While the striker ch project underwent its third round of iteration, the Hexer ch project also made a lot of progress.
As long as he wasn't distracted by clan affairs, he achieved a lot of progress. The support-oriented knight ch beca more complete after every session.
Both Ves and Gloriana cuddled together after pulling their minds out of another exhausting ntal design session.
Linking their implants together and designing their chs under accelerated ti perception was very productive, but also very straining.
Their ntal and spiritual strength didn't play a role in this aspect. Only the physical resilience of their brains determined how far they could push this mode of ch design!
This was why Gloriana always ended up better off after they completed a session. While Ves was stuffed with genetic and biological augntations, their effects were mostly scattered or leaned more in the direction of enhancing his physical attributes.
Gloriana on the other hand enjoyed more modest augntations planned by her mother Constance.
Unlike the haphazard improvents applied to Ves, his girlfriend mainly received upgrades that focused on improving her cognitive functions!
The only physical augntations she received mostly pertained to improving her health, enhancing her beauty, increasing her resilience to diseases and certain other matters pertaining exclusively to won.
As a result, she was much more suited to beco a ch designer like Ves. This had always been sothing of a pet peeve of his. If Dr. Jutland didn't go crazy on his body, he would have lived his life as a normal ch designer!
On the other hand, if he didn't possess the Jutland organ, then he would have died by now!
If Ves had to choose between death and life as a suboptimal ch designer, he would definitely settle on the latter!
"Are you satisfied with our work so far, Ves?" Gloriana asked.
A projection of their current progress spun in front them. The landbound knight ch looked quite hefty, but its formidable appearance was partially an illusion.
Much of the bulk inside was made up of energy cells, heat sinks and energy transmission systems. All of that capacity could have been allocated towards improving the defensive aspects of his ch.
If Ves had a choice, he would have outfitted his ch with an energy shielding system, but that was a bit too expensive and impractical for their current budget!
Besides, male Hexer chs were rarely equipped with shields.
"I know what you are thinking about." She said as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Just forget about it, Ves. Won in our state always hog the best assets for themselves. ch-grade energy shield modules are quite expensive, so the Hex Army has to allocate them wisely. They are much more needed in our female chs as they are expected to brave a lot of danger. A lot more won would have died by now in the Komodo War if their chs lack these crucial shields!"
While Ves acknowledged the logic behind this decision, he still thought it was rather upside down to deny a knight ch more defensive tools.
Still, an energy shield wasn't as important as the extensive energy reserves and energy transmission systems they managed to stuff inside the fra of their ch.
This ensured that their ch would not only be able to support the efforts of female chs during the beginning of their assaults, but also prolong their utility by siphoning energy from fallen chs and other energy sources!
"This ch is best suited to operate in urban and developed environnts." Ves remarked. "While I designed its extra appendages to pierce through the open cavities or weak points of a wreck, they can also dig into the power network of a building to recharge its energy cells. As long as the city has an intact power grid or enough backup power, our knight ch can keep supplying a continuous amount of energy to the rest of its squad!"
Gloriana nodded, causing her hair to brush against his clothes. "That sounds very useful. A lot of the fighting so far takes place in fortified, highly-urbanized planets. The Komodo War won't budge any further before either side makes it through all of the defenses that they prepared in the centuries leading up to this struggle."
The war slowed down but the casualties continued to mount. No matter how the Coalition and the Hegemony tried to tout their successes on the galactic net, Ves saw precious little movent on the map. The lines budged in either direction at a glacial pace, yet the greater states continued to pour more chs into these disputed war zones!
This would be a good ti for a supportive knight ch optimized for urban combat to make its entry. Sadly, Ves and Gloriana still required more ti to finalize their ch design. They hadn't even tested the first prototype up to this point!
Fortunately, it looked as if the stalemate would probably persist for at least a year if nothing drastic happened. That left plenty of ti for the Hexers to try out his revolutionary new ch and deploy it on a wider scale!
Gloriana stirred again. "I'm not so sure about the developnt of its divine nature, though. We're obviously making a ch for male ch pilots. Sotis, I get the feeling we are doing a huge disservice by attempting to instill it with a female proto-god."
To be honest, this fact bothered him as well. If he had a choice, he would have rather paired his upcoming design spirit with a female ch, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
"The gender of the ch doesn't have to correlate with the gender of its design spirit. The relationship between the two can be as close or as loose as we like. For example, the Aurora Titan is clearly a masculine ch design, but I linked it with Qilanxo without any issue. The Bright Warrior is vaguely male in its configurations, but it also shes well with the Golden Cat."
"Those are non-Hexer designs, Ves. I can understand why you chose not to pay attention to the gender of the chs and their proto-gods, but this is different. Gender matters a lot."
This was sothing Ves hadn't fully considered. Unlike her, he didn't think about the significance of sothing gender all the ti.
"How do you think the Hexers will react to our end product?"
"That's the scary part. I don't know." She paused for a mont. "From what I understand, you are trying to create a motherly proto-god for our ch design, right?"
He nodded. "The design spirit derived from the Idol of the Superior Mother and.. other ingredients.. will be unquestionably female. She'll likely act like a nurturing mother to the ch pilot and a fierce guardian against opponents."
That wasn't all. He still wanted to give the design spirit more dinsions by imparting it with the different anings of the six phases of existence, but that was a work in progress.
Just because he could break so spiritual fragnts and rge them back together didn't an he always got what he wanted. He still needed to guide the entire process and make sure it didn't go off the rails.
The last thing he wanted to do was to create an abomination and waste all of the ingredients he used!
The spiritual residue from the Idol of the Superior Mother was irreplaceable to Ves. He only had one shot to create the right design spirit, so he had to make sure to exert enough control over the process.
Gloriana would be lending her help as well, and each ti she did so, she exhausted herself. It would take at least a month before she could do sothing like this again!
"I'm actually rather reluctant to proceed." She said. "I'm afraid my peers back in the Hegemony will tear apart with their criticism for designing sothing that may be deed heretical!"
Though Ves could sense that Gloriana truly feared this outco, he was a lot more nonchalant about this issue.
"So what if a bunch of close-minded Hexers think our product is heresy? As long as you stay with and accompany on my travels, you won't have to bother yourself with those useless won. As long as our ch fulfills its purpose and swings the war in our favor, what does it matter if it offends soone's sensibilities?"
"But Ves! Those people are my friends! My colleagues! Maybe even my family!"
He placed his arm around her shoulder. "You're not entirely a Hexer anymore. It's okay to take so liberties. In ch design, we shouldn't let societal constraints hinder us if it gets in the way of designing the chs of our dreams."
"Hmph! I'm still a Hexer!" She resisted. "You may not care for my state, but I still do. Any trouble I incur will also reflect on my mother and the rest of the Wodin Dynasty. I don't want to bring them any trouble."
Urgh. That was a good point. Gloriana essentially faced the sa situation as Ves when he landed on the bad side of the Friday Coalition.
As a result of his conflict with the Fridayn, they went after his family.
Now, Gloriana risked sothing similar, but from her very own state this ti!
Even so.. Ves was very reluctant to alter his design because of external pressure! He was convinced that his current vision was the best one they should pursue! He was not willing to neuter his design just so he wouldn't step on the toes of so rabid female supremacists!
"Gloriana, it's really bad if we change the direction of our ch design project at this advanced state. We would have to throw out at least thirty percent of our work if we change our mind. Let's just keep building up our ch design until it's finished and decide from there. As long as we confirm its performance and the value it can bring to the Hegemony, I'm certain that you'll change your mind!"
"If you say so. I'm willing to give it a shot, but only because of you. If my co-designer was anyone else, I would have long pulled the plug on this project!"
Ves believed it wouldn't co to that. Only he possessed a complete picture of the vision of this ch. The design spirit he had in mind for this ch would be so profound that he was convinced that he could sway every Hexer into supporting his product!
As the two enjoyed their loving mont, his hand that was resting on her shoulder gradually swept lower and lower. Just as it started to inch towards a more sensitive part of her body, it soon bumped into an obstacle!
"Miaow miaow miaow!"
Clixie angrily woke up from her doze and climbed up to Gloriana's chest to block the intruder!
"Uhm, Gloriana, could you please move your cat away?" He pleaded.
"No."
"Why not?"
"We're at work, Ves!" She replied in an exasperated tone! "Aren't you the one who said that we should always stay professional while we are at our workplace?"
"I did? Wow, I must have been very stupid back then."
She giggled. "I think you're quite cute, Ves."
"So about your cat.."
"No. This is not the ti."
"What about tonight?" Ves hopefully asked.
"You only get a reward if you've been good." Gloriana stated with a tone of finality. "Right now, it seems you've been quite naughty so far, so it looks like you won't be getting your fun tonight!"
She pushed herself away from her side and stood up. She continued to hug Clixie as she started to head towards the exit.
"Ves.. I really hope your plan works out for our Hexer ch design. If not, I'll be the first to punish you! I won't tolerate any attempt at mocking my beliefs!"
He innocently threw up his hands. "It's not like that! My ch will truly pay tribute to the greatness of Hexer culture and the truths of hexism, I swear!"
"Really?"
"I am the most honest ch designer in the galaxy! Have I ever broken my principles?"
Gloriana looked suspiciously at him, and so did her cat!
"Miaow!"
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