An hour after Max noticed how many troops were missing compared to yesterday, another large transport ship arrived full of Koleska troops, but this one was in much worse shape, with visible combat damage and venting fires in multiple spots.
Now the change had made sense, the fresh troops here had been cycled to the front lines, and the ones that had taken the worst casualties had been moved to this back line space station next to the anomaly in order to repair and recover from their last deployment.
That wasn't going to make their job here any easier, but it did have some promise as far as the expected frequency of attacks went.
If they were sending troops here to recover, it must not be the most frequently attacked location, which meant that perhaps the two of them might not be worked to death while they defended the anomaly from the Arisen Army.
"I think that we should go offer to help them with repairs," Nico suggested as they watched the damaged ship finally move toward the station once the damage aboard was stabilized.
"I'm sure they've got their own replicator systems and a full crew of repair technicians." Max reminded her.
"Likely. But they don't have a Nico. Look at the losses that they take compared to us. I think they might let us help with the repairs and unit optimization." Nico countered.
"Let them do their work. We're not here to redesign their fleet, and I've already found you all of their design schematics, so you can run your experiments while we wait for the Arisen to come back again." Max laughed.
"Well, in that case, I will do what I can here aboard the ship and then send them an analysis report when I am finished, in case they are willing to consider making some changes to their designs that might minimize casualties."
Max went to train in the gravity room while Nico went to work on analyzing their Mecha. He could sense her frustration turning to resignation as he finished his second rep, and that meant that it was likely time to ask her a question that would change her train of thought from complex technical jargon to something more relatable.
"Have you come up with a design improvement?" Max asked her over the ship's intercom so that he didn't have to leave the gym.
"Yeah, replace the Koleska at the controls. The units are incredible. They might even be better than ours, but the pilots are absolutely atrocious, and they would barely qualify for Line Mecha pilots in the Kepler army.
I think it's a supply issue. They have lost so many veterans that they are throwing rookies in everything, so they aren't performing anywhere near their peak levels. That doesn't make sense, though. Since they've got so much advanced technology, why not just use a learning machine to dump information into their brains and train their reactions? It is bound to turn out something better than this. They didn't look clumsy to me."
"I will ask. Maybe there is a reason for it. They might be resistant to suggestion, like some of the Alliance species, so the technology might not work on them."
Max sent the message right away since there was no sign of Arisen activity in the region and received a reply only a few seconds later.
[I am not sure that the phrase translates properly into Koleska. Could you show me what you mean?]
Max followed the Koleska Commander's thoughts as he came through the station to the location where the Santa Maria was docked, then went to open the door for him.
"Greetings, Commander Yuri. It might be different than the technology that you use, so perhaps it simply doesn't make sense without context. Do you use Virtual Reality training simulations to help your Pilots learn skills?" Max welcomed his counterpart to the ship.
"Yes, we have virtual reality rooms that we use to train Pilots and others. Would you like me to show you?" Yuri asked eagerly.
Max could tell that he was interested in anything that would help train new Pilots to reduce their losses, so he printed off a few useful items, like a training program-equipped set of VR goggles that he placed in his flat space before rejoining the Koleska Commander.
"Let's go see what your men are working with. My second is currently busy analyzing weapons and equipment composition to reduce the damage taken in the upcoming battles." Max explained.
Nico was extremely frustrated at the moment, and she might say something less than diplomatic if she saw what Max was expecting after seeing the so-called training room in the Commander's mind.
As Max had expected, the virtual reality room was a virtual classroom where a holographic lecturer was droning on while the youngsters took notes.
"Do they not have individual Virtual Reality environments in Koleska?" Max asked, and the Commander simply looked confused.
"How should I explain this, like this room, but without the room, and individualized to the user? We have found that it is more effective than group training, as it can be programmed to maximize gains for every student based on their capability. I have a unit here if you would like to experience it." Max offered.
"I have a private room available. I would like to experience this device that you are speaking of." Commander Yuri requested, then led Max from the classroom to an empty version of the same room.
Max took two pairs of VR goggles from his Flat Space, and the Koleska Commander observed them with curiosity.
"You place them over your eyes, and the projection works with your optical nerves to project an artificial reality in your mind, and then you can perform tasks and learn skills in the simulated environment. Just place them on like this. Our anatomy is somewhat similar that way."
Max put on the goggles, and Yuri mimicked him with some confusion until Max activated the simulation, and the Commander was drawn into the public waiting room that was the default for the learning program.
Max's avatar was also there, and the Commander didn't seem to fully comprehend what was going on. His brain was insisting that he had been physically moved, but he was certain that the human had said it was just an illusion.
"Welcome to the training program. This is the waiting room for the human training simulations. Would you like to learn something today, or would you prefer to just take a look around?" Max asked.
"Is it faster to learn here? How much could a person learn in a day?" Yuri asked.
"This is top-of-the-line technology pilfered from one of our trading partners. If your brain is similar enough to one of the templates in the programs, you should be able to retain hundreds of days' worth of lessons in a single hour."
Yuri was dubious about the prospect, so Max introduced him to the most basic of Kepler melee combat techniques, Kep Maga. It was the close combat style that all infantrymen learned, and the Koleska should have something equivalent or better since they equipped their Mecha with close combat weapons as well as ranged.
For an hour, he waited and kept constant tabs on the Commander's mental activity. It looked like he was taking the knowledge well, but only time would tell if he retained it after the process was over and if there would be any side effects that weren't obvious during the process.
There were a huge number of safeguards built into the Alliance technology, so Max wasn't too worried about it, but it would be better if there was some guarantee that he could teach the alien the sort of combat styles and techniques that his Pilots would need to fight properly in their advanced Mecha.
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