One of the reasons why Ves wanted to talk to Calabast was to determine how to manage his relationship with the Cybernetic Empire.
A discussion on the Polymath could not be avoided for that reason.
For better or worse, she had become the singular most powerful Star Designer in the Red Ocean.
She not only possessed the most versatile 'specialization' among her kind, but she also commanded the most technologically advanced empire, even if it was technically confined to a single massive star system for the time being.
She also had a lot of uncommitted military forces at her disposal. Anyone she chose to reinforce with her massive armada would definitely be able to endure the pressure of one or several massive alien threats.
Yet was the Polymath willing to send her soldiers straight into the meat grinder only for others to reap most of the benefits?
