The Mech Touch

Ves did not have many people to turn to for advice. The Premier Branch was too small. He missed the inner circle that he had gathered around him back when he was still running with the expeditionary fleet.

Not even Gavin could offer an informed opinion about this deep and contentious issue. His background was way too shallow and all of the effort he put into catching up to the meteoric growth of his boss did not delve too deep into the greater secrets that actually shaped human society.

Fortunately, he had a former direct descendant of a Terran Ancient Clan by his side.

Ves thanked himself for the umpteenth time for making the daring decision to recruit Alexa Streon as his disciple!

On the morning of the day he was scheduled to fabricate the first copy of the Fey Project, he sent his children off to school before he descended into his main mech workshop.

It was there that he asked for Alexa's input on this matter.

The young lady paused in her inspection of the stock of raw materials. "I am glad that you have asked for my advice. If I was still a Terran, then I would have advised you to persuade the Red Association into letting you keep your masterwork mechs. However, now that 1 have become a member of the Larkinson Clan, I think that you should be more measured in managing your relationships with great powers."

That was an odd answer.

"What do you mean by that, Alexa?"

"It means that you need to recognize your place in the hierarchy and act accordingly." She replied in a serious tone. "Think about it, sir. You have been promoted to a tier 3 galactic citizen and have earned the personal attention of many different leader figures. Do they value you? Yes. Do they fear your power? No. Not truly. There is a mismatch between your value as a mech designer and the force of arms that you can rally to your banner. The Larkinson Clan that serves as your primary base of power is fundamentally a second-class organization. Do you think the mechers and other first-raters have any reason to fear the Larkinsons?"

"...No." Ves admitted as he let out a deep breath. "When you put it that way, my clan is practically a non-entity in this galactic landscape. It is unable to pose any significant threat against the established first-class powers. The expeditionary fleet may be able to defeat weaker alien fleets, but it stands no chance against the primary warfleets that can inflict casualties against the forces of the Red Two. Without enough force of arms, a mech designer like myself is too vulnerable to the malicious intentions of those who see me as an obstacle."

To hammer home this point, Alexa pointedly raised her index finger above her head.

"The main reason why you have been able to live your life in peace all of these months is due to the Bluejay Fleet that is shadowing your every move. Its open presence not only grants you concrete protection against many different threats, but it is also a clear signal that the Red Association has extended its guarantee to you. I think the most accurate description of your current state is that of a vassal. You enjoy a measure of autonomy, but at the end of the day, you must still answer to the mechers that you rely on to shield you against dangers that you cannot handle."

This was a sobering realization and a reminder of his current situation.

Ves might have become too full of himself in the months that followed after the Survivalist conference.

All of the respect and appreciation he received from the likes of the Xenotechnician and General Axelar Streon inflated his ego and caused him to act like a bigshot.

Though he had definitely gained a lot of importance since he returned from the conference, he put too much stock in the illusions of grandeur that ensued.

It was only now that Ves reminded himself that people did not necessarily give him so much deference because of how much he could be of service to them. A key factor that forced other groups to play nice with him was because they could not resort to more forceful actions that might displease the Red Association!

In other words, when Ves presented himself to other players, he did not just represent himself, but also the power that was backing him and guaranteeing his safety!

He sighed. "1 guess that 1 am not as independent from the Red Association as I previously thought, is that correct?"

"That is the fate of the weak. You do not have the qualifications to stand up to the great powers on your own merits. You have value but not the corresponding strength. That is why your success and wellbeing is dependent on those who can make up for this shortcoming. This is the true meaning behind your honorary membership of the Red Association. You have fallen under their banner. It is hard to escape the web of the Association once you have become entangled."

That did not paint a pleasant picture in Ves' mind. What depressed him the most was that he was helpless to change this reality.

The only ways for a vassal to escape the grip of a liege were to become strong enough to break this unequal relationship or to find another powerful backer.

Neither of these two options were available to Ves. This was why Alexa was in favor of maintaining the status quo.

The overall purpose of her words was to remind Ves of his actual place in society.

"Do you understand the responsibilities of a vassal?" She asked.

"I do." Ves slowly answered. "Protection does not come for free. I need to deliver enough value to the Red Association to cover the cost of guaranteeing my protection. If there is one thing that you can be certain about with the mechers, it is that they always profit the most in every transaction."

This was a privilege that only the most powerful groups enjoyed!

People wouldn't be so willing to let the mechers take advantage of them if this was not the case.

The Red Association had so many powerful mechs and warships at its disposal that no one wanted to go to war with such a powerful organization.

It was actually not a bad deal to fall under its protection. The mechers were relatively fair and benevolent. Ves knew enough prominent mechers in person to understand that their intentions were noble to a certain degree.

Worse people could have come into power. In fact, that had almost happened.

If the Polymath hadn't been stopped in the crucial moment during the final day of the Survivalist conference, the Red Association would have descended into tyranny!

This made Ves a bit more vigilant towards mechers. Even they were vulnerable to their own flaws.

"Whether it is the Milky Way or the Red Ocean, the mechers command the greatest number of god pilots." Alexa remarked. "Do you understand what this means? The Association enjoys a near-absolute advantage over our society. If relations have truly deteriorated to the lowest point, the five god pilots that lead the mechers can systematically destroy the defenses and wipe out the population and infrastructure of every major colony that belongs to a hostile state. No mech army in the Terran Alliance or the Rubarthan Pact can threaten even a single god mech."

Her words painted a distressing image in Ves' mind.

The scenario sounded so outlandish that it was highly unlikely to happen, but it still hammered home the point that the mechers could overturn the table in the most destructive manner if they did not get their way!

"Only god pilots can fight against god pilots, is that right?"

"That is roughly the case." Alexa partially agreed. "God pilots have their limits, though. The fleeters have done a good job at mitigating the possible threat by adopting a strategy of decentralization and redundancy. The Red Fleet holds relatively few fixed assets. The fleeters instead chose to establish their extensive foundation across many different warfleets, each of which are constantly on the move in order to prevent them from being easily tracked. It is virtually impossible for the god mechs of the Red Association to hunt them all down. This is how the fleeters have been able to restrain the mechers from staging a coup."

"I see."

Only the fleeters could pursue this strategy. The Larkinson Clan's own fleet was too small and weak to stay out of the reach of the mechers. It was also only a single force, which meant that it did not take much trouble to track it down.

The Terrans and the Rubarthans derived much of their wealth and power from all of their prosperous territories. They could not afford to get rid of all of those valuable planets and star systems because they would quickly experience massive shortages due to losing access to so much population and resources!

Only god pilots could resist the Red Association's own god pilots.

Every major player knew it, which was why everyone worked hard to advance as many of their mech pilots as possible.

There was no way the mechers would allow others to beat them in their own game, though. No other organization knew more about mech pilots and what it took to facilitate their breakthroughs.

With a constant supply of masterwork mechs and the successful development of cultivation elixirs, the mech pilots hailing from the Association would be making far more progress than any other state or organization!

This would not change until other parties were able to field more god pilots than the ones that currently led the Red Association.

Ves understood more deeply how General Axelar Streon's possible breakthrough would alter the balance of power in the Red Ocean.

It only took a single more god pilot for the first-rate colonial superstates to finally gain a measure of parity against the Red Two!

If Ves knew that the political implications of Axelar's successful ascent to godhood were so massive, he wouldn't have agreed to enter into a secret agreement with the Streon Ancient Clan so quickly!

The unfortunate reality was that he had already waded into this mess. He had no other choice but to make the best out of his current situation.

"I agree with you that it is not a good idea to lose the favor of the mechers for the foreseeable future." Ves steadily shared his thoughts. "A good vassal must always offer regular and sufficient tribute to his master. I cannot make any mistakes in this regard. Offering my masterwork mechs is but a small gesture, but it is enough to prove my fealty."

"It is good that you understand your current reality, sir. What you and your clan need the most is development time. Maintaining your status as a vassal is advantageous to you because you do not need to look over your shoulder all of the time. Make use of the protection granted by the Red Association to gain more strength and build up your forces. So long as you expect your circumstances to improve in the coming years, there is no incentive for you to break your current arrangement."

"Mhmmm. You are right as always, Alexa."

Ves actually felt a little better about giving away his masterwork mechs.

Letting them go was undeniably bad to the Larkinson Army, but Ves depended far too much on the protection of the Red Association.

Supplying the mechers with his masterwork mechs on a more frequent basis would cement his image as their loyal vassal.

This made it easier for Ves to ask for favors and to obtain more insider knowledge from Jovy.

A more solid relationship with the Red Association would also make it harder for any critics or enemies to take any actions that were detrimental to his own interests!

The more people such as Master Termaneo Dervidian and Master Vayro Goldstein approved of Ves, the more they were willing to look out for him in the situations that mattered.

This was the way the cosmos worked. No one was truly free unless they possessed the force to protect their rights!