The Mech Touch

you setting up a farm of all things? ”

Captain Orfan sighed.
”It ’s because we can ’t enter and exit this region.
Ever since the battleship tractored us over here, we ’ve been exploring our surroundings for days.
That ’s when we realized we ’ve entered a ruin.
We haven ’t found anyone even after circling the entire crash site.
There ’s no trace of natives or any of our rivals until a week ago when some Vesian tiger mechs got dragged inside. ”

”Did you come to blows with them? ” He asked.

”We tried, but as soon as we boarded our mechs and attempted to fire our laser cannons, the Starlight Megalodon suddenly put all of our mechs into stasis and separated us as if we were unruly children.
Over the following days, we ’ve tried to attack the Vesians several times but the battleship keeps preventing us! ”

”What ’s with the farm then? ”

”We ’re trapped here. ” Captain Orfan sighed.
”We tried to walk away but the blasted battleship immobilizes us with a stasis beam and forcibly drags us back.
We ’ve been starting up a farm in case the worst case scenario happens and we run out of nutrient packs before we ’re able to find a way out. ”

Ketis found this sequence of events to be perplexing.
”Since the Megalodon is so insistent on keeping you here, did you try to enter her instead? ”

”There ’s a hindrance. ” Lieutenant Dise replied, taking over from Captain Orfan.
”No one appears to be in control of the battleship.
Yet that doesn ’t mean the Megalodon has gone dormant.
She ’s highly automated and is acting on ancient directives. ”

Ves frowned at that.
”What does that mean? ”

”Without a competent crew at the helm, the battleship ’s AIs and automated routines are operating by themselves.
The AIs that are in control are still following their directives faithfully, but they ’re very inflexible.
Every time we interact with them, it ’s like talking to a bot! From what we ’ve found out so far, the AIs are currently acting on the directives of the original executive officer of the Starlight Megalodon.
The short version is that he revoked everyone ’s authority and set a test for someone to obtain entry and some privileges from the systems that are currently running the ship. ”

This sounded exceptionally weird, but not that unthinkable.
Ves didn ’t know the story behind the executive officer and why he issued such an extreme command.

”Is this test only eligible to the original crew or is anyone allowed to try? ”Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

”The test the battleship serves up isn ’t limited to anyone.
Each of us have walked up to the Megalodon to give the test a try.
None of us succeeded. ”

”Why? ”

”Because it ’s basically a recruitment test of the CFA. ” Captain Orfan revealed with an exasperated voice.
”We can apply to numerous starting positions, such as applying to become an able spacer, a cook, an engineer, an internal security officer, a marine, a mech technician, a mech designer, you name it! As long as the position exists on the battleship, there ’s a way to apply for them and become a legitimate crew member of the Megalodon! ”

This sounded very shocking.
Such a test came with a lot of implications.
If just one of them succeeded, they not only gained access to the Starlight Megalodon, but also enjoyed the privileges of their position.
While the automated systems wouldn ’t let a lowly spacer access to the restricted parts of the ship, they might be able to salvage some goodies in the less important sections.

Yet from the glum faces of Captain Orfan and Lieutenant Dise, it seemed that passing the test was no joke.

Ves knew why.
The CFA rarely ever recruited outside people these days.
Those not born from a CFA or connected spaceborn lineage faced huge hurdles if they wanted to become a member of humanity ’s most powerful fleet.

The recruitment tests they served to outsiders was impossible to pass for the average person.
Only prodigies, talents and geniuses in their professions stood a chance of passing the famously rigorous tests!

Supposedly, only those who received specific grooming and an abundant amount of genetic treatment stood a realistic chance as passing these tests.
Therefore, the majority of outsiders who entered the ranks of the CFA tended to come from the hugely prosperous galactic center.

Country bumpkins from the galactic rim like the Vandals and Swordmaidens need not apply.

”The tests are too difficult! ” Captain Orfan slammed her fist on the crudely welded table.
”The AIs are too obstinate and aren ’t willing to lower their standards no matter how much we try to convince them.
They ’re dumb as rocks.
I ’ve seen cleaning bots who are more intelligent than the AIs who call the shots at the battleship. ”

The two mech officers explained that they all tried to apply for a variety of positions.
Even the lowest sanitation engineer, which was just a fancy way of referring to janitors, needed to be the equivalent of mechanical engineers who could design and develop state-of-the-art cleaning machines.

After all, a shipboard janitor these days mainly cleaned a ship by managing the cleaning bots.
Some knowledge about the ins-and-outs of how the bots worked should be a given, but the CFA wasn ’t satisfied with that.
Not even the best professors of mechanical engineering in the Komodo Star Sector would be able to pass the test to become the Starlight Megalodon ’s janitor!

The more Ves heard about the ridiculous demands the recruitment tests imposed, the more he became confounded by the executive officer ’s intentions.
Perhaps the original crew of the Starlight Megalodon were smart and capable enough to pass these tests, but what about their descendants?

On a planet where technology constantly degraded, how easy would it be to raise offspring and educate them to a ridiculously high standard?

”So you see, Ves, this is why we ’re stuck here.
The battleship won ’t allow us to leave and she doesn ’t allow us to enter either unless we pass her tests. ”

Ves could see now why the survivors started farming.