The Larkinson n formed an initial blueprint of the future!


    As the news about thetest decisions gradually trickled out, the rank-and-file began to understand what the leadership intended to do in the next decade.


    The most notable piece of news was the establishment of the Premier Branch!


    Although many nsmen questioned the suitability of the name, there was no doubt that the first-ss branch of the Larkinson n would be the new focal point!


    A lot of people would be lying if they said they held no interest in bing a first-rater. There were simply too many advantages to bing one. Not only would they gain a much better status and engage in more significant work, they could also attain lots of other fantastic benefits such as life-prolonging treatments and better schooling for their children.


    A lot of Larkinsons quickly inquired how they could be a part of this new first-ss branch.


    "Wait, I have to score at the top of a theoretical examination in order to be eligible for selection? It has been decades since Ist went to school! This is unfair!"


    "Wow, the requirements are much lighter for talented mech pilots. Damn, I am so thankful for my B- aptitude."


    "I have never attended any actual schools in my life. I would rather fight my way to the top. Instead of bothering with all of these exams, it''s better for me to polish my swordsmanship and earn lots of war merits as a warfighter!"


    The Larkinsons finally gained not one, but two different pathways to bing a first-rater!


    The exclusive method that the n made avable to its members was to earn an EdNet quota.


    It became clear that it was mainly targeted towards the best and brightest of the n. A lot of Larkinsons became dismayed when they realized they did not stand a chance, but a select group of high performers became ecstatic that their time hade!


    In any case, the ones who had no hope of winning an EdNet quota did not remain upset for long.


    "You don''t have to be smart. You just need to be brave enough!"


    Themon method that was theoretically open to every third-rater was to participate in the New Elites Program.


    Even though the Red Association was still in the process of setting it up. The Fist of Defiance only provided a blueprint. It was up to the mechers and the other leading figures to flesh it out into aplete set of policies and initiatives.


    Still, the broad strokes had already be clear. Every red human, no matter if he was a noname third-rater or a scion of a Terran ancient n, had a chance to gain a higher status by signing up to be a warfighter!


    The obligations were great, but the rewards were greater. Benefits that were too expensive for most people would suddenly be a lot more attainable as long as a person earned enough war merits!


    Different from MTA merits and CFA merits, there was only one means to earn these coveted new war merits. The Red Two had formed a solid consensus on the need to maintain its exclusivity!


    With a heroic and authoritative figure such as the Fist of Defiance standing behind the New Elites Program, people had a lot of faith in the purity and the incorruptibility of all of the new initiatives.


    The rich and powerful people of today could no longer coast along in society by relying on the sesses of their ancestors and their umbre organizations!


    While many people in the Red Ocean were not prepared to do what it took to participate in a deep strike operation, it was different for the Larkinsons.


    They had already cut their teeth in past expeditions and already defeated many alien warships as ofte!


    In fact, they were already linefighters in all but name!


    If not for the fact that the New Elites Program did not look at past aplishments, the majority of Larkinsons would have already been able to ess the initial version of the new War Exchange!


    "It will take years before any of us have a chance to be a warfighter, but we only need to fight against one alien raiding fleet to be a linefighter! Why did we turn around? We should have gone in the opposite direction!"


    "Rx. There is always next time. We need to make a pitstop in order to off-load our salvage and replenish our supplies. The Spirit of Bentheim got beat up by a lot of gun batteries and needs to undergo proper repairs before she is ready to get back into the fight."


    Ves and the leaders of the n all became gratified when they saw that the enthusiasm for the New Elites Program was high.


    The Premier Branch needed more than 5000 Larkinsons to establish a serious presence in the Upper Zones.


    While it was always possible to hire eager first-raters who wanted to ride the coattails of a rising tier 3 gctic citizen, Ves remained deeply wary of recruiting neers who possessed little emotional attachment to the Larkinson n.


    He already noticed that it was a lot harder for the Golden Cat to affect the behavior and attitudes of highly confident, heavily augmented and well-educated first-raters. They even had fancy espionage tech that could directly turn people into unwitting sleeper agents, only to activate andpletely change their loyalties after receiving a hidden signal!


    First-raters yed a whole different spy game than second-raters. Cbast and the ck Cats had to go through a lot of studying in order to catch up to all of the oundish tech and crazy methods that were probably being employed against the n at this very moment!


    As the Larkinson n was beginning to gear up for a major transition, Ves became concerned about the disposition of key figures in his n.


    After a long and earnest talk with his expert pilots, he roughly figured out what they had in mind.


    Each of them aspired to stick with the current branches of the n and do whatever it took to break through to ace pilot!


    There were no clear advantages to promoting to a first-rater this soon. Rather than deal with so many disruptive changes and waiting for years to gain a proper first-ss expert mech, they might as well stay with the majority of nsmen who were starting to embrace the New Elites Program!


    The avability of general cultivation elixirs particrly encouraged the mech pilots to actively seek out battle.


    "We don''t have any choice." Venerable Joshua said as he leaned against the heavy metal foot of the Everchanger. "You drop this ''stuff'' on us all of sudden, causing us topletely throw away the ideas that we clung to in the past. If this stuff is truly as amazing as you im, then it is even more important than before that we test our mettle on the battlefield."


    Ves, who was in the process of examining and tweaking the Everchanger, understood where Joshua wasing from. Many Larkinson expert pilots thought they would have plenty of time to grow and mature into a stronger version of themselves.


    Now that the elixirs essentially allowed them to get close to the finish line in the span of just a couple of years, they could no longer afford to take their time!


    "I understand. While a part of our n will be preupied with setting up the Premier Branch, the main branch will still continue to fight against the aliens. The only difference is that a few thousand Larkinsons won''t be participating anymore. Our administration is already preparing to allocate or recruit additional personnel to fill up the positions that will soon be emptied."


    The biggest regret to Ves was that he wouldn''t be able to go on any subsequent expeditions with the main fleet. He needed to preside over the Premier Branch and begin forming new rtionships with many different first-ss powers.


    Just as with third-raters, there was little point in consorting with second-raters now. Even though it would still take a couple of years for him to be a proper first-ss mech designer, he had already be a de facto first-rater by virtue of his influence and contributions.


    If he tried to insert himself in second-ssmunities like Davute or the Hex Federation, his presence would disrupt the locals to such a massive extent that the Red Two would probably step in and drag him away!


    It was only when he started to consort with other powerful first-raters that Ves would be in the presence of his own ''kind'' again.


    Even now, the upper zones were beckoning to him. Ves needed to hurry up and finish his affairs in the main fleet.


    While Ves was thinking about his impending separation from the fleet he called home, Joshua was thinking about a very different transition.


    "I have been thinking about whether the destination is more important than the journey." The expert pilot spoke even as he summoned hispanion spirit Willy for additional warmth. "For a long time, expert pilots have always felt that the journey is crucial. However, all of the new changes introduced by the Red Association makes it clear that the mechers have stopped caring about it so much. It is all about the destination for them now. They just want to produce as many breakthroughs as possible regardless of the consequences. Even if my path towards bing an ace pilot has be a lot easier now, I... I am afraid of what that means to me and others in my position."


    "Everyone has a purpose, Joshua." Ves tried to settle his moody pilot''s conflicting thoughts. "We used to be in a better position, but not anymore. All of red humanity is in big trouble. The survival of our entire race is at stake. I am afraid to say it, but we can no longer afford to pamper high-ranking mech pilots such as you. We need you all to be stronger really fast in order to pull off the greatest missions of your lives. Don''t think of all of the new stuff as desecrations of a sacred ritual. They are merely tools that are designed to save our race. So long as your heart remains sincere, I am sure you will be able to keep a hold of yourself in a time where your strength will skyrocket."


    Joshua did not look very confident about that. "I get what you are saying, but I still think that I cannot afford to miss the journey. Now that it has shortened by a lot, I need to make sure I can squeeze in as many sights in this brief tour as possible. If I am somehow able to break through, I don''t want to look back on my days as an expert pilot and regret how little I have tested myself."


    "I don''t think you''ll have to worry about that. You have already fought your fair share of significant battles. Your living mech has grown as well. Anyway, when do you think you will be ready to move on to the Premier Branch?"


    "I don''t want to stay away from you for too long." Joshua shared his thoughts. "I don''t want to rush my journey too much, but if I am able to break through to ace pilot in the next decade, I wille to you, but not necessarily for myself. I just think the Everchanger deserves to evolve as well. There is no better way to reward him for his service than to upgrade him into a powerful first-ss ace mech that can defeat some of the toughest alien enemies that we will confront in the future."


    The Everchanger''s eyes silently glowed in approval.


    Ves smiled even as he continued to service his old masterwork mech. "I will be awaiting your arrival at the Premier Branch. I probably won''t be able to improve quickly enough to design ace mechs by myself, but it will be easy for me to gather a couple of trustworthy first-ss Master Mech Designers who can take care of all of theplex technical work. You will have the mech of your dreams one way or another."