"Papa?" "Yes, my cute little pumpkin?" "Will we win?" "Victory is never certain, Andraste. While we have done our best to prepare for our upcoming offensive operation, no one can ever say for certain which side will win." The red-haired girl cradled in the arms of her father looked down at all of the mechs that were undergoing last-minute tweaks and adjustments for the battle ahead. There was little that Ves could do at this stage. The people involved in the offensive operation had already formulated enough plans. Now, they just needed to follow the script and execute them all while remaining open to changes. The spies lurking in the Pima Prime System had yet to detect any major movements. Though the Sundered Phalanx mech units entered into a state of higher alert and intensified their security protocols, it did not appear that the Gaugers thought that the invaders would have the guts to attack their core colonies, let alone their crown jewel. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞 With everything going according to plan, Ves was left in a rare period where his presence wasn't particularly needed. A clan with over 600,000 members was different from a group that merely numbered in the hundreds. The former possessed a lot more layers in the hierarchy, and each person on the ladder possessed their own strengths and responsibilities. Ves was not a military officer so he barely possessed any ability to contribute to the complex operations of a major military action. General Verle and his formidable staff already covered all of the high-level tasks while the individual mech legions easily took care of the smaller chores. Though Ves could have spent his time in the design labs and finished his current batch of design projects, he was in no mood to think about his actual work when he was on the eve of commencing a hostile attack! He found that spending time with his family was an excellent way to soothe his nerves and keep him occupied. This time, he thought he would give his second daughter a little tour through the Spirit of Bentheim and allow her to witness all of the clansmen preparing for battle. Ship engineers meticulously inspected all of the shield generators and other essential defensive systems of the factory ship. Logistical personnel brought out tons of energy cells, ammunition racks and other essential supplies out of deep storage. The administration did its best to calm the civilian population and transfer vulnerable clansmen from the smaller starships to the larger and more defensible ones. All of the activity opened up young Andraste's eyes. Though she was far too young to understand the full context behind these actions, she was sensitive enough to sense the solemn and humorless mood among the personnel. The difference was quite obvious to a kid. Normally, the Larkinsons were much more relaxed and at ease. Now, they acted as if a dark cloud hovered over their heads. The specter of death frightened them. Each of them became acutely aware that they were heading right into the jaws of the Gauge Dynasty. Whether they could break the teeth of the most powerful coalition partner of the Friday Coalition or get chewed up by the formidable Hexer killers would become clear in a week! "What is your favorite mech, Andraste?" Ves playfully asked as he rocked his daughter in his arms. "That one! It's so pretty!" It did not surprise Ves at all that her finger pointed straight towards a Valkyrie Redeemer Mark II. Yaika, Andraste's companion spirit, suddenly emerged from her head and voiced her support! Maaw. Mrow mrow~ Blinky appeared from Ves' head and eagerly dove in to lick Yaika's intangible fur! Maaw! Maaw! Maaw! "Hihihi! Papa! Don't lick me so much!" "I'm your daddy, little pumpkin. I'll lick you whenever and wherever I want!" As Ves and his feisty daughter continued to fool around, a new presence quietly emerged behind his back. "Ahem! What is the meaning of this, brother?! What are you doing to my lovely niece?" "Helena!" Ves paused in his effort to shower his baby daughter with kisses and turned around to see that Helena had manifested herself. As usual, the young lady in black exuded a still and stagnant aura. Most people would feel uneasy at the sense of doom and gloom that the design spirit naturally invoked due to her unsettling domain. Fortunately, neither Ves nor Andraste were average people. Andraste's eyes even lit up after seeing her favorite intangible relative! "Helly!" Andraste somehow managed to squirm out of her father's grasp so that she could run up and get picked up by manifested design spirit. "Hihihi!" It cost a lot of energy for Helena to interact with the material realm due to her nature as a spiritual entity. As a pure energy life form, she needed to concentrate a lot and burn an excessive amount of energy just to lift a small child with her arms! Nonetheless, Helena did not act frugally just so that she could hold and embrace her relative. The Larkinsons prized family above all, and Helena was no exception! Her aspiration to become an authentic goddess of death was just a job description to her. She was way less scarier if people bothered to get to know her in person. It was a pity that most people either got frightened to death or prostrated before her when she appeared in front of their faces. This was why she cherished her family even more. If she didn't have Cynthia, Ves or Andraste to grounded her, she probably would have grown up into a much more somber and lonely Daughter of Death! It was not a coincidence that Helena appeared at this time. "How much help can you provide in the upcoming battle?" Ves asked. "Not as much as you wish, but more than you expect." She answered. "What does that mean, exactly?" "Well, I can pull off a few tricks here or there, but it is difficult for me to exert any influence if I don't have any anchors nearby." The spiritual entity explained even as she tickled Andraste's cute nose. "I can probably exert the greatest effect on the battlefield when a lot of Valkyrie mechs have gathered in a single place. I was born at the end of the Komodo War, so I never got to test what I could do when millions of Valkyrie mechs deployed in space at the same time." The Valkyrie mech line was easily the most favorite product of the Hex Army, though the latest batch of mech models had quickly built up their share of fans as of late. Still, Task Force Fury easily carried tens of thousands of copies of the Valkyrie Redeemer Mark II and its numerous variants. "Can you kill people without the help of a battle formation?" Ves asked. "Technically, I should be able to do so, but in practice it's too difficult." Helena shook her head. "I'm not a full god yet, and it is hard for me to affect the souls of enemies by myself. In addition to that, I have learned that when people are trained, disciplined and in a state of high stress and excitement, it becomes several times harder for me to overcome their resistance." "So in short, you're too weak to give us a hand." "Hey! I'm still a goddess-in-training, you know! Not even our mother can do much better in the same circumstance! Space outside the Nyxian Gap is too rigid and unfriendly towards our kind. I truly can't understand why the barriers between the planes of reality are so strong outside of my birthplace." Ves snorted. "It's probably a good thing that is the case, or else every galaxy would get flooded with would-be gods that try their best to suppress reason and promote ignorance in our society." "You traitor! Don't you want your mother and I to be able to manifest easier and spend more time with family?" "No thanks. While I like the occasional visit from you, I don't think the rest of my clan will be able to handle frequent visits." "Spoilsport." Helena drowned her sorrows by playing with Andraste for a while. The two female Larkinsons continued to generate giggles and joyful banter as they shared their love for each other. "Can you do anything else to help us out in the coming battle?" Ves asked his 'eldest sister'. "I would really appreciate it if you can give my troops a hand." "You sound awfully worried for your soldiers when you and your buddies are the ones that actively pushed to take part in this attack." Helena retorted. "When you send your soldiers out to war, you need to accept the fact that not all of them will return alive." "I know that, but I take no pleasure in this. To me, all of this is necessary to temper my troops and prepare my clan for the turbulent times to come." "I thought the MSTS of yours already took care of that. I kind of like teasing innocent mech cadets and grumpy mech pilots as 'Little Helly'. I've made sure to put just enough fright into your mech pilots to respect the power of death over their own lives." "You've done a great job over the years. I won't deny that, Helena. However, I haven't invested so much in their training and mechs just to achieve better scores in simulation programs. They are meant to be my instruments and should be utilized in ways that bring me profit. The potential benefits of winning this battle is enormous, but this is also the first real battle after our clan's 5-year long rebuilding and expansion phase. The more insurance I can add, the better." "So that is what you're seeing me as? Am I just a security blanket to your fragile and sensitive mech pilots?" Ves did not look amused at her tone. "Cut the crap, Helena. You know what I want. Can you offer any additional help that can tilt the battle in our favor? Think about this. The worse our mech units will fare in the upcoming battle, the greater the chance the enemy will be able to attack this ship directly. Not only will this expose me to danger, but all of my children including Andraste will also land in the crosshairs of the enemy. Don't forget that the Fridaymen absolutely hate my guts! They will never miss an opportunity to aim at my life!" The Daughter of Death frowned a bit. Andraste noticed the change and poked Helena's cheek with her tiny finger. "What's wrong, Helly?" "Oh, nothing much. Your father is just being a bother right now. He isn't confident that he can clean his own mess so he thinks his eldest sister can bail him out of his predicament." "Can you, auntie?" "You're so cute when you call me that, Andraste!" Helena gushed as she planted another series of kisses on her niece. "Well, I have been thinking about what I can do. There may be one way I can give our side an advantage on the battlefield." Ves grew intrigued. "Tell me more." Helena gestured towards the Death Lotus that she pinned on her hair. "Is it possible for you to make a large gun or cannon that is tied to my Death Lotus? If you can make one for one of your expert mechs, I may have an easier time in lending my strength to your troops." "That… is an interesting idea. Why didn't I think about this before?!" The Death Lotus was Helena's primary weapon, but it was also a living spiritual product in itself! Even though Ves had made it so that it wasn't as sentient and expressive as Helena herself, the Death Lotus was technically an existence that was equal to his other design spirits! If this was the case, Ves could fabricate an artifact similar to the Hammer of Brilliance or the Rod of Ylvaine that was especially attuned to channeling the power of Death Lotus! "I need to start my design work right away! Time is ticking so I need to design and fabricate this new weapon as soon as possible!"