What did expert pilots do when they weren't performing their duties?

Venerable Joshua Larkinson didn't really have a clue. He supposed that dedicated warriors spent all of their remaining time on one productive activity or another, but he didn't really feel as if he counted among their number.

He asked his fellow expert pilots what they spent their off-hours on. The answers weren't encouraging.

"I keep my Shield of Samar company." Venerable Jannzi responded to her ex-boyfriend. "My life is tied to my mech, so it's foolish to neglect it. Don't you feel the same?"

The hangar where the Shield of Samar currently resided was closed off and empty. Ever since it had been converted into a prime mech, the pressure exerted by the mech was too much to bear to the maintenance crews.

Only expert pilots such as Joshua and Jannzi were able to remain at ease while in close proximity to the huge and massive space knight.

"Uhm.. I get why you do that, but mechs are tougher than you think. They know their purpose. Outside of combat, they are perfectly fine with sleeping. Our mechs aren't babies. They don't need any pampering. At least, I'm pretty sure the patriarch intended it to be that way."

"Don't let Ves make decisions on your behalf!" Jannzi burst out! Her force of will pressed against his own as she stepped closer and pressed her finger against his chest. "Ves may have made all of our mechs, but it is us who spend the most time with them! Our mechs are what we make of them. Treat them well, and they shall return the favor!"

"That's easy for you to say. You're committed to a single mech for your entire life. I'm not sure if that's the right path for me. There are too many mechs I want to pilot to limit myself to a single choice. I don't even have my expert mech yet to do what you are talking about."

He understood Jannzi's viewpoint. Every expert pilot formed a different opinion about the mechs designed by Ves. The obsessions they formed and the principles they held dear colored how they perceived LMC mechs.

Jannzi saw them as partners charged with protecting the Larkinson Clan. At the same time, the mechs needed to be taken care of as well.

As for Joshua, he felt as if he possessed the greatest understanding of the nature of LMC mechs out of everyone aside from Ves. His instincts were highly attuned to the intrinsic life that was locked inside the machines. By interfacing with them, his greater sensitivity allowed him to synergize with his mechs to a high degree!

He already noticed that he was far beyond other Larkinson mech pilots in this regard. Only special cases such as Jannzi and her Shield of Samar were able to exceed him on this front.

This also explained their divergent approaches.

Venerable Joshua didn't need to expend any effort to form an extremely high fit with a living mech.

Venerable Jannzi's ability to attune with a mech was worse, so the only way for her to develop a deeper bond with her mech was to work hard and invest lots of time with the Shield of Samar.

Even though this sounded like a heavy commitment, Jannzi never uttered a complaint. The hard work she put into bonding with the Shield of Samar would definitely pay off in battle.

Of course, that was assuming that the Design Department upgraded the space knight to an expert mech. As a prime mech, much of the Shield of Samar's potential was locked behind the physical constraints of the mech.

Neither Joshua nor Jannzi knew when they would receive their long-awaited expert mechs, but the time was drawing closer and closer. With the completion of the current round of projects, it was only a matter of time before the development of their expert mechs commenced.

The coming period would definitely play a crucial role in their futures!

In the end, Joshua didn't get much help out of Jannzi. She had become so driven that she no longer spent any time on relaxation. She either spent lots of time with her mech or busied herself with keeping up with clan politics of all things.

She expressed disbelief at his disinterest in the latter.

"Are you blind, Joshua? We are figureheads in a clan that already counts more than 50,000 members. From what it looks like, we'll definitely be breaking the 100,000 barrier during our stay here. It becomes more important than ever to ensure that everyone is being treated fairly. If warmongers like Ves remain unchecked, we'll end up in some other devastating battle where we lose at least half of our mech pilots!"

"I don't think our patriarch is as bad as you say."

"You blind fool! You worship Ves so much, but you never look at his downsides. Just look at the facts. In the short history of our clan, we have gone through numerous painful crises. The Battle of Kesseling VIII, the Battle of Ulimo Citadel, the Battle against the Abyss and the Battle of Reckoning are all engagements that our clansmen should have never gone through if Ves hadn't fooled them into joining his venture!"

Joshua blinked. "We all knew the risks, Jannzi. We managed to become second-raters in record time because of the patriarch's hard work. Besides, aren't you one of us? I guess that makes you a fool as well."

Smack!

Jannzi angrily slapped the other expert pilot in the face!

"I don't have time for your nonsense! Get out!"

His continued presence only reminded her why she broke up with him. Joshua didn't enjoy her company either when she brought up her pet causes. In hindsight, he should have ended his relationship with her much sooner.

"I'm glad I have Ketis now." He smiled as he exited the hangar.

It was too bad that his current girlfriend had gone on an excursion together with other Swordmaidens. Joshua was sad to see her go. He could have spent a lot of time with her in Veoline if she was still with the rest of the clan.

Still, she needed to go on this trip. Joshua had no choice but to support her decision and wished her luck.

He decided he needed some male company and dropped by Venerable Tusa next.

Out of all of the places where the light mech specialist could be, Joshua never expected to find him tutoring a mech cadet.

"Venerable Joshua!" Lanie Larkinson stood up in respect. "Thank you for saving us all. You really helped us out of a bind when you and your Valkyrie Prime defeated so many Fridaymen in the previous battle."

Joshua casually waved his hand. "Thank you for your appreciation, but I was not alone. Tusa here along with many other Larkinsons and allies did their own part. We are all together in this, Lanie. None of us can be heroes without the support of the rest of the clan. You'll know once you graduate and join our ranks."

"I'll look forward to that day!"

After a bit of chatting, Lanie picked up her data pad and left so that the two expert pilots could talk to each other in private.

"I heard you were spending time teaching cadets like Lanie, but aren't they too young for that?"

Tusa shrugged as he leaned against a wall. "I like it. Grown-ups like us are already set in our ways to an extent. I find it easier to get a mech cadet to absorb my lessons because they haven't piloted real mechs yet. They're still malleable."

"Why, though? The Larkinson Mech Academy already has a lot of mech instructors who are experienced veterans."

"A bit of extra help can't hurt, Joshua. I care about the young brats who are being raised to follow in our footsteps one day. The mech instructors are good, but there are some insights that only expert pilots can impart to an audience. If spending a few hours with them will increase their chances of surviving by 5 percent, then that is a worthwhile investment."

"I never took you for a person who cared that much."

Venerable Tusa frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm a Larkinson. That means something to me. Don't believe in any stereotypes you have about light mech pilots. Just because I can't sit still doesn't mean I am solely looking out for myself. My reasons to fight are not that simple."

"Hey, I didn't mean to imply anything." The other expert pilot raised his hands. "I'm just curious at how you choose to spend your time when you are not in training."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I still go out to have fun when I'm in the mood. Just because we are expert pilots doesn't mean we are bots. We are still human, though we clearly possess a few extras."

"I don't think Jannzi will agree with your assertion."

"She's way too serious for my liking." Tusa shook his head in disapproval. "I get why she is like that. She decided to dedicate her entire life to her cause, which essentially means she isn't spending any time living for herself. I guess expert pilots like us come in many forms, but I can never agree with Jannzi's approach. Life is all about fulfilling your own desires."

"Mhmm. I'm much more inclined to agree with you." Joshua nodded. "It's just that I'm afraid of becoming too complacent. While Jannzi doesn't have another life outside service, I can't deny she is growing stronger every day. Aren't you afraid of being left in the dust one day?"

Venerable Tusa chuckled. "Hehehe. What does her success have to do with my self-esteem? This isn't a race, Joshua."

"I thought that people like you always try to be the fastest."

"I like to be the fastest on the battlefield, but I prefer to take it slow when I am out of the cockpit. I can't speed up my entire life, Joshua. I need to conserve my energy for when it truly matters. That is how I ensure I can perform at my peak when my services are called for. As for Jannzi, I don't feel the need to compete with her. If she becomes an ace pilot well before everyone else, then good for her. She can reduce all of our burdens."

Joshua didn't entirely agree with Tusa's approach. He seemed almost lackadaisical about his own progression. While Tusa was much more pleasant to be around, it might not be worth it if he ended up in a situation where his strength fell short. If he spent more effort on improving himself, he could have avoided a worse outcome.

Once he got what he wanted, Joshua bid goodbye to Tusa and walked away.

The two expert pilots he met were on the opposite side of the spectrum. Jannzi was way too serious while Tusa was too laid-back. Did that mean that it was best for Joshua to sit in the middle?

"Maybe. I'm not sure. What should I be doing, exactly?"

Every other expert pilot he knew possessed a measure of certainty that Venerable Joshua lacked. It took a while for him to realize his uniqueness. For some reason, Joshua is different from other expert pilots in several ways. He even started to doubt himself a few times. Was he a defective product or something?

Fortunately, these periods of self-doubt didn't last long. His confidence as an expert pilot was real, and so was his will. He accomplished so much in the previous battle that it was impossible for him to be worse than others!

He raised his arm and clenched his fist in front of his face.

"I'm strong."

This simple declaration quieted much of his inner turbulence.

In the end, Venerable Joshua never found a solid answer to his question.

What he did gain was the realization that he should be looking less at others. Instead of trying to copy Venerable Jannzi or Venerable Tusa, he should find something that fit him best no matter which direction it took him. This brought him right back to the beginning.

"What should I do?" He asked himself.