The gift

[srwu_mods]

[1]
Unity Group's finance-related problems have eased over time. Nowadays they are pretty much gone and situation is back to how it was before.

But now, you get a reminder why the problems started in the first place.


"Holy crap! It's like Christmas came early!"

Loni's here. And so is his new unit. In the hangars, equipped with twin beam katanas, stands a stark white unit. The top of the line one of a kind prototype - the BrightSaber.

[2]
What about the old FightSaber? It's still being used, as a matter of fact someone is taking it through a training course right now. It jumps from cover to cover swiftly, shooting down target drones with gravity blasts while avoiding their counter fire.

Once the course is over, the time and score displayed are impressive. Browsing the results database would show that despite the unit being underequipped compared to its loadout from before, it scored higher than Loni ever did. But he's not the pilot this time.


"Yes, that's acceptable. I can work with this."

Ilinka is.


"Nice, Ilinka. This is a much better ride than a crappy old Gespenst. Now you won't need rescuing all the time anymore!"


"..."

By the way, Desta's nowhere around. Maybe the third of the Gavin party is not in mood for Christmas spirit.

Comments

1)

[genericprotagonist]

I guess it might feel like that for some people.

[Raleigh looks up at the Brightsaber. He was honestly wondering who the machine belonged to and now he found out. He keeps a somewhat friendly smile on his face.]

Loni Gavin right?

[srwu_mods]

"That's me!" He's in high spirits.

[genericprotagonist]

Yeah I figured.

[Raleigh nods to himself as he now turns to regard Loni.]

Raleigh Beckett. Yancy told me quite a bit about you before Anchorage.

[It stung a little. But he owed it to his brother to do this since he couldn't anymore.]

2

[actuallyselfish]

Up on a nearby gantry, Dido crushes an empty soda can in her hands. "The Hell with this." She mutters, and lowers her cherry-picker down on the ground.

"Yo, Ilinka!" Dido says, walking over tucking two clipboards under her arm. "Could I get you away from Mr. Buzzkill here and talk to you about FightSaber's specs a moment?"

[srwu_mods]

"Oh yeah. You guys were Rangers, before... yeah. Sorry about that."

"But now I'm curious what he said about me."

[srwu_mods]

"Buzzkill?"


"No, it is alright. What do you need to know?"

[actuallyselfish]

"Hold on a sec." Dido pulls out one of the clipboards and hands it to Loni.

"Your new unit's LightSaber, right?" Dido says blandly. "Could you be a dear and fill these forms out? This one's for hanger registration, that's a liability waiver...this one's is your medical insurance slip; you'll definitively need that! Sign all these with a pen and get them back to me, okay?"

Loni hopefully banished for the time being by paperwork, Dido turns to Ilinka. "Just wanted to say, congratulations on acing the flight test." She says softly. "Also, how're you doing?"

[srwu_mods]

"BrightSaber!" Apollonius stares at the stack of papers in his hands.
"What is this about? I'm not going to..."


"Loni, it will only take a few moments. I will be back soon."

"I am good. Why would you be concerned for me?" Ilinka asks while in private.

2

[kill_all_vagans]

... If it's a better ride why did we need to finance a replacement?

[Yeah, Flit's a little peeved. Seeing the BrightSaber's been bugging him, and he has a huge roll of design schematics under his arm for some reason.]

[actuallyselfish]

"I'm just checking in with a fellow defender of earth. Giving you a heads up." Dido says hastily.

She hesitates. "Well, maybe I am a bit concerned. Not because I'm worried about your health or your how your flight training's going, mind you."

She glances off to where Loni's juggling papers, then back to Ilinka. "Has Loni been bullying you recently? I heard what he said earlier: it sounded like he was trying to shred your sense of self-worth."

[srwu_mods]

"No!"

The answer is immediate - and comes off very harshly. Ilinka pauses for a few moments before she composes herself enough to continue.

"It's true that I am not as good as Desta or Apollonius. Maybe it was because of my machine, maybe it was because of personal talent... it doesn't matter. It shouldn't."

"Loni was the first who saw the person in me."

[srwu_mods]

"Because FightSaber's not enough to take on those cultist freaks, obviously! You can't just compare it to a Gespenst, that's like, bottom of the barrel."

[kill_all_vagans]

Gespensts aren't-

... You're talking about one of the most reliable mass-produced machines the ESUN has! And being here I've even seen weaker machines like Genoaces do amazing things! There's tons of pilots who would love to trade up to a Gespenst!

[Not that Flit's going to bring up how helpful the DODS Guns have been now. Or that his design plans -plans that could've entered testing if it weren't for this "BrightSaber" gobbling up funding- were for a successor model that would be more versatile. Loni wouldn't even understand the distinction between raw power and adaptability.]

[actuallyselfish]

"No, no: don't undervalue yourself like that..." Dido reaches and gently rests a hand on Ilinka's shoulder. "Maybe Loni was the first to understand you and your feelings...but that doesn't mean he knows everything about you, or what you can do!"

She pulls out her tablet. "Look..." After some fiddling, she calls up her test results, and juxtaposes them with Loni's. "See the score difference? You and Loni piloted the same mech...but only you were able to draw out FightSaber's potential! Hell, you've been keeping up with him and Desta in a Gespenst, constantly pulling their butts out of the fire! That's talent if I ever saw it!"

2

[brought_it_back]

...You're rather skilled.

[genericprotagonist]

That you're an arrogant, self centered, selfish glory hog. And trust me, we've met plenty of those.

[The smile on Raleigh's face fades and becomes an extremely stern look.]

I'm guessing Yancy might have made an understatement, because I didn't hear you even say anything about how badly the budget cuts near crippled the Unity Group to get you your new toy.

Or maybe you didn't care about how rough everyone had it here.

[srwu_mods]

"Are you looking for a fight? You think I chose where money to make BrightSaber came from? That... Gipsy Danger of yours wasn't free either you know!"

[srwu_mods]

"Maybe it's okay for scenarios that normal pilots find themselves in, but for fighting those Good Men guys, a mass produced unit isn't enough."

[srwu_mods]

"... Yes." Ilinka admits after a momentary hesitation.


"It'd be weird if she wasn't."

[srwu_mods]

"No, you don't understand."

"I'm glad that you are concerned. Thank you. But it's all about something else entirely."

[brought_it_back]

...

[genericprotagonist]

You don't exactly seem too broken up about it either.

[This received a pointed look from Raleigh. He was not going to back down at all here.]

And no Gipsy wasn't free. But it wasn't rushed to the point every Jaeger or member of the PPDC that was still left in the program had to suffer for it.

[You really want to start this Loni? You really want to? Because Raleigh's just going to take two steps forwards here.]

And we were tapped out. Barely any funds left. The Unity Group had plenty of funding and this thing over here?

[He knocked on the Brightsaber's foot roughly like he was the world's most irate neighbor at a door.]

Pushed them to the brink. And with the amount of fights they gone through, I'd think they could have used the parts, food, water instead of some idiot playing hero getting this thing.

[He gives the leg a solid whack.]

[srwu_mods]

"Dude, what the fuck is your problem? You're acting like I took bread from peoples' mouths or something!"

Loni clenches his fists. He's really annoyed - no, more like angry, and more so with each hit against his robot. Not that it'll get broken, but it's the thought that counts.

"Stop being so jealous!"

[srwu_mods]

"Eh? Something's wrong?"

[genericprotagonist]

You know, I'm betting some people would find this pretty funny. Jealous... god. You're like a little kid.

[Raleigh's tense, almost waiting for Loni to try something. He's had his share of brawls and he knows the signs when one's about to start.]

Because that's exactly what you did. I guess you didn't hear me when I said what they could have used but couldn't get because you were crying for a new toy because the one you had first wasn't brand new anymore.

[He slams the bottom of his fist on the Brightsaber again. Looking Loni dead in the eye as if telling him to just try it. The whole time he hadn't even raised his voice.]