The Mech Touch

5745 Identity Confusion

Not every fleeter was the same.

Despite most of them growing up in various Spaceborn Clans, their ideals and principles diverged quite a lot.

While the Red Fleet liked to present a united front towards outsiders, the internal divisions between the different Fleet Admirals were well-known.

Captain Zonrad Reze had built up plenty of contacts within the fleet. He had come in touch with a wide variety of different stances and opinions. Everyone possessed their own view on how the Red Fleet should respond to the crisis besetting human civilization.

"We don't have the resources to construct additional warships. If we want to obtain the resources we need, I see no other choice but to do the unthinkable and ally with an alien race that is willing to turn against the Red Cabal."

"The Red Fleet must never give up! Humanity back during the Age of Conquest was in a much worse position at the time, but through continuous technological assimilation and daring battle tactics, our indomitable fleets have managed to produce one victory after another. If we can do it once, we can do it again! There is no need for us to turn our backs to our original principles. We must stay true to our identity. Only by persevering will we be able to conquer this galaxy for the good of mankind!"

"I hate to say it, but the Red Association's growing success shows that warships are not the sole answer anymore. I despise the mechers as much as you, but that does not stop me from thinking that it may be better if we begin to operate in unison with our rivals. We need to stop operating as two isolated organizations."

As the dire situation of the Red Fleet began to penetrate through more and more fleeters, they gradually became more radical as time passed by. Too many of Zonrad's peers began to fear for their future and that of red humanity as the cold calculus of war continued to take a toll on their warships.

It became clearer to Sigrund that he had boarded a sinking ship.

If the Red Fleet's deteriorating state was so obvious to everyone that it was not even taboo to engage in defeatist talk, then their situation had become much more dire than he feared!

That was not to say that defeat was imminent. Confidence was low, but the fleeters still possessed enough belief in the power of their existing warships to last quite a while.

What truly concerned them was the steady attrition. Warships were not designed to engage in frequent high-intensity battles, but that was exactly what the fleeters forced them to do in order to defend the frontlines as much as possible.

Overstressed azure shield generators started to blow up. Warp drives malfunctioned during inopportune moments. Cannons began to jam or misfire due to lack of critical maintenance.

The fleeters had underinvested into facilities in the Red Ocean that could fully maintain and repair damaged warships, and they paid the price for this inadequacy.

As much as doom and gloom started to press on the minds of every member of the Red Fleet, there were still positive developments every now and then. Captain Zonrad and many other fleeters derived hope from these few pieces of good news.

From discovering powerful ways to leverage hyper technology to receiving news about the successful return of a special operations fleet. The latter had only been able to bring back so many stores of phasewater they brought due to the extensive reconnaissance that the Babylon Excvator and her other sister ships had completed.

Pride and satisfaction welled up inside Captain Reze's augmented human heart. He had 'pledged' his loyalty to the Red Fleet, and he did not intend to abandon the organization that had come to define his life.

The better the Red Fleet was doing, the greater his future prospects.

Even though Sigrund was not originally a human, he occasionally felt that there were many people, including his fellow fleeters, who had shown a deplorable level of confidence in the long-term future of the Red Fleet.

If this trend continued, then the Red Fleet would have to make so many compromises with different organizations that it would become unrecognizable in a few decades!

Captain Reze served the Red Fleet with the assumption that it would mostly remain the same over time.

He did not like that the divided leaders and officers of the Red Fleet all had different ideas on how to get their forces back into shape.

Although the brass would eventually get its act together, Conrad hated the constant division and infighting. ARCHIE helped to alleviate a lot of problems, but humans still played a vital role in operating the complicated vessels.

Sigrund found it difficult to come up with a solution that could give the fleeters more breathing room.

He had not heard of any initiatives that promised to turn the Red Fleet's fortunes around in a single go. While the fleeters still engaged in so many classified and clandestine research projects that their overall budget had increased to a drastic degree, their results were not all that impressive.

All of this put greater pressure on the hidden AI's shoulders. He continued to receive requests for him to resign from his command and take up a full-time research position.

The idea was temptation. Becoming a dedicated researcher would alleviate Sigrund from a lot of danger. As a VIP, he would become the object of protection where other servicemen would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives to secure his survival!

Yet Sigrund had seen how cruel war could truly be. In fact, he had actively participated in one, but that was a long time ago. The scale of warfare this time was already a lot greater, and the situation was only going to grow worse in the medium and long term!

During his most recent private chat with Admiral Chelea Mieli, Captain Zonrad Reze received the not-so-subtle hint that he should approach Professor Ves Larkinson for assistance in the Red Fleet's AI development program.

Why was this the case?

Why did the commanding officer of the Seventh Light Fleet specifically instruct Sigrund to contact a man he should not have any relations with? Had high command discovered that Captain Reze was not who he appeared to be on the surface?

Cold sweat almost broke out from his human skin as Sigrund began to question whether the fleeters had detected his anomalies and discovered his identity far in advance!

However, the apparent reason behind Admiral Mieli's latest directive turned out to be a lot simpler.

[...The public inquiry on living mechs is organized by a coalition of multiple powerful parties that have grown concerned with the reckless proliferation of AI-driven mechs. Professor Ves Larkinson has accepted an invitation to travel to the Ector System so that he is able to defend his work…]

Given that his old 'friend' had entered into a heap of trouble, Sigrund saw a powerful opportunity to forge another agreement.

Just when he was about to instruct his chief of staff to arrange a meeting with the embattled mech designer, Sigrund was caught by surprise when Ves actually took the initiative to contact him first!

The hidden AI gladly accepted the invitation and arranged a fast journey to the Ector System.

Since Admiral Mieli clearly wanted to open up a dialogue between the Red Fleet and Professor Ves Larkinson, she actively made sure that Captain Reze would not encounter any hindrance during his rapid transit.

When Captain Reze finally arrived in the Ector System, he had simulated many possible scenarios on how his conversation with Ves would play out. The last time they had met face to face and talked with each other was back when they still resided in the old galaxy.

Since then, their status had radically changed!

Sigrund went from an alien AI chip gone rogue to a respectable warship captain who had earned plenty of merit up to this point.

Ves on the other hand experienced an even more meteoric rise! His early promotion to the rank of Senior Mech Designer was astonishing enough by itself. What truly made him so outrageous was that many of his works were so revolutionary that he had been declared a treasure in human form!

In other words, the power balance between the two of them had been reversed. Ves was able to inflict more damage to Sigrand than the other way around.

This made the AI that wore a human shell feel more nervous, but there was little other choice. Admiral Mieli would not appreciate the decision to abort the meeting, and he would only be drawing more suspicion on himself for making an illogical decision.

For better or worse, Sigrund had to meet with his old 'friend' in a place of the latter's choosing.

He at least stocked up on his countermeasures and made sure that he carried sufficient jamming equipment to minimize any leaks.

Equipped with the appropriate gear, Captain Zonrad Reze entered the submerged structure where Ves resided.

When he appeared in the office where Ves had chosen to meet with Sigrund, the hidden AI did not expect that his true identity would get exposed right away!

Not only did Ves talk to Sigrund in a more familiar tone than expected, but the mech designer did not hesitate to point out a growing issue about his mental state.

As a strange translucent purple cat was running through his body in an incredibly disconcerting fashion, Sigrund's processing power had been working at a higher intensity in order to figure out this perplexing situation.

Unfortunately for him, very little about this situation made any sense!

"Were you aware of my true identity in advance?"

"Honestly, no." Ves responded as he continued to analyze Sigrund with his piercing eyes that seemed to gaze straight at the alien soul! "I came across your contact information by… chance, and just wanted to talk with you because you are the only fleeter officer in the Red Ocean that may be receptive to my proposals. However, once you appeared in my office, I managed to spot your true identity right away."

That caused considerable alarm from the sentient AI!

"Is my true identity that easy to discern to individuals with your metaphysical senses?!"

Ves smiled back in reassurance. "Relax. It is not that simple. Your body's human's spirituality may have recovered so much that a less sensitive observer could easily overlook the anomalies that are characteristic to your alien spirit. The biggest reason why I figured out the truth so quickly is because I am already familiar with your spirituality. It is like nothing else due to the combination of sandman and CFA AI core traits."

"If that is the case, then I am constantly at risk of discovery from any individual with similar observation capabilities as you. I may be able to minimize the risk of discovery by isolating myself from the rest of the Red Fleet, but that is not always tenable."

Veslooked sympathetic. It was clear that he had gotten rid of his animosity towards Sigrund a long time ago. Too many years had passed since the tragic Sand War. They had entered a new galaxy where everyone hoped to gain a new start.

"It is not that bad, Sigrund. I think… that the problem may become less severe if you continue to allow your alien self to assimilate with your human self. Despite your original identity, you have acted like a human for so many years that it has become increasingly more ingrained into your conception of yourself."

"Please speak in more concrete terms, professor."

"Very well. Let me put it this way. As long as you continue to distance yourself from your original identity as Sigrund, your human side will gain more ground. That should successfully minimize the chance of discovery to a minimum. This is not a harmless operation, though. I have a feeling if you give too much room to the original spirituality that had inhabited this human body of yours, it may one day regain awareness and fight to regain control."

That sounded anything but ideal for Sigrund!

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