Now that the auction had reached this stage, few people continued to make their bids.
They carefully weighed their options and tried to tailor a bid that would successfully allow them to squeeze into fifth place.
While many of these people possessed a lot more assets than that, they needed to be careful about giving away their core assets for a rather abstract return.
No one was able to quantify the value of a companion spirit. While it promised to grant immediate short-term benefits, it took years of continuous growth in order for them to truly come into power.
This waiting period was a bit too long for many people. The coming difficulties meant that they needed to ensure they possessed sufficient capital to tide over the next few years.
This was why nobody gave up their own starships even if they had plenty in their possession.