Compared to his lack of interest in turning the Larkinson Network into a true communications network, Ves was much more interested in making greater use of battle formations.
The power of battle formations was too attractive to him! Even in his low state, his heart pumped faster at the thought of designing a mech that specifically took advantage of the advantages that battle networks brought!
Unlike his other applications, battle networks gave him the greatest hope of being able to leapfrog challenges. It was one of the few ways in which Ves was able to make his mechs utilize the strength of a powerful individual, whether it was an expert pilot that had just broken through or a powerful design spirit like the Superior Mother!
Still, this application had many flaws. Aside from finding a group of highly-aligned mech pilots and choosing a compatible source of power, this seemingly-magical application was also very draining!
Normal mech pilots did not have much spiritual load-bearing capacity. They could only sustain the pressure for so long until they were unable to maintain their position in a battle formation.
Once the battle formation broke up, the mech pilots were usually at the end of their rope! Mentally, they could hardly fight any longer!
This only reinforced his determination to treat it as a weapon of last resort.
Its disproportionate power was too good for Ves to pass up! As for all of the practical problems surrounding this method, he could deal with them. After all, battle formations played a considerable role during the Battle against the Abyss.
The only issue right now was that Gloriana insisted on imparting the power of battle networks to the Hex Army.
Ves had to argue with her a lot. Eventually, he managed to cut her inquiries by coming up with a somewhat valid excuse.
“It won’t work, Gloriana. Battle networks are principally connected to mech pilots, not mechs. It works for us because I can manually forge these connections to the individuals in question. It’s not possible to do so to the Hexers fighting against the Fridaymen because there is no way we’ll be in the same room. Just forget about it and focus upon what works, okay?”
That basically settled the matter.
Once the discussion went back on track, Ves began to explain the concept of his mech.
“There are three potential candidate groups for battle networks. The Penitent Sisters, Battle Criers and Swordmaidens are all highly homogenous and unified. They’re also incredibly close to each other and can get in sync easily. I’ve already tested my battle networks on them and confirmed they are suited for this application.”
“Who will you choose to focus on this time, Ves?” Gloriana asked with an unenthused voice.
She took his refusal hard. She had to grab Clixie in order to comfort herself.
“Miaow.” Clixie glared resentfully at Ves for making Gloriana unhappy.
Ves paid no mind to the Rubarthan Sentinel Cat.
“For now, I am focused on gaining immediate battle effectiveness. I don’t anticipate meeting any overpowering enemies in the near future, but it’s best to have our weapon of last resort ready sooner than later. The Penitent Sisters are the best candidates in mind. They are true second-class mech pilots and the source of their strength happens to be the strongest out of all of the options. With the Superior Mother feeding them strength, I have no doubt their battle formation is the strongest!”
Gloriana looked up again. “The Penitent Sisters are also Hexers! Why can’t we design this mech for the Hex Army as well? We have permission to use its tech.”
That was exactly what he did not want to do! Ves wanted to decrease his entanglement with the Hexadric Hegemony!
“Don’t dream about it. Also, you’re wrong. The Penitent Sisters are no longer Hexers. They’re Larkinsons. The Hegemony has stripped them of their Hexer citizenship, remember? Even if they have a lot in common with orthodox Hexers, they will slowly turn into something else. There is no stopping their change.”
His Larkinson Network might not be versatile, but it was quite good at performing its core functions. Ves did not believe the Penitent Sisters were able to succeed where Ranya failed!
Perhaps the only Penitent Sister that would be able to resist the Golden Cat’s influence was Juliet Stameros. As a Journeyman she was just as difficult to influence as Gloriana!
Wait a second.
Ves just realized he overlooked another important detail.
“Uhm…”
“What is it, Ves?”
“Do you know our Larkinson Clan has three Journeyman Mech Designers instead of two?”
Gloriana tilted her head. “Of course I do. The Penitent Sisters possess a lot of pride in their head designer.”
He grimaced. “Why didn’t you remind me?”
“I’m not your personal assistant, Ves.” She sneered.
“What do you have against Miss Stameros? She’s a Journeyman!”
“She’s also a criminal. An exile. A heretic!”
Ves had the feeling that Gloriana only cared about the latter. Nonetheless, the vehemence in her voice was very real!
“Our Larkinson Clan doesn’t waste talent. Don’t you think it is stupid to neglect a bonafide Journeyman? As far as I know, Miss Stameros is just as capable of designing mechs as us. Adding her to the Design Department will increase its productivity by half. The difference she can make is immense!”
“She’s a harmful presence, Ves. Why are you thinking about designing mechs with someone who revels in killing boys? The Penitent Sisters should have never been redeemed!”
“That’s not fair to her! Look, as far as I know, the Temple of Hexism outright executed all of the boy-impaling priests and their lackeys. The cultists who were spared from this fate weren’t culpable for these crimes. They’re just brainwashed victims for the most part. The Hegemony forced them to become the Penitent Sisters as a more appropriate punishment. In the service of our clan, these exiles have fought bravely by our side. I would have died in the Nyxian Gap if they weren’t there to lend their strength. In my opinion, they have atoned for their crimes and should be treated as such.”
He truly owed a lot to the Penitent Sisters. Their contribution in the previous battles were undeniable. Despite their heavy losses, the former Hexers never issued a word of complaint.
As for any concerns about their extremist views, Ves no longer worried about that problem. Aside from relying on the Golden Cat to mellow them out, he had also distributed enough idols of the Superior Mother to them to convert them to a less extreme interpretation of hexism!
It was unfortunate that Gloriana shared none of his sentiments. She hadn’t taken part in the Nyxian Gap Campaign, so she never experienced the hardships he went through. She also did not acquire any gratitude to the exiles.
“I am not designing a mech with Juliet Stameros, and neither will you.” She hissed.
“You’re going too far. She’s a Journeyman and a Larkinson.”
“I already spoke with her a few times. She is content with her current lot. She just wants to keep serving the Penitent Sisters in her current capacity of head designer.”
Ves grew increasingly more annoyed with his wife. “You are just saying that. Who knows if that’s what she really wants? After all, it seems you have a different agenda.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near you. I’m your wife, Ves. I need to defend my territory!”
“Do you think we’re animals? I’m faithful to you. I have no attraction towards Miss Stameros at all. Just because she has a Hexer background doesn’t mean she poses a threat to our marriage.”
His wife grew more intense. “You don’t know anything about women, especially Hexer women. There is no way that Stamoros is disinterested in the son of the Superior Mother.”
This was ridiculous!
“I think she’s professional enough to treat me as a colleague.”
“You’re a fool if you think that. I will not allow her to get anywhere close to you. Just leave her to rot with the Penitent Sister like she deserves!”
Suffice to say, neither of the two came to an agreement regarding this matter.
Ves was not willing to let go of another Journeyman! Regardless of what Gloriana thought, the Design Department was too short on high-ranking mech designers!
While Ves had high hopes for Ketis and Miles Tovar, it would probably take years before they advanced. This was too long considering how many mechs he wanted to design.
While it wasn’t impossible for the Larkinson Clan to recruit a competent Journeyman, Ves did not even consider the option.
It was too risky. Any Journeyman could be a spy or hold nefarious intentions. With their solidified design seeds, assimilating them into the Larkinson Clan was much more difficult.
In fact, Gloriana and Stameros were in the same boat. It was just that they were more acceptable in his opinion.
The former was his wife.
The latter had gone through several life-and-death crises with his clan. Juliet Stameros had proven her courage and earned the trust of the Larkinsons. Because of this, Ves actually felt compelled to defend her honor!
Since Ves and Gloriana were at loggerheads over the Penitent Sister’s head designer, they ended their discussion without concluding their list.
Gloriana glared at Ves and left the room while hugging Clixie.
Ves looked a bit annoyed as well. Dealing with someone as volatile as her was really frustrating sometimes.
He turned to his own cat. “Why did I marry her in the first place?”
Lucky shrugged. “Meow?”
“Well, thanks for that.”
Ves took his cat and departed from the Stellar Chaser. He didn’t want to stay on the ship for one minute longer.
He needed to talk to Juliet Stameros in person. He had to find out why she never contacted him about taking on a greater role in the Larkinson Clan and see if he could invite her into the Design Department.
Though Ves truly wanted to respect Gloriana’s opinion, sometimes she was wrong! Some matters were too important to allow emotions to override his good sense.
His shuttle flew towards one of the few Penitent Sister ships that was still intact. Of course, the vessel was just a logistics ship, not a combat carrier.
The Penitent Sisters received word of his arrival. Many former Hexers lined up as Ves, Lucky and Nitaa stepped aboard.
“Patriarch, we did not expect your arrival today.” Commander Valerie Chancy remarked after she saluted him. “Is there something you need from the Penitent Sisters?”
“Please allow me to speak with Juliet Stameros in private. I have some very important matters to talk about with your resident mech designer.”
The Penitent Sister Commander sent a silent command through her implant. “Done, sir. Follow me, please. I will guide you to the upper decks.”
As they began to walk through the hallways, Ves entered into a discussion with Chancy.
“I’m sorry about neglecting your group. After we returned to Cinach, I had to deal with a lot of issues. My wedding, the talks with the Cross Clan and finalizing my mech projects all took priority.”
“We understand, sir. We are content with our lot. Our situation is not much different from that of the other mech forces. We are all waiting to receive our new mechs and combat carriers. We don’t particularly require any special attention.”
Ves sighed in relief. At least the Penitent Sisters didn’t suffer from his lack of attention.
“That’s good to hear. How is Miss Stameros doing, by the way?”
“Oh, she is keeping herself busy.” Commander Chancy replied. “She has been helping us decide which commercial mechs we should buy in order to restore our battle effectiveness. There is quite a lot of choice, even if we limit ourselves to Hexer mechs.”
“I see.”
It sounded as if Stameros was truly engaged in her current responsibilities. While that was good, Ves still thought it was a waste to leave her with the Penitent Sisters. She could do so much more for the Larkinson Clan if she contributed to his design projects!
While Ves knew he was playing with fire by disregarding his wife, Ves did not give up on his current course of action. One way or another, he wanted to add another Journeyman to the Design Department!
