The Mech Touch novel Chapter 950

To the Swordmaidens, friendship mattered more than pure benefits.

Nonetheless, that didn’t mean they ignored benefits entirely. As pirates who roamed the frontier for decades, it was impossible for them to be duped and taken advantage of so easily.

Even if their outward behavior painted them as battle-crazed boors, the officers among the Swordmaidens generally distinguished themselves by keeping a certain amount of cool. They took their responsibilities of leading and guiding the younger and more junior Swordmaidens very seriously.

It was kind of like how Mayra treated Ketis as her own daughter. This kind of motherly instinct tempered their recklessness and made them pay more attention to their long-term interests.

"Just like us, the Swordmaidens are in a bad shape right now."

As Ves stepped out of the shuttle, he immediately encountered similar conditions from the Shield of Hispania. The Jaded Sword was a rare combat carrier that must have cost a pretty penny for the Swordmaidens to obtain.

To Ves, the worn bulkheads, spots of rust and lackluster cleaning showed that they likely obtained this combat carrier second-hand.

"Maybe they even took the Jaded Sword off the hands of their former owners by force."

In any case, the Swordmaidens took in a lot of survivors who escaped from the other, slower Swordmaiden vessels eaten by the sandmen.

The major difference between the Vandals and the Swordmaidens was that the latter employed a lot of brainwashed slaves.

When it came to evacuating their crew from the doomed ships, the Swordmaidens only really cared about their own sisters. The predominantly male slaves likely all went down with their ships as they hadn’t received the order to evacuate!

The outcome of this decision was that the Jaded Sword became stuffed with warrior women who all carried swords in some form or another. The lack of men in the shuttle bay made Ves feel as if he entered the territory of an ancient Amazon tribe.

It made sense from their perspective. Genuine Swordmaidens who all passed their graduation ceremonies were all core members who were too difficult to replace.

As for the slaves, the Swordmaidens treated them as commodities as best. Even if they lost a couple of thousand slaves, they could easily capture more chumps in the frontier and send them off for ’processing’ to turn them into obedient, brainwashed servants.

Ves still believed it was an awful idea to rely on slaves to such a great extent. Yet as long as the frontier lacked enough people with technical backgrounds, such practises would never end.

"Commander Dise is expecting you. Please follow me and don’t wander off. We’ll chop you if you do so." A bored-looking Swordmaiden warrior said as she greeted him off the shuttle.

Charming. Well, at least he knew that Dise gained enough clout to gain the title of pirate commander among the Swordmaidens.

"Please lead the way."

Ves followed after a stoic Swordmaiden guide who led him all the way to the upper decks, where the fancier compartments resided.

They eventually passed through a hatch that led into a conference room, or at least what passed as a conference room among their ilk. The trophies, battle banners of defeated pirate gangs and deadly exobeasts decorating the compartment made it seem that the Swordmaidens usually used this area to impress their might and power upon their visitors.

Once his escort left, two familiar Swordmaidens entered shortly afterwards. Both of them still wore their CFA armor, just like Ves, but this time they added their barbaric Swordmaiden touches to their exterior.

Both of them painted over the original CFA coating and affixed all kinds of symbols, exobeast bones and other outwardly impressively trinkets to their armor. This made them fit right in with the rest of the armored Swordmaidens. Savage capes fashioned out of beast hides completed the ensemble.

"You two are looking good!" Ves complimented them without exaggeration. They truly looked larger than life in their new looks! "I like how authoritative you look now, Commander Dise. As for you, Ketis, you look much more mature than you act."

Ves found it funny that while Ketis tried her best to ’piratize’ her CFA armor, she still showed her original rank insignia as well as her large CFA medal. The contrast between the two styles would certainly trip up anyone familiar with the CFA!

"I’m the only mech designer left among the Swordmaidens." She said a little morosely, belying her strong appearance. "With Mayra gone, I can’t take it easy anymore. I have responsibilities now."

Ves nodded in understanding. Though the reason might be depressing, he was nonetheless glad to see her taking her profession seriously this time.

"I think you can do some good for the Swordmaidens, but do you still remember Mayra’s last wish for you? Even if you are more competent than the average mech designer in the frontier, a Novice Mech Designer like you will hardly be able to change the fortunes of Lydia’s Swordmaidens. Err, are you still called this way?"

Commander Dise shook her head. "Commander Lydia is no more, but calling ourselves Dise’s Swordmaidens doesn’t quite roll of the tongue. We’re still thinking about what to call ourselves from now on. It’s a good opportunity for me to steer our course in a different direction, so I’m holding off on the decision until I make up my mind where to take the Swordmaidens next."

"I have some ideas and suggestions for that." Ves said, already entering into his negotiating form. "The Vandals can’t help but see that you Swordmaidens are in a much-diminished state. You used to be able to field hundreds of mechs and were a force to be reckoned with. Among the pirate gangs that roam the Faris Star Region, you were definitely one of the larger and more successful gangs. Now, though, you are barely counted among the mid-sized pirate gangs."

"We are still able to field enough mechs to protect ourselves." Commander Dise smiled thinly. "Besides, our prior reputation still accounts for something."

"Your prior reputation and conduct has also earned you a lot of enemies. Previously, they held off on attacking you on account of your strength, but now that you only have three carriers left, I bet they won’t give you the time to rebuild your mech force."