The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4017

Chapter 4017 Reluctance

It did not take long for the negotiation teams to hash out a final agreement.

The resulting treaty largely aligned with the terms that Ves initially proposed. The Larkinsons essentially gained everything they asked for, even if the terms were disproportionately in their favor.

The Aducs on the other hand had little choice but to hold back their resentment and give in to the inevitable.

They still harbored a lot of hard feelings towards the Larkinsons, but the leaders of the family had issued strict instructions not to do anything that would bring the two parties into a confrontation.

Fortunately, none of the Aducs had risen up and tried to pierce the facade that made it easy for the two sides to find common ground with each other.

The Aducs were accustomed to obeying instructions from above. None of them dared to engage in any form of rebellion and insubordination, especially when the continued existence of the Old Lady was at stake.

One of the more unfortunate consequences of the Larkinson Clan's secret ploy was that most of the Aducs no longer cared about how much they could gain from this partnership.

They just wanted the Larkinsons to heal their damned tree!

Given all of the unpleasantries surrounding this deal, both sides decided to hold the signing ceremony in a more private setting. They had agreed to make the crucial step in one of the smaller formal ceremonial halls within the Green Dream.

Neither side broadcasted the formal occasion nor invited too many dignitaries to witness this important event.

There was no need to bring too many people. Any additional person presented one additional risk factor that could blow up the deal. Perhaps there were still plenty of Aducs that couldn't quite stomach this depressing outcome, but Matriarch Erexi Aduc and Kievenar Aduc were absolutely unwilling to accept any other alternatives!

Ves grinned as he picked up the autopen and allowed it to draw a signature that was full of flair on the document.

The matriarch of the Aduc Family followed suit with a plainer and cleaner signature.

Their lawyers did the rest. They submitted the documents to the MTA in order to make everything official.

"From now on, we are allies." Ves happily said. "You will not regret this decision. This will be the start of a fruitful cooperation between our two organizations. I hope that in the future, your Aduc Family will become a part of a new galactic order that propagates a better future for humanity."

"Do you truly believe in that?" Matriarch Erexi asked with plenty of reserve in her voice.

"Why do you sound so surprised? Our clan may be looking to secure a better future for our members, but much of our work is devoted to leading humanity to a better and more prosperous future. I have already shared what I seek to gain from the T Institute. As long as our cooperative venture gains full speed and is able to present one useful application after another, we shall both transform the landscape of the mech community and introduce many more mech pilots and non-mech pilots to the more extraordinary side of reality!"

While Ves painted a grand vision of the future, the Aducs only became more afraid of what might come.

They knew quite well that anyone who wished to alter the status quo of human society in any way would make a lot of enemies in the process!

The more radical the changes, the greater the amount of interest groups that rose up in opposition!

The few Aducs present in the hall shivered even more. What kind of pirate ship had they ended up boarding this time?! How far were these crazy Larkinsons willing to go to realize their grand ambitions!?

"Don't worry. We know what we are doing." Ves tried to reassure his new partners and allies. "Humanity is already charting a new direction. The Crown Uprising and the opening of the Red Ocean are only the heralds of what is to come. It is no longer enough to keep your heads and hope that the coming storms will pass you by. The best way to ensure that you will be able to be among the winners in these future times is to be more proactive and fight for a greater place!"

His ambitious attitude and his daring approach couldn't help but fascinate a few of the Aducs.

They could no longer avoid becoming a part of the Larkinson Clan's great endeavors.

Since that was the case, they might as well familiarize themselves with what their new allies wished to accomplish and see if they could play a useful role.

Matriarch Erexi still maintained her cool, though. She did not show any obvious reaction towards any of the wild ideas of the Larkinsons. It was far from certain whether the Larkinson Clan would embark on all of these radical plans.

If the Larkinsons and their band of misfits ended up provoking way too many enemies, the Aduc Family might be able to slip away without getting involved.

This was because they chose to join the Open Consortium instead of becoming a part of the much more restrictive Golden Skull Alliance.

Though both organizations were essentially led by the Larkinson Clan, there was a huge world of difference between the two! One of them was mostly a business alliance while the other was overwhelmingly a military alliance!

As much as the Aducs accepted the necessity to get in bed with the Larkinsons, there was no way they wanted to get any closer than they had to. The Open Consortium formed a decent platform of cooperation with the Larkinson Clan, and differed from the Golden Skull Alliance in that it did not set any expectations for military cooperation!

In other words, if the Larkinsons ever got beat up by a terrible opponent, the Aduc Family had no moral or legal obligation to send their own mech troops!

This was the best that Ves could ask from the Aducs considering how they ended up at this junction.

Even if the Larkinsons won over the Aducs without resorting to foul play, there was not that much value to obtaining the terraforming family's military aid.

The Aducs only reluctantly maintained a security force and never prepared to take any offensive actions. Their ability to fight was limited to defending their expensive terraforming assets, yet in many cases they were forced to contract mercenaries in order to obtain adequate protection.

The extra defenses completely ruined the natural ambiance of the biome. Ves found that to be a shame as he liked how well the terraformers managed to simulate the environment of humanity's home planet. _{freewebnøvel.com}

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