The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1050

Once Kester Hills got over the attack, the peace talks slowly resumed. Most people affected by the poison recovered without any complications. All of the sabotaged equipment had either been patched up or replaced with more secure gear.

Security practically tripled overnight. Mechs openly patrolled in the outskirts of the retreat without any concern of distressing the members of the delegations with their close proximity.

Frankly, the presence of mechs reassured them. They were much more difficult but not impossible to sabotage, as demonstrated previously when men on the inside scrambled their operating systems.

The Honored Ones were still rooting out the units assigned to secure Kester Hills for treacherous agents.

Even though the peace talks suffered a major interruption that almost threatened to break them off entirely, the negotiators who resumed the negotiations didn’t act very reserved despite the absence of their former leaders.

Not everyone knew what exactly happened Colonel Xelven and Count Reginald. Only a couple of people included Ves knew that their decapitated heads had been brought back to a specialized Reinaldan medical facility elsewhere on Harkensen II to attach them back onto healthy bodies.

Even with the best care the Reinaldans could offer, it would take at least a couple of months to to insure a complete and healthy reattachment.

As for Ves, he mostly spent his time in his quarters brooding by himself. He wanted some alone time to clear his mind and go over recent events.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Venerable Foster wanted to meet him anymore. Ever since he used her as a human shield and surprised her with some of his tricks, she no longer wanted to hang out for him for some reason.

Ves chuckled to himself. "Of course she hates me now. Not that it’s any different from before."

This didn’t really result in any consequences to him. Ves had the feeling that he had served his use in the delegation. He was a spent card, and so was Venerable Foster. His previous obligation of trying to connect with the Vesians seemed like a giant joke in hindsight. The senator never brought him along to make friends with the Vesians in the first place.

"I’m merely a wildcard who can be put into play when every other card is neutralized."

Senator Tovar kept the rest of his cards close to his chest, revealing little to Ves. This prompted him to spend his time in contemplation by guessing what kind of scheme the senator and prince were running.

"Both of them are aware that they drew the attention of enemies within their own states." Ves observed. "They made several precautions while they waited for their enemies to make a move."

He made another important observation. Though Ves mostly stayed in his quarters, he did hear some gossip every now and then when he went out to eat. The negotiators quickly came to an agreement on the intractable Bentheim issue. It only took two days after the attack for them to settle for a compromise that forced the Bright Republic to concede a small but unspecified amount of tax revenue to the Vesia Kingdom for the next decade!

"Before the attack, the peace talks have stalled for several weeks without a solution in sight. How can they get over their differences so easily all of a sudden?"

By now, the negotiators already moved on to finalizing the issue of settling the ownership of dozens of star systems in the border regions. The brisk pace discomforted everyone, but some were glad that they wouldn’t be forced to stick around for months.

Ves had the feeling that everything that happened before was theater in a sense. The threats and ultimatums flinging in every direction served to give the mistaken impression that the Brighter and Vesian peace delegations didn’t get along.

"If the conspirators struck during this tenuous period, they can easily deflect the blame to the peace delegations."

The peace talks would certainly break under a tide of mutual accusations and suspicion. It didn’t matter at that point if they believed that others were behind the attacks.

However, the conspirators made two mistakes.

First, they didn’t completely account for the wildcards in play. Venerable Foster’s presence limited many convenient options. Ves’ presence spoiled the key part of their elaborate operation.

The second mistake was that they made a move when Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester specifically stared at their domestic enemies. Ves threw out a guess that Flashlight kept an eye on the Ramza Family and other powerful families and organizations within the Bright Republic.

However much Ves found Flashlight to be abhorrent, he did not doubt their competence. No matter how much the others hid their actions, once Flashlight put their mind to it, they got what they wanted.

Once Senator Tovar and Prince Colchester identified their foes and gathered evidence of their misdeeds, they abandoned the puppet show that previously took place. The glacial pace of the peace talks abruptly entered into a sprint, and it looked as if a peace treaty might be formed by the end of the week!

The depth of thinking behind the senator and the prince astounded Ves. "Their plotting is first-class! While everyone was thinking three moves ahead at most, they were thinking six moves ahead!"

What Ves speculated so far only formed the tip of the iceberg regarding the depth of Tovar and Colchester’s plans. The peace talks only formed one component of their master plan.

So far, Ves did not think this plan merely aimed to achieve a momentary peace between the Bright Republic and Vesia Kingdom. The two old men were laying the groundwork for something much larger.

Right now, Ves was too far removed from power to even make a guess of what the endgame would look like. What grand design did these two statesmen have in mind for their respective states?