Ding
As Euri finished her 10th simulated run, a notification shows up in her HUD. She swipes down on the notifications intending to take a quick look thinking it might just be another spam message.
"EURI! You're finally online. Get your ass over here. You promised me you'd help fix my ship. You know I can't afford an actual mechanic." Euri grins as she finishes reading the message. Indeed she did seem to make such a promise to Lin, Wang Lin, another orphan like her, though a bit less intellectually inclined.
Euri furrows her brow as she feels drowsiness invade her mind. I don't think I can do another run tonight. Despite being in the virtual world, there's still a mental strain, and after an hour of non-stop action, anyone would feel the effects coming on. Euri hits the reply button and quickly dictates a reply.
"Alright. Give me an hour, just finished up another run at the arcade." Euri picks up her pace to the nearest Arcade terminal to upload her records today, updating a graph of her progress over the last year. With a satisfied smile looking at the steadily dropping line, she bounces out of the large crowded hall and phasing through the crowd before heading to the central plaza to log out.
---
A 20 year old woman with long, black hair tied up in a bun takes off her haptic gloves after having sent a message to her friend. She carefully pulls open a small drawer of her desk and neatly deposits each gloves into its own slot before closing it again.
Ding
A small red dot blinks in her field of view on the message icon, which she excitedly presses.
That was quick, I just sent the message. Looks like Euri's working hard still. I hope she passes the pilot examination. I have to work hard as well or I'll be left in the dust. Lin prays silently before exiting her small workspace and heading down the dimly lit hallway towards the front of the store. Lin opens a window on her HUD and looks over her editing work for the day before updating the status of each job, marking each as "Complete." The soft lighting at her feet pulsates a gentle yellow to indicate that the store is closing soon.
As she approaches the end of the hall, Lin makes an open gesture at the door. A green dot in the middle of the dark glass door lights up and slides in the same direction as her gesture before the door itself also slides open to reveal a small store front. Apart from the display windows and entry, the other three walls are lined with clips from previously commissioned works along with some reviews under each. Behind the counter near the entrance is a blond and elderly gentleman with slightly pointed ears about 175cm looking at a tablet in his hands displaying the most recent commission requests.
"Mr. Humphrey, is there any more tapes to edit today?" Lin asks the man as she picks up a similar tablet and transferring the edited footage into it. "I finished all my work today." She adds as she hands over the tablet to Mr. Humphrey.
Mr. Humphrey puts down his tablet and gets off of his stool before receiving Lin's work. After taking a look at the work, his eyes shift to glance the time on his HUD before turning around and inserting the tablet in his hands into a slot in the wall. Immediately, a loading bar appears along with the current status.
Analyzing...
Analysis complete.
Rating: 96% - S Grade
Sending to client...
Sent.
The corners of Mr Humphrey's mouth stretches out into a large toothy smile as he turns to Lin. "Great work. As always, Lin. If you keep this up, I might have to change the store's name to Lin's Custom EXP."
"Stop talking like you're going to die soon old man." Lin retorts quickly with a blush, but her chest is still puffed out showing obvious pride in her craftsmanship. Suddenly, a strange look appears on her face. "Wait, you're not thinking of retiring are you?" Mr. Humphrey was only 130, despite how he looks, he can still kick around for another 30 years before he gets too old to work.
Upon hearing Lin's remark, the old man sits back down on his stool and takes a drag out of the pen in his hand. He turns to look out the window at the last vestiges of the sun's amber glow over the horizon, and blows out a small smoke ring out the open window.
"If you remember Lin, I lost my wife 100 years ago when she was sent to Pluto for work but was attacked in transit. 80 years ago, my son lost his life fighting those same pirates. This year, my great grandson will be getting married. I think it might be time for me to do exactly what you suggested. Retire." He spins around on his stool and reaches into the pocket of his jacket to take out a small metal tin along with a Data card and puts both items onto the glass countertop.
As she listens to the old man, Lin quickly glances to the picture on the countertop. A picture printed on a film like material framed in a simple grey metal displaying a younger Mr and Mrs Humphrey with a little boy in their arms with a massive red mountain behind them. Probably somewhere on Mars. Realizing the conversation turning serious, Lin takes in a deep breath and pinches her lips into a line.
Looking up from the items he placed, the old man slides both items toward Lin. Lin notices intricate inscriptions on the box, probably eastern in origin as there are ancient characters engraved on top. The data card next to it seems to be a standard issue credit wallet.
"A-are these for me?" Lin stammers out as she points at herself while looking at Mr. Humphrey.
"This is for you and Euri. You've both been like family to me, working here all these years. You deserve it." The old man replies slowly, intending to comforting Lin.
"It was our pleasure Mr. Humphrey, but I think our compensation is more than enough." Lin quickly adds.
"No buts young lady. I finalized the sale of this shop last week and received payment this morning. I took all I need to retire and live a good life with my family. The rest is yours. You'll need it once you both get into Central." The man slides the card closer to Lin, who reluctantly picks it up before sliding it into her wallet with shaking fingers.
"Will we see you again?" Lin asks with solemnity and a downcast look. Mr. Humphrey had been a father figure to her and Euri since they started their employment here after their secondary education.
"This isn't good bye forever, you can come visit me on Mars once you're done your studies. I'll probably live longer there anyway due to the difference in gravity." Mr. Humphrey chuckles.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Lin forces a smile on her face. "We will Mr. Humphrey. May I ask what is in the box?"
"That, I do not know." The old man shakes his head looking at it. "That was delivered to me today by the late Mr. D'Cia's estate manager. Euri's father instructed for this box to be given to Euri prior to entering any Academies. I'll entrust this to you Lin, make sure it gets into Euri's hands." Having finished what he had to say, Mr. Humphrey stands up and picks up the box with his right hand, reaches for Lin's left hand to place the box there in her care.
However, the box slides out his grasp onto the carpet. With a slightly embarrassed look, he reaches down intending to pick up the box.
"Let me get it." Lin said quickly as she squats to pick up the box.