The Mech Touch

When Ves ended his call to the council of matriarchs, he let out an exhausted breath.

"This talk was way more stressful than it should." He said. "It's kind of funny as we haven't managed to agree on anything solid during the entire discussion."

Minister Shederin Purnesse had actually been listening in all of this time. He merely remained out of sight and only gave directions and advice in a discreet manner.

"The reason for that was because you did not want to upset the matriarchs or cause any unnecessary offense." The old man pointed out. "You comported yourself well in front of the effective leaders of the Hexer state. You are becoming more proficient in communicating with heads of states and other powerful figures. You not only let yourself become affected by their halo of authority, but also managed to stand your ground despite their insistence on making a deal with you and your clan."

Ves snorted. "Well, I am not about to let them warp my clan into an unholy fusion with the Wodin Dynasty. That is one of the most awful suggestions that I have heard. I cannot even begin to understand why they thought I would actually agree to such a proposal. I would have thought that they proposed the Wodin Dynasty to become a vassal to my clan instead. That would have been a much more palatable suggestion."

The foreign minister shook his head in disappointment.

"The matriarchs have badly miscalculated. While their attempts at diplomacy are encouraging, it is clear that they are still too far behind. They lack too much understanding of your needs and your circumstances and they overestimate the value of their offers to an egregious degree. Their greatest mistake was to hold talks with you directly. They have dedicated diplomats in their employ that have made considerably greater progress in mastering their craft. Still, given their demands, 1 do not think that much can be accomplished so long as the Hexers refuse to recognize reality."

The power balance between the Larkinson Clan and the Hex Federation had completely flipped by this time.

Ves always knew it had only been a matter of time before this happened, but even he was surprised by how quickly he completed this transition.

The speed of this development took everyone by surprise. It wasn't that much of a surprise to see that the Hexers were still stuck in the past on this matter.

"I am not opposed to giving the Hexers a hand." Ves said. "The fact remains that they are still the strongest and most fanatic supporters of the Superior Mother. I want them to do well, but I am already burdened with the need to uplift my clansmen into first-raters. I don't have the capacity to extend my charity to others. That is why I suggested the Hexers fight for their own gains by relying on the New Elites Program."

"That was a fine suggestion, sir. The Hexers won't be able to refute this argument so easily considering that they have always held the assumption that their armed forces are superior in strength. It is painful and almost impossible for them to admit weakness in this area."

Denial of reality was a greater fault than actual weakness. At least the latter could drive people to work hard to address this inadequacy.

Ves was a good example of that. He hated his own weakness and lack of agency so much that he had pushed himself to the limit many times in order to get to this point!

"So what do we do with the Hexers?"

"That is up to you, Ves. I do not recommend that we deepen our cooperation with them any further. The Hexers cannot provide us with any significant benefits that we value. Control over a second-class star system is a needless burden to you and additional armed forces are superfluous considering that you are permanently being shadowed by an RA escort fleet. The only manner in which the Hexers can provide actual value to us is if they agree to become our subjects, either in part or in their entirety."

Both of them knew that this would never happen. The Hexers were just too damn prideful and immersed in their own delusions.

"Well, at least we said no in a way that preserves our current relationship with them. I think." Ves remarked. "While I personally don't need their help anymore, it is still useful to have them cover our backs while the bulk of my clan remains second-class. Maintaining ties at the current level also keeps my wife happy."

His wife would probably have words for him once she learned that his talks with the Hexers had resulted in no gains.

"You do not need to concern yourself with the Hexers any further, sir. Our ministry will take it from here. 1 think we can partially placate them by agreeing to conduct minor exchanges and to continue working together with the Glory Seekers. We can still offer numerous benefits to the Hexers without committing ourselves to any unnecessary entanglements. If the Hex Federation succeeds in making solid gains in the upcoming deep strike operations, then we can always reconsider our stance."

Ves nodded in agreement. "Let's do that, then. Now that we have handled the Hexers, who is next?"

"The Fridaymen."

"Pardon?"

Minister Shederin chuckled. "Why do you look so surprised? Your star is rising. Your influence is growing. It is becoming increasingly less comfortable to maintain an antagonistic relationship with you and your clan. I am not certain what the Fridaymen have heard, but if we assume they have better information channels, then they should definitely understand that opposing you increasingly resembles suicide."

That sounded a bit exaggerated, but Ves most definitely wasn't in a forgiving mood towards the Fridaymen.

"What do they want, Shederin?"

"The Fridaymen are much more grounded in reality compared to the Hexers. Their diplomacy is considerably more advanced as well. They are fully capable of bending their heads and finding an earnest way to reconcile with a former enemy if the need is great enough. They will seek to melt hostilities by giving you enough concessions to agree to their proposal. It is not a secret that you are susceptible to bribes."

"Hey! I'm not that easy to persuade! I am more than willing to take advantage of other people's generosity, but I will never forget those who betrayed me or tried to take away my life and the lives of my family. As much as it is better to just let bygones be bygones and focus on the greater threat posed by the aliens, I just can't bring myself to forgive those bastards."

There was just too much bad blood between the two. Ves had found himself in enough difficult situations that he could never let go of his desire for vengeance.

If not for the fact that the new climate did not allow for internal wars, Ves might have actually agreed to cooperate more closely with the Hex Federation. He could find plenty of ways to empower the state even further to increase its advantages in a possible war against the Friday Coalition.

Given that he still held a lot of animosity towards the Fridaymen, he did not want to talk with them at all. How could this talk be any more productive than the previous one?

"I do not recommend you reject their request for a direct dialogue." Shederin said. "You should hear them out at least once, if only to confirm whether you still wish to pursue your vendetta against them. Do not forget that not all of the Fridaymen are your enemies. It is mainly their current leadership that is at fault for turning against you. If they agree to compensate for all of the damages they have caused to you and more, it may be better to just take the deal knowing that you have severely weakened them in a time where they need strength the most."

His advisor certainly made a persuasive case.

"Okay." Ves eventually decided. "I'll talk, but only right away. If their leaders or diplomats can't accommodate that, then I won't bother with their entreaty."

It did not take long for Minister Shederin to contact the Fridaymen and arrange a hasty dialogue.

Normally, it could take days, weeks or even months to set up a proper in-person dialogue between two major groups, but if speed was of the essence, then a simple remote call would suffice.

Only a single person answered the call.

Both Ves and Minister Shederin were considerably surprised when Governor Mabrius Gauge of all people had been designated as the representative of the Fridaymen!

The reason why they felt this way was because Governor Mabrius most definitely had a lot of reasons to hate the Larkinsons and the Hexers.

During the Battle of Pima Prime, a coalition force that consisted of the Golden Skull Alliance and a Hexer mech army invaded the key port system claimed by the Gauge Dynasty.

The battle not only resulted in a terrible defeat for the Sundered Phalanx that defended the economic hub, but also caused it to be razed to the ground, thereby destroying a huge amount of expensive infrastructure!

Yet that loss could not compare to the defeat and death of Saint Jeremiah Gauge!

Not only did the Gauge Dynasty lose one of its greatest heroes and protectors, but Governor Mabrius suffered a massive personal loss as he had to watch his own nephew get beaten by Patriarch Reginald Cross!

Ever since the conclusion of the Battle of Pima Prime, the Gauge Dynasty had lost a lot of ground in the Red Ocean. While the Gaugers undeniably remained strong in the Komodo Star Sector, that was no longer as relevant now that the Great Severing had cut off the two galaxies!

It did not take a genius to figure out that the Gauge Dynasty in the Red Ocean had suddenly turned into the weakest coalition partner at the start of the Age of Dawn!

Was Governor Mabrius able to speak on behalf of the Friday Colonies as a whole, or was he only able to speak on behalf of his anemic dynasty that was still struggling to rebuild Pima Prime?

"Patriarch Larkinson, thank you for agreeing to communicate with us. We understand that you are not a diplomat and that you are a busy man, so we will cut right to the chase. Our colonies have agreed that it is no longer beneficial for every involved party to remain in a constant state of hostilities with each other. The increase in alien aggression has made it increasingly clearer that we must distance ourselves from the petty fights that have kept us distracted from the common threats that target all of us. Instead of wasting precious manpower and assets to remain on guard against each other, we propose to form an alliance or at the very least a pact of non-aggression so that we can earnestly direct our forces against our true enemies."

That sounded remarkably reasonable. Governor Mabrius was essentially trying to appeal to Ves' better nature and his growing sense of responsibility over red humanity.

The significance of having Governor Mabrius make this appeal did not go unnoticed either. If the Fridayman who suffered the most from the fighting was able to let go of his painful grievances, then Ves should honor that by doing the same.

It was a pity that Ves was not the kind of person that the Fridaymen hoped to meet this time.

He adopted a clear look of contempt. "So now you want to kiss and make up, huh? Why couldn't you have made this decision before you sent Lady Aisling Curver to kidnap me? Why didn't you stop a deep strike fleet from ambushing my fleet while we were simply trying to make our way out of the Komodo Star Sector? There were several times where your troops threatened to take away my life and my freedom!"

"We sincerely apologize for our transgressions." Governor Mabrius Gauge quickly adjusted. "We are more than willing to discuss reparations with both you and the Hexers. We simply ask for your forgiveness so that we can move on from this unwelcome distraction and work towards contributing to the defense of our common civilization."

Ves grew more and more pissed at this deflection.

"Stop talking nonsense, governor! You don't get to turn around and show remorse because of actions that turn out to be mistakes in hindsight! While I am not interested in starting up any further aggression towards your colonial state, that does not mean I am willing to reconcile with you guys! Even if the aliens are on the verge of overrunning human space, I will cheer for their success when their warships crush all your colonies! That is how much 1 hate you Fridaymen!"

While Ves was willing to forgive many things, he was never lenient towards those who stabbed him in the back, betrayed his trust and threatened his family. These were red lines that people should never cross if they wanted to remain on his good side!

Unless the Fridaymen were willing to make real concessions, Ves did not feel inclined to continue these talks any further!