Planning.

"This is an Elphey egg!" she exclaimed, holding it up proudly, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Despite hearing Ys say the name of the creature it came from, she still didn't know what it was.

"So? Why did you bring that egg here?" Cleo asked, raising an eyebrow. Ys smirked at the question. "Hehehe, so even you don't know? Let me tell you what you can use it for! You give it to males, and they'll have enough reproductive power to make a swarm!"

Ys spun around happily as she explained. "W-what!? Who said you could do that with Rex!?" Cleo blurted out. Ys stopped spinning, hugging the egg tightly, deep in thought for a moment before answering. "Mmm, my mom did! She was the one who told me to pick this egg and give it to my husband!"

Cleo's suspicions deepened, and now she was sure. "What mom? Do you mean the queen of the Khryssari? You can communicate with her."

"Of course I can! We share a sanguine bond! That lets us communicate no matter where we are!" She declared, standing proudly.

"Then, that means you can talk to the Khryssari queen anytime you want?"

"Of course I can, Mhm! Anyway, enough questions! Where is Rex?" She asked, searching the cargo bay of the ship.

"He's resting in the charging bay. I'd recommend not disturbing him while he recharges. He needs his energy."

"Mmmm, fine! But you'll have to help me make him eat this egg when he wakes up!" Cleo, knowing the egg wasn't going to harm Rex, reluctantly agreed.

The night passed, and Rex finally woke up from his sleep. As he stepped out of the charging tank, Cleo materialized in the room. "Morning, Rex." He was caught off guard since she had never done that before.

"Erm, morning to you too, Cleo. Did something happen while I was sleeping? Or why are you greeting me like humans do?" He asked, giving her a suspicious look.

"Nothing much," she replied. "I spent the night reviewing records about humans. Oddly enough, it was hard to find much information on them, but the most common theme I found was that they were considered a failed civilization."

"Mmm, I don't know much about humans, honestly. The only other humans I know apart from me and Carlos were the others slaves. So why do they call us a failed civilization?" Rex asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Well, according to some records, humans had a government system where power was spread among many people. That made it difficult for them to act quickly unless everyone agreed on something. This was supposedly why their technological advancement stagnated."

"And in the end, when another race invaded their home planet, some humans welcomed them, making the invasion easier. Since the human race was divided into many nations, there wasn't any unity. They were an easy target."

Rex sighed as he finished getting dressed. "Well, at least tell me that the ones who conquered my race were some kind of superpower."

Cleo shook her head and brought up a screen with the information. "According to the intergalactic database, the ones who conquered your world were just slavers of the lowest level."

Rex sighed. "Seems like it's not just me who's unlucky; it's the whole human race. But let's drop this topic; no use crying over spilled milk. How did the talk with Talon go?" He asked, stepping out of the recharge bay and making his way to the ship's cockpit.

Once inside, Cleo pulled up the big screen, displaying all the info she had on Talon and his dealings with Nexum Dynamics. "And this is why I ordered the Aegis Sentinels to eliminate the Thunderblades," she explained.

If this had happened before the massacre at the bug cave, Rex might have made a fuss about Cleo's actions. But now, it felt like something that had to be done, not because he felt bad for those who died, but because it seemed wasteful.

Rex gave a bitter smile, realizing how much he had lost his empathy toward anyone who wasn't close to him. The only death that weighed on him from the massacre was Mara's, and that was just because he'd talked to her more than the others.

"Well, at least that's settled. Did we get paid?"

"Not exactly," Cleo replied, "but I hacked their HQ bank account and took all their credits, 8.5 million in total." She pulled up a screen showing their current balance, with income and expenses detailed.

"Well, that's something. Go ahead and order the cybernetic arms for Carlos. We need him back in action, especially now that we know Nexum Dynamics put a price on our heads. It's only a matter of time before more mercenaries and bounty hunters come after us."

"Understood. I'll find the right arms based on Carlos' description."

"Good. Also, increase the number of mining drones. I want to speed up the underground city excavation. By the way, how much will it cost to repair the ship and buy an assembly line?"

"A normal assembly line will cost around 5 million credits, and the ship repairs will run us 20,000 credits," Cleo answered. Then, with a more serious expression, she added, "But can I make another recommendation for the ship?"

"Sure, go ahead," Rex said.

"It's better to upgrade the ship rather than just repair it. There's a good shipyard on this planet, and the materials are available in the nearby city." Cleo summoned several screens, showing Rex the necessary parts and blueprints for the upgrade.

"Hmm, looks good. What's the price?" Rex asked, scrolling through the details on the screens.

"1.5 million credits," Cleo replied.

"Alright, that still leaves us with some credits. Got any ideas on how to spend the rest?"

"Yes," Cleo said. "I plan to assemble more Aegis Sentinels so we're ready for anything. I'd also recommend investing in some defensive equipment for the underground city."

"That's smart. By the way, where's the Megacorps fleet right now?" Rex asked as he sat down, noticing that the seat had been adjusted perfectly for his new size.

"The combined fleet of the Megacorps is currently in the residential world of Kator. After about a week of traveling through wormholes, they'll arrive at this planet." Cleo brought up the fleet's location on one of the screens, displaying a map.

"Any news on the Hive Minds' movements?" Rex asked, looking over the information Cleo had sent to him.

"None so far. They're still staying on the planet Hanarix with no signs of further activity."

"Hmm, how long do you think it'll take for the Megacorps fleet to start hiring mercenaries to fight against them?"

"From what I recall, it'll only happen after both sides agree to fight over the planet without using their fleets for bombardment. They both want the planet's resources, so that's when mercenaries will be hired to fight on the surface."

"That's... an interesting way of doing things," Rex said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought the fleets would be blasting each other while troops fought on the ground."

Cleo shook her head. "You're misunderstanding a bit, Rex. The fleets will still fight each other, but they won't bomb the planet directly. The battle ends when one fleet is destroyed and their forces on the ground are wiped out."

"Oh, okay, that makes more sense," Rex nodded. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Do you think we'll run into any problems if we join the war against the Hive Minds with Ys tagging along?"

Cleo didn't answer right away but instead glanced up at something above Rex. "Why don't you ask her yourself?" she said.

Rex blinked in confusion, and just then, a soft, greenish light appeared. It materialized in front of him, pouting. "W-what? How did you know I was there!?" she asked, clearly frustrated. Rex, surprised, hadn't even noticed her presence. Cleo, meanwhile, ignored Ys and turned away, feigning disinterest.

"Hmph!" Ys huffed, climbing onto Rex's lap and making herself comfortable. "To answer my husband's question," she said, settling against his chest, "there won't be a problem. The Hive Mind on Hanarix belongs to one of my aunts, not my mother."

"Erm... and what's the difference?" Rex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Ys explained, "my mom and her sisters fight over territory all the time. It's pretty normal for other princesses, like me, to fight in wars that the queens are involved in. So, there won't be an issue if we join."

"So we're clear to jump into the war?" Rex asked again, just to be sure.

"Yes, no problem! But I'll need to let my aunt know we're participating. That's the rule. She'll probably send her champions to fight us too since that's how we princesses train!" Ys grinned, clearly excited at the thought.

"That's an... interesting way to train," Rex said, patting her on the head. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.

As Rex continued to absentmindedly stroke her hair, a random question popped into his mind. "You mentioned once that you were around 300 years old... Have you had any other partners before me?"

Ys hesitated, her expression suddenly shifting. "Well, the thing is..."