The Mech Touch

Now that Ves had concluded his first week of classes, he felt quite assured in his ability to maintain his professorship after this trial period.

The Terrans were not as unreasonable as he thought. They respected him and his accomplishments and did not engage in any malicious acts.

Ves was most impressed by their overall learning ability. Their implants and genetic optimization treatments were so good that it was no wonder that Alexa used the term high humans to describe the Terran population!

The more he interacted with the Terrans, the more he felt attracted to become a part of their society.

Sure, Ves knew quite well that he was getting a distorted impression of actual Terran society because most of his contacts were students who had yet to undertake any serious responsibilities. Actual Terran society was a lot more cutthroat and also a lot more difficult to promote as the established clans held a tight grip on their power.

The Terrans did not actually reject the rise of genuine talents, though. The rebellion that led to the rise of the New Rubarth Empire had taught this arrogant group a painful lesson about managing their underprivileged citizens.

What Ves also liked about the Terrans was that they did not obey a single central authority. Power was divided over many ancient clans, each of whom ruled their own territories with great autonomy but nonetheless united into a single common banner when it came to external affairs.

What this meant was that all of the clans and major players essentially kept each other in check. Not a single among them could afford to overreach and try to take sole charge of the Terran Alliance.

The reality of all of this division was that the ancient clans all had to learn how to get along with each other and form a consensus on many contentious affairs.

This probably led to the continued perception that the Greater Terran United Confederation was overly conservative and falling increasingly more behind on the latest trends.

This was a fair assessment, especially when it was directly compared to the much more dynamic and decisive New Rubarth Empire.

However, the Terran ancient clans never made any serious mistakes either in more modern times. They only enacted the changes that the majority of their clans truly felt necessary to implement, and it would often be just the good ones.

The Terrans possessed the oldest heritage of modern humanity. They existed as a single defined population group for many millennia. They prized stability and continuity over short-term greed.

Was it possible for the Larkinson Clan to become a part of the Terran Alliance one day?

This did not sound as ridiculous to his ears as it should. His clan was still growing rapidly on the basis of its expeditionary gains as well as the constant advancements made by Ves.

So long as either conditions remained valid, the Larkinson Clan would inevitably be able to promote to a first-class organization and become qualified to operate in the upper zones!

Though Ves had always taken it for granted that his clan would continue to hang around in the loose and scattered territories governed by the Red Ocean Union, his responsibility as a clan leader compelled him to consider the alternatives as well.

The Eden Institute gave him a solid entry into the Terran Alliance, which was exactly what he set out to obtain when he worked to get employed by this university.

"The only major power that I don't have any relations with is the Rubarthan Pact."

This was a deficiency that was hard to make up. After all, anyone who accessed his record could clearly learn that he had begun to do business with the Terrans!

For many centuries, it had long been a tradition for people and organizations to pick which side they were on. They were either allowed to associate with the Terrans or the Rubarthans, but never both.

Only an exceedingly small group of exceptions could get away with doing business with both at the same time.

Even if Ves was able to place his Larkinson Clan into this exclusive group, he might not choose to do so because it would inevitably cause his growing relationship with the Terrans to deteriorate!

"Did I already pick my side from the moment I chose to accept a job over at the Eden Institute?"

This was a rather troubling circumstance, but if Ves was being honest, he would have made the same decision if he traveled back in time.

There was no use worrying about this matter further. He needed to look towards his more immediate needs.

Ves checked his schedule. A Red Association ship or fleet was scheduled to arrive a few days later.

The new arrivals intended to come to the Corellix System in order to fulfill multiple objectives.

They intended to survey the battlefield and all of the debris in order to calculate the exact amount of MTA merits the Golden Skull Alliance had earned in the last battle.

They brought the first batch of supplies and troops to reinforce the vulnerable colony on Corellix III and begin the process of transforming it into a serious fortification.

They also brought a ship that would quickly take Ves to the planet that hosted the conference.

Ves was growing more and more excited!

In order to make sure that he could make as much gains as possible when he began to hobnob with the Survivalists, he made sure to devote his time on checking the valuable goods he intended to take along.

He had big plans in mind for the upcoming conference. From exhibiting the latest version of his companion spirit fruit trees to presenting his current attainments in the Carmine System in front of a secret panel, he had a great opportunity to earn a huge amount of contributions so long as he won over his audience!

"I wish I could come along with you." Gloriana said as Ves as both of them sat in the living space of their grand stateroom. "We can form additional connections if I am able to attend the conference as well."

Ves softly patted the back of her slender hand. "I'm afraid I can't bring you along. The Survivalists have made it clear that they only want their gathering to consist of people they trust. The decisions they intend to make over there will likely decide their influential policies going forward."

As Ves continued to explain what he had been told to expect from this upcoming event, their children relieved the tension built up after another day of intensive studies by keeping themselves entertained.

Marvaine was off to the side fiddling with his Mekanos. He had made little progress in increasing their sophistication so far, but Ves was happy with how his son was eager to explore many different mech types and configurations.

Aurelia and Andraste frequently giggled as they watched a drama show centered around girls at a boarding school.

Lucky did not take the initiative to snuggle with someone this time. The cat was in a weary state and needed to recover from his earlier ordeal inside the archeship.

"Meow..."

Both Clixie and Goldie kept him company by licking his textured metal exterior and crawling all over his transformed shape.

"Nyaa nyaa nyaa~"

"Miaow miaow-"

"The Carmine System plays an important role in our development strategy." Gloriana said as she pressed closer next to her husband. "Are you confident that the Survivalists will recognize its potential and offer greater support?"

Ves shrugged. "I have no idea. It depends on how busy they are and the identities of the mech designers on the secret panel. I think there is a good chance that 1 will be fine. I'm not sure whether the mechers will buy into all of the rosy projections about the greater benefits that the Carmine System can bring, but I have solid proof that it is possible to substantially increase the effective performance of existing mech pilots. That alone is worth a lot for certain groups of soldiers."

The tradeoff was serious. Once a mech pilot lost his bonded mech, there was probably no way to continue his fighting career.

In a time where red humanity was under siege, this downside was either inconsequential or a serious limitation.

Gloriana believed that her husband deserved more recognition for his work, and that was when Ves was not authorized to tell her that the Carmine System could potentially give non-potentates the ability to pilot mechs!

"I am of the opinion that the Carmine System may be especially interesting for senior ace pilots who are close to beginning the Mech Body Merger Process. You only need to be given an opportunity to install your work on an existing ace mech."

"That is not going to happen anytime soon. The strategic value of senior ace pilots and their mechs are far too great. Only Star Designers and the very best Master Mech Designers are permitted to work on them. Perhaps the Survivalists will acknowledge the possibility that I can help in this matter, but I would have to refine the Carmine System a lot further. It is foolish to rely on a highly experimental product to influence the future of a senior ace pilot. What if my invention leads to a fatal accident? I will never be able to bear the consequences of my mistakes."

His innovations were not always free from risk and danger. Ves still had a poor understanding of the long-term consequences of using the Carmine System.

Though neither Venerable Jannzi nor his grandfather exhibited any serious health or behavior problems that could be traced back to their interactions with their Carmine mechs, that might change over time.

Ves also had little idea how effective his Carmine System would be when used by ordinary mech pilots.

All of this lack of data weakened his case and surrounded his work with a large cloud of uncertainty.

Gloriana understood this quite well, so she gave him another piece of advice.

"I think it is better if you put more emphasis on your more concrete and mature offerings. Those companion spirit fruit trees of yours are especially promising in my opinion. The Red Association should have already spent enough time to verify the initial utility of companion spirits, correct?"

Ves nodded. "I have been out of contact with Jovy Armalon for a long time, but he should have definitely given his fellow mechers an extensive demonstration on how his companion spirit has enriched his life and career. As long as he is available and willing to back me up on this, I think I have a good chance of propagating this invention."

"What if the mechers try to take over your fruit trees?" She asked another pertinent question. "Will you agree to surrender your trees and the knowledge that is necessary to grow them if they ask for your work?"

Ves briefly grimaced. "That is a distinctly possible outcome. I won't like it, but I don't object to it. Let them have it if they really want my companion spirit fruit trees."

"What?! Why would you be willing to surrender one of our most strategic inventions so easily?"

"We can't purely think about ourselves anymore, honey. We need to think about the greater good of our own society. Red humanity is under assault and needs all of the help that it can get to become stronger. Companion spirits can help many people adapt to the Age of Dawn. Besides, the greatest reward that the Survivalists can offer is not the MTA merits that they are willing to award me, but the huge amount of reputation and name recognition that I will gain as companion spirit fruits become more and more available. I can cooperate with the Terrans a lot more extensively and obtain much more support from the mechers if that happens."

The Larkinson Clan could not tackle all of their future challenges by itself. The Larkinsons needed to make more friends and win over additional partners. Ves believed he could make a lot of progress on this front in the coming years.