The Mech Touch

ing admiral and their subordinates had a lot of blood on their hands.

This guilt hung over the heads of the Fleeters and stigmatized them from the rest of humanity who developed an intense fear towards anything related to warships.

Whether deliberate or not, the CFA withdrew from the spotlight and began to isolate itself from the rest of human society.

The CFA must wash away the sins of its predecessors by guarding the human race.
This was the guiding mission that sustained the organization to this day.

To staff its warships, the CFA increasingly turned to the true spaceborn clans that lived a nomadic life in space.

Unlike the humans who grew up in one of the many states, the spaceborn were much more adapted to become Fleeters.

The true spaceborn were not only born spacers, but also possessed a much higher perspective.
The petty conflicts that consumed the attention of the states for centuries were nothing but playground spats to the true spaceborn.

Only the most noble spacers were qualified to become Fleeters.

While there were plenty of complaints from the states that the CFA was becoming increasingly detached from human society, the Fleeters didn ’t care.

Let the MTA babysit the squabbling humans.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zonrad Reze comfortably sat behind his desk in his stateroom aboard the Karaton Dwight, a majestic Villard-class battleship.

As the flagship of the 3rd Archangel Frontier Battle Group, the Karaton Dwight was one of the most powerful warships assigned to the Komodo Star Sector and surroundings.

Ship design hadn ’t changed much over the years.
Though the underlying technologies had changed or improved, a flag captain from the Age of Conquest would still be able to command a modern battleship without too much adjustment.

Of course, with the superhuman cognitive abilities of any senior officer, such a rapid adaptation was to be expected.

The officers of the Common Fleet Alliance were just as capable if not more than the impulsive naval officers of the past.

However, the difference was that their genes still remained human.
The CFA ’s state-of-the-art genetic optimization treatments largely eschewed direct alien gene transplantation in order to avoid undesirable side effects.

Though the officers of the CFA no longer went mad on a massive scale, the extreme degree of competitiveness in the ranks still remained.

This was the reason why Zonrad was furrowing his brows while he held a conversation with a fellow member of the Novilon Clan through a physical projection.

”I ’m nearing forty-six years old. ” He spoke in a dignified accent unique to his clan.
”While I expected my promotion opportunities to be few and far in between, I ’m nearing the end of my rope. ”

A more mature man sat on the opposite side of the desk.
Though he was only present as a physical projection, the demeanor he exuded was vastly more substantial.

”You have no one but yourself to blame, Zonrad.
I warned you that the command trajectory is the most difficult to promote yourself.
How many years has it been since you have been commissioned? ”

”More than two decades. ”

”And where has that brought you? I ’m only five years older than you but I ’m already a lieutenant commander! ”

Zonrad sneered.
”You ’re just a logistics officer who is good with managing supplies.
You ’ve never been stationed on a warship.
Do you think I can make my clan proud by taking charge of a small supply depot in the Komodo Star Sector? ”

Lieutenant Commander Victor Manta took no offense at Zonrad ’s tone.

”Look down on me all you want, but my future is bright, especially since I ’m eligible to receive further optimization treatments.
As long as you live long enough, you will slowly have more opportunities to rise up the ranks! ”

Though Zonrad could easily live up to 150 years or so, it would be hard to extend his life any further without assistance from the CFA or his clan.

However, neither of them were in the habit of wasting expensive treatments on inconsequential officers.

Zonrad knew this.
He also knew that his capabilities were only so-so compared to his fellow officers aboard the Karaton Dwight.

He raised his finger in a distinctive gesture, causing their comm call to pause.

”Monodwell, please display my current status. ”

The powerful super AI in charge of running most of the systems of Karaton Dwight responded instantly.

[Status]

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zonrad Reze

Novilon Spaceborn Clan

45 years old

…

Assignment

Komodo Naval Fleet

3rd Archangel Frontier Battle Group

Villard-class battleship Karaton Dwight

Auxiliary Gunnery Department

…

Decision Making: 1.3

Memory: 2.1

Perception: 1.6

Problem Solving: 1.4

…

Evaluation: A low potential officer who has been assigned to the Karaton Dwight through connections rather than on his own merits.

Zonrad ’s face soured.
”Monodwell.
I ’ve trained so hard to raise my problem solving and decision-making skills.
I ’ve even switched my implant to a smart decision aid! Why are my scores still so low!? ”

[A fair and independent assessment has been made of your abilities, Lieutenant Reze.
Your performance in tests and simulations do not reflect your actual competence.
If you have any objections to your assessment, please submit the required CFA merits to request the mediation of an independent human officer.

Please keep in mind that you will be subject to severe punishment if your objections are groundless.]

The junior officer cursed under his breath.
Though he believed that he was much more capable due to his storied lineage, he did not have the courage to incur any demerits should he waste the time of a superior officer.

Such actions ruined the careers of many of his fellow CFA officers!

Though Zonrad wanted to argue with Monodwell some more, he reluctantly swallowed his frustrations.

As an inhuman, impartial super AI, Monodwell never sided with any human! Not even the admiral in charge of the Archangel Group had the power to override some of Monodwell ’s decisions!

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