"Lieutenant, this is the final test here at Neya."

"Yes, ma'am."

The test area on Asteroid Neya.

The Atalante was undergoing its final test, with the Mearea, which had just been repaired, observing.

The Atalante, darting through the rocks floating in space, exhibited a level of performance far beyond its initial test.

It gracefully maneuvered through the rocks. Then, it raised its rifle, loaded with paintballs, and aimed at a target attached to one of the rocks.

With the pull of the trigger, the paintballs hit almost dead center.

Percy watched the results with a complicated expression. She seemed happy about the Atalante's progress, but she couldn’t accept that they had received help from the Seventh.

"Next, we're deploying mobile knights."

"Yes, ma'am."

Emerging from the Mearea were nine training Moheebs. They surrounded the Atalante.

They fired paintballs at it, but none of them even grazed it.

Their comms crackled with complaints.

"How am I supposed to hit it?"

"Their performance difference is too big. What kind of test is this?"

"Ah, I got a hit."

The Atalante, with its superior performance, fired paintballs at the unmotivated pilots’ machines, one after another.

The test concluded.

The Atalante returned to the Mearea. The hangar was cleaner than before.

The Atalante reached its designated hangar. Molly used the arms to secure it.

"Emma, good job!"

"Good job."

Emma stepped out of the cockpit. She floated in zero gravity and looked back at the Atalante. She looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes.

Molly approached her.

"You know, new equipment is great. It's so easy and comfortable to use."

"Yeah."

Molly, slightly taken aback by Emma’s curt response, continued with a smile.

“You’re still worrying about it, aren’t you?"

"Yeah.”

She had lost someone close to her. It was weighing heavily on her.

Molly’s smile faded.

"It’s not good to dwell on it. We’ve all lost people, but letting it get to you won’t help.”

"I know, but if I had been better at piloting this machine…"

Emma kept replaying her mistakes in her mind.

As she pondered, an unexpected figure approached them from a distance.

"That thought is arrogant."

Emma looked at the approaching figure and saluted.

"Knight Commander."

Emma muttered. Molly, remembering who the figure was, also saluted.

Klaus, dressed in his knight's uniform, flew through the zero-gravity hangar. He grabbed onto a handrail and stood before them.

Emma tried to speak, but Klaus beat her to it.

“I’ve decided on the mobile knights to be deployed to the Mearea.”

Klaus delivered the announcement with an impersonal tone. Emma, finding it strange, asked,

“Why did you come here yourself, Knight Commander? Couldn’t you have just sent a message?”

Molly, beside Emma, clapped her hands.

“Yeah, that would have been easier.”

It was disrespectful to be so casual with the Knight Commander, but Klaus didn’t reprimand Molly.

Klaus smiled.

“There’s a reason why I came in person. Lieutenant Rodman, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Me?”

...

The Mearea’s lounge.

It was currently being used exclusively by Emma and Klaus, who had both prepared beverages.

Klaus had come to the Mearea to talk to Emma.

“It’s a shame about the captain.”

“Yes, sir.”

“She was a bit lax with the rules, but she was a great subordinate. She led the mobile knight unit well, and fought bravely."

She had commanded three squads of three, making up a full platoon. The captain had been a dependable subordinate for Klaus, leading the platoon in battle.

Emma shed tears.

“It’s my fault that the captain died. She died protecting me.”

Klaus, seeing Emma cry, patted her back while speaking.

“Her death is my responsibility. And we are knights, but we are also soldiers. Death is a part of the battlefield. I can’t say that we should accept it as inevitable, but we have to."

“I’ll avenge the captain. I’m going to take down that woman—Sirena from the Dahlia Mercenary Group.”

Emma declared, and Klaus asked—

“Are you letting personal feelings cloud your judgment?”

“But—!”

Klaus seemed to have no intention of discouraging her.

“It’s your choice what you do. But if you let personal feelings influence you, you’ll end up hurting those around you. What are you going to do if a comrade dies because of your vendetta?”

"I wouldn’t let that happen."

“We’ll see. It’s your allies who will be hurt by your actions. And in the army, you’re going to see comrades die. Are you going to seek revenge every time that happens?”

“Ugh!”

Emma remained silent, and Klaus stood up.

“It’s up to you to decide what you do. But as your superior, I want you to focus on your mission and not get caught up in vengeance.”

When Emma remained silent, Klaus spoke gently.

"You need to become stronger. You have the talent and the potential to do so."

"I'm nothing."

Emma refuted, and Klaus folded his arms.

“You’re underestimating yourself. We wouldn’t entrust an expensive machine called a prototype experimental craft to a knight without any talent.”

“But I’m weak.”

"Then become stronger. And get promoted.”

“What?”

She understood the need to become stronger, but she didn't see the connection between getting promoted and revenge.

Klaus explained patiently.

“If your superior is incompetent, your comrades die. A skilled commander can save more lives. If you want to protect your comrades, your friends, become stronger and get promoted.”

Emma, understanding his explanation, nodded slightly.

"Yes, sir."

Klaus, seeing her nod, shared the other news.

“I have an update from the upper management. The prototype experimental machine, the Atalante, has been targeted, and they’ve decided that it needs appropriate protection.”

“Uh, um…”

Emma was unsure what he meant.

Klaus smiled.

“The Mearea will be getting a new mass-produced machine.”

Emma jumped up in surprise.

"What?!"

"We are expecting the development of the prototype experimental craft, the Atalante, and the Mearea's success. Keep up the good work."

The Mearea—formerly the Frontier Security Forces, now the Prototype Experimental Machine Atalante Development Team—would be equipped with new machines from the Seventh Weaponry Factory.

...

The day of the new machine’s arrival.

The Mearea’s hangar was filled with pilots, maintenance staff, and other crew members. They were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new mass-produced machines.

The Third Platoon was eagerly waiting as well.

“Doug and Larry, calm down."

Molly was looking at the two men, who were fidgeting.

Both Doug and Larry were pacing around the hangar.

“Molly, you wouldn’t understand. This is the first time I’ve received a brand new machine. It’s impossible to be calm when you’re told to be calm.”

Even Doug, who had spent years in the military, had never been given a new machine.

Molly looked at Larry.

“Larry was complaining a lot about it, wasn’t he?”

"That’s a different story!”

“It’s not.”

Molly sighed, looking at the two restless men.

Then, she saw Emma running into the hangar from the opened hatch and stood up.

Emma was waving with a smile.

“Emma!”

"Everyone! The new machines are here! I had them rushed in!"

The atmosphere in the hangar brightened.

The new machine’s arrival had been decided, but they had been making minor adjustments regarding which unit would receive which machine.

There were many different types of machines at the Seventh Weaponry Factory, even though they were all new models.

Some of them had normal, conventional appearances.

Larry, for once, made a fist and raised it in a triumphant gesture.

“Well done, Captain! So, what are the machines?”

Everyone was waiting for the machines to arrive. And then, one after another, they were brought in.

As the crew saw them, their excitement began to fade.

Unfazed by this, Emma and Molly continued to talk excitedly.

“We received the new Raccoon. It’s the latest mass-produced model.”

"Emma, you did it! You got the newest model.”

“Thanks. I didn’t really do anything.”

Molly hugged Emma and praised her. A dwarf technician, along with his team, entered the ship, following the machines.

“Hey! We’re the Seventh’s technical instructors. We’ll be a pain in your sides for a while.”

Percy, especially, looked disgusted as she saw them, particularly the staff from the Third Weaponry Factory, standing around the Atalante.

“Why are the Seventh’s staff here?”

“The Raccoon is the newest model. We’ll be providing technical guidance. But it’s also important to collect data in the field. We’re going to be on the same ship now, so let's get along.”

The dwarf smiled and winked. Percy turned her back on him.

Larry and Doug were talking with shoulders slumped.

“I had a bad feeling about this. We could have gotten something better, even though it was a new machine.”

“Performance isn’t everything. I wish we’d gotten something...tougher. Something with a more rugged and masculine design. I like the raccoon, but it’s a bit round, you know?"

Apparently, the Raccoon’s appearance was unpopular with others besides knights. Its round silhouette made it look cute rather than tough.

"If they were going to bring this in, why didn't they bring the Teumessia, was it? It would have been nice if they’d equipped it with an assist function.”

“You like slender machines? I’d prefer something more angular, something manly.”

They were happy to receive new machines, but they weren't thrilled about the appearance.

They were happy about the performance, but there was something about the Raccoon that didn’t sit well with them.

...

"Everyone is giving these new Raccoons this weird look, even though we just received them.”

A lounge in the Seventh's dock.

Emma was talking to Klaus.

“My guys weren’t thrilled either. It’s not a bad machine, but Chensie was sulking, so I gave her my Teumessia.”

“You gave her your Teumessia? I’ve heard that the competition for them is fierce, and most people who request them are turned down.”

"The Raccoon with an assist function is easier for me to handle, so..."

Both of them were a bit disappointed.

Emma began to talk about Klaus’s machine.

“Knight Commander, are you going to customize your Raccoon?”

“In my case, I’m just adding optional parts, so I wouldn’t call it a customization. Only ace-level knights and pilots get custom machines.”

“But it’s cool that it’s different. I’d love to have a custom machine someday.”

“But the Atalante is your personal machine, you know. Okay, it’s about time.”

Klaus stood up and saluted Emma.

“This fleet will be disbanded once we get back to the home star. I don’t know when we’ll meet next, but I hope we meet alive.”

Emma saluted back.

“Yes, sir."

“I hope we meet again alive.” Emma had matured enough to understand the weight of those words.

They were both knights, and they didn't know when they might die. It could be either of them, or both.

The chances of seeing each other again were slim, and it could be their final goodbye.

“I hope the Atalante is finished.”

“Then I’ll pray for the Knight Commander’s promotion.”

"What?"

Klaus tilted his head. Emma conveyed the captain’s wish.

"The captain said that the Knight Commander had the potential to be even higher up.”

Klaus, realizing that his former subordinate held such high expectations, blushed slightly. He also displayed an expression of sadness for the lost subordinate.

"You’re flattering me. I’ll just do what I can. But I’ll keep her words in my mind.”

They parted ways.