The Mech Touch

The Mech Department occupied an expansive section of the ship, consisting of numerous workshops, mech stables and hangar bays.

Although the Starlight Megalodon primarily relied on her battleship-grade weapon mounts to establish her prestige, the CFA couldn ’t escape the Age of Mechs.
Just because they favored warships didn ’t mean they were willing to bury their heads in the sand.

No matter how they tried, warships possessed an unfortunate tendency to be rather indiscriminate in their firepower.
Fielding mechs instead of blasting an opponent with hugely destructive guns allowed for much more precision and much less collateral damage.

Human society became much less tolerant of indiscriminate killing and mass murder after living through the Age of Conquest.
While the CFA ’s immense prestige allowed them to break the rules whenever they wanted to, they couldn ’t do so too often without affecting their legitimacy.

Therefore, they unwillingly incorporated mechs as one of their staple weapons.

As Ves reached the section of the ship that housed the Mech Department, he became impressed by how much room had been dedicated to housing them.
The Starlight Megalodon was an immense battleship, and could easily afford to dedicate half of the internal volume of a fleet carrier to the Mech Department.

This told him that the Starlight Megalodon was designed from the ground up to accommodate mechs.

As Ves walked past several compartments related to mechs, he saw that they were largely dormant like the rest of the ship.
Without humans, the Starlight Megalodon was like an empty shell.
While the bots and virtual officers helped keep her functioning, they didn ’t possess the ability to improve the battleship ’s condition.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

After a lengthy walk, Ves finally arrived at an office close to one of the main mech hangar bays.
The hatch instantly slid open, allowing him entry.

His step immediately faltered upon noticing that not one but two people were present!

Virtual Commander Dislan adopted the appearance of a middle-aged veteran mech pilot.
The man chewed on a fake stimulant as he regarded Ves with a tough expression.

Sitting opposite to the desk was the one person that Ves never wanted to encounter on or off the Starlight Megalodon.
Venerable Foster, now garbed in a CFA piloting suit with lieutenant rank insignia, eyed at Ves with mild surprise followed with burning hatred.

Ves tried to ignore her presence as best as possible and went through the motions.
He stood at attention and saluted the virtual commander.

”Ensign Adeseus Longhorn reporting for duty, sir! ”

[At ease, ensign.
Take a seat.]

As Ves sat on the chair next to Venerable Foster, he tried his best to ignore the daggers she sent in his direction.
Virtual Commander Dislan seemed to be completely ignorant of their sour relations.

[Ensign Longhorn, as the second human under my command, I expect a lot from you.
The mechs at my department ’s disposal may look pristine on the outside, but internally they have not aged well.
Our virtual mech designers are useless and our virtual mech technicians are without direction.
I ’ve heard many good things about you from Virtual Commander Cosit, so I even if you aren ’t present here every day, I hope you can turn our department around and restore our mechs to peak condition For now, I ’ve uploaded a list of tasks for you to complete.
Any questions?]

Ves carefully turned his eyes towards the acrimonious expert pilot silently churning next to him.
It was as if he sat a couple of meters away from a roiling volcano!

”Ah, Commander Dislan, if I might ask, who is the mech pilot sitting next to me? ”

The Virtual Commander suddenly beamed.
[I ’m glad you asked! Lieutenant Relia Foster here is our very first human mech pilot after ERROR years.
She has managed to pass the most arduous recruitment test imaginable for mech pilots.
In all the years of my static existence, I never expected a human mech pilot to be so inhumanly skilled in the art of piloting mechs! As of now, Lieutenant Foster is the hope and standard bearer of our department! With her assistance, our Mech Department will no longer languish near the bottom of the totem pole! Therefore, in order to assure our ascension, I hope you can lend her all the assistance that she requires.
Is that clear, Ensign Longhorn?]

”I, ah, we have a contentious history, sir. ” Ves admitted.
”I would prefer to work separately from Lieutenant Foster. ”

Since she passed the recruitment test without relying on tricks such as a forged proof of identity, the Starlight Megalodon commissioned Venerable Foster in her original identity.

At this time, Commander Dislan ’s eyes narrowed.
[Your personal matters does not supplant your duties to the Starlight Megalodon and the CFA.
As a mech designer, it is your duty to assist our mech pilots.
As Lieutenant Foster is our only human mech pilot so far, you have no choice but to serve her to the best of your ability.
Tell me, Ensign Longhorn, are you able to separate your feelings from your work, or do I need to hand you over to the Internal Security Department for some corrective training?]

Ves shuddered.

”Don ’t worry, commander.
I will take good care of ’Ensign Longhorn ’ here. ” Lieutenant Foster threw the virtual officer a friendly smile.
”He can forget about shirking his duty while he ’s under my thumb. ”

[Hahaha! Good! That ’s the spirit! I like your initiative, Lieutenant Foster.
If that ’s the case, I ’m glad to hand him over to you.
The two of you need to get along anyway.]

After a short chitchat where Lieutenant Foster did her best to remain in the virtual commander ’s good books, Dislan finally dismissed them both.

As soon as Ves and Foster exited the office, the expert pilot immediately grabbed his shoulders and slammed him against the bulkhead.

”I recognize you, Vandal! ” She hissed.
”Who are you exactly and what are you doing here?! ”

While her physical force didn ’t harm him all that much, he still suffered under the full weight of her force of will!