The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7146

Chapter 7146: 40 Hours

The negotiation between the Dark Apostle and Ves progressed smoother than expected.

That did not mean that both sides got hung up over a few outrageous demands.

To Ves, the thought of surrendering 40 standard hours per standard week sounded like an intolerable surrender of autonomy. Why should he give up so much precious time when he was doing fine when he ignored his alter ego’s existence?

The Dark Apostle did not think so. He graciously let Ves retain ownership of the 128 hours of the remainder of the week. He had made an enormous concession by giving up any attempt at establishing a more equitable distribution.

"Quit complaining, you weakling. If I had my way, I would have demanded you give me 84 hours of time to control our divinely sculpted body, but your many friends would probably object to that. 40 hours is my only demand as well as my bottom line. If you do not give me enough time to actually enjoy this life that the heavens bestowed upon me, then we may as well call off the deal right away, because I would know that you have no intention of treating me sincerely. 40 hours is the minimum of uptime that I deserve for not trying to usurp control."

Ves had little choice but to accept this sum if he wanted the Dark Apostle to play along. The repercussions were great, especially if the alternate personality started to walk around with a giant version of his own face. He would have to inform a lot of people and make sure they could distinguish who was dominant at any time.

In order to claw back a measure of control, Ves began to demand access and control over the Phase Lord Department.

"No matter whether you call yourself the Dark Apostle, you will be running around with my face and true body. As far as the public is concerned, Ves Larkinson has become the department head of the Phase Lord Department. This should at least give me a measure of control over the Ascended Giants. Look, I will do my best to avoid stepping on your toes when it comes to your own arrangements, but I want to be involved in the decision-making concerning R&D into phasewater organs and the kind of assignments that the Ascended Giants should undertake."

"The Ascended Giants are mine!"

"No, they are ours. My name is on the records. Those who remain ignorant of our... condition will assume that I am in charge. I want to be at least partially truthful when I deal with these people. Besides, I do not think that anyone can ever trust a human phase lord with an ideology as radical as yours with complete control over the Phase Lord Department. Give me partial authority and the Red Collective will rest much easier."

The two haggled a lot on how to share authority over the Phase Lord Department.

The outcome eventually favored the solutions proposed by Ves, if only slightly.

The deal they made about the department was a bit complex and lacked definition. They just made a general agreement that the Dark Apostle was the overall leader, while Ves turned into a vice leader of sorts who could issue a large range orders to the mortal staff but possessed much more limited authority when it came to commanding the Ascended Giants.

In order to help Ves gain more control over the less exciting parts of the Phase Lord department, the Dark Apostle had to permit the RC to insert a lot more handpicked staff into the hierarchy of the Phase Lord Department.

The infusion of new blood that had not been brainwashed would ensure that the middle and lower ranks of the department would remain in line with the policies of the Red Collective.

The reason why Ves felt so keen on this demand was because he wanted to make sure he could steer the Phase Lord Department by managing its staff.

This was a rather sneaky way for Ves as well as other RC leaders such as the Patient Builder to exert control over the Phase Lord Department.

The Dark Apostle was most definitely smart and observant enough to be aware of this trick, but he did not put up too many objections.

It was not always the best idea to point out hidden traps and implicit concessions. Both sides were better off if they left certain arrangements unspoken.

The Dark Apostle proved to be quite good at judging what he could get away with. The strategic value of the Phase Lord Department was great. With a roster of 361 human phase lords, anyone who controlled the department held enough martial might to reconquer half a zone from the native aliens.

Given how much destructive power he may have at his disposal soon, a degree of oversight and supervision was mandatory if the Dark Apostle wanted to remain in the good books of the Red Collective.

He hated the RC very much for being so fractured and so deferential to mortals, but he knew that cooperating with the collies was a necessary evil if he wanted to keep his ambitions alive.

The Dark Apostle was astute enough to realize that it would not be great if the Ascended Giants became isolated from the rest of red humanity.

The human phase lords needed access to lots of phasewater, high-tech products, logistical vsupport and more.

He and his men would be able to grow considerably faster and gain more influence in the Red Ocean if the RC kept fulfilling their needs.

In order to make that possible, the Dark Apostle forced himself to let the weak and pathetic humans take care of logistics and other tedious affairs.

He ’reluctantly’ agreed that Ves and the officers of the RC embedded into the hierarchy would be able to steer the Phase Lord Department in various ways, most notably by influencing the mortal staff.

Direct contradiction had to be avoided at all costs, but was that truly possible?

Neither Ves nor the Dark Apostle thought so. There were just too many areas where both could butt heads against each other.

"This is not going to be an easy agreement to uphold."

"It is still better than the alternatives."

This was a messy agreement that could lead to fights between Ves and his alter ego down the line. They had little choice but to deal with those problems when they occurred.

"There is one more subject we need to discuss."

"And what is that?" Blinky began to circle above the human phase lord’s head.

"Battle. Assuming that I win the leadership challenge and take control over the Ascending Giants, I cannot send them off into battle while I remain in the rear. If I want to maintain my authority over them, I have to step onto the battlefield in person and inspire them with my strength. If I do not do so, they will mount another leadership challenge in time."

Ves also did not like what he heard. "I am not eager to throw my true body onto the battlefield, especially in situations where it is not needed."

"I do not care how you feel, weakling. What matters is that when a serious fight takes place, you should take a step back and let me take charge over our body. I can contribute much more on the battlefield than a mech designer like you. It is not as if you have a habit of designing and fabricating mechs mid-battle. Your work is only relevant before and after a battle has occurred. I have no problem with what you do during those times. Just give me control during the rare times when my forces and yours enter into a conflict against serious opponents."

"Ugh, fine. I will let you take control when we are involved in a battle. However, I don’t want you to push me out entirely. The collies are currently working on a solution that will allow me to maintain my awareness and continue to use Blinky as a vessel outside of this ritual chamber. This is one of the special measures that is designed to give us an advantage when we start the leadership challenge. Both of us have to work together in order to defeat at least 2 out of the 4 leaders of the Ascended giants."

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