers, will not be able to advance his original causes as unrestrained as before."


    "Will this actually happen? Why do I have the feeling I''m missing a part of the picture? What if the opposite happens and you get influenced by their stances?"


    "Heh, I can''t be swayed by them. You can make sure of that." Cbast confidently said. "There is more to the story, but it''s not that useful to exin it all to you. If you want to maintain control over your n and prevent anyone from trying to pry more power out of your hands, then you should let me continue what I am doing. By constraining the Purnessers and tying them to myself, I can tame this beast and make sure that your fundamental interests will never be threatened. That sounds like a good deal, right?"


    "Caveat emptor…" Ves responded.