The Mech Touch

An awkward silence ensued as Ves silently stared at Tristan Wesseling's projection.

Previously, Ves always treated Tristan as a friendly acquaintance. Though they hadn't talked many times, the Fridayman mech designer always took the initiative to show some goodwill to him. Their shared connection to the Rim Guardians meant that it was very likely they would cross paths in the future.

Yet it was different now. Tristan's status may not have changed, but Ves single-handedly deteriorated his relationship with the Friday Coalition in the most violent fashion!

Whereas before he might have only been an incidental mech designer who sided with the Hexers, now the Coalition almost certainly labeled him as an enemy!

He had Fridayman blood on his hands! No matter how he managed to do it, there was no question he was involved in wiping out the entire crew of the Scarlet Rose!

Technically, Ves and Tristan should be enemies.

Yet neither of them showed any willingness to abide by the expectations of their identities.

Without exchanging a word, both of them understood each other's measure.

They had no special feelings for the Komodo War and the conflict between the Friday Coalition and the Hexadric Hegemony.

While this rivalry still affected their lives, they already set their sights higher! Their ambitions stretched far beyond the Komodo Star Sector!

After implicitly understanding what he had in common with Tristan, Ves subtly relaxed his posture.

His counterpart followed likewise. He had been waiting for a friendly reaction.

Though both of them had managed to relieve the tension between them, that did not mean that everything was okay.

"So.. is it okay for you to take the initiative to talk to me?" Ves eventually broke the silence.

Tristan looked completely at ease. "Reality is never black and white. Do you think the Friday Coalition cares about an individual mech designer? While it's true that our evaluation of you has dropped, you're still a small fry in our eyes. Only Lady Curver and some of the people within the CRC are paying attention to you. As for the rest, the war against the Hexers is a big greater priority!"

That made a lot of sense. Compared to a trivial Journeyman who possessed an odd design philosophy, the Fridaymen had to exert their full effort into preventing the Hexers from annihilating their state!

One was just a stain on their dignity, while the other threatened their entire existence!

Ves felt pleased that he managed to stay under the radar of the Friday Coalition. Just thinking about their awe-inspiring might and vast resources at their disposal sent a chill through his spine.

If the Friday Coalition allocated just 0.1 percent of its total strength into annihilating him, Ves would certainly die without a doubt!

"Even so, I imagine it's not exactly proper for you to be contacting me. Why did you call? Did Aisling put you up to it or something?"

"I'm no friend of Lady Curver." Tristan immediately shook his head. "She's an alumni of Clarion University, which is one of the foremost mech design institutions of the Gauge Dynasty. I'm a graduate of the Leemar Institute of Technology, which hails from the Carnegie Group."

"And that matters because…?"

"To make the long story short, we're bitter rivals. The competition between Clarion and Leemar is very intense. We compete on everything from the amount of academic papers our professors publish to the degree of success enjoyed by our graduates. The competition for the comprehensive ranking of mech design institutions is particularly acrimonious!"

All of this had nothing to do with Ves. He adopted a bored expression.

"Does this rivalry even matter these days? A common enemy is bearing down on you both!"

Tristan sheepishly shrugged. "You'd be surprised by how far people would go to reinforce their cliques. War brings pressure. War limits resources. War imposes stricter control. All of this means that there is an intense competition to be in charge. Those who become leaders will inevitably benefit those who belong in the same camp!"

"I see."

It seems the Friday Coalition wasn't as unified as he initially thought. While Ves already caught a portion of this from Aisling's correspondence, he was distracted by all of the initiatives meant to foster cooperation.

"Don't get me wrong, Ves. We know the score. We are still capable of getting along when it truly matters. It is just that the Carnegie Group is situated directly in the path of the Hexers. My state is under a huge amount of pressure as Hexer raids and invasions frequently destroy or deprive us of our infrastructure."

This was the misfortune of being one of the partners of the Coalition that directly bordered Hegemony space.

Though the Carnegie Group prepared their defenses for centuries, the Hexers hadn't spent this time in vain!

Upon this realization, Ves studied Tristan's projection carefully and noted that he didn't seem very hopeful.

"What's up with you?"

"This will be the last time we can talk to each other in a while. Duty calls. I think you can understand."

"You don't sound willing."

"Whoever wins the Komodo War, the Carnegie Group likely won't be among them. Do you understand?"

"Is the war going that badly for you guys?"

"The Hexers are strong, that's for sure. Even if we manage to defeat them, they'll take down plenty of Fridaymen with them. We just happen to be the closest in their line of fire."

From the way Tristan talked, he must not be very optimistic about the Carnegie Group's future!

Yet regardless of what he believed, he still had to meet his obligations!

As a talented Journeyman mech Designer and a direct disciple to Master Katzenberg, Tristan enjoyed benefits from the Carnegie Group. It was only right for him to repay the debt he owed by contributing to the partner's secret design projects!

"Good luck with whatever you are doing."

"That sounds strange from someone on the opposite side." Tristan amusingly chuckled.

"As you've said it yourself, us Journeymen are small fries. The Coalition and Hegemony are too powerful to pay attention to the little guys. I think we have gone past treating our allegiances as the main determinants of our attitudes."

""What do you think about Lady Curver, then?"

"If she wasn't so decisive in running from the Scarlet Rose, I would have killed her myself!"

"That's not a good idea, Ves." Tristan shook his head. "One of the reasons why I called is to tell you that you need to be more careful with how far you pursue your vendettas. Direct disciplines like Aisling and I explicitly enjoy the backing of our Masters, do you understand?"

Ves scratched his head. "Not really."

"Direct disciples are considered to be extensions of a Master Mech Designer's research interests. Whatever progress we make on our branching design philosophies, our Master also benefits from the results we achieve. Do you think a Master will stand by when a promising student who is exploring another avenue of their core specialty is under threat? What do you think will happen if someone actually has the temerity to kill their disciples?"

If Ves was in that position, he would definitely be mad as hell! A direct disciple was pretty much a free research surrogate!

"What's about nominal disciples?" Ves asked.

"It's different for nominal disciples like you used to be. Unless someone wanted to target Master Olson, she isn't inclined to retaliate should anything happen to you. In the mech community, nominal disciples are mostly external helpers to Masters. They extend a Master's influence and network and can be useful in various ways. However, unless they advance to Master Mech Designers themselves, nominal disciples will always be regarded as helpers."

"Does this only apply to Friday Coalition or is it something universal?"

"We aren't that different from the rest of human space in this regard. Perhaps disciples are less valued in more prosperous star sectors as it is much easier to cultivate talents there. However, here in the galactic, every Journeyman is still a valued asset."

"So it's only because our star sector is so poor that every disciple is important."

Ves understood his point. Due to various reasons, many people with a talent in mech design never got to study it or make something out of their career. The mech industry simply wasn't prosperous enough to accommodate so many talents.

Those with gifts often had to give up their dreams and pursue a lesser career due to an inability to attract investment and fund their own ventures.

Ves imagined that the conditions were slightly better in the galactic heartland and galactic center

While the competition was much more intense, the barrier to entry was probably easier to overcome as long as mech designers had some money at their disposal.

"To get back to the point, you should really think twice before you threaten the life of someone like Lady Curver. She's one of the brightest graduates of Clarion University. Not only does her alma mater appreciate her a lot, but she has also become Master Huron's latest investment. If you happened to kill her, I can guarantee you that Master Huron will never let you go! He's a very sentimental mech designer and values his relationships very highly! Killing Lady Curver is not only an attack on himself, but also an attack on his sensibilities!"

He noted the difference between the two.

Officially, Lady Curver was Master Huron's direct disciple. According to Tristan's explanation, killing her would materially affect Master Huron's research interests!

Yet if Master Huron was someone who appreciated Lady Curver as a person, then he would definitely go mad with rage!

After a bit of thought, Ves recalled that Master Huron specialized in neural interconnectivity. This specialization probably warped his personality into valuing relationships to an extreme degree!

This meant that killing Aisling would definitely provoke an irreconcilable enmity with a powerful Master Mech Designer!

Sweat poured down his back. If Ves had been a little more reckless, then the Friday Coalition absolutely wouldn't be as lackadaisical towards him as now! As long as someone important enough pressured the Friday Coalition to take care of him, Ves would definitely be unable to make it so far in his escape as now!

Fortunately, Aisling and Patricia already fled the ship before Ves and Lucky approached the mech workshop.

After almost getting killed by a missile, he would have definitely urged Lucky to slaughter them both regardless of their identities!

"Should I be concerned by Master Huron?"

"I'm not sure." Tristan looked uncertain. "Since Curver managed to escape unscathed, you didn't cross his bottom line. Depending on his personality, he probably sees his disciple's misfortune as a teaching moment. As long as she learns from this ordeal, she will be much more formidable in the future. You practically did him a favor if he adopts this mindset."

"And if he doesn't think this way?"

"Then you're definitely in trouble. Who knows what he is thinking. Masters don't think like normal people. Especially when they lived for over two centuries." Tristan shrugged. "If you ask me, Master Huron is probably spending all of his time on the Komodo War. As one of the best mech designers of our state, his work is vital in increasing our odds of victory. How can he allow himself to get distracted? At the very least, my own Master is like this. Every important Fridaymen has become incredibly busy since the outbreak of the war."

The two chatted some more about the conditions in the Friday Coalition. The state had entered into a total war footing.

Life changed drastically for every Fridaymen as they couldn't afford to lose the war that decided the future of their state!

Compared to this pivotal conflict, the border struggle against the sandmen attracted no attention at all! Even as many beleaguered states called for help, the Fridaymen completely turned a deaf ear on them! At this stage, they only cared about themselves!