The Mech Touch

Compared to humans, the Alshyr were much more terrible! As one of the alien races worthy to be ranked third among the Seven Apex Races, each of them possessed an unimaginable amount of strength and intelligence.

Each member of their race possessed enough power to contend against a small warship with their own bodies when they became adults. Through means which Ves didn’t know, the Alshyr possessed the ability to traverse space with their naked bodies!

This meant that anytime a fleet attempted to attack a planet colonized by the Alshyr, a huge flock of millions of corvette-like alien creatures rose up and attacked the invaders!

This had led to the rise of an alien race which didn’t need to depend on technology to dominate the universe.

Naturally, their natural strength wasn’t the only thing scary about the Alshyr.

Often likened to giant feathered birds, they were anything but exobeasts, as even the stupidest Alshyr was a genius! They were predisposed to spacetime-related technology and developed some of the most advanced means of FTL travel before humanity came and stole their innovations.

The only weakness of the Alshyr race was one afflicting many of the powerful races in the galaxy. The propagation of their species depended on the so-called Worclaw crystal, a rare exotic available in large quantities on Worclaw, their ancestral home planet. From what Ves knew of this exotic, it contained remarkable properties related to energy.

While this high-grade could be synthesized through specific methods, it didn’t appear very often in the rest of the galaxy. This led to an extremely constrained growth rate for the powerful Alshyr race and limited their expansion in the galaxy.

Part of the reason why the Alshyr and the other Apex Races of the galaxy ultimately fell back against the human onslaught was because they simply couldn’t match humanity’s frightening growth rate!

Nonetheless, the shortcomings of the Alshyr didn’t take away the fact that they were still extremely powerful. According to what Ves knew of the avian-like race, they still lurked well outside the reach of human space.

"So let me get this straight." He said after the exobiologist mentioned the Alshyr. "Somehow, the Jutland organ produces the same kind of higher-dimensional energy that is harnessed by the Alshyr?"

[That is correct. Alshyr energy as it’s referred to laymen is one of the more elusive and difficult-to-grasp forms of higher-dimensional energy that the CFA has ever come in touch with. In fact, information about Alshyr energy is so classified that if not for the Starlight Megalodon’s emergency state, an AI such as myself would never be able to access the relevant classified documents!]

"What do the documents say?"

[Not very much.] Dr. Neeran shrugged. [Because Alshyr energy is so rare and difficult to detect, the CFA has never been able to study it in detail. If not for the highly-advanced examination equipment in my lab, we wouldn’t have been able to find a trace of it hidden in your body in the first place! As it is, there is very little I can help you in this regard. Perhaps my human predecessor may be able to assist you more by performing research on it, but I am bound from doing the same.]

As Ves asked some more questions, Dr. Neeran readily admitted his inability. He couldn’t tell whether the Jutland organ was ultimately helpful or harmful to his body. The virtual exobiologist also didn’t have much of a clue about how to manipulate or reduce the Alshyr energy cycling through his body.

"I thought the CFA is more capable than this." Ves said in disappointment.

[As much as we pretend to stand at the apex of human civilization, we are not omnipotent. Developing warships and conducting naval battles are our strong suits. When it comes to biotechnology of this nature, there is little that we can do. Another organization is much stronger in this area, but that is not the CFA.]

Ves pressed his lips. Of course, he couldn’t just walk up to the Five Scrolls Compact and use his status as one of their Holy Sons to ask them to study his Jutland organ. They would probably take him prisoner and force him to cough up their missing Metal Scroll before killing him! He’d be crazy to get anywhere near these deranged bioterrorists!

"Alright, let’s put the Jutland organ aside. As long as you can remove the malicious bioprogramming, I’m already satisfied with that."

[We’ve already prepared a treatment to remove or neutralize the adverse code. At the same time, we can also go ahead and apply the other treatments that you wished to undergo. We’ve already prepared the KC-3333 priming agent for ingestion. Once it takes effect, we can go ahead and apply the two gene optimization treatments that we’ve tailored to your genes.]

"Are there any risks of complications or incompatibility?"

The virtual exobiologist shook his head. [Not after we adjusted the treatments to your unique conditions. They mainly work by improving your baseline human genes, ignoring everything that is either non-human or already augmented. However, I do admit that your case is a little more troublesome than other human officers. Besides your alien hybridization, your body and especially your brains are already heavily augmented. In fact, there are hardly any aspects about your brains that the gene optimization treatments can improve!]

"It’s true that I’ve heavily augmented my cognitive abilities." Ves awkwardly laughed. It must have been all the Attribute Candies he bought from the System as well as other unusualities. "How much time will this all take?"

[To insure a completely safe treatment, we’d have to pace each procedure. It will take about a week in total.]

Ves almost fainted when he heard that. He couldn’t afford to go under for an entire week! Too much might change when he next woke up!

"I’m kind of in a hurry now and I can’t afford to be indisposed for that long. Is there any way you can compress the time?"

The virtual exobiologist frowned. [If you are willing to disregard most precautions and bear the risk of increased complications and rejection, then it’s possible to complete the entire range of treatments within two days. You’ll be able to walk away from this lab after forty-eight standard hours, but are you sure you are willing to take the risk? As a medical professional I can hardly justify the risks.]

"The Starlight Megalodon is operating under emergency conditions, right? You should be able to get away with a lot more than usual. Besides, you’re just an AI, not an actual human doctor. You didn’t pledge any oaths."

After a lengthy argument, Ves managed to corrupt Virtual Doctor Neeran into accelerating the treatment plan.

Of course, Ves bore all the risks, but the overall risks of each treatment was quite low due to how standard and routine they were in the CFA.

Before Ves underwent the treatments, he first arranged his schedule. He asked for leave from Virtual Commander Cosit, who approved his request immediately on account of their friendship. He also sent a message to Miss Calabast that he’d be indisposed for a few days, although he didn’t tell her the exact reason why.

Someone like her might very decide to interfere with the treatments and take the opportunity to insert some kind of biological backdoor in his body!

Fortunately, Ves would be undergoing the operations within the restricted section of the Exobiology Department, which was almost as heavily-guarded as the restricted section of the Research Department.

This service didn’t come free, however, and Ves had to throw quite a bit of merits at Neeran to guarantee his safety and security, especially amidst the hostile Exobiology Department!

Since Ves still had quite a bit of merits to spare, he didn’t begrudge the additional spending.

[Please follow me to the operation center.] Neeran said once they made all the arrangements.

While Ves found it rather frightening to put himself at the mercy of Dr. Neeran, he nonetheless put his faith in the virtual exobiologist. Since Virtual Rear Admiral Ordoth found him trustworthy enough to put on the list of potential collaborators, Neeran probably shouldn’t be up to any shenanigans.

Two days went by as Ves spent much of his time unconscious. What little time he spent awake, he could hardly think as all kinds of sedatives put him into a painless daze.

During these two days, Dr. Neeran and a handful of other virtual specialists proceeded to apply the KC-33333 priming agent to increase his tolerance towards genetic modification and alien hybridization. This relieved most of the pressure that his abnormalities subjected towards his human body.

After that, the specialists injected all kinds of agents throughout his entire body but mostly the regulator organ to neutralize the malware contained within their biological programming.

Only after these operations did the virtual doctors apply the two rounds of genetic optimization treatments. Due to how often the CFA performed these treatments, hardly any complications occurred.

Ves even woke up after two days without any serious lingering debilities that necessitated more rest. The only problem was that he felt like a stranger in his own body!

"Why do I feel so sluggish and strange, doc?"

[This is normal for someone who went through such a drastic amount of change.] Dr. Neeran replied perfunctory besides his bed. [Your priming agent has relieved the pressure on your physique. Together with your other treatments, your body has completely transformed on a fundamental level. Due to rushing your genetic optimization treatments, you’ll have to become familiar with your changed physique in your own time.]

Despite the side effects, Ves truly felt more comfortable in his own skin. He knew that this was the priming agent at work. Right now, he felt as if the Jutland organ and its effects didn’t burden his body as much. The nagging irritations that always afflicted him suddenly became less consequential.

Even if they couldn’t match the Five Scrolls Compact, the CFA’s medical capabilities were certainly formidable, especially on a battleship!

After thanking the doctor, Ves slowly suited up in his Squalon and stumbled out of the Exobiology Department like he was a drunk. The momentary lack of coordination in his limbs due to all of the transformation forced him to familiarize himself with his new body on the move.

Considering that there was still time left before his next work shift, Ves stumbled his way back to Mr. Longhorn’s cabin. The lengthy journey gave him plenty of practice to regain some of his prior coordination. By the time he made it all the way to his assigned cabin, Ves gained the ability to walk normally, if slowly.

As the hatch to his cabin slid open, Ves stepped inside, mentally deciding which flavor of gourmet nutrient pack he should eat before he crashed onto his bed.

"Mr. Longhorn."

Ves practically jumped out of his Squalon as he turned around to face a familiar figure.

"Calabast! What are you doing in my cabin?!"

"It’s Summer, not Calabast. Remember our identities." The woman tutted in disapproval. "By the way, you forgot to salute."

"Why should I?" Ves frowned. "Aren’t we both lieutenants right now?"

Calabast grinned and patted the insignia on the shoulder of her infiltrator suit. "Guess who obtained a new promotion? I didn’t sit on my thumbs during this time, you know."

Ves looked carefully and tried to identify the fancy golden bars and markings. He frowned even deeper when he saw that they didn’t match up to the rank of lieutenant commander. The only times he spotted this insignia was when he met with Virtual Commander Cosit of the Research Department and Virtual Commander Dislan of the Mech Department.

He suddenly widened his eyes when he made a horrible realization. "Y-Y-You’ve promoted to commander!"

"Correct!" Calabast patted her chest in pride. "You are looking at the newest head of the Intelligence Department! Right now, there isn’t a single AI that is more senior than me when it comes to intelligence matters."

When Ves thought he could throw his weight around when he eventually promoted to lieutenant commander, it turned out that Miss Calabast already took the next step and shot straight to commander!