The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4528

The relationship between the Larkinson Clan and the Gemini Family was not exactly harmonious as of late.

The mech patrols and salvage teams from both pioneering organizations frequently generated friction with each other whenever they came into proximity with each other.

Diplomatic talks became more tense and arduous whenever the Larkinsons and Geminis took part at the same time.

Minor incidents had already taken place and it was only a matter of time before a few idiots lost control of themselves and came to blows.

This was also one of the reasons why Ves was eager to leave the star system. He did not want his clan to stay in proximity to the Gemini Family any longer than necessary.

It was clear that the Geminis resented the Larkinsons for 'robbing' them of a huge reward. The value of the remains of the unclean whale was but a fraction of what it was worth when it was alive, especially now that large parts of the carcass had been taken away.

The Gemini Family would be lucky to earn tens of millions of MTA merits at this rate.

Was that a good reward? Most definitely. Could it have been an order of magnitude greater if they kept the whale alive? Probably yes.

The feeling of missing out due to the actions of another generated a lot of resentment. Ves could easily sense that the patriarch and matriarch of the Gemini Family did not harbor any positive associations with him at this moment.

That did not stop them from putting on a civilized air and assuming a demeanor expected of leaders responsible for an entire population of like-minded people.

The mark of a good leader was the ability to put duty over feelings. Ves was quite familiar with this dynamic, so he understood that the Gemini leaders did not approach with the intention of raising a commotion.

They instead approached with rapprochement in mind.

"Is your clan recovering well after the recent battle?" Matriarch Sena Gemini asked in a light tone that completely disregarded the tension between their respective organizations.

Ves had to think about his answer.

On the one hand, he would gain great satisfaction from snubbing the Gemini Family. This group of deviants whose goal was to propagate their own warped vision of universal incestuous relationships had not exactly been acting in good faith all of this time.

It went far beyond taking a risk to subdue a living highly dangerous alien powerhouse.

Calabast and Minister Shederin had already deduced that the Gemini Family knew far more about the real threats of the Palace of Shame.

Rather than be upfront about all of those risk factors, the Geminis deliberately withheld crucial information in order to hoodwink five other powerful pioneering fleets into taking part in an exceedingly dangerous assault.

Though Ves understood why the Geminis had taken this approach, that did not mean he liked getting fooled into a venture that turned out to be a lot more threatening towards his life than he initially thought!

Just thinking about it made him want to spit in the faces of the Geminis. Why should he give them any regard after everything they had pulled off? They might not harbor any intent to kill Ves and his clan, but their deceptive behavior was completely intolerable!

At least Ves always made sure to properly explain the risks of his own ventures to the people he dragged along. He never wanted to make others feel the same as him whenever he got hoodwinked.

Considering that the Geminis behaved similarly to the people who betrayed him in the past, it took a lot of effort for Ves to maintain a cordial expression.

In the end, he continued to do so even though his emotions objected to his approach.

The reason why he did not express his true feelings was the same reason why the Gemini leaders did not expose their dissatisfaction.

They were both better off if they transacted with each other. Whatever grievances they had in the past should be set aside in order to advance the interests of their respective organizations.

It was for this reason why Ves and the Gemini leaders were able to hold a cordial conversation.

They did not talk about anything important at first. They just asked trivial questions about what they thought about the plunder they had managed to obtain and what they learned from the last battle.

It wasn't until they talked about the latest changes to the Thunderer Mark II that Patriarch Kobal Gemini finally brought up the reason for their approach.

"Are you still open to accepting additional orders for your latest service? You have accepted an impressive number of expensive orders as of late."

Ves shifted on his feet. "I can still fit more in my schedule, but demand is high as you have just seen. My time is valuable and I am already obliged to delay my ongoing design projects if I want to free up enough hours to work on my new commissions. I will have to make more drastic changes to the design schedule in order to squeeze in additional commissions."

In other words, Ves was demanded more payment for his services, perhaps unfairly so compared to the trade deals that he had just concluded with the other pioneering groups.

The patriarch and matriarch looked at each other while squeezing their hands. They clearly anticipated such a response.

"We can work with that as long as your rates are not… excessive. We may have earned a greater share of the spoils from this operation, but we have already reserved most of it for the buildup of our colony in the Hoster System. It will be difficult for us to justify the expenditure of tens of kilograms of phasewater for singular upgrades to our ace mechs."

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