Ves initially reacted to Reynard''s revtion with pleasant surprise.


    It was a coincidence that the Larkinsons share amon root with the rkes, however distant and aged it may be. It exined why Ves did not feel as alienated among his hosts than he expected.


    Though the shuttle ride did not give him a chance to be surrounded by the rkes, Ves did get a glimpse of what the rkes were like shortly after stepping foot onto the space station.


    His impression of the local security officers and other personnel was that they held themselves in a manner that was not too different from the Larkinsons.


    Though there were certainly differences between the two groups, Ves could still buy the theory that they were both off-shoots from the same parent organization.


    However, it did not take long for Ves to sober up and realize that whatever the Larkinson n and the rke n had inmon was too superficial to im any kinship.


    The New Rubarth Empire was a vast and enormous first-rate superstate that was home to more citizens than Ves could count.


    It was well-known that Rubarth was not an easy state to live in. Competition was pervasive and many Rubarthans had to do their best to keep up with their peers in order to keep their heads above water.


    Even the upper echelon of society could not rx for too long. Newer groups and factions constantly tried to chip away at the foundation of the more established organizations.


    The general rule in this powerful state was that the strong should always supnt the weak!


    While the New Rubarth Empire did offer enough unity andmission to keep everything together, it was unavoidable that a lot of losers among its citizens.


    These people no longer found it viable to remain in their state for one reason or another and had little choice but to go into exile by moving to another state.


    Terrans and Rubarthans almost never fled to the smaller first-rate states. This was because thetter actively rejected the exiles for fear of getting assimted from within.


    This left the Terrans and Rubarthans with little choice but to move to the lesser and much poorer states.


    In general, the greater the trouble, the further they moved away.


    Ves didn''t know too much about the mythical Larkinson Ancestor who relied on his own strength to found the Larkinson Family, but it was not difficult to figure out that this historical figure had incurred a lot of heat.


    There was no otherpelling reason for the Larkinson Ancestor to run all the way to the border of human space!


    The rke n had it much easier inparison.


    As Ves used his imnt to get himself up to speed of its history, it turned out that whatever setbacks drove the rkes out of Rubarth over 3 centuries ago wasn''t as serious. The rke n eventually settled down in the gctic hearnd that was still close enough to humanity''s core region.


    This also meant that the rke n hadn''t degenerated as badly as the Larkinsons and the other founders of the Bright Republic.


    Exiles flowed out of the Greater Terran United Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire all the time. The outflow was just as enormous and the inflow if the sources were urate.


    The general rule upheld by both first-rate superstates was that any of their citizens that turned into a fugitive or exile no longer had the right to call themselves Terran or Rubarthan.


    Neither the Larkinsons nor the rkes retained any official ties to the New Rubarth Empire! The powerful state already severed those ties as soon as the original exiles crossed the border!


    Nothing was absolute, though. Ves had once heard that the Rubarthans still maintained secretworks of exiled groups in order to collect resources, gather intelligence and generally keep an eye on the other parts of human space.


    The Larkinsons had nothing to do with that, so Ves never spared much thought towards the New Rubarth Empire.


    "It''s a coincidence that we are both connected to Rubarth, however distant our ties may be." Ves eventually replied. "I suppose it will certainly make it easier for us to understand each other, but that is all. Arge number of groups based in second-rate states can all im ancestry from the first-rate superstates."


    "That is true, I suppose." Reynard admitted.


    The tour from above continued for another twenty minutes before the tourist shuttle descended in the center of the public area of the Armidia.


    Ves and his family stepped out in a vast indoor urban environment that shared a passing resemnce to Dawn City of the Vivacious Wal.


    The overall premise of Armidia was the same as the brightest city of the Larkinson n. As Ves gazed at the pristine avenues beyond thending zone, he observed many groups of well-dressed visitors.


    A significant proportion of them had brought their children along, and that was for good reason because the Armidia offered a lot of kid-friendly destinations.


    There were zoos, aquariums, mech museums, gaming centers and of course shopping malls that catered to all kinds of people.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    There were frequent patrols of lightly-armed security officers who all bore the gray-and-sky blue colors of the rke n.


    The amount of patrols were rather high, but their modest outfits and equipment easily allowed them to remain unobtrusive.


    However, what truly attracted Ves'' attention was not the venues nor the uniformed rkes on foot.


    It was the small number of mechs that quietly patrolled the public spaces of Armidia.


    Ves recognized their models. They all happened to be peacekeeper mechs from a highly familiar mech ecosystem.


    "It turns out that your n is my customer!"


    Reynard rke chuckled. "That is true. We havee to depend greatly on the models of the LaVoi mech ecosystem and especially the Pacifier model to minimize disturbances within ourmon spaces. It is not just our rke n that have embraced your work. Our other coalition partners have sold their previousw enforcement mechs and switched over to the LaVoi mech ecosystem as soon as they became acquainted with the more superior line of mechs."


    Though Ves was aware that the Larkinson n''s coboration with the Voiken Family resulted in a huge amount of sales, the Red Ocean was still a big market.


    He did not expect to encounter hismercial products in use outside of the Davute region so soon, but on second thought it was not too strange to see Pacifiers in the wild.


    The Pacifier was one of his breakout sesses. Its capabilities were unmatched by anypetitor, which meant that not a singlepetitor could match its impressive value proposition!


    The result of having a product that was clearly more valuable than anything else in the market meant that demand for it was unlikely to fade unless thepetition finally stepped up and presented a viable alternative.


    Until then, the amount of Pacifier mechs in cirction would continue to grow until they showed up in pretty much every second-ss poption center!


    As the group stepped onto an avenue and moved in the direction of a shopping mall, Ves curiously asked questions about the rke n''s experiences with his products.


    "How satisfied are you with the Pacifiers?"


    "We are very satisfied with your work." Reynard did not hesitate to respond. "It is particrly handy that there are many variants avable for sale. Policing a space station is different from policing a city on a, so we have particr demands for our internal units. Honestly speaking though, we would have bought your Pacifiers even if they only came in a single version. The glow that each of them bears is just too useful in our line of work."


    "Have you employed the glow of the Pacifier model many times?"


    "We did at the start. You have to know that we usually open ourselves up in locations that are frequented by a wide variety of people, many of which have built up arge amount of stress, frustration and more. These individuals are not always capable of demonstrating self-control. Outbursts are unavoidable in our line of work."


    Ves nodded in understanding. "It is brave of you to wee so many visitors to your space station. I can understand that the need for effective peacekeeping and pacification solutions is great."


    "The Pacifier model was not as famous ormon as today, so not many of our guests were aware of what it was capable of. What we fear the most is riots and unbridled violence within our own hull, but we are cognizant that if we are too heavy handed in our attempts to enforce our rules, we will drive too many visitors away from our hull."


    "This is where the Pacifieres in, right?"


    "Correct." Reynard smiled. "Your mech possesses the unique ability to cool people''s tempers and reduce the impulses that could lead them tomit violence. The glow of your Pacifier model hasn''t always worked as well as we hoped, but we sessfully used your mechs to prevent the majority of conflicts from escting any further. That alone has saved us many MTA credits in physical damage and reputational damage."


    "That is what my mechs are for. They exist to solve the problems of our customers. I am happy to hear that your adoption of our Pacifier mech line has contributed to your n''s prosperity. Since you are so happy with our Pacifiers, have you opted to purchase our other products as well?"


    "We have yet to do so, patriarch." Reynard rke shook his head. "I can tell you that this matter is frequently brought up in our high-level meetings, but we are not in a hurry to adopt more of your work. We are already more than satisfied with our existing mechs, many of which are designed by our own team of mech designers. We don''t want to put our own people out of business, and it is essential for them to receive the practice they need to further their skills."


    "I can understand the need to prioritize your own mech designers. Only they know your circumstances and your needs the most. They are also essential to designing your own expert mechs and other specific machines. However, you should also have a sense of proportion. The mech industry outside of your small coalition is constantly pushing technology to greater heights. Many of your peers and rivals will not hesitate to embrace thetest trends so that they can get more work done with fewer mechs. If you are not careful enough, then your n and coalition might find out that you have fallen behind in the most brutal fashion."


    The rtions manager of the rke n briefly shrugged. "Our elders and leaders all keep track of what is happening in the mechmunity. The battle that your alliance has recently fought in the Magair Middle Zone is just one of many cases that have shown us where mechs are heading towards. I am certain that our n will make the necessary adjustments in time, though I cannot promise that we will be purchasing your other products."


    As the two continued to talk, Ves gained a good understanding of the rke n as a customer.


    The rkes definitely loved the Pacifier mechs for how extensively they made Pentahall Station safer, but they did not have any other urgent needs that necessitated the acquisition of other living mech models.


    Since the rkes were also active in the mech industry, they would rather support the inferior works of their own mech designers than embrace superior mechs sold bypeting mechpanies!


    The rke n therefore prioritized control over performance. This strategy worked as long as the gap between their own mech designers and externalpetitors wasn''t too exaggerated.


    Unfortunately for the rkes, Ves believed that it was inevitable for this gap to widen in the future.


    He was constantly progressing his career and he felt it would not take much longer for him to grasp his next breakthrough opportunity!