The Mech Touch

"Meow meow."

"Miaow."

"Settle down, you two." Aurelia instructed the cats. "Snacks will be served later."

As Clixie and Lucky stayed on guard and kept watch over the surroundings, Ves began to get pulled into a surprisingly engaging discussion with complete strangers.

Ves understood now why the directors of DEP Construction had been assigned to the same table as him and his little family.

He was not necessarily given the opportunity to talk to the representatives of a boring-sounding construction company.

Instead, Ves came in touch with the Serenitas Foundation for the first time!

There was no other reason why Chairman Bonte Richardson should be seated at this table.

The Davute Branch may have planned to build a lot of new real estate now that General Ark Larkinson pushed for greater engagement, but that did not require any special attention from a company known for building lots of military infrastructure.

Ves treated Richardson as if the older gentleman spoke for the Serenitas Foundation rather than his construction company.

Since Ves lacked an understanding of the mother company of DEP Construction, the chairman thought it would be best if he elaborated on this topic.

Ves along with the rest of his immediate family listened with rapt attention as Richardson unveiled a small amount of details about one of the more mysterious founding parties of Davute.

"I assume that you have received at least a basic description of the Serenitas Foundation. It is publicly known as a trust fund and has investments in over 60 different star sectors in the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Wow! 60 star sectors!" Marvaine couldn't control himself and sounded impressed. "You must be really rich!"

Chairman Bonte Richardson laughed in a good-natured manner. "We are richer than you, I am sure! Seriously speaking, we must work hard for the money. It is a constant struggle for the foundation to keep its investments afloat over the long-term. There are situations where our financial managers must decide to cut our losses and let go of an enterprise that previously earned us a fantastic return, but has since fallen behind the times."

"How long has the Serenitas Foundation been in operation?" Gloriana asked.

"It has started to allocate the funds placed under its care for over two centuries. Our investment strategy is fairly moderate in risk, so we have rarely lost our entire investments. On the other hand, our returns are not as dramatic as those earned by more adventurous investors."

This sounded like a great outlook for a trust fund that was expected to operate for several centuries.

Ves leaned forward in interest. "From what it sounds like, the Davute Project does not fit into this moderate risk category. The way that the colonial state is gearing up for a violent confrontation with Karlach makes it clear that this is among the riskier but more lucrative investment choices that your foundation has made."

The chairman gave Ves another appreciative smile. "That is correct. Others have made similar observations to us in the past. To that, we reply that there are no colonization projects in the Red Ocean that can truly be described as low risk. Even the smaller and more impoverished colonies that are located in obscure and low-resource star systems will drain a large amount of funding before they have finally reached a state of profitability."

That was an interesting way to look at the Red Ocean. Ves was inclined to agree with the man's descriptions. A lot of star systems in both the Milky Way and the Red Ocean were so low in value that it was extremely difficult to make them profitable.

Groups that tried to take them over and transform them into livable and profitable locations usually ended up harming themselves in the process.

"So what has drawn Serenitas to Davute?" Ves questioned.

"In our opinion, the Davute System is no more special than the Karlach System and the other port systems in the surrounding middle zones. We chose to invest a significant amount of funding in Davute because it was available and because we have existing business relations with the Clive Consortium."

As Richardson continued to say more about the Serenitas Foundation's stance on Davute, Ves got the feeling that the wealthy trust fund did not value this investment particularly highly.

If the chairman's opinion was reflective of the people who he answered to, then Serenitas actually treated this colonization project as a gamble that it could afford to make!

The impression that Ves got from this faction was much different from that of the Clive Foundation!

"So who carries the most weight in the halls of power in Davute?" Ves cautiously asked. "Are the rumors true that the Clive Consortium is the largest voice?"

Richardson and his fellow directors looked amused after they heard this question.

"The discussions that take place in the Skyline Palace and other governing institutions are confidential. I cannot go into too much detail on this topic, but as far as your rumor is concerned, let me correct you and state that the Clive Consortium has the loudest voice in the room. Whether the other founding partners are interested in the message that is being said is another matter."

"Your message is clear."

The subtext was that the Clive Consortium may make the most noise in public, but that it might not wield that much influence behind closed doors.

Chairman Richardson provided a bit more information. "The Clive Consortium has tied a considerably greater proportion of its funding and resources into this colony. The Clives have elevated it into their prestige project. The success and failure of this entire colonial venture will have major implications to their consortium's profitability and growth."

"I take it that the success and failure of the Davute Project will have much less of an impact on the bottom line of the Serenitas Foundation." Ves threw out a guess.

"You can say that." The other man smiled. "You have to realize that we are still in the early phase of the colonization of the Red Ocean. The Big Two has only conquered a modest corner of the galaxy at large. There are still an untold amount of star systems that contain much more value than the Davute System. For now, they remain in alien hands, but they will gradually become available for colonization in the following decades. These are our true targets."

This was a much greater outlook. It sounded as if Serenitas did not care that much about securing a first-mover advantage in the new frontier.

"What about Davute?"

"We primarily consider it to be an experiment or a learning experience, if you will. The Red Ocean is far greater than the Krakatoa Middle Zone. I believe that you are clear about this truth as well, patriarch."

"I do. Davute is a great place, don't get me wrong, but we are in the Red Ocean equivalent of the galactic rim. The star systems closer to the center of the galaxy must be a lot more interesting and lucrative."

"That is true. Serenitas along with many other groups in the old galaxy are still waiting for the Big Two to make more progress, though it appears that we may have to delay our spending plans further than we expected." Richardson responded. "In the meantime, side projects such as Davute not only allows us to accrue practical experience in founding and growing a state from the beginning, but also gives us a chance to build a strong and reliable supply depot in the new frontier. If all goes well, we can use this colonial state as the base of operations of a much greater colonization wave targeted towards the center of the Red Ocean."

It was fascinating to hear how casually Serenitas belittled Davute. The trust fund did not treat this colonial state as a crown jewel like the Clive Consortium. Instead, it only treated this place as a tool to attain the colonies it truly cared about.

How utilitarian! How cold-blooded! How dispassionate!

Ves suddenly came up with the idea that he may be seated at the same table as the group responsible for hatching a conspiracy that sought to kill a lot of people later today!

The moment he made this connection, he tried his best not to show any outward expression of surprise or realization.

He immediately split his concentration into two separate threads. He usually did this when he was working, but he found it necessary to take this step in a moment where he could not afford to make any mistakes!

His first mental thread tried to maintain a casual act so that he could continue to converse with the directors of DEP Construction without any noticeable difference.

His second mental threat ran through the information that he had gathered so far and also focused on observing his conversation partners.

Ves couldn't read any clues from Chairman Bonte Richardson. The man's ability in the social arena was just as good as Calabast if not better. Not only did he control his body language to perfection, emotional and spiritual fluctuations were also suppressed!

It reminded Ves a lot of rational mech designers who deliberately drained themselves of their passion so that they could emulate other design philosophies to an accurate degree.

Just like those eerie mech designers, Chairman Richardson emulated a specific personality as he continued to unveil the Serenitas Foundation to the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan.

Whenever Richardson smiled or laughed, his mind remained ice-cold. The chairman of DEP Construction was pretending to put on a friendly act the entire time!

Of course, as Ves climbed higher and higher in society, it became a lot more probable for him to meet with these sorts of figures. Emotions had no place in high-level decision-making. A lot of catastrophes had taken place throughout history because idiots with too much power for their own good had gone off the handle.

That didn't mean that Ves liked it, though. At least President Yenames Clive cared so much about Davute that he was willing to put his career and future on the line.

As for the likes of Bonte Richardson and the people he spoke for, they probably wouldn't shed much of a tear if Davute crashed and burned, so long as they managed to evacuate in time.

These were precisely the sort of people to target the people who ostensibly belonged to their own side if they could gain a greater advantage in the process!

As a number of well-dressed individuals started to walk up to the center podium, Ves quickly asked one more question to the talkative chairman.

"I would love to talk more with you about Serenitas Foundation and its plans for the future, but it seems we are out of time. If it isn't too much to ask, can you tell me who is actually behind the Serenitas Foundation?"

Chairman Bonte Richardson responded with a coy smirk. "Many have asked, but few have ever received an answer. Only a small group of top executives of the trust fund are privy to the identity of its trustor. Even I cannot reveal anything to you about the identity of the person or persons I am ultimately working for. All we pay attention to is the capital that we are entrusted to manage."

"Doesn't that bother you?" Ves furrowed his brows. "I can't imagine working for a boss who could be anything from a Terran mech designer to a Rubarthan shipping magnate."

"We tend not to ask any questions that are not convenient for us to know the answers, patriarch. Curiosity may be a virtue in your line of work, but it can be a career ender in our sector. We follow rules, not people. It matters not who issues the orders. As long as that person holds the rightful authority to command us, we are expected to obey without making any superfluous actions."

What a dreary mindset. Ves could not bring himself to agree with this stance. He did not want to be treated like a mindless drone, and he did not want to treat his subordinates like one either.

Ves found it questionable whether it was worthwhile to befriend anyone who adopted this heartless mindset.