Chapter 7309: Awakened Rosa

Ves and Jovy continued to study the mutated Carmine expert mech as they waited for Saint Rosa Orfan to regain her awareness as an individual. There was plenty to observe. Now that the ace pilot started to become conscious again, the Riot Mark III began to exhibit many new changes. It was no longer a pure machine. Due to the partial physical merger between the mech and mech pilot, the Riot Mark III had technically turned into Rosa Orfan's body of sorts.

Of course, her human body still remained partially intact, so the mech could not be considered her true body in full. Even so, it became increasingly more clear to Ves that the fusion had reached a fairly advanced stage. Numerous signs ranging from finger twitches to heartbeat-like energy pulses indicated that Saint Orfan had begun to control the Riot Mark III as if it was her body rather than her mech.

There was a distinct difference between the two control modes. Most mech pilots, even Carmine mech pilots, still controlled their mechs as vehicles but in a more extensive way. Neural interfaces and Blood Pacts could not directly produce the outcome of controlling a mech as if it was a body. Only specialized technology such as the Terran-developed human body surrogate control system could enable mech pilots to control large multi-ton mechs as if they were controlling their own bodies, and this only applied to humanoid machines.

Outside of that, mech pilots absolutely would not control their machines like the present version of the Riot Mark III. Humanoid mechs may resemble the bodies of their mech pilots, but that was no reason for the latter to reproduce their own habits to such an extent. Any professional mech pilot that had a tendency to develop this kind of behavior always got rid of it through training. This was one of the numerous purposes of a mech academy.

What Ves could see, Jovy could see as well. The RA mech designer turned to look at the specialists that had set up in the workshop. The Red Association had developed a fascination for the anomalous transformation of the Riot Mark III.

With Ves' permission, the Bluejay Fleet assigned a team of mech designers, engineers, medical specialists, neural interface experts and psychologists to study and care for Saint Rosa Orfan and her D-mech. They had spent a considerable amount of time on figuring out how to wake Saint Orfan up and how to decrease her physical discomfort. Jovy's supply fleet just happened to bring a lot of useful assistance such as custom-made elixirs, medicines and additional scientists.

The research value of the Riot Mark III was absolutely high. Both the Mech Supremacists and the Transhumanists eagerly wanted to study and experiment on the Riot Mark III. Its design was absolutely remarkable and the unknown means that Ves used to Demoncast it had made the machine even more unique. The mechers badly wanted to replicate and perfect his crude methods!

It was only because the ace pilot and D-mech 'belonged' to Ves that the mechers restrained themselves. They meticulously abided by the rules set by the Larkinsons and diligently avoided any experiments that could pose a risk to Saint Orfan. Though Ves had taken a risk by trusting the mechers to take care of Saint Orfan and the Riot Mark III, it paid off. Their diligent efforts improved the ace pilots condition and brought her back to a state where she could not only talk to Ves, but perhaps also fight on the battlefield.

That last part became particularly important after learning about the strength that the mutated voribugs intended to bring to the battlefield. The Incubator loomed over everyone's shoulders. With the Rubarthans reluctant or unwilling to employ more destructive means, every champion turned into a crucial weapon against the latest trump card of the Goliath Hive.

Of course, Ves was well aware of the risk that the Riot Mark III might falter in the next fight and succumb to the unconventional attacks of the mutated voribugs. It was very reckless to ask an ace pilot who had befallen an accident and only just woke up to fight for the survival of the Rubarthan defenders on short notice, yet Ves still intended to proceed with this course of action.

He did not think that Saint Rosa Orfan was a person who would refuse to act in this situation. The more she began to wake, the more he could get a feel of her mental condition. Her Saint Kingdom vibrated with a certain degree of energy and anticipation. Perhaps her intuition already subconsciously warned her about the battle that was about to start in a handful of hours.

With the main forces of the Goliath Hive in this star system bearing down on the third planet, the Riot Mark III would definitely bear an enormous amount of responsibility if it took part in the defense effort.

As Rosa Orfan became increasingly more conscious, she did not rush to speak with Ves. Perhaps she already sensed that it was not wise to talk and make decisions when she remained mentally impaired. This led to a period of prolonged silence as Ves and Jovy ran out of topics to talk about.

Both mech designers ended up waiting for numerous minutes until another colleague joined. Gloriana arrived a bit later after she learned about the latest development related to this case. As one of the main contributors to the design project, she could not keep her distance.

Despite her obvious distaste towards Demoncasting, Gloriana still felt a strong sense of responsibility over what had happened to the Larkinson Clan's latest ace pilot. "Is she awake?"

"Mostly." Ves responded. "Her actual condition is really complicated, but it is clear that she is becoming more and more aware of her situation. So far, it doesn't appear that she is in pain, but we will know for certain once she conveys her own condition to us. Her Saint Kingdom feels... encouraging."

The domain field of an ace pilot reflected their deepest feelings and convictions. The stronger, the better. Ves clearly sensed that Rosa Orfan's Saint Kingdom was not weaker than any newly ascended ace pilot.

Gloriana clearly held the same idea. "It seems we will need to rush the Riot Mark III's long-awaited upgrade into an ace mech. If Saint Orfan wants to participate in the next battle, then she clearly cannot deploy in this state. Her mech frame will limit the expression of her true resonance."

That caused Ves to frown. "I don't disagree, but we will have to race against time. Both of us will need to overhaul a mech that has undergone a certain degree of physical mutations. Since the mech has deviated from its original design, we don't exactly know how to disassemble it or how to switch the resonating materials. This is especially problematic if the choice of resonating materials is not appropriate."

"There is no need for concern, Ves. I have already completed the preparation work." His wife smugly responded. "I already anticipated this situation, so I spent time on preparing two different upgrade plans. Both of them are based on a different selection of resonating materials."

Ves looked surprised. He had been unaware that her preparations had been so thorough. He regretted that he had been too distracted with other matters since the completion of the Riot Mark III. He really should be paying more attention to what his wife was doing. "Can you tell me about the resonating materials in consideration?"

"We can wait until our new ace pilot is ready to talk." Gloriana responded. "The RA supply fleet has just brought the necessary quantities of resonating materials to the Bluejay Fleet."

"That is correct." Jovy responded. "Past tests have shown that Saint Rosa Orfan is compatible with the two resonating materials, but we were not clear that this has remained the case after her... accident. This is why our engineers have just concluded a new compatibility test. The results show that her compatibility has changed, but not to extent of invalidating the choices."

Both Ves and Gloriana looked surprised. "I thought that a high-ranking mech pilot's compatibility with resonating materials is constant." The latter remarked.

"That is not entirely the case, madame. Your statement is mostly true because expert pilots and ace pilots are predominantly consistent individuals. They tend to hold the same beliefs and cling to the same convictions for most of their careers. They can remain steadfast and dedicated to their originals for decades if not centuries. Even if they eventually change employers or experience enough growth to assume different responsibilities, their core personalities often remain the same. But this is not absolute."

Ves nodded in agreement. "There are heroes that have suffered such a great blow that they become very different people. I think that Saint Rosa Orfan's case is definitely not the worst in this regard."

"Correct, my friend. The results actually speak well for Saint Rosa Orfan. Despite her radical physiological changes, the fact that her compatibility with resonating materials has not changed too much is an indicator that she is mostly the same mech pilot that we are familiar with. If the accident had completely flipped her personality, then there is little chance that her compatibility profile remains intact."

These were good signs. Ves grew a little less worried, even though he also knew that large parts of Rosa Orfan's soul had become contaminated with negative energies. What ultimately made the difference was willpower. So long as Rosa Orfan's extraordinary willpower protected her original personality, her contamination would never be able to gain control!

All of a sudden, the Riot's speakers began to speak. "UH... WHAT... HAPPENED TO MY BODY?"

The three mech designers all looked at the expert mech. The surrounding mechers immediately stopped their work and withdrew. It was not a good idea for them to stick around in case the ace pilot had a temper tantrum.

"Saint Rosa Orfan." Ves began to address the awakened pilot. "First off, congratulations for breaking through. I am not sure how much you remember about your breakthrough attempt, but you succeeded. You beat the odds and managed to trigger your second apotheosis. The problem is that you did so under difficult and anomalous circumstances. What happened to your body is... the biggest side effect of that. How much... are you aware of your current physical state?"

"I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO YOU THREE SPEAK FOR A WHILE. YOU... TALK ABOUT ME AS IF I AM A BOMB THAT IS ABOUT TO BE ARMED. IS MY CONDITION TRULY THAT BAD?"

Ves and the others frowned. It was rather weird that Saint Orfan regained enough awareness to speak to them, but not to the point of understanding her strange physical state.

"Rosa, can you answer a question for us, please?" Gloriana gently asked. "Please examine your own 'body'. Do you think you are in control of a body of flesh or a body of metal?"

"I... WAIT... WHAT IS THIS..."

Several beeps began to sound. Ves called up a projection and began to study the various graphs and numbers. Many of them started to show signs of increasing activity.

"THIS IS NOT... MY BODY... WHERE IS... MY REAL BODY... WHO ARE... I AM THE PROPHET'S BANE! I AM YOUR NEW-SCREW YOU! I AM IN CONTROL! I REMEMBER NOW! YOU TRIED TO TAKE ME OVER!"

Ves, Jovy and Gloriana immediately backed off. The Riot Mark III struggled against its restraints and started to become more and more volatile! Fortunately, Saint Orfan's resolve firmed up. She not only managed to suppress her new demonic aspect, but also willed the Riot Mark III into obedience!

Ves had been afraid that Saint Orfan's split condition had caused her to turn into a much more unstable individual. The fact that she was able to assert herself so quickly relieved his concerns.

"Are you... alright, Rosa?" Ves tentatively asked. Secretly, he was ready to unfold his true body in an attempt to physically restrain the D-mech, but he really hoped he was just being cautious.

"I'M COOL... I THINK." More chapters in t.me/+z7ieNjQSLFMzMmY6

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