The Mech Touch

Lady Aisling Curver was part of the most powerful and self-assured partner of the Friday Coalition. She mostly communicated with people from the same side, so they all infected each other with the pride and confidence that was seared into their bones!

It was different for someone like Tristan who came from the Carnegie Group. As a partner who bore the brunt of Hexer aggression, he not only stood to lose the most, but also possessed a much greater understanding of the enemy.

The lack of confidence exhibited by Tristan sent a very depressing message in itself!

Not that Ves particularly cared. The Carnegie Group and the Vermeer Group which Master Olson hailed from could go to hell for all he cared. He long cut ties with both partners.

Instead of worrying about the Friday Coalition’s precarious internal situation, Ves paid a lot more attention to their external moves.

Since he had a friendly Fridayman on the line, Ves might as well take advantage of him to answer some of his doubts!

"What is the deal with monitors like Lady Curver? If the Friday Coalition truly wanted to keep an eye on foreign states, why not send a diplomat or a spy?"

"There are several reasons for that." Tristan replied without hesitation. "First, diplomats and spies have already been dispatched. The former are high profile while the latter are low profile. Regardless of their responsibilities, they are doing most of the actual work in keeping tabs on a foreign state."

"Then what is the purpose of dispatching mech designers like Aisling?"

"The answer should be obvious." The Fridayman replied. "As mech designers, what do we do best?"

"Designing mechs."

"And building them. Have you taken a good look at the material stockpile aboard the Scarlet Rose?"

"It’s not enough to build another second-class mech." Ves instantly replied. "There aren’t enough high-grade exotics available."

In fact, Ves had even less at his disposal now that Lucky gobbled up the choicest exotics!

"That’s because the so-called monitors aren’t expected to do so. In a foreign third-rate state, which mechs are the most common?"

"Third-rate mechs."

"Exactly!"

"What is the purpose of this?" Ves puzzled.

"It’s for allowing agents to blend in with the locals."

"If the Fridaymen want to blend in, why not buy a mech from the market?"

"That’s because blending in is only one of their purposes. Oftentimes, a mission involving mech pilots often requires a mech that blends in with the locals while simultaneously possessing sufficient power to complete the mission. Such mechs have to be tailored to the circumstances, hence the need for a mech designer who is close to the situation."

Ves finally understood the role of Lady Curver. Even though none of the systems and logs alluded to it, a mech designer assigned as a monitor actually served as an equipment provider who facilitated the clandestine operations of her state!

"Does that mean that the Friday Coalition is secretly meddling in the affairs of the Bright Republic and other states?"

Tristan didn’t answer his question. Instead, his mouth remained shut.

His silence was an answer in itself. Ves understood that Tristan had already been unusually generous with his information. There were some topics he couldn’t afford to go into, though.

Ves felt his heart sinking as he went over the implications. The Friday Coalition might have compromised the Bright Republic already!

At the very least, Ves bet that the Cavendish and Ramza Families were already in their pocket!

"Will.. will the Friday Coalition extend the war to the third-rate states?"

Tristan sighed. "I’m no strategist, and I’m not privy to the plans of my state. All I can guess is that if we are losing trend, we’ll definitely pull out all the stops! Dragging in the rest of the star sector in the war will add more variables to the mix. This will give our side more opportunities to reverse our decline!"

"How does that work?" Ves asked. "No third-rate state is stupid enough to attack a second-rate!"

"They don’t have to. It’s enough to change their stance and stop their formal and informal ties to their patrons. States like the Bright Republic serve as an important source and shipping conduit for several important materials. They encompass both bulk goods such as titanium and palladium to strategic materials such as high-grade exotics."

"Stopping this trade means weakening a second-rate state, is that right?"

"You got it, Ves. The idea that the Bright Republic and the other third-rate states are bystanders in the Komodo War is incorrect. While your weaker states all like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that they are neutral, from our perspective you are already vessels to us or the Hexers."

The revelation came as a very disconcerting surprise to Ves. Though he already suspected as much on some level, Tristan’s confirmation still discomfited him a lot!

If his words were true, then the Bright Republic and the Ylvaine Protectorate would definitely get dragged into the conflict in time!

"Does that mean that our states will soon be home to battles between Fridaymen and Hexers?"

Tristan pressed a lip against his finger. "I doubt it. All of our best fighting assets are still needed at the frontlines. What will most likely happen is that the third-rate states will be pressured to double down their commitments to their respective patrons and wage war against the states aligned with their enemies!"

"What!? Really?!"

"I’m not sure it will happen this time. In past conflicts, it only happened occasionally, because you can’t predict how well the third-rate states aligned to you will fare against the opponent’s vassals."

"How likely do you think the Friday Coalition will resort to this solution?"

"It’s probably likely. It’s no secret that the Friday Coalition enjoys a broader base of support in the star sector."

Ves smiled sardonically. The Hexers didn’t exactly make for attractive allies! Their overbearing culture and well-known biases against men made it really hard for foreigners to form a good impression of the female supremacists!

The only lesser states that maintained friendly relations with the Hexadric Hegemony had no choice.

Religious states like the Ylvaine Protectorate simply didn’t get along with the secular Friday Coalition!

Secular states like the Sentinel Kingdom were much more compatible with the Fridaymen, but because they were situated too far away from Coalition space, it was already foreordained that they would focus on building ties with the Hegemony!

In both cases, the third-rate states really wanted to pick another patron, but were forced to play nice with the Hexers.

The ties between the Hexers and their ’vassal states’ were anything but warm!

Ves realized that the Friday Coalition would definitely be able to take advantage of this disparity and force its vessels into strangling the states that supported its archenemy!

"Does that mean the Bright Republic will attack the Ylvaine Protectorate?!"

"It’s possible, but I really can’t say for sure." Tristan slowly answered, reluctant to say anything more lest he come across as a traitor. "However, with the Sand War battering your states, I can imagine that your leaders will be very resistant to yet another war. The Friday Coalition must be seen as benevolent, so it can’t be too heavy-handed in forcing its vassal states to act as its thugs."

All of this sounded way above their heads. Tristan was mostly speculating at this point, but what he said so far was enough to make Ves concerned!

Though Ves no longer held any affection for his home state, many of his relatives still pledged loyalty to the state.

As for the Ylvaine Protectorate, Ves strongly appreciated its support. The Transcendent Messenger, Holy Soldier and Deliverer designs cemented his friendship with the Ylvainan people!

If war ever broke out between the two states, Ves could not bring himself to support either side!

Because that would mean going against the other side!

"What a mess." He groaned.

"That’s war for you. The Sand War has already done a number on your states. Our own war might engulf you all as well. You should take that into account, especially since you’ve become a person of interest to our state."

The two talked some more about the Friday Coalition’s attitudes towards external states. Ves gained a few more insights on how people like Tristan regarded the lesser states.

Even without any treaties, the second-rate states truly regarded the lesser states they maintained relations with to be their vessels!

What was worse was that there was no way to fight back against such an arrogant disposition!

If the Friday Coalition declared the Bright Republic to be their little brother, then the latter state had no choice but to smile and bear with the pronouncement!

The power disparity between the two was similar to the differences in power between his battle bots and the Echo Spears!

"Thanks for telling me all of this." Ves spoke appreciatively. "You didn’t have to reveal so much to me. I feel like I’m taking advantage of you. Do you need anything from me?"

As a mech designer, Ves was uncomfortable with unequal exchanges with his fellow peers, especially those he respected!

He had no problem with screwing Lady Curver over and stealing her assigned ship. She had it coming!

Yet for Tristan, Ves had truly taken too much advantage of him without paying anything back in return. The debt that weighed on his mind constantly rose with no sign of stopping!

Though Tristan wanted to dismiss the offer, he halted and fell into thought. This was the last time they would speak for some time.

"I have a question that has been bugging me for some time. Your design philosophy has always been a mystery to me and anyone who has paid any notice to it. I think I figured some of the gist of what you are doing. It has to do with.. the P-word, right?"

Tristan emphatically tapped the side of his head with his finger, thereby alluding to the phenomenon known as psionics.

His guess came awfully close to the truth. Ves really didn’t want to confirm Tristan’s guess, especially since he suspected that the call might be monitored by the spies of the Friday Coalition and all manner of other groups, including the MTA!

Yet.. was it still a secret? Anyone who studied his mech designs in detail such as Gloriana already guessed that Ves found some way of leveraging psionic power to form the sources of his glows!

Since the cat was already out of the bag, Ves might as well own up to it. The more he exposed, the more he could leverage his design philosophy in the open!

"It’s very complicated, but your guess is very close to the truth." Ves carefully answered.

"I thought so! You must possess a very unique mindset to be able to do what you can do! Is there anything I should take note of when I perform my own work?"

Ves pressed his lips into a thin line. While he was more than willing to give Tristan some pointers, he didn’t want to give his eavesdroppers any freebies!

He decided to issue some general advice that he didn’t mind leaking out. It was not as if many people took him seriously.

"One of my central ideas has always been that mechs are alive. I think it’s a mistake to see your mechs as dead and lifeless machines. You don’t have to go as far as me, though. As long as you alter your mentality towards mechs and treat them with respect, I think you’ll definitely be surprised when they pay you back!"

"Interesting." Tristan looked intrigued. With how sincere Ves sounded, he didn’t dismiss this strange advice out of hand! "I’ll think about it. My design philosophy doesn’t really go into this direction at all, but I’ll see whether I can benefit from your view. Thank you, and goodbye."

"Goodbye."