The Mech Touch

In the past, ancient humans only referred to the only sun as \'the sun\' and the only moon as \'the moon\' before they traversed the stars. They were forced to use more unique designations in order to distinguish between stars and moons.

In the same way, humans took a long time to refer to the Milky Way Galaxy as \'the galaxy\' before they expanded their reach yet again.

The opening of the Red Ocean and the spread of humanity to an entirely different galaxy, if only a miniature-sized one, caused many humans to develop the need for greater differentiation!

Since calling the Milky Way Galaxy by this clunky name all of the time became tiresome, humans had taken to referring to it as the old galaxy for convenience.

It was not an inaccurate name. The old galaxy was humanity\'s old haunt. Much of its stars had already been explored to death. The aliens who resided in the Milky Way in the past and present had been figured out as well.

Compared to the exciting and fast-moving environment of the new frontier, the old galaxy practically looked like an oasis of peace and stagnation!

While the old galaxy still hosted plenty of conflicts, it was clear that their intensity no longer reached the heights of the past.

The opening of the Red Ocean served as an escape valve for many states.

A huge number of ambitious, eager and combative people no longer stirred up trouble in the old galaxy, but instead chose to do whatever it took to emigrate to the new frontier in order to obtain much greater room for development!

Did this make the people left behind in the old galaxy inferior? Not necessarily.

The Fridaymen happened to be in a special situation. They had won a massive war for control over the Komodo Star Sector shortly after the Red Ocean became accessible.

Compared to chasing after ephemeral riches in a region of space that was unimaginably distant, most Fridaymen chose to consolidate their gains in the Komodo Star Sector!

Even if it was just a frontier star sector that was far away from any prosperous trade, there was still a lot of value in taking it over in its entirety!

Enough time had passed for the Friday Coalition to overcome the initial difficulties in annexing and starting the enormous reconstruction effort of the former territories of the Hexadric Hegemony.

Key figures of the Friday Coalition such as Master Carmin Olson made heavy commitments in exchange for obtaining a relatively small but extremely lucrative piece of the pie!

The Master Mech Designer who once became known as a genius for realizing her design philosophy before she became a century years old reacted with bemusement after receiving an unexpected piece of news.

"There is no need for you to express so much excitement at this announcement. Ves Larkinson is no longer your friend. He is still our enemy. His work has led to the deaths of many good Fridayman soldiers. You should not expose this attitude to other Fridaymen. They are liable to accuse you for treachery."

Oleg Vorn snorted. Though he had grown up since the last time he met with Ves in person, he still couldn\'t help but regress whenever this topic arose!

"Alienating was the worst mistake our state could have ever made. Besides, no one ever asked me whether I agreed to this. I respect you a lot for teaching me all of this time, but I am no longer studying under you anymore. I have set off on my own these days. I am my own person and I can treat anyone as my friend as I like!"

"That is a dangerous opinion to hold in this star sector." Carmin Olson warned her graduated disciple.

The younger Journeyman irreverently shrugged his shoulders. "Then I will pack up my bags and move to the Red Ocean like the others who want to get out of this depressing state. I swear the Friday Coalition has never been the same after winning the war. We\'ve become so bogged down by the reconstruction effort that we never really do anything exciting with our mechs anymore."

"We are citizens of the Vermeer Group and the Friday Coalition. We were raised by them. We have a moral obligation to repay them. There are many priceless opportunities to establish your business and secure a strong footing in a regional mech market in this period of time. If you want to have any hope of catching up to your former brother, then you should stay put and meet the demands of your local customers."

Oleg sighed. This was indeed the best possible choice for him, but that did not mean he liked it. Pretty much every mech designer of his generation faced temptation from the Red Ocean.

"Don\'t worry, Master. I am not going to abandon what I built in this star sector so easily. Ves has his clan and his mech company. I can\'t fall too far behind if I want to meet with him again on an equal footing."

Even as he said so, Oleg felt quite uncomfortable about the fact that the young man he once knew had made such an enormous leap in progress.

Just like Tristan, Oleg Vorn had received the core teachings of a Master Mech Designer. This put him at a much higher starting point than other mech designers.

The fact that Ves was able to surpass him in such a clear and undeniable manner despite lacking so much guidance was difficult to stomach!

Fortunately, Oleg still looked at Ves from a favorable angle. He was happy for the other man\'s success. He easily accepted this outcome after he had a bit of time to adjust his mentality.

Carmin Olson stood up from her seat at her design terminal and moved closer to her disciple.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "What happened to Mr. Larkinson is… regrettable, but we cannot compromise our own interests in order to satisfy our baser desires. We are both limited by our allegiances. So long as we still call ourselves Fridaymen, we must maintain our distance from him and other enemies of the state."

Though Oleg Vorn was upset at this situation, he was not as willing to distance himself from his home state as Tristan Wesseling.

The Vermeer Group was not in a good shape these days. It was still in the process of rebuilding everything it had lost in the Komodo War. It also experienced a lot of difficulties in digesting the newly conquered territories of the Hexadric Hegemony. Oleg would feel guilty if he abandoned the Vermeers in their time of need.

"Is there any possibility that we can reconcile with Ves?" Oleg asked. "I mean, you managed to obtain shares in his mech company. Even if you had to give up most of it, our state still allows you to hold whatever you have left."

"That is because becoming a minority shareholder of the Living Mech Corporation allows our state to gain access to at least some information on Ves and the Larkinson Clan\'s activities. Controlling these shares will also give us several means to manipulate the Larkinsons if necessary."

The younger mech designer raised his eyebrow. "So you\'re not holding those shares because you\'re incredibly optimistic about his future career and want to wait until you earn a fantastic return on your investment?"

Master Olson shook her head. "That is a low probability event. You should already be aware of that. Do not forget who I am. I have no need to profit from the success of a former apprentice who I have not been able to teach as much as I had hoped."

"Are you proud, though? I bet you are. No matter what people say about Ves, you helped him once. You taught him for a while and set him on the right path. He owes at least a part of his massive success to you. Sure, he may have used his talents against our state, but that is life."

The female Master Mech Designer folded her arms behind her back and looked around. Her rebuilt design lab was better equipped than ever. She had also made a lot of progress in her research projects due to the stimulation of the Komodo War and all of the rewards she earned after the conflict had passed.

"Human society is turbulent." Master Olson told her discipline. "It is because our race is prone to fighting against each other that there is room for mech designers for us to exist. Colleagues who share the same passions and interests as us can become our adversaries solely because they take different sides. This may be the first time you must regard a friend as your enemy, but will not be the last. It is difficult to reverse this transformation, but it is not impossible. I sincerely hope a time will come when we do not have to treat Mr. Larkinson as our opposition anymore."

That sparked Oleg\'s interest. The clever mech designer derived additional meaning from her words.

"Are you working towards that future?"

"It depends on my research." Olson answered. "Winning the Komodo War has put the Vermeer Group and our state as a whole on a stronger footing than before. Once our people consolidate all of our gains in this star sector, a new era will begin for Fridayman mech designers. I do not know whether I will still take part in such an era."

"Didn\'t you just tell me earlier that we need to be loyal and help the Vermeer Group and the Friday Coalition?!"

"I did, but that is not a reason for mech designers to permanently remain attached to a state that no longer provides as much assistance to their future growth and research." Olson said. "It is not forbidden for us to hold selfish desires. The people of our profession seek to make progress, and if we cannot find it in our home region, then we must look elsewhere."

The younger man reacted with mild shock. In their many talks about the future, he had never heard Master Olson suggest that she might leave the Friday Coalition and settle elsewhere!

"Are you… thinking about moving to the Red Ocean?"

"Not necessarily, but it is a potential destination." The older woman replied. "I can also find opportunities elsewhere in the old galaxy. My decision will heavily rely on the results of my current research. The greater my results, the greater my value. I hope to earn access to better opportunities in both the old galaxy and the new frontier, but only after I have helped the Vermeer Group rise from its current difficulties."

"I see… What if… the Vermeer Group can\'t get out of trouble?"

"What are you referring to, Oleg?"

The younger mech designer nervously fiddled with his hands. "I have been hearing more and more rumors about a possible civil war. There is a story going around that suggests that the Gauge Dynasty thinks it is everyone else\'s fault that the Sundered Phalanx suffered a massive defeat in Pima Prime. Whatever the case, the Gaugers are hopping mad and they are taking it out on everyone else."

Master Olson was not ignorant of this development. She possessed more information channels than most, and she also happened to play a secret role in the Battle of Pima Prime.

"The Gaugers are engaging in theatrics as usual, Oleg. Do not believe in the rumors without applying your logic to the situation as I have taught. The Gauge Dynasty may have become stronger than ever, but it will lose far more than it can gain by fracturing the Friday Coalition. Not only will the dynasty lose its holdings in the Friday Colonies, it will also redivide the Komodo Star Sector and regress it to a condition where a costly and destructive war may erupt once again. None of the coalition partners can bear this cost, especially when outside parties are waiting to take advantage of our continuing depletion of strength."

"Oh. You are right. Do you think that Ves will help and take our side if a civil war ever erupts?"

Olson shook her head. "He is more likely to derive amusement at our misfortune."