The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4852

The Davute University of Technology and ZUTA University were both based in the Academic District of Kotor City.

Despite their geographic proximity, they were pretty different in everything else.

The DUT was a state-backed school that mainly hired the best mech designers with promises of huge research grants and the right to work on classified research projects.

Another strong reason for mech designers to work for the DUT was to participate in the design and upgrade processes of the high-ranking mechs of the Federal Military.

All of the expert pilots and ace pilots in the service of Davute needed to be assured that their mechs always kept up with the latest advancements in technology. Failing to do so would cause them to lose more battles against their Karlach counterparts than necessary!

This was why the mech designers working for the DUT were so respected. They had been thoroughly vetted by the state and possessessed all sorts of useful expertise that could help in the design of military mechs and high-ranking mechs.

The students who enrolled in the DUT also found it easier to receive job offers from a state institution or a high-tech development company that was engaged in sensitive research.

In contrast to the Davute University of Technology, ZUTA University possessed a completely different focus.

The latter was a private for-profit technical university that mainly catered to the needs of the commercial market.

Although its prestige and funding was not as extravagant as the DUT, it made up for it by hiring more free-spirited professors and allowing students to gain preferential treatment by paying lots of additional money.

For example, a rather average mech design student who failed to pass the entry requirements of the DUT could easily get into ZUTA University and even receive light tutoring from one of its Masters by paying thousands of MTA credits!

Not a lot of students could pay this kind of money, though. Many families could afford to enroll their descendents into better and more exclusive universities.

Nonetheless, ZUTA University managed to stand out as a gathering of free spirited researchers as it collected a large variety of random and sometimes unconventional researchers.

It generally did not impose too many demands on its professors, but the downside was that it could not offer too many government contracts and connections.

However, ZUTA University managed to develop a lot of useful contacts in the private sector. Several of its most prominent Master Mech Designers even brought over their connections with large trans-galactic enterprises!

Master Decimus Horst was one of them. In fact, he possessed a connection that was incredibly valuable but also deeply concerning.

As Madame Reina Kernsk called up the intelligence reports that summarized the thorough background checks and investigations conducted by several Davutan spy agencies, her expression worsened.

"Master Horst is hardly the ideal selection that we have in mind for a collaboration with Patriarch Ves Larkinson." The woman steadily said. "It is still a mystery why he has decided to come to Davute and take up a teaching position at ZUTA. He does not have any existing friends or contacts in our state, and what contacts he has made since he has arrived are not too intimate as far as we are aware of. He has no mech company under his name and has refused to establish one within our colonial state. He has not signed any extensive binding contracts with his current employer or our state, so he can easily abandon his current duties and leave this star system in an instant."

The description of a fellow Master did not faze Hergard Elroy. He already had a good idea of what his fellow Master from another institution was like.

"Master Horst may be a more transient visitor to Davute, but this can always change in the future. It may be that he has yet to receive the right offer from your side. Regardless of whether he intends to commit to our colonial state or not, you can at least be certain that he will not disgrace the identity of a Master Mech Designer. If he makes a promise, then he will abide by it. A Master without principles does not exist."

"There are ways to get around promises. I do not believe that intelligent individuals such as yourself are unable to create loopholes."

"There is no need to resort to such measures if there is no coercion or undesirable elements at play. You do not understand Masters such as ourselves as well as you think. I am willing to offer my guarantee that Master Decimus Horst will abide by a contract if you agree to let him collaborate with Patriarch Larkinson on a mech design commission."

That was a heavy promise! The chief of staff might not have faith in the integrity of a transient Master working for ZUTA University, but she put a lot more stock in the words of a cooperating Master from the DUT!

There was one more complication that held Reina Kernsk back, however.

"Our investigation in Master Horst's background has revealed that he possesses unknown but non-trivial ties to the New Rubarth Empire. At the very least, he has past business dealings with one of its trans-galactic corporations." She explained. "The man is a second-class mech designer for the most part, but he differs from most of his peers in the same star system for mastering a greater amount of high technology than usual. He has also gained an understanding of phasewater technology remarkably quickly. All of these data points paint a concerning picture. Do you understand?"

"Are you suggesting that he is a disguised Rubarthan Master Mech Designer, madame? I can assure you that he is not. His design philosophy is too narrow and his design style lacks the extravagance and excessive features that are more characteristic of first-class mech design."

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