Operation Lighthouse put heavy emphasis on both the ace mechs and the ranged mechs of the participating pioneering groups. While the Larkinson Clan fielded a lot of strong melee mechs, it was difficult for them to get involved in the earlier stages of the joint operation. As long as the alien defenders of the Palace of Shame retained all of their powerful warships, it was all too easy for them to lay down a withering barrage of fire towards every incoming mech formation! Even if the Palace of Shame was surrounded by asteroids that could provide plenty of cover, there should still be more than enough space for the defending warships to unleash the might of their secondary gun batteries. Ves did not want any of his mechs and mech pilots to get mowed down with ease. He would rather have his forces maintain their distance and pelt the enemy warships from a safer distance. "The mech industry should really come up with a way to make melee mechs more relevant in space battles." He complained. He couldn't count the times he expressed this sentiment over the years. This was not a new problem by any means, but the mech industry had yet to present a practical solution that would allow melee mechs to close in on enemy warships without getting torn to pieces. The only solution that came close enough was to equip mechs with minidrives, but this was anything but a practical solution because the cost was way too prohibitive! If everything went well, the melee mechs should still be able to contribute in many ways during the later stages of the battle. "We first need to inflict such a heavy blow on the alien pirate forces that they will fall apart and lose cohesion. We can't launch an all-out assault so long as our opponents are still organized." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 This was why it was important to take out their flagships and biggest hitters first! Just like humans, many alien races had the habit of placing their highest authority figures on the biggest and most powerful vessels. If the coalition could take out these alien flagships by storm, there was a large chance that the remaining pirate ships would fall into chaos! After all, pirates were all the same. It was extremely improbable that they were hardened and disciplined soldiers that operated under a solid chain of command. As long as the big chiefs perished in battle, the underbosses would definitely quarrel amongst themselves in order to take over the surviving forces! The infighting might get so bad that the coalition's melee mechs might be able to get close without encountering much opposition. Of course, if this did not take place, then the Larkinson Clan and the other pioneering groups would just hold back their melee mechs a while longer. "In the meantime, they can still make themselves useful by contributing additional firepower with spare rifles." Ves inspected the cargo bays where the Larkinson Clan had stored large racks of spare luminar crystal rifles. None of the weapons were particularly large, powerful or expensive, but they would get the job done as long as enough of them fired at the same time. There were thousands of humanoid melee mechs in the Larkinson Army, and Ves did not want them to remain idle all this time. Though it became a bit more troublesome to manage the energy levels of the melee mechs as they fired their luminar crystal weapons, they could still provide a lot of help by directing their firepower at static targets such as the Palace of Shame or particularly large alien warships! "Don't worry, sir. Our Swordmaidens don't have much desire to play with guns, but we can use them if we have to." Commander Sendra reported to Ves when he paid a visit to the Wild Torch. "Those rifles are easy to use, though their punch is a bit lacking to be honest." Ves didn't look surprised when he heard that. "Power is something that you must earn, commander. I trust in the professionalism of your Swordmaiden mech pilots, but many of them haven't utilized rifles in years. They are so invested in their swordsmanship training that they are psychologically repulsed by the thought of using a ranged weapon. I don't want to hand over weapons that are too powerful for their own good. Besides, the greater the power, the greater the burden to the mech. Ranged mechs are already designed to cope with this, but a pure melee mech such as a Second Sword is not as equipped to handle these difficulties." Though the Swordmaiden Commander looked disappointed, she did not linger too much over this issue. She was already glad enough that her Swordmaiden mech pilots could still have room to intervene in the battle while the two sides remained apart from each other. "How are your subordinates doing?" Ves curiously asked. "Are they happy and eager to confront the pirate of the Palace of Shame?" Commander Sendra hesitated for a moment. "They're not as excited as I wish. Don't get me wrong. My sisters definitely enjoy a fight, but it has to be on their terms. We are not comfortable with maintaining our distance. Too many aliens don't play by our rules." "There are good reasons for that." Ves replied. "Mechs would have never gotten off the ground if the Big Two did not enforce a warship ban. If the MTA never came to life, then we would have probably been utilizing warships instead of mechs at this time. The indigenous alien races of the Red Ocean have never encountered a powerful authority that prohibited the use of warships. Our human race is unique in that sense." The Swordmaiden Commander let out a cynical chuckle. "What a great honor. The human race is the only one that is so dangerous to its own kind that we had to take away our own weapons in order to protect us against ourselves. What does that say about the strength and future of our race?" Ves raised his arm and patted the woman on the shoulder. "I don't think it is a bad idea. At least this shows that humanity recognized the danger before it was too late and took action in advance. I can't say the same for many other alien races that have all gone extinct over the ages. I am sure that many of them have met their end due to their own mistakes. It is okay to make mistakes as long as you acknowledge them and make up for them. I don't think humanity is as bad as many people say for that reason." Humanity had an incredible capacity for creation and destruction. The growth of its civilization and the mastery of ever greater technologies meant that humans could rise far above every race or fall into a bottomless pit where there was no way back. After Ves shared a bit of his views towards humanity, Commander Sendra became a lot more contemplative. "I would like to think that humans like you and me can build a fantastic society where our Swordmaidens are no longer needed to fight for survival, but…" "You don't believe humanity can rise above our flaws, Sendra?" The legion commander let out a sigh. "We have all witnessed too much darkness in the hearts of other humans. My sisters and I simply can't believe that we are heading towards a better future. Just look at the Big Two. The mechers and fleeters are responsible for starting the scramble for phasewater and the many fights against the local alien forces. If the top of our society is already this bad, it will definitely be worse further down the ladder. We are all flawed and tainted and there is nothing anyone can do to cleanse us from our inherent flaws." That was certainly a pessimist viewpoint. "Is that the kind of future that you want to embrace?" Ves asked. "What of your two children? Do you want them to grow up in an environment where society is collapsing all around them and where they have to mature a lot faster in order to struggle to survive?" Sendra scowled. "I am not letting Wexel and Terina fend for themselves. Brutus and I will do our best to protect them and train them to fight if possible. I don't think that human society will get any better in the future, but I still believe in our ability to carve a better place for ourselves. That is what I am fighting for. I have no ideas about saving human civilization as a whole. That is none of our business. I just want to save and protect our family." "That is a sentiment that I can get behind." Ves smiled. They began to talk about family after Sendra drifted to this topic. "I wish I could spend more time with them." The legion commander confessed. "It's hard for me to do my job while also making sure I can spend enough time with our kids. Marrying a Glory Seeker hasn't made things easier for me. My husband and I both work on separate ships and fleets. This had never been much of a problem when we were all staying in Davute, but now that we have started to travel again, it is difficult for me to remain in touch with my children. Sometimes, the only way I can talk to them is over a comm call." Ves understood how painful it must be for a mother like Commander Sendra to be unable to hug her young children in person. "Have the two of you tried to reside on the same ship at the same time? If you want, I can talk to the Glory Seekers about setting up a rotation where you and the rest of your family can switch back and forth while staying on one ship at a time." "We already thought about that, sir. It won't work out for us. I can't lead my Swordmaidens from afar. My sisters need a strong presence above their heads in order to stay in line. Brutus also can't separate himself from the Glory Seekers for too long. He is one of their few male expert pilots and a direct descendant of the Wodin Dynasty to boot." Commander Sendra and Venerable Brutus failed to come up with an adequate solution, so they just stuck to their ad-hoc approach and tried to make the best of the situation. "Do you regret your decision to pursue Venerable Brutus?" Ves asked. "Oh no. I am still happy despite all of the complications that I have to deal with. Swordmaidens like myself have special taste in men. Brutus is the perfect prince for me. He is strong but he is also respectful and sweet. I like that he is stronger than me but acts as if he doesn't have to prove his superiority to me. He is also a great father to our two children, though I wish he wouldn't stuff as much Hexer nonsense in Wexel and Terina's heads." Ves could clearly sense the genuine love and respect in Commander Sendra's tone. He was glad to hear that this relationship was doing well. Brutus was his brother-in-law while Wexel and Terina were his nephew and niece. That made them a part of his family. "If you ever need more help from me or our clan, just say so." Ves offered to Sendra. "I can afford to make some allowances for you and your children on account of our family relations. Are your kids doing well?" "They are, but I don't know what they will be doing once they grow up. I want them to become mech pilots if possible. Both their father and I can teach so much about fighting with mechs." "What if their genetic aptitudes don't cooperate with your dreams?" "Then I will just send them to school and hope they can make something of themselves." Sendra shrugged. "Would you teach them to become mech designers if they are interested?" "Sure. If they truly want to design mechs for a living, I won't refuse them. However, they better be passionate and sincere about it, though. Learning how to design mechs is demanding work." "Heh. I will be sure to teach my children to behave. I can promise you that they won't waste your time, sir." "We'll see about that. Let us wait until they are 10 years old before we discuss their trajectories."