THE MOMENT
"I need a break," Jubilee held her hand up as she selected [No]. The menu disappeared from her sight, and she sighed as she collapsed on the smooth white track.
"Five minutes, or ten?" Bijou asked.
"Five is enough, I just need to catch my breath," she nodded. "I didn't think learning a new Class would be this hard." She was glad it was just the two of them. Bijou was the team captain, and she was helping Jubilee brush up her skills with the unfamiliar Class. Bijou knew all the details about who Jubilee was and why she was there.
"You're trying to play it the same as when you were a Cyber Icon," Bijou shook her head as she offered the advice. "Resource management is totally different with nanos, than the Engagement meter. It's not about swinging big bets, you need to micromanage their efficiency. It'll be easier with Syzygy, but you gotta learn the basics first."
"I can do that," Jubilee nodded. She'd been impressed with Bijou's leadership so far. The team had practiced the previous day, but Jubilee wasn't ready yet. Instead of making up an excuse for her to sit out, Bijou had everyone train 'the fundamentals' without logging in. And, she proved knowledgeable about other Classes, even though she was a Lancer. Jubilee felt lucky Ms. Sharp had put someone on the team she could confide in. And, she also felt guilty for lying to the team about who she was, but she had a very good excuse. She was recreating her mother's presence in their memories. As far as everyone aside from Bijou knew, her real name was 'Jenny'. And, Jenny was an Engineer, not a Cyber Icon.
"Did you know my mom?" The question popped out as she relaxed a little too much. She'd been wanting to ask for a while and successfully managed to hold it back every time until she had a comfortably silent moment with Bijou.
"I don't have any memories of her," Bijou shook her head. "But her name means something to me, and Ms. Sharp told me we were close friends. That's why she trusted me with your secret."
"Since we're on the subject of your parents," Bijou spoke up when Jubilee didn't have anything else to say. "I need to know if you're having doubts about facing Darkmoon. If you're not going to be up for it, I'd like to start planning now."
"I've played against my dad lots of times," Jubilee shrugged with a smirk. "Him, I can handle." But, Bijou shook her head.
"You've played against Aurelio Luna," she said. "An older, more mature Aurelio at that. He's a teenager in his 'edgy' phase right now, and his Darkmoon persona is all his worst aspects magnified. Just make sure you keep that in mind. He's not your dad here."
"Oh," Jubilee nodded. "Okay." She didn't know what else to say to that. It was good advice that she didn't want to have to think about right then. She stood up to continue the practice. "I guess I'm ready to try again."
