Ves exited Senator Tovar's magnificent stateroom in confusion. The conversation took a strange direction at the end, and he couldn't quite figure out the old man's intentions.
He did figure out one thing, though. The senator's interest in him had increased, and Ves did not know whether that was good or bad. As much as he benefited from having a powerful backer within the government, he had no illusion that the senator truly valued him more than a useful tool.
As a mech designer, Ves worked with various tools. "A good tool is hard to find, but I won't cry if it breaks. I'll just get a replacement."
He witnessed various instances of leaders sacrificing others for their own purposes. From Calabast using up the lives of her operatives to Senator Tovar treating the 6th Flagrant Vandals as a gambling stake to win the jackpot of his life, powerful people did not shy away from sacrificing the lives of their subordinates to get what they wanted.
