“I have orders to be here.” Eph was annoyed by the sudden interaction. He hadn’t even actually piloted his mech anywhere and was waiting in standby mode. Yet, not long after he climbed in, a glorified meter maid with a jetpack flew up to tap on Sol Epsilon’s right eye.
“Then, you should also have your license and registration handy,” the petite woman replied as she shrunk even smaller to glide into the giant robotic head. She was at least part fairy if she could change size, but Eph wondered why she was wearing the jetpack. She approached the seated teenage pilot without fear, as if it were just another day for her. Eph focused on her, then sighed when he realized what she was. She was likely part of his mission, but he hated interacting with NPCs; it meant he needed to find the right items or set of words to continue. He still technically didn’t have a Mecha license, and he was sent there by someone aware of that fact.
“I’m here to get my license,” he answered, with the hope it was enough of an explanation to keep things moving. The NPC parking enforcer tilted her head at him.
“You are clearly aware that you are piloting a heavy battlemech in a light-frame-only civilian zone. May I see your license and registration?” She updated her script as best she could, taking the new information and situation into account. Eph grumbled, even more annoyed.
“Andie gave me this mission because she said I needed to learn how to use Sol Epsilon to its fullest potential; she has my license and registration.” He stared into her empty, tiny brown eyes with as much spite as possible, and she didn’t even notice.
“It doesn’t make sense to send you on a mission in a light-frame zone with a heavy mech without proper documentation.” She ignored the additional context with a shake of her head. “You are clearly aware that you are piloting a heavy battlemech in a light-frame-only civilian zone. May I see your license and registration?”
“Uggghh...,” he complained louder since she didn’t care. Did he have to give her the whole story?
“I failed the driving test, okay!? I literally tripped up during our first mission and came in last place as a result. Ozone said it wasn’t a big deal, but I’d need some coaching to learn how to Soul Sync with Sol Epsilon, and I did that already too! I know how to pilot him now, and I’m here to try a second time to earn my license! Can you give me the test already!?” He threw out as many keywords as he could string together to try and get her on track.
“You’ve failed to realize that you are piloting a heavy battlemech in a civilian zone, and a light-only one at that. May I see your license and registration?” She asked again with a newly modified script.
[Almost done? - Lnessa] Her voice echoed around the interior as the text appeared in mid-air. Eph set it up so that Whispers were routed through the mech instead of his personal nanos because he preferred not to hear voices in his head if he didn’t have to.
[Haven’t even started. - Eph] he replied while trying to avoid infusing any anger. Nanos relayed emotions along with the voice and text aspects, and that was another reason he didn’t like messages coming directly to him.
[Why not? - Lnessa] asked. Meanwhile, enough idle time passed that the NPC was obligated to make another attempt. Except without any input, she reverted to her initial question.
“Sir, are you aware that you are piloting...,” Eph broadcast her speech to Lunessa through Sol Epsilon. “...a heavy battlemech in a civilian zone, and a light-only one at that? May I see your license and registration?” Lunessa’s giggles filled the mech’s headspace.
[That’s it, genius. - Lnessa]
[You’ve already started. - Lnessa]
[Didn’t get any docs? - Eph] he never would’ve asked for help if she hadn’t messaged him first. But she was already in the conversation.
[Not needed. - Lnessa] she replied.
[Look at your loadout... - Lnessa]
[Listen to what she’s saying. - Lnessa]
“Sir, are you aware that you are piloting a heavy battlemech in a civilian zone, and a light-only one at that? May I see your license and registration?” she helpfully repeated the script.
“Wait..,” Eph shook his head as he looked down at the control panel. It showed a full diagram of Sol Epsilon’s equipped gear and abilities. Two of his weapons and his armor all had the ‘Heavy’ text highlighted as an attribute tag. “No way...,” he pressed the buttons to unequip the Heavy Particle Cannon, Heavy Missile Pod, and Heavy Ballistic Armor. He could see the white, dusty remnants of his disintegrated gear through the one open eye of the mech as the nanos dissipated in the breeze. The diagram showed he was now much lighter and much less dangerous. The NPC blinked, then smiled.
“Oh! It’s you,” she said. “Hello, Eph. Andie told me you’d be passing by. She asked me to hold this for you.” She offered him an electric blue glass card with the name ‘Sol Epsilon’ etched on both sides. “You don’t want to be caught without your license and registration,” she added the final piece of advice, with a wink as she hovered up and flew out of the head.
[Thank you. - Eph] he sent the Whisper to Lunessa with genuine appreciation.
[Thank me by helping. - Lnessa] she replied.
[On a job. Get over here. - Lnessa]
[On the way. - Eph]