She got an idea! An Awesome Idea! A Radical, Awesome Idea...!

[actuallyselfish]

[1]

A few weeks before Christmas, as snow drifted and fell, as families went shopping and store Santas rang bells, the Unity Group was in a pinch and poke, for they'd little money for Christmas: in fact they were broke! A greedy teenage miser had stolen their cash, to get a new super robot after his old one's crash! Twas few funds for wreaths, for trees, or mistletoe: towards mecha repairs it all had to go!

In light of this, the stalwart tech Dido Sybil slipped on her parka, and packed her wrenches and drill.

She drove to a junkyard by an SDF base, filled with rusty machine parts from the army and aerospace. With a clatter and clang, she dug out one pile of rusty limbs and jet engines, seeking something worthwhile.

Perhaps you followed her, or were already there: would you like to say Hi, or continue to stare?

[2]

[Locked to Ken.]

A week before Christmas, when duties were light, with no Kaiju to slaughter or alien empires to fight, Brave Ken Torao, teenage Ninja supreme, stepped in ScarleTiger's cockpit, to train for his team.


But it's a horrible sight he's happened upon! His cockpit's motion capture harness is gone! Removed from it's wall mounts, nowhere to be seen, what criminal could have done a deed so obscene?

The thief can't have gone far, or escaped from the base: how will this teen ninja decide to give chase?


[3]

[Shortly later, open to everyone]

A quick search soon reveals the culprit most cruel...

...the thief of the mo-cap was Dido Sybil!

She stands by a table stocked with needle and thread, and spindles of yarn dyed in white, green and red. Ken Torao's control harness is strapped to her hands as she knits festive scarves for any who demands!

Behind in the hanger, hooked to the harness she'd climbed in, the robot ShelLancer mimics each single motion! With a heat rod spike needle, it knits and ties with care, using parachute cloth to make scarves mechas can wear!

Dido notices you starring, and nods with a wink, then stifles a yawn, rolls her neck and then speaks: "Want free scarves for your necks and for your machine too? Oh, and what's your religion…? Screw it, Merry Christmas to you!"

Comments

3

[empress_without_a_throne]

[Of all of the...]

Dido...

Re: 3

[actuallyselfish]

"Hey Mizuki!" said Dido, waving with cheer. ShelLancer's hand bumped into a gantry.

"Whoops! Oh dear!"

[empress_without_a_throne]

[Yeah, that blunder makes Mizuki wince. But more importantly...]

... Dido, what are you doing?

[actuallyselfish]

"Breaking out the ol' knitting needles!" Dido declares with a cry. She gestures at the yarn spools. "Any color catch your eye?"

[empress_without_a_throne]

[She looks over them all, and sure enough black does seem appealing for her. Bu not just that, there's also yellow too...]

... And you'd use them to knit something for me?

[actuallyselfish]

"Yup!" Dido nods. "I'll knit a scarf for your neck! And ShelLancer back there will make one for your mech!"

[empress_without_a_throne]

I'll pass on the DuskBird's, but...

I wouldn't mind a normal-sized one. Yellow and black would be good. In a bumblebee pattern.

[actuallyselfish]

"I've never done bees before..." Dido muses. "But let's try and pull that off!"

She glances behind her. "Ahem...could you flip the switch on my back?" She says with a cough.

[empress_without_a_throne]

No problem. Explaining one hole in the hangar's going to be hard enough to apologize for.

[She goes, flipping the switch. And for a moment, she stays there.]

... So how are you holding up?

[actuallyselfish]

Dido rolls her neck as the uplink's shut down. "At last! That multitasking was making me frown ."

In response to Mizuki probing inquiry...

Dido faces Mizuki with a less jovial and more seirous face. "I'm better." She says. "Been eating lots of strawberries and jogging. I get a few aches from time to time, but I'm pretty sure that's just from getting back into shape."

She glances down at the scarf for a moment, needles working as she darns a yellow bee outline into the black cloth. "How are you?" She asks.

[empress_without_a_throne]

... Better.

[She fidgets anxiously for a moment, but ultimately finishes her answer.]

... Not by much though. What happened isn't something I can just get over, and there's also just, thinking about Sara. A year ago we were finishing up the final touches on the Solego around this time, believe it or not.

[actuallyselfish]

"I remember." Dido says wistfully. "The funny thing about that? We had to reinvent the wheel for so many things while designing the Solego. After the Void went ker-plump, Solaris's engineers were scattered to the four winds, and the technical know-how was lost for a lot of the Sol-tech."

She rubs at her chin with one of her needles. "Back then I was making phone calls to ex-members, digging up old blueprints from hard-drives...that's when I realized just how much Solaris had done over the years...and just how suddenly their dream ended."

She sighs. "Looking back...I think I can get Sara's despair. Not condone, but understand."

1/?

[empress_without_a_throne]

Yeah...

I... still remember my first Christmas. She'd gotten me an old picture book, something she could get for cheap from a library during an end-of-year book sale.

[She smiles weakly.]

It's the story of this little old lady. And every day this traveling salesman came along and offered her an animal to help her with her daily activities. A bird to sing for her while she cooked, a turtle with a big shell that she could ride on after a tiring day in the nearby village, a beaver who would cut down firewood for Christmas...

2/?

[empress_without_a_throne]

... But every day she insisted "But no elephants." And of course an elephant was always with the salesman.

Come the start of winter, the salesman has to leave and the elephant's the only animal he has left. Not even the salesman wants to keep it so he just leaves it outside the woman's house. She ends up taking pity eventually and lets it in... but it's so heavy it breaks through the floor of the house and all through the winter it just sits around her house as things get colder and colder. And it's so big and hungry that it quickly eats all the food that was supposed to last everyone through the whole winter, so...

[She blinks, a grimacing smile twitching up every few moments.]

So everyone ends up in a painful situation. They either stay and starve, or try to leave for somewhere closer and freeze en-route.

3/3

[empress_without_a_throne]

... And it's not like the elephant's a jerk or anything. It didn't choose to be big and bulky and always hungry either! And it tried to think a way out and it thought and it thought, and finally what it did was it pushed the house up and carried everyone to some place warmer and safer. And the old lady makes it become a refuge that's always welcome to elephants, in return for what it did for her.

That elephant was my first hero.

Re: 3/3

[actuallyselfish]

"Mizuki..." Dido says softly.

Re: 3/3

[actuallyselfish]

She smiles softly. "That little old lady in that storybook was foolish, wasn't she? I mean, elephants are good for lots of things! If you need someone to stomp grapes, or spray things with water, or haul a house around, or offer a nice bit of shade...or save the world...."

She ties off the end of the black and yellow scarf, and works the needles free. She reaches out and wraps it around Mizuki's neck.

"...there's no better friend to have than an elephant."

[empress_without_a_throne]

... Or an elephant-bird.

[She looks down at the scarf, letting her hand wind around it. It feels... reassuring.]

Thank you, Dido.

[And now she's going to give you a hug.]

[actuallyselfish]

Dido returns the hug, awkward as it is with the exoskeleton harness she's wearing.

"So...like, the elephant was a metaphor for you, right?" She asks. "I'd be super embarrassed if was actually a metaphor for global warming."

3)

[break_the_nine]

Giant... robot...scarf...

I want one! I want one! Can I get it in blue? Please? Pretty please? I'll try to buy you something nice!

Re: 3)

[actuallyselfish]

"Sounds good!" Dido says, a twinkle in her eye. "Watch me go!" She points her thumb behind her. "And check out that guy!"

She set to work knitting, needles twirling and clicking. Above, ShelLancer mimics her from end to beginning!

"Did you have a gift in mind?" Dido asks. "Or do you need a hint? I do like dark chocolate, or stuff mixed with mint..."

[break_the_nine]

But chocolates are for valentines!

[Leos goes into a thinkers pose, watching Dido and the ShelLancer work before snapping his fingers.]

I got it!

[He looks like he's had a brilliant idea. This may or may not require some prodding because it may not end well.]

[actuallyselfish]

Dido's half-done with your blue scarf on her end! ShelLancer's scarf's half done too...but has this weird kink and bend!

She arches her eyebrow and skeptically speaks: "Why do I get the feeling your idea's...unique?"

[break_the_nine]

Well I remember passing a news agent... I could get you a magazine subscription to this one thing that was popular with some of the women passing by!

What was it called...What was it called...Blazing Firemen Monthly? ... Or was it Great Woods Outdoorsmen? Gah.. they were talking about something like one of those two...

[...Oh dear. Dido, you probably know what both of those entail don't you.]

[actuallyselfish]

"Leos!" Dido says, scandalized. "Don't talk about that in front of others!"

[actuallyselfish]

She chews her lips for a moment. "...do you have snapshots of their covers?"

[break_the_nine]

But I only had the best in mind!

[Leos squirmed on the spot before pulling out one of the mailing list cards.]

I hope you're really pleased with the find...

[It seemed that Leos finally caught up with the rhyming and unconsciously got into it himself. Dido would probably be unconcerned because right there on the card was the image of a paragon of masculinity, bare chested and sweaty and leaning against a truck.]

[actuallyselfish]

It was a christmas miracle, or so they say, for Dido's eyes dilated three sizes that day!

"Hmmph!" She says nonchalantly, averting her gaze. "I guess I wouldn't mind those subscriptions...they're for how many days?"

Then suddenly Dido's needles click against empty air! At last both scarves are complete and ready to wear.

"Say, Leos!" Dido says. "Both of them are finally done! Wanna put the big one on your mech and take snapshots for fun?"

3

[cloningblues]

What kind of mech wears a scarf?

Re: 3

[actuallyselfish]

"There's lots of mechs," Dido says, "that look good with a scarf! Ninja mechs, scouting mechs...huh. You look like you're gonna barf!"

[cloningblues]

I'm not!

...Did you say that just to make a rhyme?

[actuallyselfish]

"Rhyme? What are you talking about?" Dido says, blinking. "Anyways, would you like a scarf...for you or a sweetheart?" She asks...

...winking.

[cloningblues]

A sweetheart? Dido, you know me. You know I don't have one.

[actuallyselfish]

Dido pouts. "Aw man. There's nothing I better enjoy than teasing shy teens about their special girl...or boy."

She gestures to her table. "You sure you don't one on the house? They'll keep you warm and snug like a hole with a mouse!"

[cloningblues]

I'm not shy, I just have an ulcer. It's a medical condition.

...Okay, give me a scarf. Blue One will do without one, though. It'd be hard to make it wear it anyway.

[actuallyselfish]

"One scarf coming up!" Dido says with glee. Then she lets out a cough.

"Uh, there's a switch by my neck. Could you turn it off?"

[cloningblues]

You can't do it on your own? Good I came in, then. Otherwise you'd be stuck here, knitting forever.

[Asagi presses the switch.]

[actuallyselfish]

"Not forever!" Dido protests. "Well...maybe what you say is true."

She waves at her yarn spools. "What color would you like? Wait, let me guess: blue?"

[cloningblues]

No. I don't want that robot to dictate my whole life.

Besides, blue won't go with my jacket. Maybe yellow would be better?

2

[tiger_ken]

...

[With silent menace, Ken examines the interior of the cockpit. One can't just remove the control harness without some evidence of tampering, whether by force or by tool.]

Re: 2

[actuallyselfish]

As Ken's ninja eyes poured over the scene of the crime, they spotted a clue, a most interesting sign!

The harness was dismantled and shipped off with care! But there's grease stains of boots scattered here and there! They lead down the ladder, off of ScarleTiger's flatbed, tracking into the next hanger...

...the culprit must be just ahead!

Re: 2

[tiger_ken]

I will find you...!

[Making a promise to who knows what, Ken leaps from his machine, and races into the next hangar! He draws a kunai, just in case, and certainly to make a point at least. But first, to follow that trail!]

Transferring to number 3

[actuallyselfish]

You rush into the hanger, indignant with rage...

...only to find Dido in your harness like a bird in a cage! She's knitting a scarf when she looks up and meets your eyes. "Oh jesus...Ken! I can explain!" She cries.

Re: Transferring to number 3

[tiger_ken]

Oh you can, can you?!

[Ken puts away his kunai, before stopping, and pointing up towards Dido's mecha.]



You're making scarves as Christmas gifts, eh? Never seen it done to this scale before.

[Guess he didn't need that explanation.]

Re: Transferring to number 3

[actuallyselfish]

"It's a two-for one deal!" Dido explains with relief. "A scarf for you and your mech..."

...her voice trails off. "Sorry for being a thief". She looks up. "I'll put the harness back...say, would you like a scarf like your dad? A bright red one on ScarleTiger would look really rad!"

Re: Transferring to number 3

[tiger_ken]

...You can hardly steal from your own machine. Though next time, maybe ask first?

[Ken's expression softens into a smile, before having to ask.]

How much did all the material cost? I mean, budget and all that...

Re: Transferring to number 3

[actuallyselfish]

"That's the cool bit!" Dido explains. "I got all this cloth from used parachute stock at the junkyard!"

"It was a hastle to pick it all out. " She complains.