The Mech Touch

pt leaning her body against his own as she studied the schematics and other data on the ballistic rifleman mech.

This time, Ves did not narrate his design choices or overall logic behind his design.
He wanted Gloriana to make her own judgement on his work.

He watched her reaction carefully over the next hour as she immersed herself into the Desolate Soldier design.

From time to time, Gloriana winced or frowned as she studied something she found troubling.

Ves noted that she reacted most strongly when she encountered the outcomes of his decision to opt for something cheap rather than powerful.

Since his goal was to design an affordable mech, he made a lot of compromises and settled for inferior performance in exchange for minimizing cost and complexity.

To a mech designer who was used to designing mechs worth tens or hundreds of billions of bright credits a piece, the abject performance metrics of his affordable mech must be a huge shock to her! At least with his premium mechs, Ves could boast about some of their strengths, but the main merit of his latest work was that it didn ’t cost a lot of money!

Gloriana breathed deeply and closed her eyes.
Her mild reaction belied the storm that raged in her head.

Through his spiritual fragment stuck in her mind, Ves witnessed glimpses of intense responses against his work.

Though a part of her probably found her design repulsive, she exerted a very strong desire to tolerate his work.
Her surprisingly strong will exerted too much pressure onto her old beliefs that her design seed bowed down its head in the face of her determination!

In her desire to make it possible for her to collaborate with Ves as much as possible, she was willing to adjust the direction of her design philosophy!

Ves truly became speechless as he realized the immensity of her inner struggle.
He couldn ’t help but respect her and appreciate her more.

Eventually, she finished her study.

”Okay, I ’ve thoroughly familiarized myself with your work. ” She spoke calmly, belying the huge turmoil she just went through.
”It ’s… very different from what I used to.
I ’m astounded by how inventive mech designers like you have to be to design a mech with limited limited resources. ”

Obviously, Gloriana did not wish to reveal how much she went through in order to avoid any disharmony.

Ves leaned his head against her own, brushing against her exquisite, soft hair.
”I know my Desolate Soldier design can be..
underwhelming, but mechs at this price range sell the most in the mech markets where my company is competing in.
You have to take into account that there are many mech buyers who don ’t have the budget to buy expensive mechs, hire skilled mech pilots, retain a proper maintenance crew and stock up on ample supplies. ”

”I thought only pirates are this desperate. ”

He let out a snort.
”Trust me.
There are lots of outfits who don ’t really invest as much money and resources as they should in building up their mech forces.
So what do you think of my work? ”

”It ’s very..
basic, I shall say.
That ’s not necessarily bad, because I understand your intention.
You ’ve achieved an impressive level of performance from what little you have to work with.
I know I would have never been able to make as much use of the same set of resources.
However… ”

”However? ”

”I see that the intent of your mech is to be as compatible with as many mech pilots as possible.
You ’ve even dumbed down or automated some of the operations of the mech to accommodate very..
low-skilled mech pilots. ”

Ves nodded.
”It ’s because the sandman crisis has rendered many of our melee mechs useless.
The Bright Republic and many other states under threat are suffering from an acute shortage of ranged mechs.
Many mech pilots proficient in melee combat are being forced to learn a new skillset in a matter of months. ”

He explained to her about the situation, causing her to get up to speed on how desperate the situation had become.

She frowned.
”I see.
This is worse than I thought.
I can accept why you ’ve simplified your mech to such a degree, but still, I see some room for improvement in your implementation. ”

”Oh? Do tell please. ”

In the next half hour, Gloriana began to point out various small aspects where Ves could refine his simplification efforts.
She also pointed out some other areas which she thought that Ves might need to think on a bit further.

This was the first time since he embarked on this design project that he received feedback from a peer.

Through her advice, suggestions and opinions, Ves became exposed to her design style and knowledge base.

While she wasn ’t as perverse as him who already reached Senior-level in several fundamental Skills, her depth of knowledge really astounded him.
In spite of coming up short compared to him, her utilization of existing knowledge was a lot higher.

That meant that while she didn ’t know as many theories as him, she was a bit more adept at applying the theories she was already familiar with.
This led Ves to accept several of her minor suggestions.

”Wow. ” He spoke.
”I really appreciate your feedback.
You ’re really insightful. ”

She grinned at him.
”You ’re no slouch, yourself.
Despite the simplicity of your Desolate Soldier design, it ’s also surprisingly deep.
There are plenty of aspects that are simply beyond me.
Why don ’t you explain them to me, hmm? ”

”Sure.
I might as well repay you for how much of a help you ’ve been so far. ”

A spark formed between them as they exchanged their own views.
Ves truly felt that they grew closer to each other, not just romantically, but also professionally.

Ves truly became enamored in the joy of sharing his passion with a woman who was equally as passionate in their work!

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