Commander Yuri sent an aide to pick Max and Nico up for Dinner, though the walk to the dining area of the station was only a few minutes.
"Greetings, Commanders. I will be your escort for the evening. If you should require anything, please just ask. It is both my duty and my honour to take care of anything that you may need." He greeted them.
Now his presence made sense to Max. He wasn't just a security guard or an escort to the dining hall, which they could reach perfectly fine on their own. He was more in the nature of a butler for them this evening.
He had noticed that most of the high-ranking Koleska had one, but he hadn't realized that it was such an ingrained thing that they would send one for him and Nico when there was an official dinner.
"Please, do lead the way. Hopefully, our choice of attire is appropriate for a Koleska meeting?" Max replied.
The butler looked them both over, then nodded. "Human attire is a bit odd, but your intent is clear. The difference in clothing sends the appropriate message that the young lady is your second in command, and the markings on her arms show that she is of high rank from birth."
Max wasn't sure what he meant until he looked down and realized that Nico had created Tattoos all over her exterior shell, depicting an epic battle on both arms and ending somewhere under her elbow-length sleeves.
It was a good look on her, and the battle scenes suited her personality better than the cute and innocent look that she used to confuse and mislead opponents.
Only a few minor functionaries were seated at the far end of the table when Max and Nico arrived, but there were many more people socializing on the far side of the room.
"Should we join them and introduce ourselves?" Max asked their escort for the evening.
"No, here they will come to introduce themselves to you. As a guest, it is their place to welcome you, not for you to ingratiate yourself with them. It is part of our code of hospitality. I will introduce those of ranks higher than Commander, and those below will introduce themselves. But most of them should come to speak to you sometime tonight.
The first to come over was naturally Commander Yuri, who needed no introduction, but the small group that followed him introduced themselves as the Subcommanders from Defence Force Dispatch, the ones who were on the radio passing orders to the units when there was a battle.
They were the ones who followed the battle most closely, as they needed to know where every single unit was and its callsign, while the Commanders above them mostly focused on the total numbers and armament to make sure that there was sufficient firepower in the region.
It seemed to work. Max hadn't seen much sign of disorganization in their ranks, even when they were taken by surprise, so the Subcommanders had his respect for a job well done.
They also didn't immediately choose to overwork the units that cleared the fastest, whereas many human Commanders would have moved him and Nico around constantly since they were the most efficient killers on the battlefield.
Teamwork was clearly one of the values that the Koleska held dear, and that was promising news for his plan to introduce them to new training methods which would make large groups of troops more effective.
"Have you had a chance to sort the repairs to your Mecha, Commander?" Yuri asked politely once everyone around him was introduced.
"Indeed we did. Our shielding held up fairly well during the battle, so there were only limited physical repairs to make, and we came well equipped for that level of maintenance." Max answered, bringing sighs of relief from the Dispatch team.
"How did the youngsters do? The ones that got the training." Nico asked the officer closest to her, who was with the Dispatch team.
"Remarkably well. Their kill rate was over double the average, and they suffered forty percent fewer losses than average. It's a rather small sample size, but it is a positive start." The officer replied with a strange bow that made their chitinous joints creak softly.
"If you would like a larger sample size, I have finished an updated version of the training that uses Arisen as the opponent. It should be a bit more effective than the version that was developed for use by the humans for general training." She suggested.
"That isn't my department, but I think that the others would be in agreement that it would be a great idea. We were just discussing the need to improve our training program for new soldiers, as our casualty rates have increased. I am not sure what the plan was to actually implement it, though." The officer replied, waving off her suggestion that he should be involved in the decision.
"Fortunately for my associate here, there is someone who is involved in the decision around. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Subcommander Tarith Nico. I am Education Minister Vladimir, and the training of students is under my general supervision. I have seen the documents on the results of your first round of training experiments with the Koleska recruits, and the results are astounding.
Not only were they well above average in every metric, but they were also among the least experienced forces on the battlefield, who would normally take the most losses and suffer the most while trying to effectively eliminate the Arisen Army.
If I heard right, you have optimized your training program for combat against the Arisen? Tell me, is that for your own practical experience, as well?"
That would be the most logical answer since the humans had only met the Arisen a few days ago, and there really wasn't a way to tell them that they were already familiar with the enemy's combat style because they had seen it in their past lives.
The Koleska wasn't easy to lie to, though, so Nico went for the most direct possible answer that would deflect from the topic at hand and still answer the question.
"Not quite. We have amassed a far larger amount of combat experience than you might expect, so I optimized this program for the training of new combatants, with an emphasis on a style that uses avoidance in close combat to reduce casualties while maintaining the kill rate of the initial training program.
The problem with most rookies is that they learn to shoot, and that is it. So when they are charged, they lack the skills to survive, and the Arisen are taking advantage of that. With the new program, we can eliminate much of that disadvantage during the first module, so even if it is only one class per group, it should prove to be an effective way of decreasing combat casualties.
That is a priority for all human forces, and given the rate of losses your people have suffered, I believe that it will be among the highest priorities for the Koleska as well."
The minister smiled at her and took a seat directly across the small round table that Max and Nico were seated at. "I think that we will get along very well. Education comes first. Killing the Arisen comes afterward."
Max took a look into his mind and sighed. Nico had found herself a kindred spirit, though this man's obsession with eliminating the Arisen came from the trauma of losing his family in the first wave of attacks.
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