The Mech Touch

Regardless of how he felt about the Xenotechnician's radical ploy to help the cosmopolitans fulfill their long-cherished goal, it was not his place to decide whether this was the correct course of action.

Ves instead defaulted to the same answer he had given the Polymath.

"If the majority consensus of the Survivalist Faction sees fit to implement your Diplomacy Plan, then I will cooperate when requested." He told the old Star Designer. "My means are limited, so please do not expect too much from my work. My kinship networks have a number of useful traits, but they are not powerful enough to single-handedly turn enemies into allies. It can only play a facilitating role at best. The fundamentals have to be in place for a kinship network to play a useful role."

"Understood. Let us worry about that problem, Professor Larkinson. There are many more talented and capable people who can contribute to the implementation of my Diplomacy Plan. Everyone has a role to play. In the preceding days, I have spoken to many Survivalists and associates. All of them are able to contribute to our success in one way or another. The cosmopolitans may not always be correct, but they are right when they state that cooperation is always better than trying to do everything by yourself."

How could such a simple statement sound so right yet so awfully wrong at the same time?

Ves actually found the Xenotechnician to be a likable Star Designer. Despite his impressive age and his enormous accomplishments, he still sounded as if he actually retained a hint of empathy after all of this time.

Unfortunately, any good impression of the Xenotechnician quickly rotted away as soon as he went deeper into his Diplomacy Plan and started to speak favorably about cooperating with the cosmopolitans.

Having fought against an alien force that was directly supported by a cosmopolitan 'diplomat' once before, Ves had a more direct encounter with this detestable movement.

At the time, the cosmopolitans would have definitely celebrated the downfall of his expeditionary fleet. That diplomat and any of his compatriots would not shed a tear if Ves and many Larkinsons died at the hands of the aliens empowered by stolen human technologies!

Still, in a time when red humanity was pushed to the wall, could Ves truly let this past animosity ruin what might be the only realistic plan that could preserve red humanity's future?

He shook his head. "There is no point in thinking about this any further. I should just wait and see how the voting session will unfold on the 7th day."

There were only less than two days left before this historic event was scheduled to begin.

Ves grew incredibly apprehensive at the thought that the fate of red humanity would effectively get decided on this day.

He grew even more nervous when he thought about how he somehow got roped into becoming a much greater contributor to at least two of the grand proposals!

Just as he thought that he already had his hands full with the two Star Designers, the Mace of Retaliation finally called for a meeting as well.

Ves let out a few sighs just before his body teleported to a different location once again.

This time, he entered a much more informal environment.

Unlike the Polymath or the Xenotechnician who both assumed tried to present themselves in a professional and dignified capacity, the Mace of Retaliation completely eschewed this approach.

Instead, he had sat down on an oversized red couch while losing the collar of his military dress uniform.

If that did not make him look sloppy enough, then the unfamiliar alcoholic beverage that was hovering in front of his face definitely reinforced the image that the Mace of Retaliation was not one to put up any airs!

"Professor Larkinson." The old and powerful ace pilot greeted the new arrival. "Come closer and sit. I take it that you have already talked to our two Star Designers. I won't exhaust your patience by taking too much of your time. Whatever pitch I make won't sound as good as theirs. They are Star Designers after all. There are no greater idols to mech designers such as yourself."

Ves shrugged his shoulders as he approached and sat down on the opposite couch. Despite the informal air of this lounge compartment, he did not dare to loosen his posture and show any disregard towards one of the most powerful Survivalists within the Khamatar Reign.

"It is indeed inspiring to meet and talk with both the Polymath and the Xenotechnician on the same day. I must admit that I feel very flattered by the honor that they have bestowed me. I am not sure if 1 can live up to their expectations."

The Mace of Retaliation's eyes suddenly turned sharper as he picked up a few clues from Ves' remarks.

His lips curled into a smirk. "Interesting. So you did not completely side with either of them. Good."

"Well, it is not as if it matters whether I support one or the other. By the end of the seventh day, everyone who has attended this conference is pretty much obliged to support the winning plan."

"You are correct." The ace pilot spoke. "In theory, we are indeed supposed to drop all of our opposition and pool all of our efforts together. I am not so sure whether everyone will abide by this promise once they realize that their preferred plan has failed to win a majority."

This was a dangerous line of discussion. Ves did not want to get pulled even further into any possible internal conflict within the Survivalist Faction!

He coughed in order to make a point. "Ahem, forgive me for asking this, but what is the reason why you have summoned me here? I doubt you brought me over just to voice your complaints."

"You are not wrong." The Mace spoke as he sobered himself up a bit. "Let me be honest with you. I am not sure what the two Star Designers have talked about with you. It must be particularly important for them to devote their time to you. That is all I know. 1 am not forcing you to divulge any confidential information to me, but I would appreciate it if you share the common topic under discussion with me. You do not have to do this if it makes you uncomfortable in anyway, but the more information I have, the more this talk will have meaning."

The Mace of Retaliation did not appear to have a solid plan in mind when he arranged this meeting with Ves. He and his camp had been unable to deduce any useful intelligence on what took place during the earlier two meetings.

The grandson of the Fist of Defiance did not make himself look good due to this. His sub-faction was clearly the weakest among the three. The absence of a true top-level figure did not do the Deep Strike Plan any favors.

Ves felt oddly sympathetic towards the Mace of Retaliation for that reason. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to bring the older warrior into the loop.

"It's like this..."

Once Ves completed his short explanation of the kinship network, the ace pilot quickly deduced a lot of possible benefits!

"Brilliant!" He shouted as he accessed a few information channels through his cranial implant. "I see! This is why your clan has always fought in such a tight and cohesive manner! Now that you have explained it to me, it is obvious now that a kinship network is responsible for molding such a disparate group of people into a strong and valiant group of soldiers. What you have revealed to me is one of the ultimate dreams of every serious military commander. Do you know where this kinship network of yours may best be served?"

It did not take long for Ves to guess what sort of answer that the Mace was hoping to hear.

"Are you... suggesting that it is best to apply the kinship network to everyone that is actively participating in the Deep Strike Plan?"

"Correct. I have read through your record and other documents, so I believe that you are a kindred spirit to me. Out of many of the people who have listened to my presentation, I believe that you are one of the few who have the guts to leave your comfortable life in the rear behind and lead the fight at the front. Whether it is wise of you to do so is of no concern. What matters is your intent and your willingness to sacrifice yourself for a noble cause! Such courage and valor must be rewarded. I have already incorporated your companion spirits into my grandfather's Deep Strike Plan, but the addition of your kinship network gives me greater assurance that we can attract more volunteers."

Yet another group wanted to take advantage of his inventions to promote their own initiatives.

"Let me get this straight. You want to limit access to both my companion spirits and my kinship network to the volunteers who agree to go through the altered greater beyonder gate and raise hell behind enemy lines?"

"Exactly! Can you see it? This is part of a greater initiative! My grandfather believes that the only way for red humanity to save itself is for the best of us to take the lead. Unlike the Polymath, we do not want to waste too many resources on the cowards, the wastrels and the useless layabouts. Instead of empowering all of the existing leaders and decision makers who have largely come into power by relying on nepotism, generational wealth or connections, we must allocate our best resources to the true human heroes that are willing to fight rather than talk meaningless platitudes! As a daring pioneer yourself, don't you agree that it is better if our society is led by its defenders rather than its leeches?"

Though Ves found a lot in those words that he could agree with, he did not want to step onto anyone else's toes!

"A society cannot be run by fighters alone." He said. "We also need thinkers, planners and other intellectuals to steer and regulate our expansive civilization. Everyone has a role to play."

The Mace scoffed and crossed his arms. "You may make a convincing argument if we were still at peace or in a comfortable leading position, but that is not the case anymore. We are at war. Doesn't it make sense to prioritize martial leaders over their civilian counterparts? Make no mistake. There is no room for any soft-heartedness in red humanity anymore. If we are to survive, we must discard any naive notions about equality and friendship. Only the true elites who have volunteered for service and proved their mettle in the harshest of circumstances deserve to become the new stewards of our civilization!"

Ves felt both impressed and skeptical of the ace pilot's words.

Although it sounded nice that braver pioneers were eligible to earn a lot more recognition and rewards, any plan that mainly relied on punching the native aliens where it hurt them the most did not sound particularly reliable!

"I am not sure how you can make this happen. Trying to promote a new set of leaders will inevitably cause your side to clash against all of the existing groups that already monopolized most of the power and resources in red humanity's space. I do not think they will be pleased with losing so much of their investment."

The Mace of Retaliation had a simple answer to that problem.

"They can cooperate or they can die. My grandfather does not mind paying them a visit in person to make an example out of them. Diplomacy makes us weaker. Subjugation will help us grow stronger. Unity is an unattainable dream. Competition is the engine that has kept our race healthy all of this time. We have many more incentives lined up to the volunteers. This is not without purpose. By providing so much resources and assistance to the mech pilots of our deep strike fleets, they shall be in an excellent position to break through under intense pressure and quickly develop their strength until they can stand up against any opposition, whether they are humans or aliens!"

Ves widened his eyes. He finally understood the true plan of the Fist of Defiance!

The deep strike operations were not just about weakening the enemy alien races by destroying their logistics at the rear.

They were also about forging large amounts of battle-tested human mech pilots into expert pilots, ace pilots and maybe even god pilots!

The Mace of Retaliation's next words pretty much confirmed this intention.

"With the help of your useful inventions such as this transcendence glow that I have heard about, the crucible of war shall forge a new generation of human war heroes that can figuratively tower above any other human. So long as we are able to produce enough high-ranking mech pilots, we can defeat all of the alien warfleets and end the threat posed by external enemies without compromising our principles!"

Ves finally understood what the Fist of Retaliation wanted to do. He wanted to reshape red humanity into a supersized version of the Garlen Empire!

The god pilot wanted to take power away from the conventional elites and put warlords in their place!

This kind of martial empire was pretty much the opposite of a technocracy as envisioned by the Polymath!