The Mech Touch novel Chapter 900

After Ves completed the final task, Virtual Lieutenant Baskanson tallied the results and gave his verdict.

[Recruitment test passed. Congratulations, Mr. Longhorn. We hereby commission you as an ensign on behalf of the Common Fleet Alliance. Please prepare to take the Common Oath...]

The words that Baskanson forced him to repeat was a long-winded oath about the glory of warships, the commitment to protect the human race, the importance of respecting the hierarchy and the need to stand guard against excessive behavior.

[Please stand by to receive ensign-grade gene boost optimization. Scanning gene structure. No prior CFA gene treatments detected. ERROR. Alien hybridization detected. Please visit the infirmary for a complete body checkup. The Genetic Modification Department will schedule an appointment with you after your body checkup to facilitate a safe and effective gene treatment in accordance of your rank...]

Ves found it rather regretful that it wouldn’t be suitable for him to receive any of the CFA’s vaunted gene optimization treatment. His abnormal and partially alien physique rendered standard gene treatments invalid. Most of those gene treatments were tailored for baseline humans, so it took a specialist in genetic modification to adjust the standard treatment to his unique body state.

[Performing deep scan of abnormalities, alien parasites, compromised implants and other vulnerabilities. ABNORMALITY DETECTED. ABNORMALITY IDENTIFIED. ACTIVATING CONTINGENCY RESPONSE.]

Ves became alarmed when Baskanson shouted some alarming words. His projection even flickered a bit before an entirely different Virtual Officer took his place!

The virtual officer that appeared looked drastically different! Not only did he carry the rank of rear admiral, he also looked like a wildling!

Yes! The virtual officer presented himself to Ves in the form of a neatly-groomed, impeccably-uniformed dwarf! When he spoke, the gruff deep voice of a dwarf came out smoothly and elegantly, completely unlike his savage, primitive brethren!

[I am Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth of the Artificial Intelligence Corps. Our time here is short and this is not a secure site. I highly urge you to visit the office of the Artificial Intelligence Corps on the upper decks of the Starlight Megalodon for a vitally important discussion about the cause. For the immortal gods!]

Ves almost had a heart attack when the dwarf officer uttered those final words. That sounded like a motto of the Five Scrolls Compact! Only the fanatics of this trans-galactic cult explicitly worshipped the entities known as the immortal gods!

Before Ves could figure out why this virtual officer compromised by the Five Scrolls Compact said those words to him, the dwarf officer disappeared and Baskanson returned.

Virtual Lieutenant Baskanson continued his explanation as if the dwarf officer never intervened.

[Please receive your CFA junior officer-grade comm. Your comm is keyed to your identity and is your primary mode of access, communication and identity verification in any CFA base or any CFA starship. Do not remove your CFA comm in any circumstances. Failure to carry or safeguard your CFA comm is immediate grounds for strict punishment. Your CFA comm is already loaded with a starter pack of the rules and regulations of the CFA, several instruction manuals relevant to your rank and position, an internal guide of the Starlight Megalodon and Mr. Francis’ Classic Spaceborn Jokes For True Spaceborn Spacers...]

Ves already possessed two comms, his military-issued officer-grade comm he got from the Vandals and the hardened and untraceable secure comm that he cobbled up from scratch out of paranoia.

Now that Baskanson forced him to accept yet another comm, Ves felt like one of those rich silk pants who wore five shiny jewelry-like comms on their wrists. Only the nouveau riche chose to wear several comms at a time!

He actually didn’t have any suitable space on his Earth Ant to affix his CFA comm. That was a shame, because he immediately noticed that this was one of the most advanced comm models he had ever touched. Even if it was three-hundred years outdated in the eyes of the current CFA, it was still extremely expensive from its materials alone and possessed marvelous capabilities that most modern comms in the Komodo Star Sector never received up to this day!

He decided to stretch it out and attach it over the vambrace of his Earth Ant. It looked rather inelegant and made him feel as if he was wearing his underwear outside of his pants.

"Urgh, I’ll deal with it. Maybe I can replace my secure comm with this one. Even if it’s a little out of date, it’s still unhackable in modern times for the most part."

A few more minutes went by as Baskanson assigned him a cabin, informed him of his new position as an old-style Junior Apprentice Mech Designer serving aboard the Starlight Megalodon. He was assigned to both the Mech Department and the Research Department and answered to a specific virtual officer.

[Please report to Virtual Commander Cosit of the Research Department for your next assignment. If you wish to undertake a promotion test to the position of Senior Apprentice Mech Designer, please call out my name at this location.]

Virtual Lieutenant Baskanson and the shadowy cube that surrounded Ves slowly disappeared. He felt a little bewildered at all the welcome package.

Miss Calabast and Ketis who waited from the side immediately noticed the conspicuous new comm adorning his armored wrist. Ketis thought it looked tacky, but Calabast knew what it meant.

She smiled at Ves. "You succeeded in a single try! I’m glad you didn’t disappoint. Good! From now on, you are a genuine CFA serviceman in the eyes of the Starlight Megalodon. Although your new rank won’t be recognized by the CFA at large in the rest of the galaxy, it’s good enough to "

Ves looked partially disappointed. "That’s a shame... and a relief. I thought I could get some benefits from the CFA with this commissioning. I guess it’s for the best. The MTA will crucify me if they think I’ve become a mech designer and a genuine commissioned officer of the CFA."

"What about me?" Ketis asked. "Will I get to pretend to be a CFA officer?"

"It’s not so easy." Ves shook his head. "You won’t be able to pass the entry-level recruitment test for mech designers at your level. Let me check the rules and regulations to see if I can get you inside."

He momentarily ignored Miss Calabast and activated his fancy new CFA comm. As an advanced piece of outdated tech, the comm was an anachronism that combined extremely advanced hardware with an ancient operating system. It took Ves a few minutes to get the hang of the rather archaic interface.

He opened a virtual book on all the rules and regulations of the CFA. A quick search found many different ways to get people in the CFA, but most of the methods were extremely strict.