The Mech Touch

"If the Aduc Family still maintains secret ties with the Terrans, then why don't you deem them a potential threat to our clan?" Ves asked Calabast.

He was puzzled by her previous remark. Shouldn't this be of greater concern?

The leader of the Black Cats did not express any noticeable signs of concerns, though. She kept staring around his office while continuing to lean against his desk.

"Maintaining ties with the first-rate superstates is not necessarily a cause for concern, Ves. Aren't you thinking about cooperating with a Rubarthan institution yourself? Even though the Terran Alliance and Rubarthan Pact are rivals to the Red Ocean Union, the boundaries aren't so strict. So long as total war doesn't break out, it doesn't matter if anyone makes friends across the aisle."

"That may be so, but what if the relationship between the Aduc Family and a Terran group exceeds that of a normal business relationship? The Aducs used to be a part of the Terran Confederation. This makes it probable that they still maintained their ancestral ties with at least some of their allies at the time."

Calabast shook her head. "I don't think it is that severe. All relationships are at least partially based on interests. Centuries ago, the Aduc Family may have been worth befriending by powerful Terran groups. Nowadays, it has devolved into a second-class organization, and not a particularly big or powerful one. Whatever ties have survived up to this day should not be too significant. If not, the Aducs would have been able to rise back up to a first-class organization with the help of its Terran buddies."

"Hmm, you have a good point, though it may be that the Aducs do not want to rise again because they will invite repression from their former enemies."

"There is another reason why I believe the Aducs are not strongly aligned with the Terrans. They are associates of the MTA, more specifically the Transhumanist Faction. From what I have gathered, most mechers do not look kindly to the first-rate superstates. It is impossible for the Aduc Family to maintain close ties with both the mechers and the Terrans. It has to pick a single side, and all evidence suggests that it has chosen the shelter of the MTA over whatever friendships it could still call upon from the Terran Confederation."

The logic was sound. The Big Two and the first-rate superstates had always been rivals.

On top of that, the animosity between the Transhumanists and the Terrans was probably even worse. Ves had seen first-hand how Master Dervidian did not hesitate to experiment with the lives of hundreds of first-raters, among which were many elite and high-ranking Terran citizens!

Therefore, there was no way that the Aduc Family could become an ally or an agent of the Terrans!

"If this is the case, then I don't need to worry too much about this, correct?"

"It depends." Calabast said. "The Aduc Family's decision to side with the Transhumanists means that it cannot maintain any strong and overt relationships with the Terrans. At best, the Aducs can still call upon favors every now and then. If you are able to befriend the family one day, then you can borrow this channel in order to get in touch with the Terrans."

This might be useful one day. The Terrans were incredibly arrogant, but they weren't powerful for nothing. Their heritage was unsurpassed even if they were in decline. They still possessed a lot of unique advantages that Ves might want to get his hands on in the future.

It was practically impossible to approach the Terrans without an existing connection. The elitist first-raters disdained anyone that was lesser to them. They even saw the mechers and fleeters as upstarts who just got lucky enough to get the upper hand in this age.

Ves grew more interested in the Aduc Family's connection to the Greater Terran United Confederation. He felt it was important to understand the nature of this bond.

"Let's prepare for a visit to the Aduc fleet. I want to move quickly."

Ves proceeded to prepare and plan for the meeting. He notified Gavin to schedule a meeting. He then held multiple meetings with Calabast and Minister Shederin to determine his diplomatic approach and learn what he needed to pay attention to when he stepped aboard the Aduc Family's flagship.

Fortunately, he did not have to visit the Aducs alone. Ves planned to bring along a small entourage to advise him and handle various responsibilities on his behalf.

A day later, a shuttle escorted by a troupe of mechs departed from the Larkinson fleet and approached another fleet orbiting Davute VII.

The Aduc Family's fleet was not that impressive to Ves, but it stood out by its inclusion of many notable terraforming vessels.

These ships formed the foundation of Gaia Worldcrafting Services.

There were starships that were specialized in adding mass to planets by hauling asteroids to them. There were also other starships that specialized in the removal of large landmasses through various methods.

The fastest and most dramatic way of reducing the size and mass of planets required a huge amount of force, so some of the terraforming ships actually possessed a huge amount of sieging power!

Terraforming companies had to receive special permission from the Big Two to own and operate these dangerous vessels. They also had to impose a lot of safety controls in order to prevent any accidents.

Ves would be lying if he said that he wasn't impressed.

The shuttle he was riding on slowly approached the hangar bay of the largest ship in the Aduc fleet.

The Green Dream was a 4.3 kilometer-long capital ship that possessed an extensive amount of terraforming functions.

The Aducs relied on her a lot whenever they wanted to make localized or regional changes to a planet's ecology!

All of the power of the terraforming ship came at the cost of her survival capabilities.

Even though the Green Dream was a heartland-level capital ship, she was not developed with frontier conditions in mind. Her long and broad hull structure made her so slow and sluggish that she would definitely be a liability in any battle!

What was worse was that her hull armor was too thin to withstand too much further. If the Aducs did not overhaul this massive weak point, then it was far too risky to send out the capital terraforming ship on a mission!

"We're approaching the hangar bay. Please stand by, sir."

Ves patiently waited for his shuttle to slip inside and land in a prepared area. No surprises occurred.

Soon enough, a handful of guards stepped outside and formed a ceremonial display.

Ves and his chosen entourage slowly stepped out after receiving the right signal.

The main hangar bay of the Green Dream did not stand out to Ves. Only a handful of mechs were visible. Much of the hangar space was dedicated to holding and prepping various different kinds of terraforming vessels.

There were transport shuttles dedicated to transplanting organic life forms.

There were seeding vehicles that specialized in planting seeds and small plants over lots of terrain.

There were even digging vehicles that were mostly used to create new lakes.

All in all, the Green Dream was truly a vessel dedicated to the transformation of planets that were initially hostile to human life.

Matriarch Erexi Aduc did not choose to receive the guests this time. Instead, her heir and first-born son assumed this responsibility by himself.

"Patriarch Ves, welcome aboard the Green Dream. She may not possess any mechs of interest to you, but we can still offer you a tour of our terraforming vehicles if you wish."

"Please do. These are fascinating vehicles. I have heard about them but never come close to any of them. They're not exactly common."

"That is true." Kievenar Aduc said. "With our ships and vehicles, we hold the power to expand humanity's habitat across the stars. It is a great honor and responsibility to play a role in our race's expansion."

The Aduc heir held a brief tour through the hangar bay. Just like Ves, the man attempted to impress his guests upon the power and grandeur of the Aduc Family.

While Ves was genuinely impressed by how extensively these assets were capable of transforming the conditions of a planet, none of them were relevant in battle.

Kievenar did not show off any of the Aduc Family's mechs throughout the tour. The truth was that the Aducs did not possess any mechs that were good enough to impress an accomplished mech designer like Ves!

"It is really impressive how your family can make an entire planet livable in a matter of years." Venerable Joshua commented.

The expert pilot was one of the clansmen that Ves had chosen to bring along. Joshua possessed a rare life domain, which might be useful for this visit.

"We generally prefer to take our time with terraforming projects." Kievenar explained. "We believe that every planet has great potential. It takes extensive terraforming to draw out their hidden advantages. Many of our projects generally take two or three decades to complete. The time to completion may be long, but the results are undoubtedly superior to the outcomes of rapid terraforming projects."

It appeared the Aduc Family looked down on rapid terraforming. Gaia Worldcrafting Services emphasized quality over speed!

Minister Shederin, who was also part of the delegation, made an insightful observation.

"By my knowledge, most clients in the Red Ocean demand rapid terraforming. The competition for territory is so great that pioneers cannot afford to wait decades before they can build their colonies. They paid much in order to enter this dwarf galaxy early and must continue to rely on speed to capitalize their advantages. This is why the power blocs responsible for colonizing the Davute System did not hesitate to rush in transforming Davute VII."

"Davute VII is not a good planet at all." Kievenar shook his head in disappointment. "Laymen such as yourselves may not be able to notice the differences, but exogeologists can clearly distinguish the many faults and imperfections that have emerged due to moving so quickly. The ecosystem of this planet is not balanced at all. Even now, the controllers of this planet must constantly employ a fleet of vehicles that are dedicated to maintaining the planet's delicate balance. If no intervention happens, then it is highly likely that a drastic ecological change will occur. Temperatures may rise. A toxic gas might spread throughout the atmosphere. City-destroying earthquakes may occur."

Ves was surprised to hear all of these possibilities! He never realized that a planet that had undergone rapid terraforming could become so sick!

"This can be fixed, right?"

"Only in part." Kievenar answered. "Many large-scale changes can only be performed when the planet is not yet inhabited. That is because they can trigger large-scale disasters. The colonists of Davute VII have chosen to build their settlements as soon as possible, which means that they cannot employ the most effective methods to correct any imbalances. The only way to mitigate the remaining issues is to perform minor changes over many decades. Even then, not every problem can be resolved through gradual change. Davute VII will always remain flawed and incomplete to us. This is why taking your time in terraforming planets is key."

Ves did not entirely agree with the Aduc scion's stance. The downsides mentioned by Kievenar did not sound pleasant, but it was not too difficult to handle the sequela of rapid terraforming.

Many pioneers would gladly pay this price if they were able to colonize a planet in a matter of years rather than decades!

"If you don't accept any rapid terraforming missions, how will your company be able to generate revenue in the Red Ocean?"

"There is still demand for deep terraforming. These commissions usually come from pioneers who have already settled on planets transformed through rapid terraforming. Now that they have quickly established a foothold in this dwarf galaxy, they can afford to wait to obtain a better planet."

"I see. You will have plenty of business, then."