The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

6000 The Fuchsia Cell

A figure shrouded in brown robes strode through a gunmetal gray corridor with a purposeful stride.

The underground base had been built in a hurry. Much of the construction of the hallways and the rooms deep underneath the surface of a barren rock hardly showed any refinement.

The bare metal walls only occasionally bore markings. Meaningless strings of numbers, letters and alien typography denoted the locations of research laboratories, material storerooms and staff dormitories.

The entire research facility only existed for less than 2 years, but it had already beca bustling site. Thousands of researchers and other staff lived and worked inside this underground base shortly after the start of the Age of Dawn.

Researchers continued to move in and out of their labs. Bots carrying materials and caged biological specimens occasionally moved back and forth.

Since the base was under the full control of the cosmopolitans, the researchers and workers did not hide their true identities.

The researchers predominantly wore lab coats or protective suits that always depicted gray scalpels on their backs.

The Gray Scalpels distinguished themselves from other human researchers by mastering a human scientific field and at least three alien scientific fields.

The visitor in black harbored great respect towards the Gray Scalpels. The scientists and engineers of the Cosmopolitan Movements had to study much more difficult and diverse sciences in order to earn the right to bear a Gray Scalpel on their uniforms. Their ability to blend advanced human high tech and exotic alien tech was unmatched in human civilization!

The junior researchers and assistants that had yet to meet the stringent requirements bore yellow shells on their backs.

The Yellow Shells had yet to prove themselves. They ranked at the bottom, but possessed multiple promotion opportunities.

Every cell managed their personnel differently, but the Fuchsia Cell generally allowed its members to freely choose their specializations.

Due to the goals and strategy adopted by the Fuchsia Cell, most of its members consisted of Gray Scalpels. Research and more specifically bioresearch was absolutely vital to their current master plan.

In contrast, the Fuchsia Cell did not produce a lot of White Flags and Black Hoods among their ranks. The cosmopolitans of this cell did not have much demand for diplomats and infiltrators.

At the very least, the Fuchsia Cell should only start to raise more White Flags once it had completed its ambitious plan.

As for Black Hoods, the Fuchsias generally left the job of infiltrating human organizations and institutions to other cells.

As a cell that firmly belonged to the moderate camp of the Cosmopolitan Movement, the Fuchsias disdained the skullduggery that others liked to engage in. Too many cosmopolitans engaged in underhanded means without ever asking whether their actions had any meaning.

The Black Hoods of the Cosmopolitan Movement had infiltrated and sabotaged the current human order for thousands of years.

None of them had succeeded in convincing human society to reject their xenophobic ideals.

The only thing the Black Hoods were good for was passing on information and technological secrets.

As the man in black robes continued to move past Gray Scalpels and Yellow Shells, he contemplated the great cause that was on the cusp of changing the Red Ocean forever!

All of the research conducted in this secretive facility hidden deep away from the prying eyes of unenlightened humans served a single overarching purpose.

To engineer the revival of the Cosmopolitan Movement.

The man shrouded in robes scowled at the thought of how little progress the other cells of the Cosmopolitan Movement had made since the Great Severing.

Prior to this epochal event, the cosmopolitans secretly transferred many cells to the Red Ocean.

This was because the cosmopolitans understood the potential of the Red Ocean before it opened up to the public.

A new galaxy opened up new options as many of the most powerful and stubborn enemies of the Cosmopolitan Movement predominantly chose to remain behind in the Milky Way.

This was why the cosmopolitan cells that managed to build up friendly relations with the Red Cabal did everything in their power to encourage the aliens to initiate their Ancient Refuge Plan.

It had taken great effort to separate and isolate red humanity from the Milky Way.

Cut off from the immense power base of original humanity, the orphaned red humans should have understood how hopeless it was for them to resist the full might of the Red Cabal by themselves.

The cosmopolitans all believed that they only needed to nudge the lost and frightened leaders of red humanity in the right direction in order to break the taboo against cooperating with alien races.

Even if red humanity only reluctantly considered the possibility of allying with weaker alien races that had never gotten along with the Red Cabal, this was already significant enough!

The Cosmopolitan Movement had been trying to move humans away from their imbecilic human supremacist ideals for multiple millenia.

None of the cells had made any progress during the Age of Conquest and the Age of Mechs, so many of the cosmopolitans in the Red Ocean hoped that the Age of Dawn would be different.

Yet just when the machinations of the cosmopolitans were getting closer to bearing fruit, the Red Two ruthlessly striked the Red Cabal's strongholds during Operation Night Jazz!

The outcwas catastrophic for the Cosmopolitan Movement!

No matter whether it was the radical cells or the moderate cells, each of their plans had to be scrapped or revised in order to account for the strong surge in human confidence.

The people of red humanity all witnessed multiple battles where god pilots defeated ancient phase whales with varying degrees of ease.

This gave many humans the illusion that red humanity's god pilots and dreadnoughts would be enough to safeguard their civilization in the new frontier.

"How wrong they are." The figure shrouded in brown robes uttered in contempt. "Without cooperating with aliens, how can our unenlightened cousins possibly prevail against the numerical superiority of their adversaries?"

Unlike most humans, the cosmopolitans possessed a much better understanding of the state of alien civilizations in the Red Ocean.

The aliens simply had too much of everything. They had so many soldiers, researchers, factories, homeships and phase leaders that their victory was already inevitable.

This was why the figure in brown robes chose to support the Fuchsia Cell.

Many cosmopolitans wanted red humanity to get humbled. The members of the Cosmopolitan Movement did not want all of those people to go extinct!

After all, their ultimate ideal was to create a pan-species galactic community where humans could live alongside aliens in total peace and harmony.

It was not their intention to exclude humans entirely. After all, the cosmopolitans were humans as well, and they all wanted to have a place in this ideal society.

Soon enough, the figure in brown robes stopped before a well-defended gate. The man allowed the security guards to conduct a thorough inspection.

The Red Claws were particularly thorough when it cto inspecting the Brown Mandible's cargo.

The visitor had cto deliver a package to the leader of the Fuchsia Cell.

While the Red Claws could not possibly understand the depth of the precious treasure locked inside the secure container, they gave the greenlight after confirming that it did not contain any weapons or tracking devices.

The Brown Mandiple nodded quietly to the Red Claws before stepping through the unlocked gates that led to the main research lab of the secret facility.

The chamber was massive. Much of the biolab was occupied by workstations, biotech lab machines and many different cages that contained a lot of biological specimens.

The Gray Scalpels and Yellow Shells that previously worked in this large lab had already suspended their work.

Instead, they gathered in front of a massive containment chamber that was enclosed by a thick transparent wall as well as multiple transphasic energy shields.

The Fuchsia Cell had clearly invested a lot of effort into keeping the key subject safely contained!

As the man in brown robes strode past the rows of Gray Scalpels and Yellow Shells, he finally stopped in front of an older researcher who wore a dazzling golden coat.

"Brown Mandible Xiv-Nihar, at your service." The newcomer bowed and introduced himself. "I have a delivery for the leader of the Fuchsia Cell."

"You have found him." The man in charge of the research facility responded. "I am Golden Wing Mihael Pentaq. I have just transmitted my verification codes to you. Please present the object that you have brought."

Cosmopolitans had many ways of identifying each other. Their checks went way beyond transmitting a bunch of encrypted data. The mention of verification codes was mostly designed to serve as a trap to fool would-be spies into thinking that was enough to infiltrate the Cosmopolitan Movement.

The two cosmopolitans already completed the real verification process. Everything was in order, so the Brown Mandible was able to unlock the protected container and cautiously bring out the object stored inside.

Many Gray Scalpels and Yellow Shells observed the fruit-like object with glee and satisfaction.

They already heard so much about it. When they learned that it could possibly play a key role in their great endeavor, they had been waiting for this day for many months!

"One companion spirit fruit. Several allied cells have burned too many bridges to obtain it, let alone process it and transfer it to your cell."

The orange pear-like fruit radiated a sense of power and mystery to those sensitive enough to perceive it. The companion spirit fruit looked as fresh as if it had just been plucked from the tree that initially grew it. Multiple cosmopolitans already developed the urge to devour the fruit!

"We will not forget the sacrifices made by our fellow cosmopolitans." The Golden Wing vowed as he carefully took hold of the precious fruit. "We shall fully compensate the cells involved with its acquisition once we have initiated our grand plan."

Brown Mandible Xiv Nihar scowled. "You do not understand the magnitude of what we have done. Every companion spirit fruit tree is grown in highly secure facilities that are constantly being supervised by a god pilot or a Star Designer. Each companion spirit fruit grown from the trees are constantly being tracked and monitored until they are ingested by guests who visit from afar. In order to smuggle out a single fruit, our exalted benefactor risked exposure by removing it without triggering any alarms. Furthermore, our benefactor had to alter all of the digital records that record the existence of this fruit and distort the memories of every worker that was aware of its existence."

Suffice to say, no average infiltrator could make all of this happen, especially in the middle of a stronghold controlled by the Red Association!

"Has our benefactor been exposed?"

"We cannot say." The Brown Mandible responded. "We cannot afford to make use of this asset again. The procurer is not the only ally who has aided us. Each companion spirit fruit is mysteriously protected so that it will not produce its desired effect when ingested by unauthorized subjects. In order to remove the sight of the Earth Goddess and remove any other restrictions, our other exalted benefactor altered the fruit in accordance to your demands."

"Can the fruit be ingested by alien species?"

"Yes, but our second benefactor has warned that his manipulation is not precise. There may be side effects, but multiple Gray Scalpels have confirmed that the fruit has retained its core function."

The Golden Wing grinned as he held the precious fruit. "That is good. Nothing else matters aside from the ability to produce a companion spirit. Only when an alien being is able to spawn a more rational personality that is divorced from the savage instincts of his biology can there be grounds for cooperation!"

The man in golden robes turned around and raised the fruit towards a large and very alien monstrosity that was currently being restrained in the middle of the enormous holding chamber!

"Rejoice, my fellow Fuchsians! Our catalyst has arrived! From today onwards, our cell shall finally change the new frontier for the better. Instead of trying to change the minds of stubborn red humans or persuading the Red Cabal to seek coexistence with our species in vain, we shall enact true change in this dwarf galaxy. Too many ages have passed where our Cosmopolitan Movement has remained powerless and hidden in the dark. Our lack of power has long prevented us from possessing enough bargaining power to make our voices heard. No more! So long as we manage to enlighten the Devourer Queen with this companion spirit fruit and bring her under our control, our cell shall beca galactic power that cannot be ignored anymore!"

This was the Galactic Parity Plan of the Fuchsia Cell!

Golden Wing Mihael Pentaq no longer believed that they could produce meaningful change by persuading others from a position of weakness.

In order for the Cosmopolitan Movement to get taken seriously, it needed to gain enough power to pose a threat against human and alien civilizations!

What better than to weaponize and control one of the most ubiquitous but often dismissed major alien races of the Red Ocean?

Everyone turned to the so-called Devourer Queen.

Even though the massive and highly mutated alien being was utterly unique, there were enough familiar biological features to indicate that she was derived from the infamous voribug race!