"Why do you think the patriarch called us over?" Imon Ingvar asked.
"I know as much as you do, sir. I still don't know why I've been summoned from my school. I'm years away from graduation."
Lanie Larkinson looked very out of place in Ves' personal workshop. She was still a teenager who hadn't piloted a second-class ch for real. While she tried out so virtual chs, the gap was still too big for her to display any battle effectiveness with such a formidable machine.
At her current level, she was only reluctantly able to pilot third-class chs. The Chiron had truly helped her in building up her fundantal piloting skills.
Yet that was far from enough from piloting a Bright Warrior ch like the pair that were standing idle a short distance away!
While Ves hadn't arrived yet to explain why they were here, Lanie already ford so guesses.
She threw a glance at the older ch pilot standing next to her. While Imon Ingvar was not as well-known as her sister, he was still an expert candidate in his own right.
Imon was currently one of the strongest and most skilled ch pilots in the Larkinson Clan! The only ch pilots who were able to beat him flat in simulation and live practice sessions were expert pilots.
The forr noble noticed her stare. He smiled goodnaturedly at the ch cadet.
"How is your training progressing? Is the clan's ch academy to your liking?"
"I'm doing really well in my studies!" She grinned. "In fact, I'm close to the top of the rankings in my class. While I'm not the best in terms of marksmanship or swordsmanship, my combined scores are the highest of all of my fellow cadets. Maybe that's why the patriarch called up. These chs.. they're the next Bright Warriors, right?"
"That is unmistakably true. This newer version looks a bit different, but the relation to the older one is still clear. I've piloted the original Bright Warrior for an extensive amount of ti. I even fought a number of battles with it. I still miss it in a sense. Its armor was really good so it didn't matter if I made a bunch of mistakes."
He was obviously disappointed by the decision to move away from Breyer alloy. The new Bright Warrior was stronger in every aspect, yet the feature that Imon loved the most was reduced!
While he no longer needed a huge buffer to keep himself alive in a battle, he still missed what he could do with the old one. He wasn't the only ch pilot who felt this way.
Yet what could they do? None of them controlled the supply of Breyer alloy. They didn't know where it ca from, how much it cost and what they needed to do to buy this fantastic material.
ch pilots didn't understand anything about the logistical aspects of chs. They just created wish lists and tried to see which ch ticked most of the boxes.
"How do you pilot the Bright Warrior effectively?" The young lady asked.
It was very rare for ch cadets like Lanie to get close to an expert candidate. How could she not ask for so tips?
"I can only speak about the original version." He replied and jerked his head towards the two late-stage prototypes. "I haven't had the pleasure of piloting this new version yet. If the replacent is close enough to the older model, then it won't be that difficult to pilot. It's kind of a vanilla ch."
"Vanilla ch?"
"It's a good ch, but it's not a ch that decides how you should fight. It's an open-ended ch that stands at the middle of what chs can do. This makes it difficult to steer it into becoming strong in any single area."
Lanie looked fascinated as she listened to the experienced expert candidate. "What do you an by that, sir?"
Imon smiled. "The Swordmaidens dislike the Bright Warrior. Even if it cos in a swordsman ch configuration, those sword-mad won feel like the ch holds them back from performing their favorite and more extre moves. It's the sa for rifleman ch specialists. They would rather pilot a Crystal Lord than a Bright Warrior because the forr is much more compatible with their fighting style."
"I see. The Bright Warrior can do everything, but that's also the reason why it doesn't excel at anything."
"That's just what is obvious from the surface. If your thinking only stops at this point, then you won't perform as well as you should." Imon gestured his arm towards the pair of Bright Warriors. "The ch doesn't push you into fighting in a specific or preferred way. I told you before that it's an open-ended ch. What I an by that is that the ch is as strong as you make it. You need to find your own way to make the Bright Warrior work. The ch won't do this on your behalf like other chs. For example, when you pilot a Valkyrie Redeer, you're pretty much stuck with performing flanking and charging attacks. You can't employ it as a rifleman ch or a traditional spearman ch."
Lanie gleefully absorbed Imon's insights. While his advice wasn't too specific, he presented an approach to chs that she had never considered before.
Instead of allowing the ch to define her performance, she should instead seek to impose her own mark on the ch!
Of course, this insight only applied to versatile chs like the Bright Warrior.
Eventually, Ves entered his workshop. Both Lanie and Imon fell silent as they watched their leader approach.
The patriarch held the Larkinson Mandate in his hands. He looked at it with a smile before directing his attention to the ch pilots he invited for this occasion.
"Imon Ingvar, Lanie Larkinson, thank you for answering my summons. I'm sure you are wondering why I brought the two of you here. Let begin by stating that I have not made a mistake. I truly need you both in order to prove sothing that I have been developing for so ti. Due to the sensitivity of this new invention, I can only ask for help from those who I can trust and can keep a secret."
Both Lanie and Imon felt flattered from his words. Obviously, the fact that he selected them both ant that he trusted the two out of thousands of other Larkinson ch pilots. That was a great honor!
Still, there was sothing fishy about this situation. Lanie slightly narrowed her eyes.
"Sir, does this test of yours involve putting in the cockpit of your new Bright Warrior?"
"Correct. You're quite astute." Ves generously praised. "The two prototypes you see before you are pretty much the final version of this new ch design. The problem is that the Bright Warrior design lacks a final elent that can truly make it special. You are here today in order to help see whether my attempts to put an extra touch to the design actually works out. While I can't promise you that this little test is safe, the implications for our clan are massive if every Bright Warrior can exhibit the sa function!"
Lanie looked increasingly more skeptical.
"Uhm, sir, I can understand why you would want Mr. Ingvar to help you out, but I don't think I belong here. I'm just a ch cadet."
"I know." Ves grinned at her. His enthusiastic stare disturbed the aspiring ch pilot. "It's exactly because you're not a full ch pilot that you're a suitable te—ahem, volunteer for this little operation. The more immature the ch pilot, the greater the contrast to an expert candidate such as Mr. Ingvar over here. If I invited soone older and more capable, then the gap wouldn't be as big. That makes it harder for to see whether my new invention has made a difference."
He didn't babble on for too long. Ti was tight and his schedule was already packed. There was no need for him to explain every detail of his experint.
Once the ch pilots changed into their piloting suits, Ves commanded them to fly up to the cockpits of their assigned Bright Warriors.
While Imon did so without hesitation, Lanie still looked reluctant.
"It's okay." Ves softly said. "I would never hurt you. This will be good for you. I promise. Please get into the cockpit so you can get this over with and return to your academy."
Even though she felt so misgivings, Lanie did what she was told. After all, she couldn't say no to the leader of the entire Larkinson Clan.
As the ch pilots strapped themselves into their piloting seats, Ves set up his workstation in order to record and display the readings he cared about.
Several minutes passed before he completed his setup and checked whether his ch pilots were in good condition.
Once those steps were out of the way, he formally initiated his test.
"Imon, you go first. Activate your ch and interface with it. Don't do anything else once you're done."
"Will do, sir."
No problems occurred as the ch booted up. Imon was an experienced ch pilot who quickly adjusted to the experience of piloting an updated Bright Warrior.
"Alright, Lanie, it's your turn now." He transmitted. "I know this must be an intimidating experience for you, but it's not that bad as long as you don't try to do anything. I've already locked the controls of the ch so that you won't be able to move and damage sothing by accident."
Lanie reluctantly activated her ch.
Every ti a ch pilot interfaced with a new ch, they first went through an adjustnt session.
The first ti was always the most magical for this reason. Lanie beca srized as she felt as if her mind was wrapping around a ch that was much stronger and deeper than the Chiron.
The latter was deliberately designed to be as light and accommodating to pilot as possible.
The Bright Warrior IB was different. It was designed with well-trained ch pilots in mind. While it was supposed to be easier to pilot than Ves' more advanced chs, Lanie soon discovered how much strain the grownups had to endure in order to pilot the Bright Warrior!
"Gnn.."
Ves noted her increased strain but saw she was reluctantly able to hold her own. Once the lengthy adjustnt session finished, the Bright Warrior no longer pressed on her mind as much.
"I'm okay, sir."
"I know. Please take so ti to center yourself. I need you to be in your best possible condition before I start my test."
Several minutes passed by as Ves perford various checks. Once he was sure that everything was okay. He brought forward the Larkinson Mandate.
"I need your help, Goldie."
Nyaaa!
The Golden Cat began to do sothing with the Larkinson Network. As Ves switched to his spiritual vision, he noticed that she was attempting to form a new bond.
Usually, every bond in the network passed through Goldie. She functioned as the server and gateway of the network. While there was nothing wrong with this, it did not allow any Larkinson to connect directly to another Larkinson.
This was different. By forming a direct bond between Lanie and Imon, the two would soon be able to exchange thoughts and other ntal signals with each other.
This was very dangerous, but also very promising!
Ves theorized that this was the best way to enable a demanding ability like Ancestral Possession.
According to his guess, the reason why this ability never worked in the original Bright Warrior was because the channel was too limited.
The answer therefore was simple. He needed to forge a direct connection between the source and the recipient of all of the piloting skills. There were less barriers in the way and the bandwidth was also considerably higher.
Of course, this also ant that the damage would be much worse if anything awful happened!
"I feel sothing!" Imon stated. "Why do I feel.. Lanie, is that you?"
"Ahh!" Lanie imdiately tried to grasp her head. "My head is pounding! It's as if it's about to burst apart!"
"Keep concentrating!" Ves quickly said. "Don't lose your focus. You need to stay in control. I know you can do it, Lanie!"
"I.. will.. try!"
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