The first message that they received later that evening was from Commander Yuri, a report on the progress and relative performance of the soldiers who had undergone the human training programs.
To say that the volunteers were eager for another round of training was a vast overstatement, but the Commander had deemed that they were ready to receive the next course and upgrade their skills. He was also requesting that another group be given permission to take the first-year training to improve their skills, as they had proven so effective against the Arisen force.
That saved Max a lot of trouble, as he had been planning to bring the matter up at dinner when they saw each other next.
"Hey Nico, do you think that you can customize a program for the Koleska? They're a bit behind the curve, but the Commander approves of using the learning programs to help them catch up on the skills that they will need to fight the Arisen." Max asked.
"That shouldn't be a problem. Do you think that we should include the style that the Arisen are using as the base model for the Koleska?"
Just the thought of that was enough to make Max laugh. Two forces, both using bastardized versions of a skill that he himself had created? No, that was too ridiculous.
"No, go for something that works as a decent counter to it. The Arisen will already be familiar with how to fight against their own style, so it's better to give the Koleska something simple to learn but solid at both targeting and close combat evasion techniques."
There were a number of styles that Nico knew which could fit the description of being a counter for the Arisen combat styles, but easy to learn was not part of most of them. They relied on years of training, practice, and desperate struggle to get the timing exactly right and execute them properly.
Simple styles like Kep Maga were easy to learn, but they weren't as effective at fighting against the close combat styles of the War Walkers, who had an uncanny ability to close the distance with their opponents once they realized that area of effect weapons were going to be used against them.
"I think I have one that will fit the bill. It's not the greatest of fighting styles, but it's easy to learn, and it specializes in avoidance, so the Koleska can learn to dodge a few hits and survive a bit longer.
If I program in the data from the Arisen Army's engagements, they will be able to train against the enemy, so they will finish their training with some practical experience, even if it's not in the real world." Nico decided.
"Then you might as well program a hundred of the training devices with them. That's enough to do an entire unit at a time, and it will be enough to let the Commander see that the programs really do work."
They had dinner with Commander Yuri coming up in a few hours, so she might have to work fast if she was going to have them done in time, but Nico had always been efficient when working with technology, and a simple edit to the learning software shouldn't be too big of a deal, especially if the style was already programmed into it.
"Don't worry. I'll have it ready on time. I just need to alter the opponent data so that they are fighting against the War Walkers. They might not be perfect since I have a limited data set to work with, only from our two Mecha and what was sent to us by the Koleska, but it should be enough to make them believable." Nico explained.
"Perfect. In that case, I will start getting the proposal ready for them. The more of them we train, the less damage our reinforcement team is going to take when they arrive. They should all be elites who were qualified for a promotion to the Phalanx Class Mecha but didn't have a unit available, so they won't be pushovers, but everyone we lose is a big deal for public relations."
Nico chuckled at that. She didn't care about public relations at all. Sure, it was good if the humans could get along with the Koleska, but it would be just as good if the Koleska were absolutely terrified of humanity as a whole.
Both results would lead to the safety of their species and the ongoing working arrangement, so they were equivalents in her mind.
Once she had the programming done, Nico made a trip to the Replicator and picked out an outfit for the evening, keeping in mind the Koleska clothing sensibilities. While they had no issues with nudity, as their exoskeletal nature was mostly androgynous, other than the markings about the arms and head, they were very class conscious, and the more highly ranked wore the most. So, she would wear just slightly more revealing clothes than Max would mark her position as his second in the minds of the officers that they would be dining with.
It wasn't strictly necessary, and they would still be dressed in Reaver fashion, but it would help the Koleska understand their ranking system if they made an effort to match the local conventions.
Her spaghetti strap halter top and skin-tight leather pants with a leather vest covered in patches were very Nico, and Max laughed as he recognized a number of the patches as being for video games, punk rock bands and a support pin promoting Max.
Not the Terminus Trading Company, which had a large patch on the back of the vest, but a small silver pin with his name and a likeness of Cleansing Light on it, the sort of thing that Mecha fans in the civilian populations would create for heroes of the propaganda videos.
"Are you having fun?" Max laughed as she finalized her design in the Replicator and pulled out her outfit for the night.
"What do you think? Too much?" She asked as she stripped down to put on the tank top and vest.
"I think it's a bit much for a formal dinner with the officers. There will be plenty of other chances to wear it." Max laughed as he realized that she looked ready to go to a concert, not an official meeting with foreign military officers and government ministers.
"Fine, I will pick a short-sleeved dress and some fishnet stockings or something." She sighed, but Max could tell that she already had an outfit in mind, which would only be a little more formal than the punk rock vest.
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