The Mech Touch novel Chapter 615

It shouldn’t have been possible for someone to obtain the contact details of a military-issued comm. By default, they blocked all incoming contacts from unknown sources. This prevented the comm from being influenced by malicious code and annoying ads.

Not even most of the Vandals possessed the privileges to send a message to his comm. The only ones who possessed the necessary qualifications would either have to be a chief technician, a mech designer or a senior officer. As for the rank-and-file, Ves wasn’t interested in hearing them out.

For Calabast to obtain his contact details, she either retained the services of an extremely skilled hacker, or she accessed the comm of one of those people mentioned above.

Ves grimaced even further. Calabast not only had the ability to contact him willy-nilly, she also knew about their escape plan. "The thing is, even if there’s an issue with The Big Breakout, why are you approaching me of all people?"

"Don’t overvalue yourself. You’re not the only one who we’ve approached." Calabast replied with a calm smirk. "Even without your assistance, my goals can still be met. Contacting you is just an afterthought."

Though it was hard to determine Calabast’s intentions, his intuition told him she was mixing truth with lies. His business sense told him that Calabast attempted to gain the upper hand in an upcoming negotiation.

A negotiation meant a bargaining process. Each side wanted something from the other side, but neither side was aware of each other’s limits. The best negotiations resulted in a win-win situation for both sides. However, if one side bargained too well while the other side let themselves get ripped off, a win-lose situation could easily occur.

An important weapon in any bargaining process was information. If one side possessed more information about the limits and intentions of the other side, they gained an inestimable advantage. They could use their superior information to extract the maximum amount of value out of the other side while minimizing the price they needed to pay in return. _{freewēbnoveℓ.com}

Right now, Ves knew that he possessed a very distinct disadvantage in this area. Even as the temporary head designer of the Vandal task force, Major Verle had never initiated Ves into his inner circle.

The Vandals of the outer circle usually played fast and loose with the rules. However, it was a very different matter when it came to the inner circle. Each member of the inner circle kept their lips sealed on the secrets they learned. If not for being more perceptive than others, Ves would have never been aware of this undercurrent hiding underneath the mech regiment’s facade.

"Miss Calabast, let’s not be too obtuse here. You contacting me definitely means you’re out to get something from me. I’m not too keen on interacting with a suspected terrorist such as you. The blood on your hands must be enough to fill Harkensen I’s oceans."

The woman carefully maintained her expression. She did not exhibit a single micro-expression on her face, a sign of extremely diligent training. "There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Whatever you think about me, it won’t benefit you at all if you keep up your hostility to me. Let me remind you that The Big Breakout that your allies are brewing in the dark can only succeed in a single shot. Once you fail, the Reinaldans won’t let those spacecraft linger at Tecev City’s spaceport."

She had a good point. The most important requirement to the plan was to use misdirection to draw the attention of the Reinaldans away from the spaceport. Though they would never let up their patrols around the strategic location, for now they believed that the mechs they had already stationed there possessed enough strength to deter anyone with greedy intentions.

Ves already knew that at this moment, the masterminds incited other groups to stir up trouble at various points in Tecev City. For a short time, the garrison mechs stationed in the city would be drawn away from the spaceport.

"If you’re so concerned about the viability of The Big Breakout, you should be talking to Captain Orfan, not me. I don’t possess a lot of decision-making power among the Vandals."

Calabast snorted contemptuously at the mention of the mech captain. "I like to engage with someone rational. A neanderthal like Captain Orfan won’t be able to get around my identity."

"That’s because she’s able to recognize you’re a snake."

"Why, I take that as a compliment." Calabast grinned at Ves. "Blunt objects such as Captain Orfan are good if you want to employ a hammer at your problems. Yet they aren’t so handy when it comes to complex issues. The Reinaldan blockade is absolutely not so simple. From my perspective, The Big Breakout at its current form is doomed from the start. Without our help, you will not be able to depart from this planet with your freedom intact."

Ves still maintained some skepticism. "The Reinald Republic isn’t hostile to the Bright Republic. Even if they throw us in jail, we’ll only be stuck for a couple of months at most. Maybe if I’m lucky, I can ride out the rest of the war in a comfortable cell."

"How shortsighted!" Calabast humphed. "You really don’t know anything, do you? Perhaps you don’t see the harm in being held back in Reinaldan custody, but let me tell you, everything the Flagrant Vandals have been working towards will be in vain! All those battles and all those sacrifices, and for what? To give the Vesians a bloody nose? Ask yourself if those casualties are worth the price for the gains the Vandals have accomplished so far."

Up to now, the Vandals won several battles and skirmishes over the Vesians. However, their impact in the greater war was much less significant. The biggest gain had been to pierce the Vesia Kingdom’s belief in their own infallibility. The Vandals had shown them in a brutal fashion that their interior wasn’t as safe as they thought.

The victories also affected the morale of both sides. The confidence of the Bright Republic had received a much-needed boost at the right time.

In many ways, determining whether the sacrifices had been worth it was very difficult to judge. To Ves, it seemed the Vandals had suffered a lot on behalf of the Bright Republic, but only obtained some scraps in return.

To the selfish Flagrant Vandals, they would never work to the death for the benefit of others.

"I’m still reserving my judgement, but I’m willing to hear you out." Ves cautiously said. "What is it that you want?"

Calabast paused for a moment. Instead the comm suddenly broke connection.