The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1744

Chapter 1744 Empty Quarters

"Calabast. I haven't seen you for a while."

Her projection looked around to observe the ruined bridge. Though the cleaning bots had done their best to clean up the bodies and debris, the melted surfaces and the torn holes still told a vivid story.

"I'll keep this short, Ves." She said. "It took a lot of effort to establish this encrypted channel, and it is only effective for a couple of minutes."

Ves frowned. "How?"

"It's complicated. Suffice to say, you need a way to obtain an inside connection to the Comm Consortium."

Comm Consortium! Even with his muted emotions, Ves couldn't help but feel shocked!

This was an organization that governed every quantum communication node! It oversaw pretty much the entire galactic communication network with its vast web of instantaneous communication channels!

How Calabast managed to make an arrangement with someone inside the Comm Consortium was a mystery.

"Why go through this trouble?"

"To explain myself, and to transmit some helpful data to you. As we speak, I'm transferring some software that you can install in the Scarlet Rose's operating system. You will need this to close some of the more difficult backdoors and loopholes. I've also included some helpful programs that will help you in masking the identity of the Scarlet Rose and falsify her transponders. It won't fool determined bounty hunters, but it will help you in attracting less attention from incidental bystanders."

That sounded very welcome to Ves. His disappointment towards her subsided a little, but it wasn't enough!

"Can I get some actual help?" He pushed. "I could use some actual crew to run this ship! I could also use some escorts to bring me to safety."

"We're working on that, Ves. Gloriana and I have been exploring our options, but we can't give you anything concrete. You'll have to fend for yourself for the time being."

Her vague reply did not satisfy Ves at all. He grimaced even further.

"Why didn't you warn me about General Cavendish's plot?"

"I've already said that my intelligence network hasn't penetrated the state level." Calabast answered in an exasperated tone. "I admit that I've underestimated the conspiracy some of these state actors have hatched. I've already adjusted my organization to detect these plots faster, but don't expect too much from us. My operation can never match the effort of a state."

"What were you even doing during this time?"

"I was preparing an opportunity for you, Ves. Didn't you want to break into a second-rate mech market? Among other actions, I've approached various entities and managed to obtain a positive response from a group that is interested in your mechs."

"Let me guess. They're Hexers, right?"

She grinned. "Naturally. Did you think I would offer you to design a mech for the Fridaymen?"

Though Ves absolutely refused to do any favors for the Friday Coalition after everything that Aisling Curver had done, that didn't mean he was open to designing mechs for the Hexadric Hegemony!

"I didn't ask for this, Calabast."

"I know you had plans to offer your services to the second-rate states from Vicious Mountain, but you don't have a foundation there. It's better to start closer home. Gloriana fully supports our initiative."

"Didn't you forget that I'm a man? How could I ever break into the Hegemony's mech market? All designs have to be vetted by the Hexers!"

"This is why you need the cooperation of Gloriana. As long as she takes responsibility for your work, most Hexers won't pay too much attention that a boy is the actual lead designer. The downside is that you won't earn as much credit as you deserve."

Ves hadn't even considered designing a Hexer mech at this point. However, due to the need to earn Constance Wodin's approval, he really needed this opportunity, so he did not reject Calabast's assistance.

"Can you give me more details?"

She shook her head. "It will only distract you from your current priorities. Let's wait until you are safe before considering your future options."

After discussing a few more important matters, Calabast ended the encrypted call.

Ves fell silent as he leaned his back against the captain's chair he replaced. The old one got wrecked when he bombarded the prior captain of the ship with an excess of energy damage.

Though Ves agreed that it was too premature to think about designing a mech for the Hexers, he couldn't help but question what exactly Calabast arranged for him and Gloriana.

The Hegemony's mech market was not as free and unbridled as most other economies. The Hexers deferred to their matriarchs to decide whether a mech design was a good addition to the market.

While this vastly reduced the amount of products for sale in the Hegemony, the quality of them tended to be very high!

Of course, one of the downsides of this was that Novices and Apprentices barely had room to breathe in their domestic mech industry. While the Hexers implemented various policies to avoid starving them to death, it was undeniable that the Friday Coalition offered much more fertile ground to the younger generation of mech designers.

Ves knew that Gloriana managed to beat the odds by specializing in a very small niche. There was always demand for custom mechs. Even if she didn't manage to attract any customers, she could always gain more experience by designing mechs for the Wodin Dynasty!

While Gloriana already developed a presence in the Hegemony's mech industry, she didn't actually possess that much commercial experience.

Ves expected that it would take some years for him to offer his products to the Hexers. Right now, he still had much to learn before he came close to reaching an adequate degree of familiarity with second-class mechs.

"What kind of mech do I even want to design?" He asked.

This question had been plaguing him for a while. Ever since he completed the Deliverer, he no longer saw any need to intervene in the Sand War again.

Outside of this destructive conflict, the states in the region shouldn't be eager to fight on a massive scale. Wars and skirmishes would certainly diminish as the survivors poured most of their energy into rebuilding what they lost and taking over the territories scoured by the sandmen.

This was why Ves already considered stepping up to a second-class mech market. All of the low-level friction that took place in the third-rate states did not interest him at all, especially after he experienced the Sand War.

Taking part in the Komodo War sounded much more interesting, though this conflict was fought at a much higher level than Ves was used to! Without a compelling and technically-sound mech design, he would never be able to break into the market!

Right now, Ves still needed to supplement his knowledge and hurry up in gaining all of the competences necessary to design a second-class mech!