“Shattered Pride is an apt name. I don’t think any of my teams would have any pride left to mention after a fight with that thing if it is as impressive as it looks.” Commander Arnold laughed.

“She won the fight.”

The Mercenary Commander, as well as the Captain, and every crew member in earshot all turned to stare at Nico in awe.

“You won a fight with one of them? And not just some random fight. It looks like a duel with their leader.” Captain Emmaline asked.

“That’s right. The two strongest females fight each other either in person or in Mecha as a way of judging whether you are worthy of their respect. I recommend that you fight in Mecha because they would tear a human apart in hand-to-hand combat.”

The Captain looked Nico over for a second as if she wanted to ask if Nico wasn’t, in fact, a human herself, but after realizing that she was entirely cybernetic, it made more sense. There was no vulnerable flesh or easily damaged muscle, only state-of-the-art technology with a human brain embedded in it.

“Even after conversion, you can still keep up to the Kepler Standards? Or do you use a neural link?” Commander Arnold asked.

The System was the great advantage of the Kepler military, and every foreign attempt to create super soldiers on that level had failed, whether it was cybernetic or biological.

“I am a little slower than I was, but I retained enough of my System Functions that it doesn’t matter in combat,” Nico informed him with a wink, letting the Commander know that she wasn’t going to reveal that sort of personal information.

“We should check out the rest of the ship while the Captain works out a training schedule for her best pilots to learn the new Heavy Mecha. The Line Mecha is a bit more agile and more capable in close combat, so they all might need updated sword fighting training, but learning the Heavy Mecha will be a much larger change, especially the proper use of the Fast Attack Mecha.” Max told the Mercenary leaders.

That was when he noticed that the Fast Attack Mecha were not the same as the ones aboard Terminus. They had the same chassis and the same jump pack, allowing for incredible mobility, but they didn’t have the same signature weapons.

Instead, they were equipped with a sword and shield, with twin shoulder-mounted Plasma Shotguns, the same as he had previously mounted on Stalwart, the first Crusader Class Mecha that he had been assigned as a Pilot.

It would be devastating in close combat and not as difficult to use perfectly as the Disintegrators were. There was no focusing distance, output calibration, or frequency adjustment. A Plasma Shotgun only needed to be pointed in the general direction of the enemy and fired. Perfect for new Pilots.

Not that the Mercenaries were new, but in comparison, their skills were lacking. The VR Trainers that came with the ship might actually prove to be as much or more valuable to the Exterminators than the Replicators and Materials Printer that they had been so excited to receive.

Nico led the tour through the barracks, showing off the individual rooms for the crew, as well as the Replicator in the mess hall, which had been set up like a traditional cafeteria where they could order at the counter and pick up their food in only a few seconds as if it was prepared in advance, but always hot and fresh, unlike a buffet.

“The boys are going to get inflated egos if we treat them this well.” Captain Emmaline laughed while gesturing to the diner in front of them.

“Just work them harder. That should keep them in place. The training run records for every simulation that Commander Keres and I set are all programmed into the simulations, so you can use those to keep them motivated.” Nico told the older woman.

“You don’t think they will overcome you?” The Captain asked dubiously.

“If they can get the Mecha to 105 percent of its designed capacity for an entire run’s average, they will defeat us. But if they can’t hit the rated maximum mechanical output of the Mecha, they don’t stand a chance.” Max offered an explanation.

“Exceed the rated output? Is that even possible? Even with a neural link, it’s not possible to make the Mecha move that fast.” She countered.

“It is with mechanical controls, as long as your dexterity and speed are at least five times the human standard, and your mental acuity can keep up,” Max told her.

Commander Arnold shook his head in dismay. “That’s not even human anymore. Now that Kepler has been shattered, perhaps we will not have to deal with that sort of monstrous talent anymore. I heard a rumor that the System you all use was only willing to activate for members of the Kepler Military and could have a strong backlash if the nanotechnology realized you were a traitor.”

“It didn’t do as much as hoped to the traitors, but then perhaps they actually thought that they were doing what they did in the best interests of the people, so the System let it slide.

Nobody really knows what parameters the System’s AI is working with, only that it is linked through the entire population, and if you keep a Pilot isolated long enough, it will begin to give them survival-related skills, assuming that they are the last survivor of their unit.” Max told the Commander.

That much was common knowledge among most nations and all Kepler soldiers, but to actually get a new survival skill could take years, and it usually didn’t come until the next scheduled 50-point bracket. The System seemed unwilling to bend on that standard.

“And here are the Officer’s quarters. This is the Captain’s suite if you want to check it out before we move on.” Nico diverted the conversation as they reached the next group of barracks.

The Captain’s suite was identical to the one that Max had aboard Terminus but with a different interior decorator. This one was in cream and gray, with real silver trim. It was also only a single room with a decently sized common area, whereas the Officers’ suite had a five-bedroom layout with a larger common area.

“I get my own kitchen with a Replicator and ensuite laundry? What else did they stuff in this ship?” Captain Emmaline asked.

“If you ask the Materials Printer, it can make you a butler bot so that you don’t have to manually activate the self-cleaning functions or fetch your own food,” Nico suggested.

“No, that’s a step too far. My crew would lose respect for me if I started behaving more pampered than the average planetary governor.” The Captain laughed, then led them back out of the suite to finish the tour.

All that was left was the bridge, which was a simple and standard area at the nose of the ship, and the maintenance bay, which they missed on their way through the Mecha bays since they went down the side with the majority of the dorms.

“Well, that is the basics of it. Let the other crews know what we covered so they don’t miss an important function, but you can always contact Rae 5 or Terminus if you have any questions. We have the full design specs and software suite, so we can help with most issues.” Max announced once they completed the loop, ending up back in Mecha Bay.

“Don’t let us keep you then. We will be a while getting settled in since everyone is distracted by the Mecha, and they’re still wandering around with their luggage.” Captain Emmaline replied, waving goodbye to the pair of Reavers while she led Commander Arnold to inspect the new Heavy Mecha.