♪♪♫ You are my sunshine, my only sunshine~♫♪♪

Elijah pointedly ignored the phone call and placed his phone in his pocket. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye he ducked as an apple core sailed overhead.

“That was pretty rude cousin.” Adam said, buffing his nails on his vest.

“Yeah, probably was.” Elijah agreed, standing up and stretching. “I’ll call her back in a sec, I’m gonna head topside for some fresh air.”

“Take your time.” Nadia called out. “This part of Evona’s ceremony is fairly boring. Just greeting a million civies.”

The quickest path from the training room Elijah had been occupying to outside would be cutting through one of the hydroponics areas but instead he made a beeline to one of the many recreational spots made available to the people living and working on base. Past the pool tables and couches casually set around televisions was a row of sound proof booths with large screens above a shelf and a single stool inside. Elijah entered one and closed the door behind him. He pulled his phone from his pocket and docked it on the spot indicated on the shelf then scrolled through his contacts before finding his sister’s name and calling her.

“Oh, Hey big bro.” Sunny smiled at him twirling a lock of her long blonde around one finger. The room she was in was an immaculate white making the smudge of grease on her face and her dark coveralls stand out.

“Sorry for not picking up a bit ago, just finished a kind of heavy talk with cousin Adam and needed a change of scenery.”

“It’s fine, I figured something big happened when you didn’t come straight home. Seeing you like this just confirms it.”

“Like what?” Elijah asked a touch self consciously.

“In a cast all mopey, duh.”

“Oh this thing?” He said tapping it with his fingers. “This is nothing. I’ve got something super cool to show you the next time I see you.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

“Nope, It’s a surprise.”

“Ugh, fiiiine. Be that way you butt.” She said sticking her tongue out at him. “I bet I’ve got something even cooler!”

Elijah smiled, heavy mood lifting a bit. Just like her name, his sister was a ray of sunshine aggressively shining down on everything.

“I guess we’ll just have to see then.” He said.

The camera appeared to lurch and Sunny looked up at something off screen.

“Oh, gotta jet but I’ll see you soon kay?”

“Alright, love you sis.”

“Ditto!”

The call ended with a click and Elijah waited for a beat to retrieve his phone. He sat still for a moment mentally recharging before deciding to just head back to the training room rather than dither about topside and possibly get in someones way. When he heard that two whole battalions worth of people were headed to the palace he expected Brumal Bastion to be more empty than it was but people still happened to fill every corridor during shift changes and the mess hall always felt packed regardless of what time he went to grab a bite. Nadia had let him know that he could just have his meals delivered to his room but he felt that human interaction was healthy. He had yet to make any new friends in the cafeteria but he was hopeful that that would change soon.

“Welcome back cousin.” Adam greeted him standing next to someone he was rather surprised to see.

There in an orange jumpsuit, hair kept back with a headband was Esperanza. She wasted no time sweeping him up in a hug before placing both her hands on either of his shoulders and looking deeply into his eyes.

“I’m sorry that you got hurt. Is it really just the arm?” She asked.

“Yeah, there’s no need to apologize.”

“Good.”

Before he could react Esperanza began smacking him repeatedly in the back of the head.

“Idiota.” smack

“Mal creado.” smack

“Mamón.” smack

“Que estabas pensando?” smack

“You can’t even tell me that you’re alive?” smack

“¿Tengo que escucharlo de tu madre?” smack

“Zaza, calm down!” Elijah shouted in vain.

“Bad move cousin.” Adam interjected barely able to hold back his mirth. Nadia attempted to chime in as well but unlike Adam could not hold back her peals of laughter at all.

“Mira, no me digas que me calme tonto! You don’t tell me to calm down!” She shouted, maintaining her barrage of smacks.

Eventually she ran out of steam and hugged Elijah again before taking a seat on one of the tables in the room littered with his practice junk.

“So what brings you out this way?” Elijah asked, rubbing the back of his now aching head.

“Tu madre, chico. I came into her office expecting to quit before I was fired and instead here I am trying to figure out why Penny’s GM wont register any pilots. Also had a delivery for Adam here.”

“Oh, cool. What was the letter cousin?” Elijah asked, turning to face Adam.

He smirked before responding. “She’s cleared to know if you want her to.”

Elijah thought about it for exactly a second before filling Esperanza in entirely. Once he was done, she sat there in stunned silence.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn’t exactly let you know at the time that I got a Vain Glory to move without my brain leaking out of my ears.”

“Do you understand how rare that is?” Esperanza asked.

“Sure, only one other guy has been able to do this before me right? Pretty recently too.”

“I mean piloting at all. Nadia, back me up here.”

“She’s right you know,” Nadia replied “During the first generation production runs, only about 30 percent of women could pilot a Vain Glory. Twenty years later that number has gone up to sixty percent with the advent of fourth generation cores. If Penelope’s GM had been fresh off the production line with a fourth gen core? Then this would make some sense to me. It was purchased second hand however and is sporting a first gen core which is still fatal to some women.”

“Big damn deal, got it.” Elijah replied.

======================

Evona worked hard to keep the smile from her face at her idle thoughts. Were it not for the laws of this land, I would strike you down! Was the current theme as the wave of people began to wash over her and blend together. She almost wished someone would be disrespectful if only so she could have the satisfaction of watching Saif bodily remove them from the room. She casually glanced down to see the audience chamber below her and to try and gauge how many people were left before the festivities could begin in earnest. To both her joy and dismay the room still looked packed but the line of supplicants no longer went out the door and into the hallway.

If the current pace continued she would not see her parents for another few hours. Once she did the dance and feast could begin and then she would be escorted to the airport in Az Zaiqraa where she would be put on a plane bound for the Academy. Sadly time did not move faster simply because Evona Al Aziz willed it to be so.”

======================

Carbon fiber, ceramic, super conducting aluminum, organic photovoltaic cells sheathed in an experimental silicone blend, the water in the tank was checked monthly and treated with chlorine and polyester was in the seats. This is as far as Sunny decided to push her understanding before letting her focus drift. She knew she wasn’t special. Not like Mama, or Lumi, or Elijah. The machines said so without Elijah skewing their results. So she had studied long and hard to be special in her own way. A part of that was remembering. Remembering what she touched, what she read, how certain parts worked together to make a greater whole and how others created catastrophic situations.

She knew that the jet she was in was designed for speed and comfort and a part of that was having fresh clean water to drink and shower in if the need arose but so far in her experience she was never in it long enough to feel the need. It seemed silly but better to have and not need than to need and not have. At least according to Lumi, but she was pretty sure Lumi was on her way to becoming a hoarder.

The call with Elijah had been pleasant but she hadn’t been able to let him know her eta before the jet began take off, and turning off your phone was expected so she had done just that. Twenty minutes had passed since then and the sight of the Brumal Bastion filled her with glee, the drones would need to be sent a signal to prevent them from docking at the wrong moment and impacting them as they readied to land but aside from that they were clear and ready, it was odd that Elijah had mentioned Adam but the Frostbite was nowhere to be seen.

Disembarking, having her luggage rifled through and then having her Identity confirmed then checked then double checked felt like it had taken longer than her flight but soon she had her bags sent to her room and an escort to where Elijah had been spending most of his time. She called his phone and waited for it to ring before slipping into the door and seeing him in person for the first time in three months.

He was just as tall as she remembered his almost too dark to be called blonde hair parted to one side. His boring black boots black cargo pants and black t-shirt the same as ever. Scanning the rest of the room, only Adam had noticed her enter and she knew him well enough to know that he would stop her if Elijah was on edge or armed so she proceeded with her virtuous mission.

“You have shit situational awareness brother!” She shouted in his ear while poking him in the side. His shriek and leap into the air were deeply satisfying.

“Fantastic job Sunny.” Nadia said with a clap of her hands. “Now that the whole gang is here we can get to work. Esperanza, did you place the GM in the isolated hanger?”

“Yes indeed. I mounted it to the scaffolding with Salvia before I walked in here.”

“Great, field trip everyone. Lead the way Adam.” Nadia said gesturing to the door.

The walk took them all back in the direction Sunny had just come from which annoyed her a bit but when they arrived it had made the walk worth it. There, standing proud and tall was the Great Machine. Chest armor slid back to reveal the cockpit within, A roling ladder set up in front of it rather than the cable ladder that Elijah had seen before. The armor had been changed out and the thrusters that were previously absent were restored. All in all it looked miles better than when it had been borrowed in the heat of the moment during the attack.

“Right, before we jump right into this I’ll need you to wear these.” Nadia said, passing Elijah a slim black watch and oddly studded headband.

He Put them on and soon his power flexed, letting him know that these accessories were more than they appeared.

“The watch takes your pulse, the headband monitors brainwaves. What usually happens when someone incompatible tries to interface with a Vain Glory is similar to their brains cooking themselves so at the slightest hint that something has gone awry we are pulling the plug. Understood?” Nadia explained.

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Good, now let’s start with a control shall we? Use your power to interface with the watch and just have it send me the data from the headband.”

“Can do.”

Elijah reached for the watch with his power and followed Doctor Nadia’s instructions. Then once he had been given the all clear he slowly climbed the steps and grabbed hold of the input behind the pilot seat. A rising feeling of joy began to swirl around him and he did his best on not getting swept up in it. Soon the expected phrase rose to the forefront of his mind.

[Hello //0rLD.]