The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4047

Chapter 4047 Growing Wealth and Influence

Tristan Wesseling's first impression of Davute VII was that it was a booming economy.

"This trade junction is doing extremely well!" The blond mech designer with a maturing face noted with surprise.

Though he already read a lot of articles about the increasingly more important economic hub, many of those were already outdated.

The actual situation of Davute VII was a lot more prosperous than a few months or years ago. Kotor City had already expanded to accommodate a population of over 10 million inhabitants while many other settlements on the planet had grown at least half as big!

Due to all of the traffic and people converging on the planet, the main spaceport was extremely busy. People were everywhere and Tristan had to wait behind many long lines in order to go through every mandatory arrival procedure.

If Tristan had already settled in Davute, he would have been able to skip much of this, but he was a first-time arrival from 'abroad', so he had to bear with the congestion.

Once he finally left the spaceport, he followed the navigation instructions provided by his comm and reached a large landing zone where an unassuming shuttle awaited his entry.

A relatively young woman with straight gray hair and a sharp business suit moved forward and extended her arms.

"Welcome to Davute VII, Mr. Wesseling. I am Perla Monater, an attaché of our local diplomatic mission. Please step inside the shuttle where I can brief you further on your assignment."

Both Fridaymen hopped inside the vehicle which soon lifted off and flew away from the direction of the city center.

"So Miss Monater…"

"What do you wish to ask, Mr. Wesseling?"

"I learned that our state sent a team of diplomats to this planet a year ago. Are you part of this delegation?"

"Correct." Perla Monater admitted. "While we have failed to gain any purchase in our talks with the Larkinsons, we have learned much about them. I do not think that there is any Fridayman that understands our subjects more than us. It is our duty to pass on a part of the information that we have collected to you. This way, you will be able to avoid several detours and prevent yourself from violating any of their taboos during your initial talks."

"Can you pass on more than that?"

"I am afraid not. We do not wish to fill your mind with instructions. It is important for you to come across as authentic. A person as emotional and informal as Patriarch Ves will appreciate that more than excessive preparation."

"I understand." Tristan sighed. He had heard this argument several times before. "By the way, please indulge me for a moment. Are you a diplomat, or are you a spy?"

Perla Monater smirked. "In my line of profession, the lines between these two professions are often blurred. That is especially the case for those of us who have received… special training. It is remarkable to think how much the skillsets and responsibilities of the two overlap. We can be whoever we want to be depending on the situation."

That was a frank explanation. Tristan already developed the vibe that Monater was not a straightforward woman.

"Then… since you and your fellow colleagues haven't been able to make much progress as diplomats, I am guessing that you have made more progress as spies." _{freewebnoveℓ.com}

"You can say that." Miss Monater frankly admitted. "While we have been unable to collect any intelligence from the interior of the Larkinson Clan or the Golden Skull Alliance, we are still able to collect information around them. Even so, we know full well that the Black Cats have kept their eyes on us before our team even arrived on this planet."

"The Black Cats? You mean the spies of the Larkinson Clan?"

"The Black Cats are far more than mere spies, Mr. Wesseling. I can guarantee you that they have already noted your arrival as well. While they cannot operate with impunity on this planet, their agents must have already collected your biometric data and obtained the registration data that you have submitted to the authorities. They may even know about your important mission."

Tristan grew concerned. "That sounds bad. Will I still be able to meet with Ves if this is the case?"

"It depends on what the people around the Larkinson Patriarch decide." The woman replied. "I do not believe that Director Calabast Arnlend of the Black Cats will block your attempts to meet with Patriarch Ves. There is little threat to this meeting and she no longer values her ties to the Hexer people. She cares more about the gains and losses of the Larkinson Clan. As long as we show enough goodwill towards the clan, it does not matter if we strike a deal that damages the interests of the Hexer colonies. We believe that plenty of Larkinsons including their patriarch do not care much about the remnant Hexers these days."

Tristan looked skeptical. "What about his wife? She's a Wodin as well as a Larkinson. Everything I've read about her suggests she still has a strong attachment to her former people and more specifically her relatives in the Wodin Dynasty."

"That is correct, but Patriarch Ves holds the final say."

Perla Monater continued to fill Tristan in on various details about the Larkinson Clan. She clarified Gloriana's position in the clan as well as the clan's ambiguous relationship with the Hexer diaspora.

Much of this sounded quite murky to Tristan. It was not entirely clear how much power and influence that Patriarch Ves had over the Hexer colonists.

"Wait a second." Perla suddenly raised her hand. "Our pilot has just informed us that we are about to fly past a patrol of Planetary Guard mechs. Our shuttle will approach the machines so that you can take a look at them up close. It is quite an experience, especially if this is your first time."

Tristan already had an inkling of what the diplomatic attaché was referring to. He moved over to the side of the vehicle and looked out the window.

Seconds later, a soft but unmistakable glow encompassed the shuttle!

Tristan, Perla and the pilot in the cabin at the front all became affected by a mysterious energy field that directly caused them to lose their stress and ease their concerns.

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