The Mech Touch

Of all of the possibilities that Ves envisioned, he never imagined that he would get confronted by a cosmopolitan in his own ranks.

Especially a cosmopolitan who plotted to work against her own ilk!

Funnily enough, Ves did not have that much trouble understanding her desire and willingness to hinder the plans of her fellow cosmopolitans.

He had colluded with one group of Fridaymen in the past for the express purpose of weakening another group of Fridaymen!

No organization was truly fully united. As long as they grew large enough, they always splintered into factions, each of them led by egotistical maniacs who thought that their vision was superior to others.

This was a little different in Ves' opinion. Perhaps the biggest difference was that the members of different cells were all strongly aligned towards diverging interpretations on how to achieve their ultimate aims.

Because the vision of the most moderate cells just happened to contradict the vision of the radical cells, an internal contradiction came into being that had grown severe enough that they had become outright enemies!

It was only under such an exceptional circumstance that it became acceptable for the moderates who wanted to bring the Cosmopolitan Movement back to its original purpose to collaborate with their erstwhile enemies.

Ves inwardly shook his head. This was a silly situation, but it was also a situation that benefited him a lot, so there was no reason for him to reject this development.

Lady Romanda Devos understood him well enough that he would not turn her in for being a filthy cosmopolitan.

However, that still left open the question of what Ves needed to do with all of his information after the immediate crisis had passed.

When he spoke to Lady Romanda, he already had a feeling that she, or at least the Horizon Cell, did not intend to collaborate with him on a one-time basis!

"Okay." He said. "I will figure out a way to make use of this information without tipping off the mechers. That will be rather difficult considering I went through all of this trouble to hold a private conversation with you. Assuming that what you said is true, and that your valuable input has helped us avoid a much worse outcome during our current journey, I am still left with a collaborator who turns out to pledge her true loyalty to a universally recognized terrorist organization. A terrorist who managed to contribute one of the key technologies that defines the most revolutionary mech design project of this era to date. What a mess!"

There was no feasible way to remove Lady Romanda's contribution to the Swarm Project. Unlike Lord Richard Brownstone whose work on modular kinetic weapon systems could easily be replaced or removed while preserving the essence of his Carmine mechs, it was impossible to remove the cosmopolitan's contributions to the same mech designs without gutting them into pieces!

Her ultra-large cockpit systems literally comprised the heart of his products!

If Ves reported her to the authorities, then that would definitely lead to a catastrophe of epic proportions!

There was no way the Red Association could publicly voice its support for products that had the unmistakable involvement of the Cosmopolitan Movement.

Even if the demand for Carmine mechs was still overwhelming enough to make them desired, the taint would become so bad that his works would definitely remain mired in controversy!

There was no advantage at all for exposing Lady Romanda's true allegiance. As much as Ves wanted to screw over the Cosmopolitan Movement and inflict a nasty blow on one of his long-time enemies, the circumstances did not allow him to act according to his desires.

Lady Romanda did not expose herself to Ves on a whim. She made sure to stack the deck in her favor before boldly telling him that she was a cosmopolitan, a member of an old order of alien diplomats gone traitor!

Ves felt incredibly frustrated that he was not able to treat Lady Romanda like any typical cosmopolitan. He hated it when others plotted against him, but that was exactly what the so-called Horizon Cell had done. The fact that it worked left an especially sour taste in his mouth!

"I feel like you don't want this to be a one-time deal." Ves said without bothering to hide his displeasure at this situation. "You want to continue to remain in contact with me so that I will continue to cooperate with your Horizon Cell on a persistent basis. Am I correct?"

The Terran traitor looked mildly impressed. "I intended to lead you to this proposal, but it is best that you have deduced my purpose in advance. You are correct. You may harbor a hostile relationship to the Cosmopolitan Movement, but that should not stop you from making the pragmatic decision to cooperate with a cell that is willing to cooperate with you on the few goals that we have in common."

"I can't trust you guys at all!" Ves shouted back. "I believe you when you and your cell want to push back against your radical cosmopolitans this time, but what about the future? I can't put my trust in you guys. The credibility of your Movement is terrible. Perhaps there are certain cells that are more upright than others, but I have no knowledge of that. As far as I am concerned, all cosmopolitans are backstabbing traitors. I would be a fool if I forget why you guys are all terrible human beings and merrily cooperate with you as if you are just another interest group."

The woman shook her head as if Ves was missing the bigger picture.

"Your reaction is understandable, but shortsighted. Forget about our reputation and credibility. Be realistic instead. If we reside in a galaxy that is only split between two sides, then colluding with the enemy is almost always detrimental. However, we do not live in a bipolar galaxy. We live in a pluralistic dwarf galaxy that is split up by many different groups, races and civilizations. The aliens that reside in the Red Ocean are nominally on the same side and all follow the orders of the Red Cabal, but is that truly the case? No. Every race and civilization is out for themselves. The same applies for human groups and factions. There are no permanent friends and enemies. There are only those who you can and cannot cooperate with. There is a strong basis for cooperation as long as you put Horizon Cell in the right category."

He knew what she was doing. She was trying to persuade Ves to make a decision that he normally wouldn't make by encouraging him to adopt her paradigm.

According to her, good and evil did not exist. The 'bad guys' were not always bad, and the 'good guys' were not always good either. Everything was relative and based on interests. Colluding with some of 'bad guys' might not be such an awful choice if it resulted in a net positive outcome for himself!

Though Ves understood the logic behind this paradigm, he instinctively felt repulsed by the idea.

The cosmopolitans were not his friends, not now, not ever. He found it extremely difficult to forget about Master Xieliq Quan's assassination attempt. The fanatical high-ranking traitor believed in many of the same ideals as Lady Romanda, yet sought to kill him by employing the most destructive mech armament that he had made!

Ves believed without a doubt that before the radicals went too far in supporting the native aliens, Lady Romanda and the Horizon Cell must have actively worked against red humanity with the same degree of enthusiasm!

Just because the members of the Horizon Cell suddenly woke up and decided to undo the damage did not mean they had earned their redemption!

Lady Romanda saw that Ves needed more persuasion.

"You are hardly the first person that we have approached with an offer to establish a relationship in secret."

"What do you mean by that, Romanda?" Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"The reach of the Cosmopolitan Movement stretches far and wide. We have embedded ourselves into every human institution since the Age of Stars. We do so by quietly approaching every group that becomes powerful enough to reign over a part of human society. We start with the leader. If he or she rejects cooperation, then that is fine, as we will simply go down the hierarchy until we have found a partner that is willing to cooperate and remain in contact with us. Over the years, we have managed to build up a formidable network of contacts and collaborators. We are connected with every layer of society, from the very top to the very bottom."

Ves slowly widened his eyes as he thought about the implications of her words. What she just revealed was much more massive than he initially thought!

He used to think that the cosmopolitans were rats that could only survive in the cracks of human society.

However, if their infiltration and network of colluders was as expansive as she said, then that placed the Cosmopolitan Movement on an entirely different level!

If the cosmopolitans truly managed to convert some of the leading figures of the Red Two and the first-rate colonial superstates into willing collaborators and informers, then that meant that their influence and reach had already come close to reaching the level of the Five Scrolls Compact at its height!

Ves genuinely felt terrified for a moment. A terrorist organization with so many secret connections could do a lot of damage if it wanted!

The extensive mobilization of troops to intercept his Bluejay Fleet was only a part of the power that they held at their fingertips. They could do much more if they were willing to burn their more valuable contacts and secret relationships!

Could Ves even resist the machinations of the cosmopolitans? If Lady Romanda was right, then even if he rejected her offer, the Horizon Cell would just try and collude with other Larkinsons.

What if they managed to gain the cooperation of Gloriana or his children?

If their forbidden relationship ever got exposed, then their lives and careers would be ruined!

Ves did not doubt the ability for the cosmopolitans to subvert people from different organizations. They were descended from diplomats, so they should be extremely good at this kind of stuff. They had developed their methods over multiple millennia, after all. Not even their terrible reputation could stop them from undermining a part of human society!

Just as Ves was beginning to think he had no choice but to surrender to Lady Romanda's scheme, he suddenly thought about a recent development.

"Wait." He said as a grin began to appear on his face. "If what you said is true, then your entire Movement stands to lose a huge amount of influence. The kinship networks adopted by the major powers pose a massive threat against your modus operandi. The more they sweep across the upper ranks of all of those major powers, the more the networks will uncover your spies and informers! This is the original reason why so many cosmopolitans urgently want to kill me. Sooner or later, you will all lose the connections that you have relied upon for so long to maintain your power base in human space."

Lady Romanda grimaced. "That is… so. I cannot deny that your kinship networks has led to enormous upheaval within our Movement. There are those among us who believe that their existence is an important component in facilitating the resurgence of red humanity, but far too many cosmopolitans have become so attached to their networks of informers that they feel the obligation to protect it above our original purpose."

"This is also why your Horizon Cell insists on establishing a relationship with me." Ves figured out. "Your entire modus operandi will gradually become invalid. However, I am one of the few people that you can continue to collude with, because this relationship won't get caught up by the ongoing sweep."

"We have reasons to believe that to be the case." The cosmopolitan confirmed. "We also place great value in your identity as a leader of the Coalition of Faiths and the leader of the Upper Council of the Red Collective. You have become a highly influential figure in a remarkably short amount of time. We can afford to give up most of our network of informers as long as you can take their place. This is our incentive to maintain a long-term relationship with you. As long as you agree to work together with us, we can help you far more than you know."

"Like what?"

"As a gesture of goodwill, we are willing to share everything we know about the forces that our radical colleagues have presumably deployed in the Tjella System, the Nilhart System and the Mazepan System. This will allow your Bluejay Fleet to make much more targeted preparations against the opposition that they will face."

That was indeed an invaluable piece of intelligence. It could very well mean the difference between a shameful defeat and a convincing victory!

The question now was whether Ves even needed this additional information, and whether it worthwhile to collude with a group of human traitors that were on the verge of suffering a huge setback…

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