The Mech Touch

The Greater Terran United Confederation may be an old and decrepit power to many people, but it had withstood the test of time.

With the opening of the Red Ocean, the Terrans would never be foolish enough to alienate all of the galactic pioneers that ran wild in the dwarf galaxy.

Unlike back at home, the Terrans did not possess an overwhelming lead this time. The Terrans, Rubarthans and every other power from the old galaxy had to start from the beginning!

This meant that none of them could act as domineeringly as they did back home because they simply didn't have enough strength to back up their demands.

The separation of several hundred-thousand light-years was unsurpassable in ordinary times. The beyonder gates remained the only channel for the old power to extend their reach into the Red Ocean, but only barely.

The gates fell into the hands of the Big Two, and they made sure to make it as difficult as possible for the Terrans and Rubarthans to dispatch an enormous amount of troops in the Red Ocean.

The first-rate superstates weren't meant to divide the Red Ocean between themselves!

Due to the inability to dispatch sufficient combat forces to impose their will on the Red Ocean, the Terrans and Rubarthans had to take a step back and leverage the strength of other pioneers.

Hence the reason why they bothered with putting up a friendly face in order to attract pioneers to join their respective alliances.

Even though the Terrans couldn't help themselves from exposing their rotten behavior, they were at least cunning enough to do it in a way that would attract many ambitious pioneers.

Joining the ranks of the ancient clans of Terra that had long led one of the most prosperous states of humanity was an irresistible temptation!

Very rarely did newer ancient clans rise up. Otherwise they wouldn't have been called 'ancient'. The existing ones were simply too strong to budge from their rock-hard positions.

Only rarely did an excessive amount of decadence, infighting and incompetence open up an opportunity for a smaller Terran faction to rise up and topple the weakened ancient clan!

Yet the amount of times this happened was very small! In fact, it hadn't happened once during the Age of Mechs!

In the end, the great stability and continuity of the ancient clans of Terra reflected both their strength and wisdom.

"How do the Rubarthans measure up, then?" Ves asked, curious of how the rising power responded to the antics of their greatest rival.

Calabast reached out with her hand, luring Lucky away from Ves. She caressed the gem cat.

"Meow~"

Lucky was acting all cute under the attention of a women's caress!

"The Rubarthans are much more straightforward. They haven't released anything convoluted like the Red Ocean Promise. The Rubarth Pact they set up is simply a defensive association at heart. Anyone who signs up to the Pact will receive a measure of protection from the Rubarthans. Members are free to choose what they want to do next."

"It's that simple?" Ves raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not. The New Rubarth Empire values strength, ability and ambition. The Rubarth Pact is a bit hollow for now, but there are already signs that greater possibilities are in store. One of them would be to cooperate with one of the Rubarthan princes."

The Imperial Household of the New Rubarth Empire was immense. The Star Emperor held absolute power and his will reigned supreme.

At least that was supposed to be the case.

In practice, the New Rubarth Empire was so huge that it was not very realistic for a centralized government to control every aspect.

One of the ways the Rubarthans split everything up was to divide territories and responsibilities to one of the many descendants of the Star Emperor.

The current Star Emperor was 'merely' 300 years old, which was very young in the highest echelons of power. Many of the humans who collectively ruled over human civilization were actually remnants from the Age of Conquest!

The horrors they lived through and the lessons they learned from those dark days still affected the way that human space was being run to this day!

Anyway, the Star Emperor was a vigorous ruler who spawned a lot of children. How many of them existed, no one knew, but it was well-known that the figure definitely surpassed a thousand!

If those Rubarthan princes ever grew up and established their footing in the Empire, they eventually became worthy enough to set up their own principality.

A Rubarthan principality was merely an administrative division where a Rubarthan prince held greater sway over a territory within the Empire. However, this meant that the Rubarthan princes obtained real power!

Now, according to Calabast, some of those Rubarthan princes had come up with the bold idea to erect some new principalities within the Red Ocean!

"What makes this different from the Terrans?" Ves grew confused.

Those Terran principalities were easily comparable to the ancient clans of Terra!

Calabast smiled. "Ah, the Rubarthans hate it when they are compared to the Terrans. They explicitly do things differently. You have to remember that the New Rubarth Empire is a lot more centralized than the Terran Confederation. Unlike the latter where the ancient clans are roughly on par with each other, the former is led by a single central authority, the Star Emperor and the Imperial Household. The Rubarthan principalities cannot grow strong enough to challenge the Star Emperor's authority."

"Then what are these princes doing in the Red Ocean in the first place?"

She shrugged. "They are also extensions of the Imperial Household. Even when they are constrained, their wealth and power is unmatched by every other Rubarthan faction. They offer the most opportunities to galactic pioneers who are willing to work for them. Galactic pioneers can choose to align themselves to a Rubarthan principality or to pledge to them. The latter is permanent, but the former is more of a mercenary relationship."

Though Ves felt somewhat wary towards these mighty Rubarthan principalities, they didn't sound as tyrannical as the ancient clans.

He did not reject the option of joining the Rubarth Pact and establishing a cooperative relationship with a Rubarthan principality. In exchange for doing some chores, the Larkinson Clan would enjoy strong protection!

However, it couldn't be that simple. "What's the catch?"

"Well, obviously, pledging to a Rubarthan prince means becoming his vassal, which I don't believe you are interested in. If you choose to align to a Rubarthan prince, then you will still be able to gain a lot of benefits. Aside from turning you into an enemy of the Terrans, you will also be pulled into the power struggle between princes. While they aren't always violent, you will definitely experience suppression from those who are aligned with other princes!"

"No thanks, then. I can't care less about those princes!" Ves shook his head. "What about remaining neutral."

"Then you're still okay, of sorts. You will miss out on the fantastic rewards and support provided by the Rubarthan factions, but you will at least be accepted by everyone in the Pact. The Rubartans have left plenty of room for independent development, and that has attracted the appreciation of many galactic pioneers."

"Oh? No tricks?"

"Not as far as I know." Calabast looked confident. "The Rubarthan style is very different from the Terran style. The New Rubarth Empire is a meritocracy to some extent. While it isn't a perfect society where anyone capable has the chance to rise to the top, the social structure is not as rigid as that of the Terran Confederation. This is by design. Therefore, in the Rubarth Pact, every member has the chance to develop as they wish. As long as they are capable, they can grow however they wish!"

No coercion. No promises. Ves liked their style. If everything that Calabast said was true, then Ves did not mind so much if he and his clan sheltered under the umbrella of the Rubarthans.

There was another reason why Ves regarded the Rubarthan with some favor.

"The Larkinsons are descended from Rubarthans." He noted. "Many Brighters are, though they come from a faction that is at odds with Rubarthan culture."

Of course, it was unrealistic for the Larkinsons and the descendants for anyone who left the New Rubarth Empire to crawl back to the first-rate superstate and be recognized as one of its subjects.

Officially speaking, Ves was not a first-class citizen and certainly not a Rubarthan. Trying to rely on his ancient blood ties to the Empire to get into the good graces of the Rubarthans was impossible!

Therefore, it was really pointless to think about it. Ves and the Larkinson Clan had to approach the Rubarth Pact as complete outsiders, and lessers at that since they emerged from the galactic rim.

Calabast looked hopeful at Ves. "The New Rubarth Empire is still considered as a rising power in the Age of Mechs. However, the lack of a great motivator such as the Red Ocean Promise means that the galactic pioneers who join the Rubarth Pact are generally inconsistent. Many weak and middling pioneers who just want to enjoy the protection of a first-rate superstate have joined the Pact without really harboring greater ambitions. I'm sure the Rubarthans have a plan to increase the unity of its Pact, but that might take some time."

This stood in contrast to the Terran Alliance, which most assuredly attracted the strongest and most ambitious galactic pioneers. This meant that the average strength of each pioneer was definitely considerable, or else there was hardly any reason to join the alliance!

However, since Ves did not really harbor any great ambitions in this area, he did not mind becoming one of the Pact's middling members. If he truly needed some shelter and as long as the Rubarthans didn't push him around, it might not be a bad idea to accept this option.

This was not his only viable choice, however.

"There's a third alliance as well, I believe."

Calabast nodded. "The Red Ocean Union is still very new and much of its structure still needs to be worked out. On the surface, it was set up by many first-rate states in order to present a united front against the first-rate superstates. Collectively, this means quite a bit, but because these first-rate states are so scattered, it's hard to implement a single regime."

"If that's the case, doesn't that mean this so-called Red Ocean Union is nothing but a paper organization?"

"That is what it looks like for now, but if you believe that the Big Two are secretly offering their support, then I'm certain that the Red Ocean Union will become a force to be reckoned with in a couple of years."

Even if that was so, the fact of the matter remained that the Red Ocean Union didn't appear to have anyone strong enough to govern it properly.

Ves initially held high hopes for this so-called Red Ocean Union, but in the end it turned out to be a pile of loose sand.

Then again, who knew what the Big Two would do to support the Union. The Red Ocean Union might look completely different in ten years!

Since the Union wasn't properly set up yet, Calabast did not mention anything important.

"That's all for the three major alliances of the Nyxian Gap." She said and began to push herself off the desk. "You can read the remainder on the galactic net. Just remember that you can start on developing your clan early in order to gain a head-start in joining one of them. For example, if you have the ambition of adding your Larkinson Clan to the Terran Confederation, then it would help if you implement some of the policies and customs that are prevalent among the existing ancient clans."

"Please don't joke, Calabast."

"The same goes if you want to become a member of the Rubarth Pact. In fact, the culture and the policies of the Larkinson Clan already match the Rubarthan standard to a greater degree. If you implement just a few more key adjustments, I think our clan will definitely enjoy a lot of favor from the Rubarthans!"

She.. was right.