The Mech Touch

"So all of our upcoming mechs will become better, but it will take at least an extra month before our mech pilots will receive the final versions?"

Ketis nodded. "Yup. The previous battle has truly been an eye-opener for us. Aside from Gloriana and Juliet, the rest of the Design Department didn't really have a good grasp of high-level second-class combat. I think Ves and the others thought that they wouldn't be fighting against this caliber of opponents too soon."

Venerable Joshua chuckled. "Ves should have known better. He's a trouble magnet. He's making waves wherever he goes so there are bound to be people who want to get rid of him. We're not playing a virtual game here where our opponents get stronger step by step. Well, we all know better now. I look forward in seeing these new mechs in action. They sound quite promising."

Both of them sat together on a bench in the forward observation chamber on the 1st deck. It was a large, expansive and idyllic garden that provided any visitor with an abundant amount of space to relax or engage in recreational activities.

Since the forward observation chamber was limited to officers, VIPs and other high-ranking personnel, there weren't many clansmen around.

In fact, there were a lot more pets than humans scurrying about!

"Woof!"

A black pitbull eagerly wagged his tail as Ketis ruffled his head and neck.

"Maow. Maow. Maow."

A young cat rolled onto Joshua's lap and exposed his belly. When Joshua rubbed it, the pet softly purred.

The pets didn't belong to the couple. They were taken care of by other clansmen. It was just that when their owners were on shift, the cats and dogs didn't have much to do in their cabins. Most of them preferred to spend their time in the larger communal areas on the ship.

Every time Joshua and Ketis visited the observation deck or the city deck, they became inundated with pets. Joshua especially attracted them on a regular basis. They all brushed up against him to leave behind their scent or begged for pats.

It was fortunate that Joshua never got tired of the attention. As an expert pilot who was expected to shoulder the burden of defending the Larkinson Clan against powerful opponents, he could use the distraction.

"We never really got to be together after the battle until now." Ketis said as she adjusted her poofy beret on her head. "Are you doing okay?"

"We won, didn't we? I'm already happy with that. It's a shame that so many of our clansmen died. I felt like I could have done more to prevent them from dying."

"The battle was way too big for you to achieve more. You did the best you could."

"I know. I'm not doubting myself or anything." He replied. "I am just trying to figure out how I can perform better next time. The Valkyrie Prime is a great mech and what I was able to accomplish with the Hexers back then is indescribable."

The moments where he became an integral part of two battle formations was one of his best moments so far. He would always remember the times where he turned the tide of the battle by wiping out a swathe of Fridayman with the first try and disabling Venerable Ghanso with the second try.

He even looked forward to doing it again. A part of Joshua wished that some other enemy would come and provoke the Larkinson Clan. That way, he could get back into the Valkyrie Prime and lead another battle formation!

"Enough about me. How are you doing? Are you making any progress towards becoming a Journeyman?"

Ketis grinned. "The Battle of Reckoning is a goldmine for me! I have access to lots of footage and analyses on the performance of different sword-wielding mechs. I'm so happy that Venerable Dise managed to show her strength against the Jeanne D'Arc. My sisters held a huge grudge against Venerable Foster. It's great that we managed to avenge the sisters we've lost, but…"

"It doesn't bring back the dead."

She gently nodded. "The Swordmaidens are still as small as ever."

"Aren't the Swordmaidens training a batch of several hundred women?"

"That's true, but it will take at least several years or so to whip them into shape. It's not enough to be a female swordsman mech specialist. They need to be truly dedicated to the sword and our way of life. In battle, every sister must be able to trust each other without reserve. That not only takes time, but also considerable pressure. Not every trainee will live to the end of our training program."

In fact, the harsh demands of the Swordmaidens to their fellow trainees was a source of considerable controversy. The Larkinsons generally wanted every clansman to be treated well. There shouldn't be any room for excessive abuse and mistreatment within their ranks.

That put the Swordmaidens in an awkward position. The training regime they devised back when they were still pirates may be cruel, but it was reasonably effective at producing powerful mech pilots.

In the end, Ves personally had to grant them special permission to run their training program the way they wanted to. As far as he was concerned, the Swordmaidens could do anything they wanted as long as the hopeful trainees agreed to subject themselves to the difficult circumstances.

Joshua frowned when he recalled what he heard about how the Swordmaidens raised their sisters.

"Are the Swordmaidens still intending to pit their prospective members against exobeasts while armed with nothing but a greatsword?"

"Of course! Why would you ever think we would stop with that? It's the ultimate test that separates true Swordmaidens from those who are too weak to be relied upon in battle."

"Isn't that.. over-the-top?"

Ketis sighed and patted his arm. "Maybe it sounds crazy from the perspective of someone who grew up in civilized space, but the frontier is a completely different environment, at least back before the sandmen swept the entire region. There was no room for weaklings back then. You also have to take the training environment into account. The recruits we picked up from settlements and space stations were usually women without any prior training or preparation. Their genetic aptitude or other talents were almost always poor. How can you possibly turn them into strong Swordmaidens like Venerable Dise or myself?"

"Uhhh…"

"By training harder than everyone else! The Swordmaidens developed an effective method that worked well under the circumstances. Sure, the drop rate was not light, but those who passed our graduation ceremonies were always dependable. That is a quality that is exceedingly rare in any lawless region like the frontier and the Nyxian Gap."

Though Joshua was swayed by her arguments, he still disapproved of the Swordmaidens. His appreciation for life made it difficult for him to accept that trainees had to be subjected to so many risks in order to succeed.

"What are the recruits like?"

"Eager. Hardworking. You have to keep in mind that the Swordmaidens don't pay too much attention to talent or foundation. That means that mech pilots who aren't good enough to get selected by the Avatars can always approach the Swordmaidens."

"As long as they are women, right?"

"Well.. there's a bit of a discussion about that within the ranks. Given how urgent it is to replenish our ranks of mech pilots, some of my sisters have started to suggest we should open our doors to men."

"What? Really?"

Ketis did not look as if she was kidding. "It's just a discussion for now, so don't think it's already set. Personally, I'm not sure it will work out. We sisters trust each other to a large extent exactly because we're in a sisterhood. If we begin to take in men and other genders, I'm afraid we'll lose the closeness we had before. The Swordmaidens will never be the same if we embrace this change."

Joshua didn't know what to think on this matter. The part of him that was in favor of equality supported opening up the Swordmaidens. However, their all-female identity was clearly a point of strength for them, so losing that would dilute their fighting spirit.

"Maybe.. your sisters should just continue like this. It's not as if the men in the Larkinson Clan are stuck in a dead end. Maybe we need to raise an all-male force in order to counterbalance the Swordmaidens and Penitent Sisters."

"I don't see how that's useful." Ketis snorted. "Besides, who will lead this new group? Vincent Ricklin?"

"Nah. Vincent is already an expert candidate. He should be focusing on his own training."

"Heh. Of all of the mech pilots who broke through, it had to be this guy."

"It must be his custom mech." Joshua guessed. "I took a look at it as it's one one of the few mechs designed by Ves that I never got to pilot. It had a unique glow and a special touch that's considerably different from his other products. It's a pity that I'll never get to pilot, it seems."

"If you really wanted to, I can gather a crew to fix it up. I'm not Ves, so I can't restore the mech to its original condition, but don't underestimate my abilities."

"You don't have to do that, Ketis. I know you are busy with trying to reach Journeyman and all. The Adonis Colossus is not a mech that suits your tastes."

He was already resigned to placing the Adonis Colossus in the list of LMC mechs that he never experienced. The achievement hunter within him felt quite annoyed with this, but it couldn't be helped.

As they continued to chat about other matters, they grew more comfortable in each other's presence. It had truly been too long since they set aside their responsibilities and spent some time alone with each other.

"I won't be able to meet with you very often in the coming weeks." She warned him. "My workload has increased due to the recent changes. Ves wants us all to redo a significant portion of our design work."

"Didn't you get an exemption in order to concentrate on trying to advance to Journeyman?"

"I need this, Joshua." She looked at him with a fiery passion. "Being able to work on the swordsman mech configuration of the Bright Warrior is a great opportunity to prepare for designing my own swordsman mechs! I'm still laying the groundwork for my Monster Slayer design. Once I embark on this project, I want to be familiar with every aspect of designing a second-class swordsman mech. This is going to be my first true breakout work. It will define the direction of my future designs just as how the Desolate Soldier design has shaped the subsequent designs of Ves!"

Ketis had a feeling that she had an opportunity to turn her Monster Slayer into an iconic mech. As long as she put in the effort and prepared as best as possible, the mech she designed with the Swordmaidens in mind would become their defining machine in any duel or land battle!

Her main concern was that the longer she delayed, the longer she might remain stuck as an Apprentice. While she was still young for a mech designer, she didn't want to lag too far behind Ves. Whenever she saw Gloriana and Juliet cooperate with Ves on an equal basis, she felt jealous!

Her competitive nature didn't allow her to linger behind for so long. One way or another, she vowed she would advance within a year from now! Just like Ves, she did not want to waste too much time!

She suddenly dove into Joshua and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Whoa! What's the occasion?"

"Hehe, it's nothing. I just felt like it. I feel our relationship is moving too slow. We haven't gone out on an actual date yet, you know."

"We're too busy and our schedules don't always overlap. We'll have time in the future. Once all of the excitement dies down, I think we'll have plenty of opportunities to spend time with each other."

"I hope so, Joshua. I hope so." Ketis trailed.