The atmosphere within the office grew tense as both Ves and Gavin waited for Calabast to state the reason for her personal visit.
There was no way the spymaster dropped by at this particular ti and place if she had to pass on mundane intelligence.
Though Calabast controlled her body language and spirituality far too well to give out any clues about her true thoughts, her actions alone constituted a signal in itself.
Ves leaned back on his office chair and crossed his arms. He had a feeling that he may not be done with shocking revelations for the night.
In case the topics of discussion veered into dangerous territory, he made sure to activate his best and most exhaustive signal jamrs and other interference devices.
Though he did not bother to recall Lucky in order to have him sweep his office for bugs, Ves was already pretty confident in his ability to keep his talks under wraps.
He directed a asured gaze at the woman who accompanied him all the way back in the Komodo Star Sector.
"Please speak." He said with an echo of transcendent power in his voice. "If there is important information that I need to know, then I would like to hear it even if you cannot back it up with solid proof."
The stern-looking woman maintained a perfectly straight posture. A few seconds passed before she graced him with her insights.
"Let test your understanding of the Terran Alliance. Who are its leaders?"
"The Terran ancient clans." Ves quickly responded. "The Terran Alliance is a colonial off-shoot of the Greater Terran United Confederation, which was explicitly set up to distribute power among a couple of dozen ancient clans. From what I learned, the idea behind this power structure is to maintain continuity of stability and leadership over the long term. It avoids the pitfalls of centralization and exists as a direct contrast to the New Rubarth Empire and the Rubarthan Pact."
The spymaster did not look satisfied with his response. "That is the textbook answer to my question. Your answer is adequate if you were still an ordinary ch designer or space peasant, but that is not the case anymore. Think about the changes brought about by the Age of Dawn. The old power structures have been crumbling one by one. So of them collapsed in the first year. Others have begun to crumble on an ongoing basis. No matter the pace, all of them are on their way out. What is taking their place?"
This was a profound question. Ves clearly could not pass her test by offering a surface reply. He needed to take his ti and analyze the political landscape properly in order to comprehend her underlying point.
He bent his head and frowned.
Though he understood that he had advisors by his side exactly because he could borrow their wisdom, he knew that if he wanted to retain his power, he needed to be able to figure out stuff like this by himself.
Fortunately, his mind was not that dull. Calabast had already given him a handful of hints. He rely had to direct his attention to the subject matter in order to connect the dots.
"Warlords." He recalled. "The top dogs of red humanity have been instituting policies that are gradually ant to shift power away from traditional civilian leaders in order to reward those who excel in combat against our external enemies. Such policies not only tend to favor militaristic organizations, but also individual powerhouses."
Calabast smiled. "Indeed. Policies such as the New Elites Program may have slipped your attention, but it has been a gachanger for many ambitious people from all layers of society. Enough ti has passed to produce results. Many states and organizations that have perford poorly on the frontline have fallen from grace. Others have risen at a speed that can rival the Larkinson Clan. The recently elevated Aduc Clan is a notable example. The Hex Federation's powerful militants have also grown strong enough to mount a challenge on a weakened first-rate state of the Red Ocean Union."
All of this talk about ambitious leaders reminded Ves of a particularly ambitious uncle.
"Let guess. Saint General Ark Larkinson also desires to make a play of taking over a state."
The forr Hexer sighed. "I did not intend to ntion your foolhardy uncle, but it is true that he wishes to lead the Davute Branch into taking over an entire second-rate state, though a different one from the Colonial Federation of Davute. That would constitute a betrayal of his oaths. His honor does not allow him to challenge his current employer and benefactor."
Ves chuckled at that. "That sounds like Ark, alright. He may be vainglorious, but he is still an honorable soldier."
"Let us get back to the original topic. The reason why warlords are important is because their rise is reshaping the political landscape of the Terran Alliance. On the surface, the ancient clans remain in charge. In reality, their individual power is not great. They have begun to consolidate their power base by forming coalitions with other groups who share similar goals and ideologies. Several of them have erged, but two are particularly relevant for this conversation."
Calabast activated a projection that displayed a bunch of nas and symbols.
They looked ssy at first, but they slowly separated into two distinct groups.
"The Green Coalition has only been recently ford and is already rising rapidly. Its mbers are the masterminds behind the creation of the elven race. Their ultimate goals are hard to ascertain, but they are absolutely not simple. At least one of their aims is to secure the primacy of the elven race over the Terran Alliance."
Ves furrowed his brows. "That is way too little information. Who is part of the Green Coalition?"
"You should already be familiar with their nas. The Shuku Ancient Elven Clan, the Devos Ancient Clan, the Aduc Clan, many Terran biotech research institutions and more. I have yet to find to confirm the nas of other Terran ancient clans, but they definitely exist."
All of these nas did indeed sound familiar. Ves had a very strong suspicion that the Green Coalition was made up of all of the people that actively collaborated with him on the Arboreal Project!
If this was the case, then his Woodsap chs had already been stamped by this political cabal. It would be difficult to disassociate his latest work with the antics of the so-called Green Coalition!
"Since the Green Coalition is apparently up to no good, who stands in opposition?"
"The opposing group is currently referred to as the Steel Coalition, though it may be subject to change." Calabast answered. "This is made up of the Terran clans and influential individuals who are strongly opposed to the goals and thods of the Green Coalition. They tend to be more restrained and traditional among the Terrans. While they do not inherently reject change, they have an aversion to extre risk taking and believe that the best way to run the Terran Alliance is to stick to their old and proven strategies."
That sounded rather problematic.
Though Ves felt that the Green Coalition was being a bit too radical in its actions, the Steel Coalition sounded as if its mbers would rather stick their heads in the sand than adapt to the changing tis.
"Who is part of the Steel Coalition?"
"The Streon Ancient Clan, for one. There are other clans and organizations that have banded together to provide a counterweight to the Green Coalition, but you will probably have difficulty recognizing them. They are not too important as the Steel Coalition lacks a strong and unifying factor. They only exist to push back against the elven initiative and such. That may change in the future."
"I see."
While Ves found it rather interesting that Terran politics had developed in this direction, he did not imdiately understand why it was important for Calabast to inform him about it in person.
There had to be another layer that he had yet to understand.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he quickly tried to figure out the true ssage that Calabast wanted to convey.
He suddenly realized a missing aspect.
"Wait. These nas sound fairly impressive, but they do not sound powerful enough to lead the coalitions outright. They can easily fall apart if they aren't being wrangled by an overarching authority. The only ones in the Terran Alliance that can force these arrogant ancient clans to obey are… tier 1 galactic citizens."
The spymaster curled her lips in a smile. "Exactly. You certainly took your ti to figure out this truth. Although the Terrans have made a concerted effort to keep their dirty laundry outside of the public sphere, my n and I have still managed to tip the veil. If our theories are correct, the two Star Designers of the Terran Alliance have begun to engage in power plays."
Ves quickly recalled the Star Designers on the Terran side.
The Grand nder was a female Star Designer who was famous for developing support and repair systems, among other innovations.
The Armsforger was a male Star Designer who was renowned throughout both galaxies for developing the most exquisite lee weapons for high-end chs.
The two may be Terran in origin, but they possessed very different specializations and interests. They did not have all that much in common. It sounded rather plausible that their political interests diverged as well.
"Wait a second, Calabast. The Grand nder may have been the mastermind behind the creation of the elven race, but I find it hard to believe that she would step so far outside of her core specializations. From what I know, she has never dabbled all that much in biotech and bioch design. Her works are all related to improving tallic chs and devices. She has always been known as a strong inventor of conventional tech."
"That is true." She responded. "You probably know more about the nature of Star Designer than myself, but is it not conceivable that one such as the Grand nder has decided to branch out? She is clearly more than intelligent enough to acquire new skills and develop new specializations. The Age of Dawn has been a turning point for many individuals. Even Star Designers can choose to change their direction. Perhaps the Grand nder had an epiphany. Perhaps she has decided to unleash her ambitions after casting aside the yoke of the chers and the fleeters. Perhaps she has entered into a deeper partnership with Gaia. Whatever the case, she is the driving force behind the rise of the elves."
"I see… then the Armsforger is probably the highest patron of the Steel Coalition, am I correct?"
Calabast nodded. "That is so. Compared to the Grand nder, he is apparently not that eager to destabilize the Terran Alliance by adopting too many radical changes. He is an advocate for incrental improvent. He cares much more about preserving the original Terran identity than his female colleague. Currently, that ans that he is becoming increasingly more active in opposing the elven initiative."
That sounded clear enough. There was only one more issue.
"There is still a third tier 1 galactic citizen from the Terran Alliance." Ves ntioned. "What is the stance of the Light of Sol?"
"I do not know." Calabast honestly replied. "Many Terrans are also in the dark. We have tried our best to find out more, but so far many of our sources believe that the Light of Sol is either withholding his true opinions or has decided to maintain a strict stance of neutrality. This makes sense as he wields a great amount of power and influence. His voice can directly determine which coalition may dominate the political arena. Out of a sense of responsibility for his people, he may be reluctant to voice his opinion until enough ti has passed for every stakeholder to exchange their opinions and take their actions."
If the Light of Sol felt strongly about this issue, then he would have made his stance clear at an early stage.
Since that was not the case, then he may be positioning himself as a neutral arbiter who would support the coalition that had managed to gain the upper hand.
The question now was whether the Terran god pilot truly held a neutral stance.
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