Chapter 2689: No Expert Mech (1/2)

”Brutus!”

Gloriana entered a highly secure and luxuriously-furnished recovery room on the Indigo Tremor.

The Glory Seeker fleet carrier had become a lot emptier after the destruction of lots of mechs. Fortunately, the enemy hadn't prioritized her as a target so she incurred remarkably little damage.

For now, her crew were busy trying to recover the wrecks floating in space while also organizing a prize crew to facilitate the takeover of the Auralis.

Gloriana didn't care about that at the moment. She ran up to the bed where a tired-looking Brutus looked at his sister with happiness.

”You're safe.”

There was little doubt about that as soon as word of their eventual victory reached his ears. However, seeing was believing. Only when he saw that her sister was safe did he feel reassured.

His protective force of will embraced the woman in a familiar fashion. On her part, Gloriana relaxed even further.

”Are you okay?” She asked as she tried to spot any injuries on his body.

”I'd be in a treatment machine if I was hit more seriously. Don't worry. My cockpit got banged up a bit, causing me to suffer some bruises that are easily treatable. You don't have to be concerned at all. My most serious problem is that I overloaded my mind. Trying to keep my mech alive as long as possible against the Charlemagne and those pseudo-expert mechs was the most challenging moment of my life. I pushed myself so hard to dodge more attacks and prevent all of those Glory Seekers from sacrificing their mechs to block incoming attacks. I.. I regret that I failed to protect all of those people.”

”There was no choice, Brutus.” Gloriana reached his side and retracted her suit so that her bare hand touched his shoulder. ”Those Glory Seekers did their duty. Our expedition is much better served if you're alive.”

”This isn't how I want to fight my battles. It's me who is supposed to be protecting you all. How can I possibly continue to pilot a mech when those brave female Hexers are risking their lives for me? This is a travesty!”

”They're doing it because of me!” Gloriana gripped his chin and turned his head around until their eyes. ”You are much more valuable than anyone else in the Glory Seekers. Even Colonel Ariadne Wodin is worth nothing compared to you! So don't think that everyone has their priorities wrong. If you die…”

The wounded expert pilot sighed. ”You're being selfish again, sister.”

Gloriana leaned in and kissed his cheek before staring lovingly in his eyes. ”That's the privilege of power, brother. I only value two people in our fleet: Ves and you. The Glory Seekers exist to serve me, so I told them to do their best to keep the two of you alive. I am not going to allow you to make me sad by getting killed in battle.”

”You..” Brutus was speechless.

As a soldier dedicated to protecting Gloriana and other Hexer women, his sister's declaration did not sit well with him. His honor and his duty compelled him to resist this policy!

Yet… Brutus couldn't go against his sister. She always had the final say in matters. No matter how unreasonable she sounded, her will trumped everyone else's as long as she didn't endanger herself.

They soon changed topics.

”I took a look at the Star Dancer when I was on my way to visit you.” She said as she calmly sat down next to his bed. ”I'm sorry to say that what is left of your expert mech is not in good shape.”

Brutus looked pained. ”The Star Dancer accompanied me well for several years. It served me well in this battle. I was hoping that it could serve a few years more.”

Gloriana tried to smile. ”It's okay, Brutus. Ves and I will try and make a replacement for you. I've prepared for this project for many months. We just need to determine what materials we can use and which Master we should partner up with to design a better machine. You should definitely look forward to what I have in store. The mechs that Ves and I are capable of designing are extremely special. Just look at the so-called prime mechs that my husband came up with. I still can't accept that the Valkyrie Prime along with several hundred standard mechs are able to wipe out a vast swathe of mech pilots along with the entire crew of a starship.”

”You're not the only one who is wondering. No one in the fleet will underestimate his mechs from now on. While I detest the Fridaymen, a part of me feels that no one deserves to die from such an odd method of attack. It's.. too destructive. It's practically a weapon of mass destruction.”

As a mech pilot, Brutus instinctively repelled any weapon that diminished the lives of soldiers. It was one thing to get killed by getting shot by an enemy mech. It was another thing to get killed along with thousands of other comrades by getting blasted to pieces by a tactical nuclear weapon!

Gloriana was not as conflicted, though. Her smile stretched wider as she relished in her memory of that wonderful moment.

”The Fridaymen deserve to be slaughtered by the Superior Mother! Don't feel any pity for our loathsome enemies. If they didn't want to lose their lives this way, then they shouldn't have gone out to ambush us. They should have known better than to go up against Ves and his wonderful inventions!”

His sister was incorrigible, Brutus thought. Still, it wasn't as if he felt much differently. The battle had been close. Too close. If he fell too soon or if the others fought a little worse, then Gloriana and everyone else in the fleet might have been killed by now! Thinking what might befall of his sister wiped away any sympathy he held towards his opponents.