The meeting soon came to an end.

Unfortunately, most of the attendees did not look satisfied when they exited.

It couldn't be helped.

People generally held meetings in order to bring everyone on the same page and agree on a plan to solve their problems.

The gathered leaders managed to fulfill the first condition easily enough, but they made much less progress on the second condition.

The Red Collective was not an endless wishing well. Its experts were predominantly newcomers to the field of cultivation science. How could they possibly have a mature set of solutions available that could readily address the novel set of challenges presented by the deathborn?

Nobody had ever fought against an enemy as vexing and confounding as this extragalactic incorporeal race, and past archives barely mentioned any cases that resembled this situation!

The problem became compounded by the fact that the entire combined fleet was effectively cut off from the rest of red humanity.

The dark miasma's oppression was all-encompassing. It continuously dampened all forms of energy transmission. Though it did not snap the various connections entirely, the channels became so clogged with filth and darkness that nothing else could get through!

However, that did not truly stump Ves.

If he wanted to access the galactic net or communicate with red humans outside of the Hypeh-Tekas System, then he could still make use of a handful of unconventional methods.

Shortly after the end of the meeting, Ves and Gloriana returned to their separate workplaces and silently entered the System Space at the same time.

A young female Journeyman Mech Designer performed the same action after being informed just a moment ago.

Many light-years away, a certain swordmaster did likewise.

All four mech designers appeared at the foot of a picturesque mountain.

Three of them immediately felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

"This feels better." Gloriana said with obvious relief in her voice. "I forgot how much more pleasant it was to live in a normal region of space. The aliens have truly ruined the Hypeh-Tekas System. It is not a location that is suitable for habitation anymore. There is only death and resentment in the local space."

Alexa Streon gently nodded in agreement. "The arrival of the deathborn has introduced us to an entirely different approach to warfare. When it comes to E energy manipulation, they are undoubtedly the masters, while we are still the apprentices. Perhaps the only reason why we still stand a chance against these new aliens is because they are fighting far away from their true homeground."

"Deathborn?" Ketis looked puzzled. "You have met those strange aliens?"

Ves grimaced. "We did, and they are much more troublesome to fight against than we thought. Let me fill you in on what our forces have encountered so far."

A few minutes passed as three mech designers collectively brought Ketis up to date.

The latter initially did not take the deathborn so seriously, but that was because her only exposure to this new phenomenon were sporadic reports about their appearances on large battlefields.

The weak intangible beings spawned from those sites could easily be dispersed with a bit of effort, but the ones that had made the Hypeh-Tekas System their home sounded a lot more formidable!

Ketis gradually changed her expression. She had no reason to doubt the descriptions of her fellow Larkinsons.

"I wish I was there." She stated as her extraordinary willpower condensed a little around her body. "I would have loved to chop those deathborn apart with my blade. In fact, I believe that you guys may have been able to repel them a little better if you had our Swordmaidens or Penitent Sisters with you. They are strong in mind and will, and they have already developed a few techniques of their own to channel their power through their weapons. There is not much use of these tricks when fighting against the native aliens, but it sounds like it is a different story when dealing with the deathborn."

That was a bold statement.

"I do not like to admit this, but I think you may be correct on this matter." Gloriana said with a frown. "Most of the first-class mech pilots employed by our clan and the Red Association are highly knowledgeable and skilled in their craft. They are all excellent graduates of first-class mech academies, which are widely famed for their punishing academic courseloads and training regimes. The graduates of these institutions have all become excellent users of the most advanced standard mechs that the human race has produced, but… that is the extent of their strengths. Due to how much time they spent on developing their current set of skills, they never had any time to spare on other pursuits, particularly the ones that polish their minds and will."

This was a rather well-known shortcoming in the mech industry. It was one of the many factors that critics pointed to when they mentioned that the breakthrough rate among first-raters was not as high as with second-raters and third-raters.

Of course, this issue was way more complex than appeared on the surface. Academic workload only constituted one of many variables in a highly interconnected system.

Ves had little interest in engaging in this particular debate.

He still acknowledged the point that his former student made.

"You are probably right." Ves said. "The mech pilots in our combined fleet are technically skilled but spiritually underdeveloped. Aside from the limited number of veterans that had already been promoted in advance, the rest are spiritually underdeveloped. They have not endured the hardships that we have suffered. They have not piloted true living mechs for multiple years like the men and women of the expeditionary fleet. The latter group may not be as skilled as the graduates of first-class mech academies, but they are far superior in grit and attitude. They would not have been so flustered when dealing with the deathborn. I wish that we had them under my wing during this campaign."

It became increasingly more important for the Larkinson Clan to uplift the veterans of the expeditionary fleet.

Ves previously did not prioritize this matter too much because he thought that he and his clan still had plenty of time to complete this particular chore.

The appearance of the deathborn and their unfathomable incorporeal attack methods changed the equation.

He no longer felt satisfied with the dullards in the Premier Fleet. Third-party mechs such as the beloved Omega Threshers may fare well when used against purely material enemies, but they possessed massive shortcomings when trying to confront immaterial foes!

The differences between the conventional mechs and his prototype Woodsap mechs made this very clear ever since they entered the Hypeh-Tekas System!

In order to deal with the enemies of the future as well as the present, it became more imperative than ever to equip his Premier Fleet with the right mechs as well as mech pilots!

Ketis realized this as well. "I will have to accelerate the promotion of the mech pilots under my command. Many of them will be pleased. They have long waited for an opportunity to promote into your Premier Fleet. I am personally looking forward to how our Avatars of Myth, Swordmaidens and so on will finally bring their unique approaches to combat on the first-class battlefield. There is just one problem."

"The mechs." Gloriana mentioned.

Ves let out a tired breath. "I know. The Arboreal Project is the only true first-class living mech that I have designed so far. While many of its versions are predominantly designed for Terrans and norms, I can still design a Larkinson-specific version that plays better to the strengths of our veteran mech pilots."

The swordmaster frowned at that. "I have multiple issues with this plan. Your Woodsap mechs are all designed for the Terran Alliance from the onset. As far as I know, the configurations of those machines are stuffed with multiple integrated weapon systems. That is far too much for our own pilots, who are long accustomed to piloting specialized mechs that only carry one or two weapon systems at most."

"The Woodsap System can help to improve their control over their organic machines."

"Not every Larkinson wants to be tied to a single living machine for the rest of their lives." Ketis countered. "Besides, our mech pilots will be even more reluctant to make a permanent commitment to an organic mech. Perhaps you have worked so long on your Arboreal Project that you have already lost your sense of alienation towards biomechs, but many others have yet to do so. We are not Terrans, Ves. Our servicemen only know how to pilot metallic war machines. That is what they are long familiar with. The notion of piloting a mech made out of wood and other squeaky parts is profoundly disturbing to them. They may be convinced to work with your Woodsap mechs for a time if there is no other choice available. Perhaps a third of them may come to love your biomechs. However, do not expect the rest to follow suit."

Her feedback provided a lot of perspective that Ves and the others needed to hear.

Unlike the other three mech designers, Ketis had yet to enter their world, which meant that she still remained deeply connected to the original Larkinsons serving in the expeditionary fleet.

Ketis knew how her subordinates would react to all of the weirdness that Ves was up to these days. It would be stupid to disregard her well-intentioned warnings and reminders.

Ves rubbed his hairless chin in thought.

"I think you are right, Ketis. In a more ideal situation, I should be able to present our troops with a diverse range of first-class models that they can choose from. The problem is that this reality does not exist at the moment. I can only present variants of Woodsap mechs to our Larkinsons. I can spend a bit of time designing simplified variants that effectively function as first-class specialized biomechs for faster and easier adaptation. They won't have too many bells and whistles as a consequence, but they possess enough familiar traits to minimize the study and training needed to become proficient in their use. Let's do this, Ketis. Once you go back, you should canvas our mech legions for candidates that are willing and able to pilot the Woodsap mechs that I have just described in the near future. I am sure that there are at least some Larkinsons in the expeditionary fleet that are adventurous enough to give biomechs a try."

The swordmaster thought about the proposal and slowly nodded. "I can do that. I should be able to find several hundred willing candidates that are both open-minded enough. I will not freely give them this opportunity, though. They need to earn the right to fight at a bigger stage."