The Mech Touch

While more and more potential customers yearned to purchase one of the two amazing hyper mechs, none of them spared any time to glance at the designers responsible for realizing them in the first place.

This was fairly normal as few if any people had any reason to stare at a bunch of boring mech designers in the middle of an exciting mech duel.

Those who did stare at the pair of mech designers did not see anything unusual. They occasionally talked about the work they put into their respective mech designs, which did not exceed people's expectations.

Ves had talked shop with the previous three challengers that came before. Why would his talk with Master Quan be any different?

The only oddity was that the young and old mech designers had moved awfully close to each other. They even lowered their voices to the point where they were whispering to each other.

Ves looked like a diligent grandson accompanying an aging grandfather who had entered his twilight years.

The only difference was that their discussion was entirely centered around mechs and the technologies that made them powerful.

"I am incredibly interested in the tech behind the oscillator hammer of yours. How does it work? Are you willing to share a few details, or is this confidential information?"

"It is nothing." Master Quan shrugged. "When you reach my age, there is little reason to hoard technology anymore. I can share with you the principles of the oscillator hammer if you wish. However, there are contributors to these experimental weapon systems. You will have to obtain the rights to learn their tech and make use of their proprietary solutions first. If you are not particularly interested in deepening your understanding of their specialized fields, then I suggest you resort to simpler and more practical solutions. As far as I know, one of your mech models makes use of stormblade technology. The principles of stormblade technologies are different, but the results are similar."

Ves shook his head. "I am aware of that, but stormblade technology is mainly suitable for low-end mechs. The more we try to scale up the tech, the more it begins to show its limitations. Your oscillator hammer is completely different in this regard. It is clearly a form of high technology that has a much higher ceiling than the alternatives that I know of. If I can arm a bunch of melee mechs with oscillator hammers, they can probably shatter any transphasic field, especially if they are equipped with space suppressor modules."

Though Ves looked as if he was engaged in a discussion about the fascinating technologies used to make the Dustweaver, a more shocking conversation took place on a spiritual level!

The 'gentle' grandson that looked as if he was eager to learn from his elders was actually feeling increasingly more disgusted at the cosmopolitan goals and ideals espoused by this madman!

"...Faith is a powerful force. It has been abused by many demagogues in the past who sought to divide populations and engender hatred. It has also been used to unite different groups of people who otherwise have nothing in common with each other. Our Indigo Cell plans to do the latter, because only religion has a reasonable chance of uniting both humans and aliens together at this point. If we cannot convince our enemies that our race is led by gods that they are willing to recognize, they will always treat us as heretical demons. You must step forward and demonstrate your capabilities as a phase lord in order to disabuse them of this notion. Only when we are able to convince the aliens that we are a people led by gods of our own will we be able to bridge the gap between our races and negotiate a lasting peace!"

I! II

Ves had met many delusional people in his life. Fanatics tended to be the most crazy and illogical individuals of all, and right now the cosmopolitans sounded exactly like the other crazies that he had met in the past!

These fools believed so much in their cause that they simply could not entertain any thoughts that contradicted their own beliefs!

Not even a 300-year old Master Mech Designer was exempt from the corrosive effects of embracing an extreme ideology.

The Master Mech Designer began to grip Ves' forearm a little tighter. After he explained so much, he wanted to obtain a more concrete answer from the first human phase lord.

"Forgive me. I got carried away. I have told you enough about our great movement. Far too many enemies have sought to twist our words and tarnish our reputation, so I felt it was necessary to correct your misconceptions about our cause. Now that I have enlightened you to a small part of the greater truth, it is time for you to make your stance clear. Are you willing to cooperate with our Cross-Species Pantheon Plan?"

Ves did not hear anything that convinced him that this insane scheme would work. There was no way he could throw his support behind such a delusional venture, particularly when that meant he would have to collaborate with a bunch of human traitors!

"Master Quan." Ves responded over the spiritual connection. "You have explained the motivations behind your plan, but you have not described anything about the actual process. How can I have any confidence that you will be able to make your words come true when you haven't explained what I am supposed to do? I am willing to help with saving red humanity from extinction, but I do not want to become a hunted rat in the process."

Master Quan gave a reassuring smile to Ves. "Our Indigo Cell has lurked within human society for centuries without being uprooted by the arrogant mechers and fleeters. We can induct you into our ranks without exposing your true information. It is not unheard of for individual members to become exposed, but we practice strict information control in order to limit the impact of getting caught. Just as cells are isolated from each other, the cosmopolitans who hail from the cell do not necessarily know each other's identities. Even I am not privy to the identities of more than half of my compatriots."

That sounded like cells within a cell. These cosmopolitans had been persecuted for such a long time that they had to be extremely good at limiting the damage of information leaks.

Even if their paranoid security measures damaging the efficiency of their organization, they considered this to be a better choice than allowing for a single interrogation to uproot an entire cell!

It seemed unlikely that Ves would be able to learn the identities of the other members of the Indigo Cell. That was a shame, because he could have earned additional MTA credits if he surrendered the names to the mechers.

Ves had no confidence that the Indigo Cell would be able to keep his involvement with the cosmopolitans a secret. His escort force paid way too much attention to him and his actions.

He released a mental sigh. "What about rewards? If I am willing to parade myself around as a human phase lord so that we can convert a lot of alien believers, I expect remuneration."

"You do not need to be concerned about that, Professor Larkinson. Our movement has developed close ties with both human and alien organizations. Funding is not a problem, and we can also supply you with larger quantities of phasewater that you can use to strengthen your position in our heavily flawed society. It is in our best interest to facilitate your growth. The stronger you become, the more you can facilitate our goals."

I! II

None of this sounded compelling to Ves. Was he short on resources? No!

The expeditionary fleet was able to plunder hundreds of kilograms of phasewater on a good run. The release of the Fey Fianna line already transferred millions of MTA credits into his accounts.

Perhaps a more typical mech designer might become overtaken by greed when they learned about the support the cosmopolitans could provide, but they had picked the wrong target this time!

"I am not convinced, Master. I am really sorry. I have tried my best to understand your perspective, but I am not a cosmopolitan nor do I have any desire to become one. You believe in your own cause, but what does that have to do with me? I applaud your courage for seeking me out and revealing your hidden identity to me, but you have approached the wrong person. I am a mech designer, not a god and not a cosmopolitan. I suggest you look elsewhere if you want to use a human phase lord as a figurehead. The mechers are working hard to figure out a way to produce more phase lords among their trusted people. I am sure that one of them may be receptive to your ideas."

Master Quan's mood dropped when he received an unequivocal rejection from Ves.

This was a risky turn of events. Ves had no idea how the older man would react. Would Master Quan go crazy and spout forbidden cosmopolitan slogans?

That seemed unlikely. There was no reason for him to go through such extremes.

The primary objective of the Indigo Cell was to find a human phase lord and gain his cooperation.

There was no proof that other people were able to become phase lords. Ves had become one by accident. His own evolution could not be replicated by others, so there was no guarantee that they could get started in this special form of body cultivation.

So long as this was the case, Ves was irreplaceable!

The cosmopolitans did not want anything to happen to him because he may still be their only hope of realizing the Cross-Species Pantheon Plan.

After Ves figured that out, he relaxed to an extent. He did not sense that Master Quan held any particular malice at being rejected.

He would be happy so long as this day ended without any incidents.

Just as Ves thought that the older Master Mech Designer would accept this outcome and let go, the hidden traitor began to grip tighter!

"We were afraid you would reject our truth. I had high hopes for you, Professor Larkinson. Let me be honest with you. We originally did not intend to approach you and request your cooperation for our plan, but a number of my fellow cosmopolitans believed that you should be flexible and open-minded enough to support our goals. It is regrettable that we are wrong on this front. If we cannot gain your cooperation, then we will have to look for a different human phase god."

The air between the two mech designers grew tense. Even Lucky started to raise his vigilance towards Master Quan.

"Meow..."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "I think that you guys were better off if you looked elsewhere from the beginning. I do not want to get involved in your sordid business. I just want to resume my work as an honest mech designer and sell my mechs."

"If this is the case, then so be it." Master Quan responded as his mentality began to experience a profound shift. "If you are not willing to cooperate with our plan, then we shall make our own human phase lord!"

An abrupt change occurred at this time!

A huge burst of malice emerged from Master Quan's mind at this time!

Ves became startled by this and started to sense a huge amount of danger!

His eyes widened as he suddenly figured out the greater meaning behind the other man's words.

"The bounty!"

Ves had overlooked the bounty on his head! According to Red Cabal, anyone who managed to engineer his death would receive as much help as needed to become a greater phase lord.

This was a much better choice for the cosmopolitans as it would not only allow one of their own to become the god that was essential to the Cross-Species Pantheon Plan, but would also allow them to develop a close relationship with the ancient phase whale responsible for mentoring the lucky bastard!

"HELP!"