As Ves prepared to meet with the Web Mistress in person for the first time, he briefly went over what he knew about the female Star Designer. The Zemana Ilcef was over 330 years old, which meant that she grew up and matured during a time where mechs had already become established and had reached its peak in human society. She had also risen up to become one of the most respected leaders of the Mech Supremacist Faction and maybe even the Red Association as a whole. Although it was well-known that the 5 century old Energy Warder and leader of the Expansionist Faction was the most politically active Star Designer in the Red Ocean, Charles Marmedion did not hold the highest amount of respect among his peers. The Web Mistress had earned that honor for one simple reason, and that was because she was the inventor of support link technology. The development of energy links, data links and most crucially shield links qualitatively transformed the capabilities of mechs on the battlefield. No longer did they have to rely on their own compact power reactors, shield generators and armor systems to sustain themselves and defend themselves against a flood of attacks. With the help of support link technology, mechs could coordinate their actions better than ever, extend the longevity of their energy reserves and defend themselves against concentrated attacks on any single machine. Even if there were many limitations to support link technology, that did not change the fact that the Web Mistress had been responsible for helping a huge number of mechs survive when they otherwise would have perished without the use of her technology! Her work earned so much universal acclaim from the mech community that even the Terran Alliance and the Rubarthan Pact did not hesitate to adopt her technology after the Red Split! The Web Mistress may be an integral part of the Red Association, but her work transcended rules and boundaries. Shield link technology alone was too good to pass up as it could literally reduce the attrition rates of Terran and Rubarthan mechs by a factor of 3 or more. As such, many people but particularly first-raters regarded her as one of the greatest saviors of their race and civilization. All of the mechs and warships were able to endure more damage, obtain more energy and coordinate much better than usual due to the impressive performance of her support link technology. Perhaps Ves gained a lot of reputation for becoming the Father of Carmine mechs, but his contribution did not do as much to win the battles that truly mattered as the invention of shield link technology. There were numerous reasons why Ves wanted to visit the Web Mistress. He wanted to obtain advice on how to develop his kinship networks. He wanted to understand how to receive tips on how he could enhance the connectivity of his living mechs. He also wanted to obtain her assistance with regards to an ambitious plan related to his own Polymetal mech. He could have chosen to ask for help from any other Star Designer. Their expertise could easily help him acquire or develop better power reactors, energy shields and more. Yet all of these were purely technological demands that he or his existing contacts could fulfill one way or another. What Ves truly wanted from his own tech went beyond these shallow considerations. As Ves rode the armored shuttle, he noted that it did a good job of isolating him and preventing his senses from determining where he was traveling. It not only isolated his senses and even blocked the passage of E energy radiation, it also actively generated interference and spatial disruptions to further confuse the senses of the passengers. The shuttle could be flying through an underground tunnel or ascend into space for all he knew. It was too bad that Ves had a vague idea of where he was moving. None of the various measures used by the shuttle could block his connections to his incarnations, though they did become a bit weaker. If he wanted to, he could use Vulcan to accurately map out the route of the shuttle. Out of respect for the Web Mistress and a desire to avoid trouble, he declined to pursue this stupid course of action. Once the shuttle finally touched down, the hatch opened, allowing Ves and a pair of guards dispatched by the Red Association to step out of a completely empty and featureless hangar room. It was not quite clear by sight whether the base was located in space or underground, but Ves knew that the armored shuttle had definitely not ascended into orbit, so he was more likely than not located somewhere underground. His guards escorted him out of the landing zone. As he walked, he could feel many different scanners going over his body. They were quite obvious and intrusive, but Ves let them do their work without complaint. You could never be too careful when it came to protecting a Star Designer. Ves would have been fine with speaking with the Web Mistress by remote, but she had requested to meet in person, so he had to deal with this as well. They soon reached a guarded checkpoint where Ves had to go through a much more extensive security check. They even went as far as commanding Ves to strip, unfold his true body and allowing dimensional scanners to search him top to bottom for fear he might be hiding a weapon of mass destruction in a hidden pocket dimension. Ves very much did not tell them that if he wanted to smuggle a compact antimatter bomb inside this facility, he could have stuffed one inside the Vault of Eternity and completely fool all of their security measures. It was a good thing that Ves had no intention of threatening or coercing the Web Mistress. Soon enough, he could feel he had entered the range of a particularly powerful Saint Kingdom. The senior ace pilot whose identity Ves could not pin down swept across him and tried to detect any hint that he had hostile intentions towards the Star Designer under his charge. He already expected this. Even if it was a bit too extravagant to park a god mech by the Web Mistress' side, the mechers should at least be able to assign an ace mech as part of her guard detail. Ves calmly adjusted his mood and tried to be as honest and transparent as possible in his both mind and spirit. He genuinely did not harbor any hostile intentions towards the Web Mistress and tried to make that clear in order to save himself a lot of trouble. Once he finally got cleared to proceed, Ves stepped forward while feeling more and more nervous. He did not notice it when his shuttle initially arrived at this high-tech lab facility, but as he moved closer to the center of the secret base, he could gradually sense the Web Mistress' spiritual influence across the imaginary realm. Her presence was substantially different from that of many other Star Designers. Whereas the Polymath and the Xenotechnician came across as True God-level energy-based life forms that were both equally self-contained and integrally connected to the fundamental rules of the universe, the Web Mistress felt a lot more… distributed, for a lack of a better description. What he sensed felt similar to how Saint Commander Casella Ingvar differed from regular ace pilots. By that, he felt as if the Web Mistress sacrificed a substantial amount of personal power in order to be able to channel her strength across her network. In fact, her entire existence could be described as a gigantic spiritual web. This intangible construct maintained so many different connections that Ves could not even begin to count them. There were millions if not billions of spiritual bonds that spread out in every direction. However, when Ves tried to see where they led to, they quickly slipped from the range of his senses. This was incredible. Ves prided himself on his remarkable spiritual perception, but when it came to networks, he was like a child in front of an adult. Ves figured out without even meeting her yet that the Web Mistress had taken the initiative to lift the veil behind her true nature so that he could get a small glimpse. She was showing him precisely what she wanted him to see, and nothing more. It was fascinating. The amount of control and the effects she demonstrated went beyond regular qi manipulation. This was a higher form of reality manipulation. The Web Mistress figuratively plucked the strings that represent the rules that governed reality and manipulated them in her favor. This was a particularly refined and elegant means of altering reality. It was not as forceful and overbearing as a god pilot forcing reality to obey his supreme will, but it was much more fitting for a Star Designer to rely on knowledge and a lot of leverage to produce the desired outcomes. Ves felt that he was missing a lot of important details about the true nature of the Web Mistress' presence. He felt as if Her Excellency wanted to test him by showing him a puzzle and challenging him to solve it somehow. To be honest, Ves felt as if the Web Mistress had grossly overestimated his capabilities. He never liked puzzles in the first place, and he was missing far too much information to figure out any mysteries. Perhaps he might be able to figure out a secret once they began their dialogue. After passing through a few more corridors and chambers, Ves finally entered the space where the Web Mistress resided. The Star Designer chose to meet Ves in a large hall that looked like the fusion between a temple and a lounge. This was the personal space of the Web Mistress. Spider as well as web motifs hung from the banners and had been painted on the walls. Moving spider constructs that varied in size skittered across the webs they spun from their own spinnerets. Red was the dominant color here, though the chamber did not look ominous. It instead granted the room a sense of vibrancy that contrasted sharply against the plain gunmetal gray walls and floors. Ves slowly moved forward and had to tread across a long stretch of low steps. It was a bit annoying to walk on them, but he suppressed his own irritation. He instead gazed at the Web Mistress who sat on a pavilion at the top of a raised dais. She was completely alone. There were no bodyguards, attendants or any other human present in the large chamber besides Ves and the Star Designer. Of course, the Saint Kingdom of the unseen senior ace pilot still affected Ves, so he must be close at hand. When Ves finally reached the top of the steps, he stopped and faced the woman that had earned so much renown and appreciation in the mech community. The Web Mistress possessed a darker complexion that contrasted sharply against her predominantly white robes. Her purple high hat and purple accents on her outer robe added a bit more flair to her appearance. She looked both human and a fundamental cog of the universe. This was the woman who personified the concept of networks, webs and connections in the Red Ocean and perhaps beyond. Just as Ves studied the Web Mistress, the Web Mistress studied Ves. He had no idea what she saw in him or how many secrets she could pry from him, but Ves tried his best not to worry about how much he was giving away. He already accepted the fact that he would have to expose himself to the Star Designer if he wanted to meet and talk to her in person. After half a minute of silent staring, the Star Designer finally gestured to the other side of the low table. "Sit." She spoke in an ethereal and slightly inhuman voice. "We have much to discuss."