Chapter 7448  Desperate Pushback

Ves sighed and scratched the side of his head.

Calabast sure made his life more complicated. Her information always turned a clear lake into a turbid cesspool.

His impression of the Terran Alliance had dropped. He previously thought that no matter how divided the Terran ancient clans may be, they maintained enough harmony to have the situation well in hand.

Now, that may no longer be the case as the Terran Star Designers developed greater ambitions.

They no longer remained satisfied with their positions as the patrons and elders of their people and nation.

They sought to secure real power, wealth and influence by controlling the levers of power of the Terran Alliance.

It did not matter if they chose a different direction from the infamous Polymath, who directly took over Bridgehead One and crowned herself as the Cybernetic Empress!

The Grand Mender and the Armsforger evidently decided to play a more civilized game. To Star Designers like them, it did not matter too much if they held all of the power in the open. They could still enjoy many of the benefits that mattered if they exerted their control through proxies.

Doing so would allow them to avoid the backlash suffered by the Polymath. They would also be able to maintain the support and approval of the supporting Terran clans, whose influence and foundations still remained formidable for the most part.

Ves had been blind to all of this, but now that Calabast had revealed this game, it seemed so obvious to him now. He couldn't believe that he had been so blind to miss all of the signs.

"So the Grand Mender and the Armsforger are secretly fighting for control over the Terran Alliance." Ves uttered. "That doesn't sound very fun. I would have thought that it was best for them to form a united front in order to prop up their colonial star empire during these trying times."

"Star Designers have strong visions on how the future should be." Calabast stated. "Do not misunderstand this conflict. My impression is that they have not fallen out entirely. The two are anything but archenemies. Perhaps it is better to characterize them as rivals, similar to how Saint Commander Casella Ingvar is competing against Saint General Ark Larkinson for leadership in the clan. When they are confronting external parties, the two Terran Star Designers will present a united front. It is only when they are vying for power within the Terran Alliance that they have become opponents."

This did not sound particularly strange. Ves was familiar with the setup.

The temptation was great for one party to cheat and rely on outside help in order to gain an advantage, but that same party might end up suffering an enormous backlash if revealed!

Ves suddenly understood the awkward position that the Light of Sol had found himself in. He was probably not in bed with either Star Designer, but could not abstain his vote forever due to his identity as a Terran.

"I have a feeling that the Light of Sol is not entirely neutral on this issue." He voiced his opinion. "I am not quite sure where he stands, though. In some ways, he is the arch-typical stuffy straight-backed Terran who greatly respects the old traditions. In other ways, he is known for pushing boundaries. His god mech wouldn't have become the fastest among its kind if he rigidly stuck to the rules all of the time. He exemplifies the contradiction inherent among modern Terrans. He maintains a hazy balance between respecting the old while embracing the new."

Calabast smiled in amusement. "That is a good assessment of his public deeds and words. Whether he truly fits your description is another matter. In any case, we do not have enough intelligence at our disposal that can reveal his inclinations. Some of my analysts believe he is backing the Steel Coalition. They believe that the Light of Sol is too concerned about the stability of the Terran Alliance to allow the elves to go too far."

"What do you think, Calabast?" Ves pointedly asked. "I have a feeling that you are not taking this side."

"You guessed correctly. Bravo. I indeed disagree with this analysis. My guess is that the Light of Sol is at least somewhat supportive of the Green Coalition."

"Reason?"

The woman spread her arms. "For one, the Light of Sol spends the most time at the frontlines of any Terran soldier. He has witnessed a large amount of death and slaughter, much of which he is responsible for. Such experiences can change a person, even if he is a human god. I believe, though not without proof, that such a god pilot who has assumed the mantle of guardian over the Terran Alliance is desperate for change. The Steel Coalition believes that the Terrans can achieve victory by staying true to their old ideals. That may not be enough anymore. The Green Coalition risks going too far, but at least its members are being proactive about achieving a decisive victory. The Green Belt is the first real plan that the Terrans have come up with that has a realistic possibility of realizing this outcome."

Though her arguments consisted of speculation, Calabast was one of the best people readers that Ves knew of. If she believed that the Light of Sol had been thinking in this direction, then there was a decent chance that was right!

Of course, who knew what god pilots actually thought. They had become so far removed from their mortal thinking patterns that it would folly for anyone to make a 100 percent prediction!

The logic still held up, though. Ves did not think that the Light of Sol was irrational enough to deliberately make life harder for himself.

"There is another clue that fits in this story." The spymaster continued. "I have learned that the Streons are just about to embark on a risky operation with the help of the Cybernetic Empire's so-called Greater Translocation Gate. It is considerably risky for the famous Renewer of Terra and a large proportion of his elite forces to be the first to commence a deep strike operation. This is especially the case when the Polymath and her subjects have just upgraded the aforementioned gate with superdimensional matter. The Streons should have waited until the Cybers had concluded their tests. The fact that they are not willing to wait for this prudent step indicates that they are driven by urgency."

Ves rubbed his hairless chin in thought. "According to you, the Streons have sided with the Steel Coalition. General Axelar Streon hopes to find a breakthrough opportunity by venturing deep into enemy space. If he succeeds, then he can become the second god pilot of the Terran Alliance. He will gain so much power and influence that he can not only give the Steel Coalition a powerful voice, but also take over as its leader if he wishes!"

"Oh, he will make a try for leadership, that is for certain." Calabast said. "He is a crusader. While he is likely opposed to the elven initiative, he has plenty of reforms in mind that are not as extreme."

Star Designers could never win a popularity contest against god pilots in general.

There were exceptions, of course, but that did not apply to the Armsforger.

His Excellency Lucas Nayald possessed a lot of prestige in the mech industry and the greater mech community, but possessed much less relevance outside of these spheres.

God pilots did not have this problem. They always enjoyed a great amount of publicity, and their deeds were much more visually impressive.

This meant that if the Renewer of Terra truly ascended to godhood, he had a very realistic chance to become the foremost authority of the Terran Alliance!

Of course, there was still his predecessor.

"I think I know what you mean." Ves said in thought. "General Axelar Streon is desperate to become a god pilot because he fears that if he does not gain enough power, the Terran Alliance may potentially deteriorate before his eyes. If the Light of Sol is already leaning towards the Green Coalition, then the elves will gain dominance in the upper echelons. If the Streons want to stop this from happening, they need to produce a god pilot before the fastest god pilot has decided to voice his support."

"Correct. This is why I believe that the Terrans on every side have decided to hold their breaths until the outcome of the Streon Ancient Clan's expedition is known. Success will boost the influence of the Steel Coalition. Failure will pave the way for the Green Coalition eventual dominance."

Ves felt the onset of another headache. He had no idea that this Terran game ran this deep.

"What a mess." He muttered. "The worst part about it all is that I am tied to both coalitions. On the one hand, I maintain good relations with General Axelar Streon and the Streon Ancient Clan. On the other hand, I have cooperated closely with pretty much every member of the Green Coalition to get the Arboreal Project off the ground. I don't want to displease the friends I have made on either side of this political divide."

Calabast gave him an encouraging look. "If your goal is to avoid getting caught up in this whirlpool, then I advise you to not get involved any more than you have to. That is it. You have already been warned not to wade into this Terran mudpool. For once in your life, you should do what you are told like a good boy. You are a Terran and neither is the Larkinson Clan. We should remember our identity as a foreign party and maintain an appropriate distance from Terran internal affairs. It will simply be harder for you to do so given your enormous role in the development of Woodsap mechs and your ongoing relations with the Streons. It may be a good idea for you and the forces of the Larkinson Clan to vacate this side of human-occupied space once we have concluded your Nemesis Campaign."

That sounded like a good idea to Ves. He had already spent plenty of time among the Terrans. Once he completed the Arboreal Project in full, there should be no more compelling reasons for him to stick around.

It would actually be better if he relocated to the other parts of human-occupied space in order to cooperate more effectively with his other collaboration partners.

Ves had a strong desire to work on Polymetal mechs next, which meant that he needed to return to the Red Ocean Union and work together with the mechers for a couple of months.

Fortunately, the development of the Arboreal Project already taught him a lot of lessons about developing a more advanced version of the Carmine System.

Although Polymetal mechs used a very different substance than Woodsap as the binding medium, many design solutions still remained universal or easily adaptable.

This should cut back on the time he needed to develop a working and stable version of the Polymetal System.

"Thank you for advice, Calabast."

"You misunderstand me, Ves. You heard a solution. It is not my preferred one."

"What?"

"I only told you to evade this issue if you want to avoid the consequences of getting it wrong." She began to smirk. "However, if you play your cards correctly, you stand a chance to become a potential kingmaker of the Terran Alliance. You will not only be able to earn a massive amount of influence, but also gain a solid foundation among the Terrans. Wealth, territory and influence will be at your fingertips. Before you dismiss the benefits, think of how many advantages you enjoyed when you collaborated with the Terrans on the Arboreal Project. How much are you willing to bet if you can potentially enjoy this level of R&D support on a permanent basis? You will no longer be dependent on the limited capabilities of your clan, which has struggled to keep up with your pace of development."

"..."

She had raised a very good point.