The Mech Touch

After the hospital director gave Ves an extensive overview of Isobel's new cybernetic body, he finally led him to a more private and better-protected compound.

This was the VIP recovery area where the people who were actually important received from their battlefield injuries.

Many of them actually consisted of expert candidates and expert pilots. Each of them possessed the potential to ascend to a god pilot one day. Even if their chances of overcoming all of the trials in a long and difficult journey were slim, who knew whether they might succeed one day.

The remaining patients consisted of mech pilots and norms who were heirs of powerful families or belonged to powerful organizations that paid a good price to deliver the best possible care.

It was for that reason why the RA spared few expenses when setting up this section of the medical recovery complex.

Doctors and other biotech professionals constantly remained on duty in order to monitor the conditions of the patients and respond to any emergencies that might arise.

Small-scale titan shields defended every section and wing of the luxurious compound, and mechs and infantry soldiers were constantly close at hand, though never too close in order to avoid putting the recovering patients on edge.

Ves was pleased with the amount of funding and effort the mechers had put into this facility.

It reflected their belief in the primacy of humans over technology and showed how much they cared about helping people pick themselves up after they suffered a setback and gain an opportunity to grow from their learning experience.

To that end, the hospital and its partner institutions had gone above and beyond to recover the most seriously injured soldiers who still possessed value.

The doctors and other professionals provided meticulous care to remake, rebuild and in a few cases reinvent the broken warriors that passed through their halls.

Aside from the Cybernetic Empire, the Larkinsons couldn't have picked a better place to hand over responsibility of restoring Saint Isobel Kotin.

While the Larkinson Clan was able to heal broken soldiers as well, its capabilities were only sufficient for relatively mundane injuries. A case as extreme as that of Isobel required specialist care that only a few powers had available in the new frontier.

This gap in capabilities was yet another reminder to Ves that the Larkinson Clan still had a long way to go before it became a true great power.

"In here." The director spoke as he led Ves into a well-furnished gym hall. "Ever since Saint Isobel relearned how to move her old body, she has developed an obsession of turning her cybernetic body into a weapon. Without a mech for her to pilot, she has tried to use her artificial form as a substitute. While her training is excessive, her body is designed to cope with physical extremes. Her strong will allows her to train continuously for 12 straight hours or more, with only a few hours of rest and meditation in between."

That sounded rather excessive to Ves. "Isn't she supposed to spend more time on rest?"

"That would be the case for normal patients, professor, but expert pilots and ace pilots are different. Saint Isobel has deep feelings of inadequacy. She equates peace to impotency. She has a strong desire to become strong, and that means she must keep herself active somehow. She has taken to training her weapon handling skills and her mastery over her cybernetic body as her preferred means to prepare for combat in the future."

Ves soon understood how much Isobel threw herself into training when he came across an obstacle course.

Isobel used the formidable power of her legs to sprint across the distance at a pace that was several times greater than a professional athlete.

She then came across a straight wall, but managed to translate her forward momentum as well as her new reactionless flight capability to run and vault over it in one straight move.

At the other side, she came face to face with a trio of practice bots. Each of them shot out harmless training laser beams, but none managed to strike their target because Isobel had already kicked herself off the ground with the help of her blisteringly fast reaction speed.

Even as she evaded the laser beams, a pair of small laser guns unfolded from her shoulders and struck two of the bots in an instant, marking them as disabled.

As for the remaining bot, Isobel raised one of her arms and sprayed a blast of orange flames that knocked out the remaining bot.

After getting rid of her opposition, Isobel continued to traverse the obstacle course, demonstrating many different capabilities.

Her torso-mounted plasma guns practically obliterated the solid wall that barred her way.

Her alloy blade cut through a transphasic energy shield.

She was able to navigate a lightless and soundless room with relative ease.

Her transphasic fire energy shield was able to block a respectable amount of incoming laser beams and positron beams.

For all intents and purposes, Saint Isobel performed better than a first-class infantry commando.

Although her weapons and armor were restricted by the size of her body, her excellent combat acumen along with the instincts of a saint enabled her to complete an obstacle course that would have tripped most highly trained infantry soldiers!

There was no way Ves or the Larkinson Clan would ever think of commanding Saint Isobel to exit the cockpit and board an enemy starship or whatever.

However, if Isobel ever came under attack when she was far away from her ace mech, then she would always be ready to defend herself.

Once she ended her latest run, the obstacle course began to scramble and reform into a completely new and randomized circuit. It turned out that everything consisted of smart metal. That made it easy to specify every parameter and customize every part of the course.

As Ves and the hospital director approached the ace pilot, Isobel stared back at them with intense artificial eyes.

Those orbs were able to perceive far more than just the visible spectrum.

Once Ves came close enough, the two stared at each other.

Saint Isobel Kotin had returned from the brink of death with a fundamentally different body.

Though the mechers had done their best to restore the facade of her former human body, they were not able to get rid of the uncanny sensation that clearly marked her form as anything but organic.

Beneath the fake human skin rested transphasic fire hyper alloy components. Together with her willpower, Isobel attracted a constant influx of fire energy, causing her body and the air around her to feel hotter than usual.

Standing in front of Isobel was like standing in front of a vehicle with a hot engine. Her body contained a formidable amount of heat and energy.

What also impressed Ves about Isobel was the strength that exuded from her physical body.

She had never possessed a particularly strong body. She was not trained as an infantry soldier so had no need to build up or augment her body for this purpose.

Yet her total body reconstruction gave her a pair of arms and legs that far exceeded the strength of her former human limbs.

Isobel actually had to relearn how to interact with the environment around her due to this explosive strength increase. She might vault herself to the ceiling or crush anything in her hands if she did not regulate her newfound physical strength properly.

She received so many new features and upgrades that it should have taken 4 to 7 years for her to fully acclimate with all of her gifts!

Yet an ace pilot was far from a normal human. She had climbed her way up the ranks and proved beyond anyone's doubts that she was one of the best mech pilots of the Larkinson Clan.

No matter the means she used to force her latest breakthrough, the fact that she succeeded and managed to muster up the motivation to recover to this point spoke of great inner strength.

Ves dropped most of his concerns about Isobel's condition.

"Hello Isobel."

"Hello… Ves." The ace pilot spoke in a voice that closely mimicked her old one… though it was not quite the same. "Have you come here to take me away?"

"You look… a lot better than I expected. I see the mechers have indeed taken good care of you. To be able to move like this so quickly after starting your treatment shows that they have made an excellent effort. Is your treatment complete or do you need to extend your stay?"

Isobel's artificial expression started to frown. Her expressiveness had improved compared to before. Her new face may be compensating a bit too much.

"To be honest, I am thinking about staying here longer." She eventually responded. "The soldiers here have good stories and taught me a lot about the reality of piloting mechs outside of the Larkinson Clan. The training facilities here are all top-notch, and I can request access to any combat instructor or training manual that is available in the RA. Besides, my mech is still many months away from restoration, right?"

"Right…"

Ves looked pensive. The mechers couldn't resist. They subtly attempted to win her over by providing her VIP treatment. If Isobel was not so committed to the Larkinson Clan and the Promethea, then she may have been thinking about defecting to the Red Association!

Fortunately, it was not too late.

"We can't provide you with the same level of training facilities and other amenities aboard the Tarrasque." He honestly said. "If you think you need to master your control over your new body further, then it is best if you stay here for a few more months. We don't have an ace mech for you yet. Just like Venerable Rosa Orfan, you will have to wait patiently for us to complete your new machine."

"Then why should I leave and accompany you, sir?"

"Because I need your cooperation to upgrade the Promethea Mark II into a very new and powerful elemental Carmine mech." Ves said with a smile. "The Bloodfire mech that I have envisioned is a perfect match for the Promethea Mark II Project. As long as you are willing to form an upgraded version of a Blood Pact with your upcoming ace mech, we can turn it into a truly special machine. Your control over it will be unparalleled, and the synergies you can achieve with it will reach a whole new level. Are you willing to commit your life to the Promethea Mark II, or would you rather stick to being a regular ace pilot?"

Ves was not quite sure of her intentions at this moment. Isobel went through a traumatic life-changing event and only recently regained her body and ability to communicate.

Whatever her intentions may be a few months ago, she was a completely different person today, so her opinions may have swung in a completely different direction.

Fortunately, Isobel still held a lot of trust towards Ves.

"The Promethea saved me during that time." She said in a softer tone that her artificial body conveyed pretty well. "I owe my life to her. It is only right that I pledge to dedicate myself to mastering her for the rest of my career. I am not blind to the risks, but… I will become stronger than ever with the help of the new Blood Pact that you have in mind. I cannot afford to be weak anymore. If I do not become strong enough to resist the flames, then I deserve to get burned."

Ves could clearly feel the conviction from her willpower. She truly wanted to wash away the shame and ignominy of her near-death and redeem herself on the battlefield.

She also understood the value of a good mech and wanted to do whatever she could to make it better.

Ves smiled. "That is good to hear, Isobel. With your active cooperation, I can conduct experiments on the Bloodfire System and make sure it works properly with your new physique."