After the party came to an end, Aurelia departed from the Bluejay Fleet the next day.
She departed with hugs and tearful farewells from the rest of her immediate families. Even the cats would miss her presence!
"Meow!"
"Miaow..."
“I would bring one of you with me if I could, but the naval academies maintain a strict no-pet policy." Aurelia said as she scratched both cats behind the ears.
She would not be departing alone.
Standing by her side was Marigold Larkinson, who looked like a pale, dark-haired girl who could convincingly play the role of Aurelia's sister.
She still wore a silky black robe and garment that exuded both elegance and playfulness. The minimal golden accents and the colorful pattern of cats marked her connection to the Larkinsons without being too blatant and direct.
The naval academies employed a strict policy of not letting in any extraneous personnel. No matter how pampered their pupils may be, they were not allowed to bring along any maids, butlers, manservants or even bodyguards.
The point of an educational institution was to prepare its student body for the greater challenges ahead in life. The presence of servants could significantly hinder their adaptation process.
However, Marigold Larkinson was an exception as she was not a servant or a human for that matter.
She was a high-level artifact, one that had evolved to the point of being able to switch between two forms!
Though she appeared as a lovely young lady at the moment, she could instantly switch back to the original form of the Flower Parasol Mark I.
Ves and Gloriana did not need to remind Marigold of her duties and responsibilities.
The flower-themed artifact had committed herself to protecting and accompanying Aureliat
Though Ves was a little concerned about how Aurelia would develop with Marigold by her side, he was not particularly scared that anything would go wrong.
He specifically designed the Flower Parasol Mark Il to protect Aurelia. There was little chance that the artifact would become hostile towards its current holder.
Besides, getting contaminated by an artifact associated with flowers and protection was not necessarily a bad outcome.
At most, Aurelia would develop an obsession for flowers and equip herself with redundant protective measures.
This was also why Ves did not even think about converting Marigold into a D-arm. He had no intention of subjecting Aurelia to the trials and struggles that could even tire out high-ranking mech pilots.
Once Aurelia boarded a shuttle that would bring her to a fast destroyer vessel, her absence already started to make a mark on the lives of the family she left behind.
“I miss her..." Andraste said as she held Lucky in her arms. "When will she be back?" "Next year maybe." Ves absently replied. "The cadets aren't obligated to stay at the naval academies year-round. They can choose to go back during their big break, or attend various summer courses and programs if they want to continue their development. As long as Aurelia is doing well in her normal studies, she should have enough room to come back to the clan and keep us company.”
Ves and Gloriana would not easily agree to send Aurelia off to Erwin Kiobucar if she was committed to staying for years on end.
The fleeters still possessed a bit of humanity.
Once the excitement about Aurelia's departure died down, another event took place.
The supply fleet dispatched by the Red Association finally arrived in the Philaster Crestia System.
Though the star system still remained under siege, the Goliath Hive had yet to amp up their aggression.
Just like the local defenders, the Bluejay Fleet had become accustomed to the half- hearted attack waves sent by the mutated voribugs.
All of the Ascended Giants had expressed eagerness to duel against the most powerful Level 7 Goliaths dispatched by the enemy.
Fortunately, each of them had learned from the Divine Arsonist's negative example. They respected the big alien bugs a lot more and tried their best not to get bogged down by all of the enemy cannon fodder.
The support personnel over at the Armitage took advantage of the industrial facilities on the surface of Philaster Crestia ll to apply urgent modifications and upgrades to the raiments of the two squads of the Ascended Giants.
They focused on quick fixes such as reinforcing weak points and bolting anti-swarm weapons onto the exterior.
Additional missiles, surprise modules and other armaments ensured that the Ascended Giants had an easier time clearing any bugs that clung to their bodies, but only so long as their supplies lasted.
While Ves had tasked the Phase Lord Department with developing more sustainable solutions to clear the voribug swarms, it would probably take a lot of time for the engineers to complete their assignments.
For now, the Ascended Giants had to fight more cautiously and make sure to retreat as soon as the enemy bugs threatened to overwhelm their defenses as soon as their spatial barriers were on the verge of breaking.
What helped a lot was that the Rubarthans had worked overtime and shipped over the first batch of giant-scaled plasma weapons as soon as possible.
This significantly increased their combat effectiveness against most of the higher-level Goliaths.
The big bugs were no longer able to regenerate their wounds as quickly as before. The only problem was that the 1.5x and 2.5x weapons consumed so much power that the Ascended Giants had to carry larger power reactors to meet the increased demand for energy.
When Ves examined the new giant-scaled plasma sword and plasma axe in person, he grew a little dissatisfied with their performance and specifications.
“These are fine plasma weapons, but the Rubarthan Pact can do better." He commented. “Under the leadership of the Plasma Shaper, the Rubarthans have become masters of plasma technology. They have developed several varieties of plasma weapon tech that even the Terrans are apprehensive about."
Gloriana snorted. "I do not think the Rubarthans are willing to surrender their best tech to you so easily. They are waiting for you to make greater concessions. Besides, I am sure those advanced plasma weapons demand more time and greater expertise. You cannot expect the Rubarthans to supply them to you in a matter of weeks."
Due to the emergence of the Plasma Shaper, the New Rubarth Empire and the Rubarthan Pact had been at the forefront of plasma technology development.
The Star Designer had developed numerous notable innovations in plasma weapon tech, which also included variations of plasma used for attacks and other purposes.
Sun plasma tech attempted to mimic the conditions of stars. It could be used for both offensive and peaceful purposes.
An example of the former was the Sun Caster that the Miracle Couple planned on incorporating in the Promethea Mark II.
An example of the latter was the creation of artificial stars, an effort that was so big and expensive that the Rubarthans had only ever done it a single time just to prove that they could!
Of course, compared to the much larger and more powerful New Rubarth Empire, the Rubarthan Pact was in no condition to complete such an extravagant endeavor!
Another powerful tech developed by the Plasma Shaper was biological plasma tech.
The Star Designer did not invent this field, but she had collaborated with biotech specialists to develop much more powerful and more practical versions of organic plasma weapons.
With the help of these advancements, humans, beasts, biomechs and other bioproducts could easily leverage the power of plasma weapons without needing to make use of inorganic parts!