The Mech Touch

Minutes passed as Gloriana quietly sat at the cafe table. She idly lifted up Ves' half-empty mug of cooling coffee and savored the taste.

She smiled. "No sweetener. We share the same taste. Perfect."

Her eyes curled up in contentment as she gently stroked Clixie's furry back. Gloriana had waited so long to find a suitable boyfriend who complimented her both personally and professionally.

Very few men met her high standards. Although she dated several men whose company she enjoyed, none of their design philosophies brought anything special to the table.

"They are so uncreative and unoriginal." Her beautiful face briefly scrunched up. "How can they ever amount to anything when they don't dare to think big? Fortunately, Ves is anything but a coward. His design philosophy is so ambitious! Not only is he trying to pioneer something entirely new and unprecedented, he also wants to evolve mechs into literal gods! Only an ambitious man such as him is worthy to be my partner in life! Don't you agree, Clixie?"

"Miaow."

"I'm glad you agree as well! That Lucky is kind of cute. Shame about his mechanical state, but I'm sure Ves could do something about that down the line once his design philosophy progresses. I'm sure we can come up with something."

"Miaow!"

As Gloriana daydreamed about her latest and strongest crush to date, a nervous-looking Irene entered the private balcony.

"Miss Wodin, I have come with bad tidings. Mr. Larkinson has begged off the remainder of your first date due to regrettable circumstances."

Gloriana frowned again. "He left?"

"He left. It may be that he has gotten cold feet."

"Cold feet? But he's perfect for me!" The Journeyman slammed her fist against the table! "We fit so well together! He called me beautiful! I could see the desire in his eyes when he stared at me! How could he run off all of a sudden?!"

"It is not unheard of for both men and women to be overwhelmed even when everything has gone right during their first meeting with their matches." Irene carefully explained. "Humans are fragile creatures. Due to your instructions, we did bring Mr. Larkinson to meet with you before he could mentally adjust to the rapid change in circumstances. If he is socially awkward, it is not too surprising for him to decide he wants more space for the moment."

"Is that so?" Gloriana asked with a quiver on her lip. "Did he truly run because he was overwhelmed? I've never seen anything like this. Shouldn't he be courageous? What if he thinks I'm ugly?!"

Irene quickly shook her head. "Have no fear of that. We've monitored your entire first meeting and all of our indicators suggest that Mr. Larkinson was absolutely smitten with you! It is only when you expressed admiration at the more radical components of his design philosophy that he suddenly panicked. According to our advanced AIs and experienced relationship experts, he has likely suffered an involuntary anxiety attack because you directly confronted him on one of his deepest ambitions that he has never wanted to share with you so soon."

"That.. makes sense." Gloriana calmed down a bit. "It is my mistake. I should have never moved so fast and brought up something so sensitive during our first date. I just got so caught up by the moment that I thought we were already inseparable from that point onwards! How inconsiderate of me! Am I a bad lover?"

"No no no!" Irene swung her hands. "That is absolutely not the case! No relationship starts off with everything going right. Just like designing a difficult mech, you have to overcome all kinds of challenges in order to succeed. Mr. Larkinson's abrupt departure should not reflect badly on your appeal! I'm sure he will want to crawl back to you once he realizes how compatible you are to him! All of our data-driven analyses support that conclusion!"

"I have faith in your agency's judgement." Gloriana nodded. "I have not waited in Centerpoint for so long and let my most perfect boyfriend slip away from my grasp. Now that I have met with Ves, I am absolutely certain that no other man is more ideal than him! I cannot imagine living without having him by my side!"

Gloriana waited so long to find the perfect man. Though Ves did not completely fit the perfect mold that she had imagined, he came closer than any other date she's met so far.

Due to her status and her design talent, she was a very desirably catch to many mech designers. Yet even when she briefly deigned to lower her standards to Apprentices, none of their design philosophies sparked with her own. Either they were completely neutral or they interfered with her methods.

She wouldn't be so smitten with Ves if his design philosophy hadn't excited her this much. His wild ambitions notwithstanding, just its surface concepts already appealed to her in a strong way.

Gloriana pursued the perfect vessels for mech pilots on a purely physical level.

Ves sought the greatest mutual strengthening between mechs and mech pilots on a non-physical level.

Although they had yet to collaborate on a single mech design, Gloriana carefully studied Ves' mech designs. The special qualities they held did not come close to encroaching her own principles.

The Aurora Titan particularly sparked her interest. It was her lover's first formal collaborative mech design. Seeing how Ves effortlessly enabled Professor Coras Ventag to bring out the full strength of his design philosophy gave Gloriana a lot of hope!

"I must have Ves." She declared with utmost conviction. "I will not allow him to slip away from my fingers. Not when we're so perfect together!"

Irene's smile grew a little more nervous. Of all the clients she served, Gloriana had been the thorniest one so far. The Hexer was beautiful, talented, rich and part of an influential family in one of the most powerful states of the star sector.

Yet Callisto Professional Relations was quite aware that mech designers, especially high-ranking ones, tended to be eccentric.

For example, the record she perused on Ves mentioned that he occasionally made reckless decisions. This trait had likely emerged from his illustrious family background.

As for Gloriana, her pursuit of perfection went beyond her philosophy towards mechs. Anything of importance had to be perfect, or at least as close to it as possible.

While she was realistic enough that not every aspect of her life could be perfect, she couldn't stand a situation where perfection was possible but obtained in the areas she cared about. Once she wanted something to be perfect, she would do her very best to come as close to it as possible!

Such a demanding attitude was the secret to her success. Gloriana broke from the Wodin Dynasty's traditions and became a rising star in the mech community because she always pushed herself to be the best!

Advancing to Journeyman when she turned twenty-nine years old was an amazing accomplishment and worthy of recognition.

Although the MTA did not have too much hope for her ambitious Class I design philosophy, she might just be able to realize it due to her constant insistence on demanding perfection from herself!

The MTA's mild favor towards Gloriana showed in how much Callisto Professional Relations bent the rules and accommodated some of her demands. Normally, Irene would never leak parts of someone else's record to another client, but the Hexer was special.

The strongest proof that Gloriana enjoyed the favor of the MTA was that they gifted her with a Rubarthan Sentinel Cat!

While such a cat wasn't hard to obtain in the New Rubarth Empire, for one to emerge in the galactic rim took quite a bit of effort. For all of their intelligence and their long lives, their genetic enhancements also made them difficult to breed. Each Rubarthan Sentinel Cat was quite a prize in any far-flung star sectors!

It is because Gloriana enjoyed the favor of the MTA that Irene did not wish to see her disappointed. She thought carefully on how to mend the growing gap between her two clients.

"While I know you're eager to secure your new lover, I advise you to take it slow. After studying of Mr. Larkinson's record and additional material, I've noticed a very pertinent detail. He never had a girlfriend."

That caused Gloriana to blink. "He's a virgin?"

"Most likely."

"That's… that's perfect!" Gloriana grinned and giggled. "Hihihi! I'll be his first!"

"Miss Wodin, please, if you don't wish to make Mr. Larkinson anxious, I highly recommend you to restrain some of your enthusiasm. For all of Mr. Larkinson's courage in battle and in mech design, he is woefully insecure when it comes to relationships. You will have to win him over gradually in the same manner as boiling a frog alive."

"I see." Gloriana remarked. "Ves is a frog who jumps out of the pan as soon as the water heats up too rapidly. I'll have to heat him up gradually so that he won't escape until he's completely cooked! Yum!"

Irene nodded over and over. "I'm sure Mr. Larkinson will come to appreciate your company in due time. For now, I would advise you to maintain frequent contact with him. I think it will help if you limit yourself with comm calls and messages for now. You can also delight him by sending presents to him if you would like. He will feel compelled to send presents back, and that will force him to think about you more."

That sounded a bit too slow to Gloriana. What if Ves met some other harlot along the way and stole his affection from her? It would be a disaster! Her perfect relationship would be ruined!

"How soon can I meet with him in person again? I ache for his touch!"

"Not too quickly! Both of you will need to calm down. The first impression you've left on Mr. Larkinson is already great. Once his anxiety fades, I am certain that his desire for you will reemerge."

"He is a native of the Bright Republic, right? Perhaps I'll have to pay a visit there sometime. Now that I've met my perfect man, I no longer wish to linger here. Centerpoint has long lost its charm for me. Only Ves can brighten up my life!"

A loving sigh escaped from her delicate lips. Despite the sudden end to their first date, Gloriana did not begrudge Ves too much for running away. How could someone so perfect for her be so easy to catch?

In fact, the challenge only spurred her on. She was more than confident that her beauty, her personality and her design capabilities would win Ves over!

"Where is he right now, Irene?" She asked.

"The planet's monitoring network has observed him entering an aircar. He has set his destination straight towards the nearest spaceport. He has also contacted his personal starship and instructed his crew to prepare the vessel for departure."

Gloriana frowned. "Where is he traveling to? Is he returning to the Bright Republic?"

"Apparently, no. According to the intelligence that we've obtained, Mr. Larkinson is departing for Leemar."

"Leemar? As in the Leemar System in the territory of the Carnegie Group?"

"Correct. Mr. Larkinson is a nominal disciple of Master Carmin Olson of the Vermeer Group."

"Damn!" The mech designer cursed. "I can't enter the Friday Coalition! Ves is getting further and further away from me! What if some floozy from the Coalition sidles up to him and steals his heart? I can't allow that to happen!"

"Considering Mr. Larkinson's love history, I don't think you'll have to be afraid of that. In fact, I think it is best to leave him to his business until he departs again. There are no signs that Mr. Larkinson intends to relocate to the Coalition permanently."

"Good. You won't be able to hide from me forever, Ves. Now that I've caught your scent, you'll never be able to escape no matter how far you run!" Gloriana exulted.