Close to the frontier, a ship cut through the higher dimensions like a hot knife through butter.

The Serendipity might not be the largest starship, but she was certainly fast for her size and class!

For several weeks, the light frigate traversed through the domain of the Sentinel Kingdom and many other states along the way.

It didn't take long for the Hexer vessel to cross over into the territories ravaged by the sandmen.

During the height of the Sand War, thousands of sandman fleets assaulted human-occupied star systems like an inexorable tide. Each day, numerous star systems succumbed.

Nothing survived the sand storms.

Everything that humans built in orbit and on the surface of a planet disappeared in a matter of hours as the relentless sandmen engulfed everything.

Centuries of heritage disappeared. Not a single single artificial structure escaped the fate of becoming consumed.

What was worse was the people living and working at the settlements. The sandmen wiped them all out as if they were nothing but vermin dirtying up their new real estate!

The Sand War already harvested trillions of lives spanning over thousands of star systems!

On a galactic scale, this loss of life was negligible. Not even the local branch of the MTA exhibited any alarm at such a calamity!

In any case, the frontier states and frontier star sectors existed to serve as a buffer zone for human space. What did it matter if a couple of trillion people died? Human civilization was so vast that those devastated regions would quickly grow back to normal after a century of reconstruction!

Yet while the leaders at the top looked on without compassion, the people at the bottom suffered immensely from all of the death and destruction.

Countless refugees poured into other states. Even if they had been lucky enough to survive the devastation, they had lost everything they worked and lived for. With their state and home planet dead, they no longer had anything to lean upon in these difficult times.

Along with the trauma of losing everything they were familiar with, the survivors also had to process the immense amount of deaths of their fellow people.

Too many of them had lost friends, family and other kin to the sandmen. The aliens didn't even commit mass murder because they liked it. The barely-emotional beings just wiped everyone out because they were in the way!

Against such a cruel, heartless enemy, the anger that people held towards this alien race was immense!

Right now, other than her anguish, anger was the only emotion that Davia Stark possessed.

As the Serendipity flitted into the territory of the former Vindmar Republic, the ship passed through numerous star systems that Davia had once visited over her long years as a soldier and a mercenary.

She remembered the bustling trade of the Miamar System, the beautiful space monuments of the Desklar Prime System and the astounding military fortifications of the Ratarin System.

Now, nothing was left but dust and sand. The sandmen didn't even spare the ruins. The aliens consumed almost every single piece of metal and valuable material and used it to create more of their kind.

Her fists clenched as she witnessed the sight of the latest devastated star system in the hexagon-shaped observation room. The dome-like space provided her with a fantastic augmented view of space. Brilliant colors lit up from every direction as the windows automatically magnified and prettied up the sight of the distant stars.

Various projections provided her with a magnified view of various planets and other special features.

Ordinarily, such a sight would have delighted her. Yet now that she was surrounded by one sand-scoured planet after another, the sight only fueled her growing fury.

A hatch suddenly slid open. The uniformed shape of a Hexer mech pilot stepped into the room.

Davia faintly felt as if a blanket of protection covered her form. She barely took notice of it, too caught up in her depression and rage to acknowledge any other emotion!

When Brutus reached the broken expert pilot, he looked at her carefully.

"Is it too much?"

She shook her head. "I.. I needed to see this. I needed to.. see the graves of my fellow Vindmarkers."

"You're in a talkative mood today. That's good."

The two looked out into the vast and mysterious expanse of space.

"When you became an expert pilot, you kept it hidden, correct?" Brutus asked, though he already knew the answer. "You were never recognized, so you never received the guidance that every expert pilot received from the state and from the MTA."

"What does it matter?" She murmured. "I lost my strength."

"According to the MTA, every expert pilot is exceptional. Each of us not only possessed the potential to break through mortal limits, but actually succeeded in doing so. The strength we have gained is the reward we received for exceeding our humanity."

She remained silent and continued to stare out into empty space.

"I don't believe you are not an expert pilot anymore." Brutus continued. He was already used to her silence. "Those who have reached our height but become unable to pilot an expert mech are usually those who suffered permanent brain damage. Even though much of their strength is lost or sealed, they are still exceptional. You are still exceptional."

He crossed his arms behind his back and stared at the projections of the devastated star systems. "Unlike these injured veterans, you are different. The damage you suffered is all in the mind. This is rather difficult to heal, as the mind still works in mysterious ways even after thousands of years of scientific research. However, unless there is proof that I am wrong, I think that you can still be healed!"

"Don't waste your time on me." She slowly grimaced. "I'm a failure. I failed my state. I failed my comrades."

Instead of answering her directly, Brutus recited one of the messages he received when he advanced to expert pilots.

"Expert pilots like us are capable of inflicting an enormous amount of destruction. The power we wield and the abilities we are able to perform puts us on a pedestal. In addition, as a Hexer, I have always abided by the principle that we must do our best to maintain order. Foreigners such as the Larkinsons don't understand me. They think that boys like me must be collared and constrained by the women of our state."

"Aren't they right?"

The male expert pilot smiled. "No. We don't need to be chains, because we already know what is best. I may possess more power than the typical female Hexer, but that does not grant me the right to abuse it. Far from it. Both my home state and the MTA agree that power conveys responsibility. The stronger we are, the more we must take on responsibility."

Though Davia looked like she was tuning out his words, Brutus knew that she was still paying attention.

"What many foreigners fail to distinguish is that Hexers don't believe that might makes right. This is not how humanity rose from its barbaric origins. If we keep adhering to such primitive notions, we will continue to wallow in misery and chaos. This is why women such as you should be the leaders of human society. Women are wise and far-sighted. Only when women rule the galaxy will we usher in true peace!"

Davia couldn't help but scoff a bit. What did this have to do with her condition?

"You are stronger than me." Brutus stated as he turned to her. "Your weakness is only temporary. It pains me to see you imprisoned by your own darkness. I know you are better than this. Don't run away from your power. Embrace it. Don't let this setback believe you are weak."

"It's too difficult.."

"I am here for you." He said and reached out to hold her hand. "You are a noble woman and expert pilot. The galaxy needs people like you. Tragedies like this happen more often than you think. The frontier is never peaceful and plenty of alien races still threaten our fellow humans. Each of us bears the responsibility of defending human space when the aliens mobilize for war yet again."

Brutus stretched his arm towards a projection and magnified it until it took up their entire view. "Look at this planet. Billions once lived on it. Now, those Vindmarkers are gone."

The mention of such an immense loss of life pushed her into a spiral. Brutus squeezed her hand in order to prevent her from getting engulfed entirely!

"I did not pick out this planet to rub in your failure. In fact, in your position, there was hardly anything you could do. You weren't piloting an expert pilot. You were just piloting a mech for a mercenary corps. What kind of difference could you have made under those circumstances?"

"I could have done more." Davia spoke with regret. "I could have told the military I was an expert pilot. I could have fought alongside other defenders."

"That may be true. However, the past is the past. Don't let it drag you down and forget who you truly are. The sandmen crushed your comrades and almost ended your life. Don't let them succeed. Humanity needs those who are able and willing to serve a common cause. Even a single expert pilot like you can make a difference! The sandmen may have come and gone, but there are many other alien races who need to be guarded against. If worse comes to worst, then having one more expert pilot can save an entire planet like this from annihilation!"

Davia remained silent as usual. It seemed her talkative mood had passed.

"Your wounds aren't permanent. What is broken can be remade. The hardest part is that you have to rely on yourself to climb back up. There is no reason to think that you can't overcome this hurdle. You have already achieved the incredibly difficult feat of surpassing your mortal limits when you were just an ordinary human being. As long as rekindle your reason to fight, I am certain that you will regain your former glory!"

It was easy for him to spread his optimism.

It was a lot harder for Davia to buy it all. Throughout his entire speech, she remained as impassive as ever.

Restoring an expert pilot could not be done in a single day.

"We are about to reach the Varantyr System very soon." He reminded her. "I'm not sure about its current state, but be prepared to face a lot of scavengers. Those vermin are already picking at the bones of every fallen state. Vindmar might be better off due to its remoteness, but the greedy vultures won't ignore the riches that the Varantyr System still contains!"

Even though the sandmen swept up a lot of precious material, they didn't consume everything. The aliens weren't always thorough and sometimes overlooked hidden bunkers, underground complexes and very remote locations.

The sandmen also left ignored a lot of random objects and materials they believed to be of little value. This could range from remarkable exoplants to priceless artwork. As long as scavengers managed to dig up these miscellaneous bits and pieces, they could probably earn a fortune from them by selling them to collectors!

The mere thought of those surviving relics falling in the hands of greedy collectors sparked some anger in Davia. None of those people involved respected Vindmar's heritage! They only saw them as rare collectibles that mainly derived their value due to the fact that there was no more supply!

A small ripple emanated from her mind. A few broken gears had moved. It was a pity the movement didn't last long enough. Her broken will quickly settled down as her permanent depression rose up again.

Brutus nonetheless perceived something. He smiled. Any change was good in his opinion. Whether he was able to help Davia regain her old strength or not, he believed that any woman deserved a chance.

Because that was who he was. Women may be superior, but they weren't invincible.

Sometimes, they needed protection.

To be their shield was the greatest calling of his life.