Chapter 6209 The Unwilling Politician.


    "Bing the highest ranking official of the Red Collective is not a done deal, boss." Gavin said. "If you can figure out the Evolution Witch''s scheme, then others have deduced her ns a long time ago. She has many rivals and opponents at the top of our society, so she will not be able to get her way on everything. In fact, she is often considered to be on the more extreme end of the political spectrum. She advocates for extreme changes with reduced oversight. Ever since she became unleashed in the Red Ocean, she has be an Unbounder in all but name. That tends to ruffle many feathers. The Red Association and the Red Fleet have not shaken off the vestiges of the Age of Conquest just yet. There is still a group that advocates for restraint and moderation. They will be the main source of opposition towards any attempt to put you in the highest seat."


    Ves didn''t know how to feel about that. "You know, I might not actually dislike it if I am denied the highest seat. It is not as if I was asking for it in the first ce. A part of me even wishes that they seed in their obstruction."


    "Are you sure you want to say that out loud?"


    "Pff! It''s fine. If the Evolution Witch ever hears what I have said, then she will appreciate my candor. It is always better to be truthful to a god pilot."


    Gavin couldn''t quite understand why Ves rejected this arrangement so much.


    "Ves, I understand your concerns about upying a position that is outside of your realm ofpetence, but don''t you realize how much this will enhance your reputation and career? Even if you are only able to hold onto your office for a year, your name will forever be in the history books for being the founder and initial leader of the Red Collective. You will amass a following that will continue to support you in both good times and bad times. You will also be more eligible to upy lesser but still fairly influential leadership positions in the future."


    "All of that sounds interesting… if I aspired to be a politician." Ves tly responded. "I am a mech designer. I am busy with a lot of important mech design projects. I have no interest to waste my brainpower on wheeling and dealing, something which the leader of the Red Collective must do all the time due to the highly decentralized and fractured nature of this organization."


    "Your concerns are valid, but would you prefer to let a third party with unpredictable demands such as the Evolution Witch or other individual shape this powerful organization, or would you rather take full control by doing everything yourself?"


    Ves rightfully possessed a lot of concerns about surrendering control over his own life to others.


    He knew that if other people managed to upy the highest seat of the Red Collective, he or she gained plenty of official authority to meddle in Ves'' life and many works, including the ones that he did not want to expose to the public!


    Ves furrowed his brows. His determination wavered a bit. There were arguments that were in favor and against aspiring to be the leader of the Red Collective.


    "I… don''t know. Let''s just see how this goes. I won''t try to be stupid by acting like an idiot so that no one wants to put me in charge. However, I am not going to go out of my way to schmooze with the other councilors in an attempt to earn their vote of support. I am just going to behave like I usually do. Whether I seed or fail, people will at least be able to make an urate judgment about myself."


    His assistant looked disappointed, but he did not try to persuade Ves to change his mind.


    "If that is what you wish. I do not think this is the most optimal decision you can make, but it is possible that you will be able to win people over through your sincerity."


    Ves dismissively waved his hand. "Enough about this crap. Help me prepare for the next council session. The Red Tide Offensive has caused a lot of disruptions, but I haven''t heard anything about the next session being postponed. This may be the first time I will have to preside over such a grand gathering. The Evolution Witch''s staff are supposed to be working on the actual details, but I have yet to hear anything of the sort. Please get in touch with her people so that I know what I have to say at the right moments."


    "Got it. What are the items on the agenda for the uing sessions?"


    "I haven''t heard much. I think there was talk about expanding the role of kinshipworks in light of the Red Tide Offensive. It has be more important than ever for red humanity to be united and more cohesive. A stronger argument can be made that kinshipworks can give red humanity an additional edge over the enemy."


    "Do you agree with this stance?"


    "I do, but that doesn''t mean that everyone else thinks the same." Ves responded. "There are justified reasons why one would be hesitant about letting other non-human entities form a connection to your spirit. To be honest, if people don''t trust the spirits who are responsible for overseeing the kinshipworks, then they don''t have to participate. It is better if kinshipworks are only used by those who do not think they have anything to hide and those who really believe in the benefits they provide."


    This was a contentious topic, so much so that the rollout of kinshipworks suffered many dys. People kept bringing up potential vulnerabilities and exploits that could turn theworks into liabilities.


    Gavin looked a bit more optimistic. "Starting the session with this topic is actually a great political move. By letting you preside over a discussion on a subject that you understand better than anyone else, you can keep the other councilors in check while simultaneously demonstrating how you prefer to wield your authority."


    Ves helplessly shook his head. Did everything have to be political? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I cannot im to be unbiased on this subject, so I won''t even try. That said, I won''t try to fight too hard to empower our kinshipworks."


    They talked a bit more about the other subjects that coulde up during these council sessions. They ranged from the possibility of raising in-house armed forces to add muscle to the Red Collective to fine-tuning theplex rtionships it should maintain with the other major powers of red humanity.


    These were all big affairs that Ves and Gavin alone could not possibly figure out and decide for themselves!


    It was up to the bigshots and their extensive staff to figure out much of the borate details.


    Once Ves and Gavin were done with their discussions, thetter left the office after promising to get in touch with the relevant parties.


    Fortunately, they still had a bit of time before the next council sessionmenced. That should allow Ves to make sufficient preparations. He could not guarantee that he would do well, but he was already happy if he could survive the event without making a faux pas.


    The next day, Ves took care of his daily affairs before turning his attention to his mech design projects again.


    The Swarm Project remained his highest priority. He could not afford to use other activities as excuses to miss his obligations towards this critical endeavor.


    Ves and his two coborators had alreadypleted a lot of preliminary work in the past few days.


    It was easiest for Ves to fill in the gaps rted to the third-ss versions of the two machines. While he did require a refresher on thetest advancements in third-ss mech design, he caught up quickly and had a good idea on how far he could push the limits.


    Affordability took precedence over everything. The third-ss products and more specifically the subordinate mechs had to be dirt cheap.


    The frontline mechs also had to be extremely easy to pilot when put in its simplest configuration.


    Ves dare not im thatplete beginners would be able to turn into a barely asset on the battlefield after just a single week of training, but he had made many special amodations for the sole purpose of minimizing any variable that would only split the attention of the Carmine mech further.


    "What are the greatest challenges that you have encountered in your attempts to put these configurations together?" Jovy inquired.


    "No, that''s stupid, Jovy. Command mechs need to maintain a clear overview of the battlefield at all times. It is not impossible formand mechs to lead from the front, but they are usually reserved for those who are trulymitted to this path. Most mechmanders prefer to stay close to their troops but not to the point where they be consumed by all of the fighting."


    "Themand mech is fairly standard and easy to design." Ves responded. "It is not my intention to turn it into anything revolutionary. The only aspects that make it different from others is that it will be a living mech, with all of the cool features that are associated with my work. Aside from that, I don''t want to change too much because I want professional mech pilots of any specialization to be able to pilot it with as little adaptation time as possible."


    "If you want to make yourmand mech universallypatible with every mech pilot, then will you add meleebat capabilities to its design?"


    "No, that''s stupid, Jovy. Command mechs need to maintain a clear overview of the battlefield at all times. It is not impossible formand mechs to lead from the front, but they are usually reserved for those who are trulymitted to this path. Most mechmanders prefer to stay close to their troops but not to the point where they be consumed by all of the fighting."


    "Perhaps you are correct about this when ites to the second-ss and third-ss versions of themand mech, but I highly rmend you to take this demand into ount when we begin to work on the first-ss version. A first-ss mech pilot is ustomed to having both melee and ranged solutions at their disposal. Mechmanders are no exception to this rule."


    Ves frowned. "Aren''t there any C-grade gic aptitude mech pilots that have chosen to specialize in fieldmand as opposed to personalbat? After all, gic aptitude is not really all that necessary to effectively coordinate troops."


    "It doesn''t work, Ves. Mech pilots do not respect a mechmander who is not able to fight nearly as well as them. The pilots of first-ss multipurpose mechs are a breed of their own. They naturally look down on the pilots of inferior machines and will not be pleased if they are being ordered around by a fieldmander who they can easily beat in a virtual duel."


    "I see."


    Ves forgot about that. Mech pilots could be so stupid about these kinds of things.


    After a bit of discussions, the three agreed to make an exception for the first-ss version of themand mech. They would try to design it as a first-ss multipurpose mech withmand and control capabilities already baked into some of its modr slots.


    Since Ves had never designed a proper first-ss mech before, he allowed Jovy and Vector to take the lead in sketching up a draft design.


    The three stared at the projected image in appreciation.


    "It doesn''t look too special for now, but I think I can differentiate it more during the design process." Ves said. "After all, if everything goes as nned, this will probably be my first proper first-ss mech design."


    "It is a fine mech to start with." Vector mentioned. "Most of the first-ss mechs designed by us and our peers never have a chance to get used on a wider scale. Yours ispletely different. Your debut into the first-ss mech market is certain to be popr. This is a rare luxury in our industry."


    "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves. We still need toplete the damn designs and make sure they work as intended before we can think about sales."