Manpower

Electricity coursed through Sy's veins - not that he was being electrocuted. The abrupt and effective pain infliction by the Innovation Cube and the Xeno Artifact was savagely embedded in the back of his mind. The cause of his excitement was because of the thrill and anticipation of an expedition.

His Pioneer genes were in a state of unrest.

However, he was also terrified and tense. It was a xeno hunt, after all. Depending on his future findings in the Fallen Rim, he will have to act according to the situation presented before him.

As such, he will need to make plans and preparations - design a step by step process in order to achieve it. And as soon as the AO Guild left Logria, he will sprung into action.

Funds. That was always the problem he needed to solve. It was there haunting and stalking him from the very beginning whenever he was thinking of going out into the void.

Considering the money on hand, he thought of purchasing cheap materials from the Runeries in order to build a decent star ship, one that was small and cost effective - enough to accommodate a certain number of sailors, equipments and small exploration vessels. But that would only serve to be a potential problem when he was finally out there sweeping the boundless void for a very dangerous species. He needed to arm that starship with weapons of mass destruction in order for it to be at least effective when the worst-case scenario presented itself. One that was durable.

There was also the case of the orbital drop pods. The AO Guild had no way to transport the humongous spheres back into space. Only option the invaders have when leaving would be to abandon them.

Sy had many uses for the tough materials that consisted the pods, but he doubted that the city would just lend it to him. Even then, Logria had no orbital shipyard where he can effectively put together the fabricated materials for a starship after transporting them through the Starport.

Another option was to go alone. This one did not require more budget, but very dangerous tantamount to suicide. Sure, he can just craft a mech capable of space travel, pour every knowledge into it in order to make it an all-around machine. Pilot it through the vast and empty expanse that separated the factions from the Fallen Rim, find a solid evidence of xenos, return to any faction and present it.

Who's to know that he will not experience a catastrophic system failure in the hostile environment of the void, and he'll be stuck there until the end of his days. Or, he would be successful in reaching the Fallen Rim, but found a xeno spore reaching its maturity. He'd be forced to take action by then.

Time was of the essence.

In his calculation, it has been ten years since the mysterious merchants sold the xeno artifact to Ortius. He was also not certain how many more years did the black object got separated from its original source, as ten years were more than enough for a hive mind to mature.

Or perhaps, he was just paranoid and there was nothing there. The connection he saw from the xeno artifact with its origin, was just the black object trying to make its way back to an empty shell.

He was not sure.

His only option was to direct his attention at the already available resources in front of him and think about the rest later. Manpower. That was the only one already secured. If Andreas, Dylan, Theon and the other specialists were willing to accompany him, they would become a vital component unit in this endeavour. Also, there was a vast number of mech pilots in this faction. Since he already decided that mechs would play a crucial role in this operation, he will need to create new designs for these collosal machines, dedicated for exploration and combatting Xenos.

Thinking about that, he glanced at Genevieve sitting beside him. The ace pilot was patiently waiting for the other members to join them on the dining table.

With a curious look, Sy asked, "If I inquire you to come with me on an expedition, what will be your response?"

"Expedition?" Genevieve was a bit surprised by the question. She thought for a moment before her eyes shone, "You mean only the two of us going into the void? Of course! We'll be making plenty of precious memories on the way."

Sy gave her a strange look. Why was it whenever he spoke to her, serious or not, it was bound to end up complicated? For a moment, he thought she was crazy.

Shaking his head, he tried to change the subject. Suddenly, he remembered that the Runeries were a wealthy family. He poked a question first, trying to see what reaction she would give, "If I ask you to lend me 700 million credits, can you?"

Raising a brow, Genevieve leaned on her chair, pondering about it. When her eyes glinted, Sy immediately knew that something complicated was coming again.

"Yup. I can." Her answer was short and simple. When he was about to relax, she suddenly added, "I can lend you the money, but you'll have to marry me first."

A dark expression loomed on Sy's face.

Chuckling at this, Genevieve explained, "I don't know how you'd repay me back so I settled with a quick return. In your case, you'll have to give yourself to me." She pointed a hand on her chest with a pleased look on her face, before continuing, "I'm a very proud woman and I won't settle for less. Having you as my husband would further inflate my ego."

'How can you say that with a straight face!?' Sy mentally protested.

"Furthermore, I will give you 20% of my independently accumulated wealth: about 20 billion U-Credits. I don't care where you'll spend it." Genevieve finally ended with a proud smile.

Hearing the number, Sy's mind run wild. 20 billion? He could do a lot with that amount! Pay his debt in the galactic bank for the return of his license, assemble an exploration fleet.. no, that one, fabricate advance mechs to grow the money, create his own mech facility, fund a research facility and so much more.

The proposal was very tempting. It grew on him instantaneously. Being married in order to create an expeditionary force to investigate a xeno infestation, he couldn't help but think of heroic deeds.

The great Sy Verdin sacrificed himself for the greater good.

But, no. No way!

"So, what do you think?" Genevieve leaned an elbow on the table and rested a cheek on her palm, looking at him with her head slightly tilted horizontally.

Sy only managed to roll his eyes.

"You don't want to?" Genevieve threw him a look of hurt, sitting straight and directing her gaze on the content of the table, stifling a mischievous smile.

Shifting his thought to other matters, Sy thought of Emma. He would have to discuss some things with her. The yellow haired woman might be able to help him with many things due to her connections.

Now that he thought about it, Emma was just like Genevieve. She will flirt with him whenever she was given the chance.

'The people of the Union are weird!'

The two women, however, would prove to be valuable allies. The Runeries could provide him raw materials with their extensive mining operations, while Emma could smoothen his life in Logria, perhaps give him some freebies with the wasted resources the AO Guild had thrown into the city.

They could also help him with the mission the System had given him: the 'Genetically create two pioneers!'

'Wait.. why am I even thinking about that!'

Soon, he turned his attention toward the delicious food served on the table. Laira had finally returned with a smug on her face, while the three girls sat on the opposite side having witness his nonsense chatter with Genevieve.

It was time to eat.

-----

Inside Sy's workshop in Steel Arena, new faces were present as Kerby and Hanz' groups attracted more aviators to join them.

In this particular time, a familiar figure joined them unexpectedly.

Commander Graves Derton swung his gaze across the interiors of the giant facility with great interest. The aviators immediately sensed his presence and curiously directed their eyes at his direction.

After walking deeper inside, the commander rotated on his heels and stared at the two collosal mechs moving awkwardly, piloted by the younglings.

"Commander Derton!" The voice of a shocked Hanz greeted, straightening his posture. After all, the newcomer was not only a company or a battalion commander. The man was an army commander.

"Don't mind me young Grunts." Graves casually turned to the young men and women already forming an organized column behind him, even the ones piloting the two mechs on his fore had hurriedly come down, standing straight in front of the two pairs of gigantic metal feet.

"We're aviators, sir!" Kerby saluted.

"Oh!" Graves grinned, turning his attention back at the two tall mechs. "As I said, young fliers.. don't mind me. I just want to observe these two bad boys."

At first, he thought the owner of the workshop was present since there were many people inside. Sadly, the person was offline. He was also disappointed that there were no new modifications for the Straggler S1-2. Well, it was expected since Logria was cut off from the Union's server. Although, he couldn't help but hope to see one.

It seem that the simulation will begin with the Straggler S1-2 lacking a new weapon system. For him, though, it was more than enough augmenting the mech's structure with a superior alloy. With that, he can show them the miracles it can do.