Welcome to the Conservatory. After Earth was shattered into surviving pockets across the galaxy, humanitys most talented young women train at this prestigious celestial boarding school to become the next generation of mech pilots. But these students arent soldiers, theyre ballerinas; and the mechs arent built for battle, but performance. All engineered in body and mind to entertain a ruling class of cosmic patrons in an annual life-or-death recital of mankinds only unifying story: the saga of Appolyta the Huntress, a goddess whose pursuit of one last elusive prey ends in heartbreak. This years top recruits, the quietly ambitious Mar and rebellious Rhea, endure a cutthroat curriculum to compete for the crowning title of Prima Apparata. As their bond deepens and Mars obsessive quest puts her under the wing of Appolyta herself, the line between art and indoctrination blursand the great personal cost of perfection will transform their lives. Black Swan an