--
Truth be told, you're still not entirely sure what Max's called you to do. You totter behind your love as she strides through the halls of her tower, clutching your bag. A bag that contains the precious gifts you're not sure you'll have the opportunity to give.
You've been following your love for some time now. Down the elevator, into the subterranean levels of Steele Tower. Through featureless sterile corridors and hallways, tile floors polished to an immaculate sheen, fluorescent lights flickering from on high…
Part of you wonders exactly how long you'll be walking. Not that you mind, because you're walking behind your love. Which means you've got a free pass to stare at her booty.
Max's tanned butt is a delicious thing to behold. It's almost hypnotic, the way the full cheeks jiggle and bounce as your love struts down the corridors of her corporate headquarters. Gosh, that ass. That deliciously toned ass, leading down to those long, long legs…
Max's definitely been keeping herself in shape. If you didn't know any better, you'd think she was still modeling for that one swimsuit magazine. Gosh, she's got such a nice, shapely butt…
As much as you'd like to stare at Max's ass all day, though, you find yourself taking your eyes off of it because you don't want your love to catch you checking her out. Kind of a gauche thing to do. Especially when you're here under the guise of… Is this even a corporate meeting at this point? It feels like you're going off-script here.
It doesn't help that the whole area seems to be deserted. Seriously. You haven't passed by a single Steele Tech employee since Max took you to her basement. Kind of spooky.
"I had the guys and girls clear out for today, in case you were wondering," your love speaks up as she takes a keycard out of her pocket and swipes it through an electronic lock. LEDs flash behind a glass panel, and you hear a sharp click as the lock disengages.
Phew. She didn't catch you staring at her butt. She won't think you're just some perverted sleaze of a woman!
… Wait, it's just going to be you and Max? Doing… Something? In her lab? This is not at all how corporate meetings go in your experience. Well. Max's known for her unorthodox, maverick methods. And this is honestly better in your opinion. Less useless meat around, getting in the way of your precious date-time? You're all for that.
So maybe this will be okay?
That's what you think as Max shows you into her lab. Well, okay, it's not a lab. Calling this place just a lab is like calling Da Vinci's atelier just a painter's studio.
Right now, you're standing in one of Steele Tech's R foundries. Robotic armatures hang from the ceiling, and extend from the floor. Dexterous robotic arms capable of assembling or disassembling any of the mechanical brain-children generated from Max's mind. Max waves her wrist, and an array of printers switch on. Not conventional printers, but nanofab devices, bio-printers capable of constructing artificial myomer from the appropriate feedstock…
Max's eyes light up as she channels mana. You shiver, feeling raw power wash over you as your love activates all the machinery in this room with but a thought. Ah, the feeling of your love's natural strength… Such an intoxicating sensation~! A part of you wonders what it has to be like to be able to interface with machinery on a level that's even more intimate than a neural-link connection. What must Max be experiencing right now? Are her thoughts sped up when she plugs herself into her computer like that…?
"So, I've got this project I've been working on," Max flicks her wrists, and holographic projectors pop out from recessed nodes in the ceiling. The lights flicker, then dim as the projectors display a wireframe schematic directly in the air…
You stare, vaguely intrigued by what you're seeing.
"Robotic… Fish?" You ask.
"Cybernetic fish, actually. But yeah. Fish. Working on a new series of bio-drones to release into the oceans. Part of my Steele Seas initiative," Max nods sagely, flicking her fingers in a mnemonic gesture. Some more recessed panels in the floor retract. Pneumatic pistons hiss, lifting a glass aquarium from below the floor, filled with water… Ah, to test how these artificial fish move in a liquid environment!
"That's your ocean cleanup project, isn't it?"
"That's the one," Max shoots you a pair of finger guns. "20 million metric tons of trash pulled out of the ocean over the last six months… Which is a drop in the bucket when you remember that there's over 900 million metric tons of garbage left in the ocean by my calculations, and nobody's even really begun to do anything about the fuckload of microplastics that've built up, but if I start thinking about the numbers too much I'll depress myself."
Well. That is the state of the world you're living in right now. The environment's been totaled by decades of wanton, rampant human waste and corporate greed. Plastic pollution was an ongoing problem back in the 21st century, and the sheer magnitude of that problem's only increased since then.
The Resource Wars absolutely didn't help matters. The fallout of those wars was… Significant. And you're not just talking about regular fallout, like undetonated minefields and automated kill drones lurking in some corners of the ocean that drive up global shipping insurance premiums; you're talking about radioactive fallout. There are some areas in Europe that are still uninhabitable.
"The point is, the ongoing state of the ocean? Kind of a problem. Which I kind of want to fix. So!" Max claps her hands together now. "Artificial fish, that's my solution. Mass-produced semi-autonomous drones tasked with performing specific duties. Like filtering for microplastics, or reseeding coral reefs. Or even just doing checks on water purity. All without disturbing the wildlife that remains in the oceans too, too much."
… Huh. That's pretty cool...
"So. Y'wanna help me save the world?" Max shoots you an insouciant grin now, offering you her hand. "Because I'm having trouble with my current models, the artificial myomer layouts are what's killing me. There's just way too much stress on the anchor points, and it's causing the whole drone to self-destruct pretty messily. Y'know how to fix that?"
You blink now, taking a moment to process what's actually going on. It takes a bit, you're a bit rusty when it comes to corporate skullduggery. And Max's honestly confusing you a little right now. Why is she bringing up a seemingly random project? Is it just because it's a bio-engineering thing? Is this some kind of weird test where she wants to see if you're on the level when it comes to the technical side of things?
Because you are, actually. You sculpt with flesh like it's play-dough, and you're pretty sure you know a thing or two about gene-engineering organisms, and creating artificial life. Mundane biology is, in fact, a cheap whore who spreads her legs wide open for you in the face of your abilities. And frankly, you can see room for improvement when it comes to these bio-drones your love wants to create.
"I'd actually model the drones based off of squid, or octopi. I get why you want to make the drones at least semi-organic; it's so that you're not creating even more waste when they inevitably get off-lined, all of that material can just be cycled back into the food chain… But I don't see why you've got to make your fish look like fish," you say.
Yes, your solution to this problem involves tentacles. You're a simple girl; what can you say? You like tentacles.
Tentacles are neat.
Mmh, sexy tentacles… Maybe you should make a new set of maids who have tentacles…
Right, right. R with one of your loves. Kind of weird that she's doing this, but it's okay. You're just… Going to go with the flow here. If this is what makes her happy, you're happy. You shake your head, refocusing your thoughts.
"Show me real quick?" Max asks, waggling her fingers. A holographic display and controls appear in front of you. You poke at the bright hovering blocks experimentally, testing out the interface. Huh, this is pretty neat. Pretty intuitive, actually, even if it feels like you're just gesturing at the air…
"Sure, okay. So obviously there'd be a set of manipulators so the drones can actually grab onto and manipulate heavier loads in the form of its tentacles, and then all you'd have to do is rig up an inflation-based pulse-jet system which would let the drone filter its surroundings as it moves…" You rattle off, luxuriating in the way your love follows along as you sketch out the kind of drone you're describing on the holographic displays.
Okay, this isn't exactly what you had in mind when you decided to meet with her today, but you can roll with a random spot of invention here and there...
--
"Are you sure you don't want these drones to be up-sized? The cargo capacity's a lot greater if we try to build something the size of a shark or even a whale," you ask as you page through the design notes you and Max have been cobbling together.
"Nah. They're supposed to have very little environmental impact; remember, we're trying to take out the garbage in the ocean. We're not trying to add more garbage to the ocean," your love takes a sip from the cup of coffee she just got out of the coffee machine in the wall.
Because this R foundry has those, of course it does, it's got everything. You're in a technophile's wet dream right now; you're pretty sure if you wanted to you could totally whip up a plague or some chemical weapons with just the things in this room…
"We could use them as carriers, though, for the smaller drones. That way, the operational range of those drones can increase. Actually, how are these Steele-fish-"
"I don't like that name," Max makes a face.
"How are they getting deployed?" You persist in asking.
"That's what I wanted to work out after I figured out the myomer layout. I'm still not set on creating giant mechanical squids too. Maybe for the multipurpose drones, but at moderate speeds, fish swimming is several times more efficient than squid jetting-"
"And we do want these drones to have a reasonably long lifespan, right," you pencil that in as well. "Well, that's exactly why I'm insisting on multiple types of drone, so they can each fulfill different roles-"
"And I totally agree with you there. There's no reason we only need to have one kind of drone. Thanks for giving me that artificial myomer mix too. That'll definitely come in handy for future projects."
"Eh, it's nothing," you dismiss Max's praise. Surprisingly. "You couldn't have known the real problem was with the type of myomer you were using. Myomer derived from polyacetylene's pretty strong, but the problem here is that it's way too strong…"
It's pretty fun, engaging with your love intellectually like this!
Even if you have no idea how long you've spent chatting with her at this point. Minutes? Hours? You know the hologram's got a clock somewhere but you just… Can't be bothered to check.
This is too much fun. It's been a while since you've been able to talk about one of your interests with someone who shares them. It's been longer since you could cut loose and lose yourself in a creative fugue. Coming up with a cure for Theseus Syndrome's pedestrian in comparison to what you're doing right now, all you had to do then was get some silly bacteria to spit out a particular enzyme that'd prevent a chemical imbalance from developing in some silly human brains.
This is way more interesting. You're creating new life! And talking to your love about science! And biology!
It really is a treat, watching Max play with her holograms and armatures. With a gesture, robotic arms descend from the ceiling. Sparks flash out from the tools they're brandishing as they weld together a quick mock-up of the joint structure you described. Off to the side, bio-printers buzz, extruding thick pink sheets of artificial muscle to stress test…
Yeah, you could get used to this. To have all of these shiny toys to play around with! Sure these toys don't make cute noises like Naomi does. Or Lupe, or Xia, or Zara, or any one of your maids. But you can make so many useful things with these particular toys…
And you especially love that you're getting to make useful things with your love!
You glance up shyly now, quickly peering at Max's face. Her lips are pursed in concentration; her eyes narrowed in thought. Kyah, she's so cute when she's thinking…
This really is nice. You're genuinely enjoying yourself! It's just…
… Are you forgetting about something right now? You feel like you're forgetting about something-
"I gotta say, you do know your stuff," Max says right as you start to wrack your brain to figure out exactly what you forget about.
"Of course I do. I'm a – er, I run a biotech company, so…"
"Yeah, but you're a CEO, and an atypical CEO at that. You didn't build your company from the ground up, you bought it out and rebranded," Max turns to regard you now, and you have to resist the urge to shift uneasily. There's something about her gaze… "I've seen a few people who've done that. Met with them. Most of them don't actually know what the hell their boys and girls are cooking up in the lab."
"Well, most people are, um, ignorant," you say. Because you probably shouldn't call stinky humans meat sacks in front of your love? It seems like the kind of thing she'd disapprove of!
"… I'm not trying to be rude; I'm genuinely impressed," Max's lips quirk up into… A smile! A small, sincere smile! Not one of the fake ones she wears when she's posing for photo-ops, not one of the ones she pastes on when she's trying to assure the worthless meat sacks that everything's going to be okay. No, this smile's not like any of those fake expressions at all.
Aaaah, she's so cute; her cheeks actually do this thing where they dimple that's so adorable-
"Th- Thanks?" You stutter, feeling a warm flush blossom in your own cheeks. Dang, it's kind of embarrassing. You don't even have to fake your own embarrassment…
"Speaking of pleasant surprises, I was expecting you to stare at my ass more. Or kiss my ass more. So that's nice to see," Max continues, and you feel a bit of a chill creep up your spine.
… Uh-oh.
She did catch you staring at her ass earlier! Wait, is that what she's getting mad about?
… Is she even getting mad right now? She seems way too calm to be mad. The gaze she's leveling on you is serious but not agitated.
Hmm.
"… Look, I'm going to level with you, I'm really not sure what your deal is, and I've been trying to figure that out for the past… God, we've been in here for two hours? The past two hours then. And I'm really not sure what I should be thinking," Max says.
"… What do you mean?" You ask, a nervous pang twinging at your belly.
"I invited you here under the guise of a corporate meeting. Instead of actually talking about business, I just spent the last two hours working on my bio-drone project with you, and you went along with it. And actively helped me with it," Max's slim eyebrows have steadily lifted as she monologues.
"… It's an interesting project?" You say weakly. Well. It is? And it's so rare that you get to talk shop with someone else, and being able to talk shop with your love is just the best, you get to mix work and pleasure, and even if you aren't cuddling as much as you'd like to it's-
It's fun being able to engage with your love mentally and physically.
Max doesn't even dignify your weak response with her reply. She folds her arms underneath her chest and levels another stare in your direction.
"… I'm not sure what you're asking right now. Are you saying you did all this because you wanted to get to know me better?" You prod.
"… Pretty much," Max admits, lazily waving her hand around. "Who are you? What do you want? The standard questions anyone has when they're meeting someone in person for the first time."
"Do you let any CEO work on one of your secret projects with you when you want to get to know them better?" You find yourself asking.
"What? No, of course not. And this project isn't secret; I just haven't gone public with the specific details yet," Max dismisses your concerns with another wave of her hand. "It's… I'll admit there are extenuating circumstances in this particular case, but… I didn't mean to give you the run-around, but…"
Eh? Why's your love acting awkward now?
Is it just because she thinks you're mad she's wasted your time? Well, you probably would be if you were actually here on business. Like you're supposed to be. But you're not, really. Frankly, all you're here to do is spend time around the girl you love. Maybe leave a few compulsions in her magnificent brain to lead her down a path where she loves you back as intensely as you love her, but nothing too nefarious.
This is, like, a first date. You just want to get to know her. Feel her out a bit! And of course, you wouldn't say no to the idea of feeling her up, but you can work on that even if it does actually suck to be patient instead of greedy and just going in for a quick grope. Well, that's what you did with Kaina, and it paid off in that case...
… Ah.
… Ah. You know why Max's feeling awkward now. You know what she's trying to talk around with her protests that she didn't "intend to give you the runaround" and how there are "extenuating circumstances" that got her to spend two hours with you designing bio-mechanical fish and squids and whales and all manner of artificial marine life.
This is totally about Kaina. Kaina mentioned that Max checked in on her periodically. That Max made efforts to perform outreach. That Max tried to be Kaina's friend. And you've seen Max interact with the other Magical Girls in Terminus City before. You know the nickname she's given herself, mama Steele.
You also know how horribly alone Kaina was despite all that before you met her. Kaina worked herself to the bone; despite Max's mothering, cajoling, and various attempts to get Kaina to stop overworking herself and act like a regular being. Like forcing Kaina to take breaks. It was on one of those breaks that you met Kaina. And after that point, Kaina obviously started to change.
And Max, being the smart cookie that she is, would've obviously figured out that Kaina's new girlfriend has to be the reason why Kaina's started acting out of character. And because she's been trying to mother Kaina so much, because she obviously cares about her teammate like any good Magical Girl should…
Of course, she'd get curious about the girl who got Kaina to change so drastically in such a short amount of time. Gosh, you would get suspicious if one of your friends did a 180 in terms of their work ethic and general attitudes just because they got into a relationship. It's only natural to worry and wonder.
So. You aren't just meeting your love today. You're meeting Mama Steele—the girl who's decided to try and nurture her teammates out of the goodness of her heart.
… And she wants to know more about you. You're going to have to give a more serious response to this, aren't you…?
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