The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1031

At first, Ves felt ecstatic about Professor Ventag’s offer. Which young mech designer didn’t wish to collaborate with a renowned Senior?

Yet after becoming aware of the political implications of accepting the offer, Ves began to view it as a poisoned chalice. Would the benefits still outweigh the costs?

Fortunately, Professor Ventag didn’t insist on an immediate answer. He calmly waited as Ves thought through the implications of the offer at his own pace. Such a major decision always required a good amount of consideration. The Senior’s respect for Ves would take an immediate nosedive if the latter accepted the offer on an impulse.

First, Ves needed to decide whether it would be a good idea for Ves to to draw himself to the professor’s camp.

Right now, Professor Ventag and NORA Consolidated possessed two major associations. They were connected to both the DCTI and the Tovar Family.

If Ves and the LMC collaborated with Ventag and NORA even for a single time, it would immediately signal to the mech industry that he had taken the DCTI’s side.

While he would doubtlessly enjoy several benefits if he enjoyed the support of the DCTI, was it worth it for him to be on the opposite side of the AUMD?

Instinctively, Ves still wanted to remain out of the catfight between the two major institutions on Bentheim. Yet rationally, he had to admit that he would never be able to get in the good graces with the AUMD. His background and his current associations already disqualified him from entering their inner circle.

Since Ves would never be able to become friends with the AUMD, why not throw his lot with their main rival instead?

Enjoying the DCTI’s backing would doubtlessly strengthen the LMC’s position in Bentheim and the Republic’s mech industry. He would have access to better suppliers, enjoy better protection in the market and open up opportunities for further collaboration with worthy colleagues.

Therefore, in exchange for closing the extremely minute and unlikely opportunity to become friendly with the AUMD, Ves would be better off cashing his chips with the DCTI immediately while Professor Ventag was still in a generous mood.

However, the DCTI was not an independent institution. The higher school in turn enjoyed heavy support from certain factions within the government, particularly the Tovar Family. If Ves threw his lot with the DCTI, he indirectly moved closer into Senator Tovar’s camp as well. This was an even heavier implication that would permanently color Ves’ standing within the Bright Republic!

Still, Senator Tovar seemed to favor him increasingly more. Was it really such a bad choice to accept the senator’s generosity, especially since he already benefited substantially from his earlier rewards?

A lot of people would kill to catch Senator Tovar’s attention and favor. Ves had a leg up from the rest with his various exploits, the most important of which was being instrumental in helping the old man prolong his life! Such a gift was of an incalculable amount of value, so Camden Tovar already thought of Ves quite fondly.

While Ves did not have any interest in becoming involved in any of the five founder families, he figured he would be propelled into their circle sooner or later as his company grew and became increasingly more prominent. If he followed a normal trajectory, he would have to work long and hard to become appreciated by any of the families.

Why not skip that tedious process and make a preemptive move in the direction of the Tovar Family? With the favor bestowed by their patriarch, Ves possessed enough confidence that he wouldn’t be mistreated by the family.

Ves did not care about the DCTI. He did not care about the ambitions of the Tovar Family. This was purely a profit and benefit-driven decision. Whether the Tovar Family or Ramzi Family approached him first, he wasn’t too picky who he ended up with. Right now, the Tovars had special reasons to favor Ves. Why not strike while the iron was hot and secure this favor?

The warning given by Major Verle rang increasingly hollow to Ves. If there was anything he learned since his return to the Bright Republic, it was that he inevitably needed political support if he wanted to get a leg up from the competition.

Major Verle served the Republic first and foremost. Whether as an agent of Flashlight or a mech officer of the Mech Corps, he only held a middle position which didn’t expose him to the necessities to maintain a higher position in society. His opinions were mainly colored by the decisions and actions he witnesses from the higher ups.

No offense to Major Verle, but Ves stood at the cusp of taking a step ahead in society. Of course he needed to take a different approach in matters that ordinarily vexed those with inferior positions.

"Professor." Ves spoke up after five minutes of silent deliberations. "Please elaborate on the form this collaboration will take. I’d like to hear more about the process you have in mind."

Asking for clarification bought Ves some time and filled up the increasingly tense silence between the two mech designers.

Professor Ventag was happy to oblige. "Collaboration between mech designers can take many forms. I’m sure you’re already aware of the basic forms. My involvement can be as extensive as you like depending on the form of collaboration."

"Can you provide me with some examples, professor?"

"The collaboration between two mech designers, especially of unequal ability, can take on a form that exist in a spectrum of involvement by the more able mech designer. If you aren’t confident yet that you can live up to the standard expected from NORA Consolidated, you can be in charge of drafting a sketch of your mech concept and I will flesh it out into a complete technically-sound design while taking your input into account. If you want to take complete control, you can design your mech from start to finish while I can supervise your progress from a distance."

"Those are two very extreme examples." Ves noted. They also didn’t sound very suitable for him even though he felt a great attraction towards the latter possibility. "What about the forms of collaboration that falls in between?"