Chapter 7480  RF Stealth Focus

After a bit of creative intimidation and negotiation, Ves and Gloriana managed to secure the initial compliance of the archecruiser captain.

This saved them a lot of trouble.

With the intervention of the surviving alien leader, Gloriana and her team managed to pause the timers that had been running in the background, thereby stopping all immediate threats that could lead to the destruction of invaluable spoils.

Saint Dise and her ace mech remained close at hand while these interactions took place. Her Saint Kingdom verified that the archecruiser captain did not consciously engage in any falsehood or inauthentic behavior.

He truly cooperated with the humans that managed to defeat and capture him, at least for the time being.

Ves did not think it would be as easy to establish deeper forms of cooperation with this prideful alien leader, but at least he did not try to deprive the humans from the rewards that they deserved.

Gloriana decided to stay longer and take advantage of this opportunity to examine the structure of the archecruiser in person.

"The Red Fleet has already staked a very strong claim on this prize." She told her husband. "I would have preferred that our clan keep this alien ship in our possession, but that is not a realistic wish. We lack the researchers and infrastructure to properly study and decipher her workings in full. While I am confident in my own personal abilities, I cannot study this entire ship in a reasonable amount of time. I also need to dedicate most of my time to designing mechs. This is why we are currently working towards an agreement with the RF that allows them to take over the ship and study her archetech at will in exchange for giving us access to their research results."

"As long as the RF provides enough guarantees that they will uphold that promise, I do not have any strong objections to this deal." Ves said after a moment's thought.

This was nothing new to the Larkinson Clan. He even believed that the combined fleet would capture more technologically advanced prizes in the near future. There was no way the Larkinson Clan's meager R&D capabilities could digest all of these gains. It was better to give them away to various allies in exchange for more immediate and tangible benefits.

The Red Fleet indeed developed a strong interest in the archecruiser.

Commodore Zonrad Reze did not shy away from telling Ves their underlying motivations.

"As you know, the Common Fleet Alliance back in the Milky Way Galaxy had always managed to stay competitive against the Mech Trade Association due to one key reason. Our core assets are all mobile. While we may have built a large amount of fixed orbit gas harvesting stations, repair yards and recruiting stations, those are all peripheral installations that will never threaten our core existence when destroyed. The Milky Way is big enough that if the CFA ever falls out with the MTA, the latter can never spend enough time and energy to hunt down each and every CFA warfleet. There are too many of them, and they can spread out across an entire galaxy."

"I am aware of the CFA's survival strategy." Ves responded. "Now that I think about it, if the RF attempts to do the same in the Red Ocean, it will be a lot harder to pull off. The Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy is much smaller in volume so it takes much less effort to sweep every star system. Its stellar geography is also simpler and contains fewer anomalous regions that can be used as hiding places. Phase lords and phase whales are also really good at sniffing out pocket spaces considering that they are masters at creating them. Simply trying to spread out and hide in remote areas won't work in the new frontier."

"Exactly. This is why we have taken inspiration from the arche. This stubborn race has abandoned much of its research into other technologies in order to create a strong competitive advantage in stealth technologies. This is a risky strategic decision that has obviously paid off for them, as the arche are still able to guarantee the survival of their race despite being disliked by every other major alien race. If the worst case scenarios for red humanity come to pass one day, then we may need to employ a number of contingency solutions in order to survive the dark days ahead. Imitating the arche is a viable idea, especially since there is solid proof that it works."

"For now, at least." Ves retorted. "Technology can always be overcome by better technology. Besides, the operating environment for the arche has changed since the Great Severing. The introduction of exotic radiation has opened up many new methods of detection, some of which can definitely bypass whatever technological superiority the arche have mastered."

The secret hybrid AI smiled. "The RF is not blind to that fact. Together with the RC, we have worked hard to demystify the new phenomena. We have invested heavily into developing our own expertise in hyper technology and E-technology. Our focus is different from that of the RA. Whereas the mechers still remain obsessed with trying to help people ascend to the nebulous status of godhood, we have prioritized efforts to make advanced solutions more accessible. We must make stealth ships more affordable and practical."

"And you can do this by learning lessons from the archecruiser?"

"We do not want to obtain and study the archecruiser in order to produce straightforward copies of it, Ves. We still believe that widespread adoption of unadapted or lightly adapted alien technology will eventually lead us astray. No. We simply wish to decipher the universal scientific principles and solutions that the arche have employed in their own works and adopt them for ourselves if they prove to be of use. That is different from what your wife has begun to do as of late. Your archemechs are interesting from an engineering standpoint, but the serious tradeoffs mean that it is only practical for your Larkinson Clan. The RF builds and operates many more ships. At our scale, expediency and cost efficiency are more important than trying to aim for the absolute best."

"What about your dreadnoughts?"

"Even dreadnoughts are products of compromise, Ves." The RF officer grimly smiled. "There are those within my ranks that still think of them as huge resource sinks. They demand a disproportionate share of high-grade resources, maintenance costs and R&D support for their quantity. This is considered a waste to some fleeters, but the truth is that the situation could have been so much worse."

They talked a bit more before ending the call. Ves was satisfied with what he learned. He gained enough of an understanding of what the RF wanted to acquire from the captured archecruiser.

He thought about whether it might be a good idea to convert some if not all of the naval assets of the Larkinson Clan into stealth vessels.

"It's too costly." He quickly shook his head.

The Larkinson Clan did not have the shipyards and technologies required to build so many stealth ships or add stealth capability to its existing stock of starships.

Perhaps it might be possible to raise a brand new squadron of fleet that comprised entirely of stealth vessels, but they could only accommodate a fraction of the population of the clan.

Besides, investing in so many stealth ships was investing in loss mitigation. Ves could understand the prudence of this approach, but it would divert valuable resources away from making the Larkinson Clan grow stronger and more successful in the future.

It was essentially a choice between doubling down on success or hedging against failure.

A more prudent decision maker would invest in the latter while a bolder leader would go for the former.

Ves did not need to hesitate much to determine his own preference. Casella Ingvar should also align with his ideas. As the current matriarch of the Larkinson Clan, she should understand him well enough to make the correct decision.

At least he hoped that it was the case.

The situation was much different for the Red Fleet. It made a lot more sense for the fleeters to invest at least a part of its resources into raising a serious stealth fleet.

"Will the Red Fleet also use those stealth ships as more than secret refuges?"

The projection of Commodore Reze smiled. "Yes. In our opinion, the arche could have inflicted much more damage to our industries and logistical network if they allocated more sabotage missions to their stealth ships. For whatever reasons, they are rather reluctant in doing their best to fight this war. We are not so restrained. As long as our own stealth applications match the level of that of the arche, our stealth ships can ravage many industrial star systems occupied by the major alien races. Only the most well-defended centers that are protected by large sensor networks or occupied by vigilant phase lords can prevent such attacks. Tonnage is an important variable. The larger our stealth ships, the more damage they can inflict when left to their own devices."

The Red Fleet already operated many stealth ships that lurked behind enemy lines, but they overwhelmingly consisted of frigate-sized vessels that could only carry a limited amount of missiles, which were usually their only serious armaments.

While they might possess a number of gun turrets, their firepower was too limited to inflict large-scale destruction in a short time frame.

That was very frustrating because stealth ships were usually too fragile to expose themselves to the enemy for too long. They needed to launch their blows quickly and leave shortly afterwards in order to evade interception.

The arche stealth ship doctrine therefore gave the Red Fleet a very reliable blueprint to adopt when trying to conduct their own sabotage operations.

Ves knew that this could make a huge difference in the war effort once the fleeters managed to get this ambitious program up and running.

Even if the new wave of stealth vessels could not completely demolish entire industrial centers like the current combined fleet, they could still destroy lots of large and strategically important industrial facilities that would take precious years to rebuild!

As long as their scale was great enough, it would be enough to put an end to the relentless assaults on human-occupied space!

The conversation ended quickly after they discussed the more specific arrangements relating to the operation and transfer of the archecruiser.

There was no guarantee that the captive archecruiser captain would continue to prevent his ship from self-destructing.

The RF therefore organized and sent a small task force in a hurry in order to put the large alien vessel in a strong form of stasis as soon as possible.

The ship just needed to last long enough for the task force to arrive.

"Will your special captive remain compliant?" The RF commodore seriously asked.

Ves shrugged. "I am not sure. Personally, I am not optimistic. He can only make promises in his personal capacity, but he has already made it clear that he is not able or willing to negotiate on behalf of his entire race. Achieving a lasting concord between us and the arche is out of the question. The only reason why he is preserving his ship and allowing our researchers to study his people's tech is because I have made a personal promise not to mistreat the arche."

Zonrad Reze threw a knowing look at the mech designer. "That must have been a serious concession for an inquisitive man such as yourself. The alien commanding officer can most definitely feel proud for restraining you. Yet it sounds strange. From what we have learned about the arche, they are famously paranoid about letting other races take possession of their ships. Their stealth technology is literally their lifesaver. Even if this alien leader has become mentally impaired due to his strange transformation, he still exhibits enough rationality to conduct negotiations. If this is the case, why would he allow humans to study his people's best and most strategically important technologies at our leisure?"

That… was an important question.

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