Part 3 – Purpose

She was careful with her words.

"The Colony has made its decision…" Fiona stated as she approached him. Her footsteps were careful, and considered well in advance. The man she was speaking with was a trained killer after all, and a Raven at that; one could never be too careful in this kind of situation. The window he stood at was gray at the moment, as rain clouds passed over the midday sky and blotted out its light. He stared out the window, only half paying attention to what she was saying. "Because you're the only Lynx left here, we wish to ask you to pilot our remaining NEXT..."

"…Why?" His voice was deep -deeper than she had expected after speaking with him mind to mind. As she had found out in her experiences with other Lynx, the self-voice and the body's voice were often quite different, but the difference here was extraordinary. His mind's voice was sweet and gentle, and kind to a point. The Raven's speaking voice was much harsher, and left no room for doubt when he made a decision. After a moment, she explained.

"My father, Professor Jarnefeldt, was one of the main reasons Anatolia even exists. Now that… now that he's gone, our income from research efforts with Rayleonard has ceased. We still have a single NEXT that hasn't been returned to the company, and Emil believes that Global Armaments is willing to buy its services in exchange for money and supplies. That's where you come in. I know, it's a lot to ask of you… but would you please consider it?"

He was quite for a few long moments, eyes closed in thought, weighing the outcomes of his actions. As he thought, she reflected on how she had found him in the ruins of her father's lab. Burnt and irradiated with Kojima Particles from Athera's activation, he was thought to be dead. She rescued him however, saving him from a slow death due to radiation poisoning and giving him another chance at life. Until he could clearly speak, they had thought to eachother and played games to pass the time. Idly, she wondered why she even bothered to care for him after he had awakened… 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'it's because a Lynx died to save me. Maybe that was how I started repaying the debt…'

She couldn't even think of his name without crying, even a year later after his death.

"Reflection." He said, not bothering to explain his outburst.

"…What do you…?"

"That's what your going to call me from now on. A Raven needs a name, after all." He nodded to himself, as if assuring himself that it was right.

Fiona nodded, a bit wary of his seemingly sudden decision. Until now, he hadn't responded to any name at all -not even his own. "…I see. Why choose a name now?"

"Because if I'm going to pilot a NEXT, I'm going to need a name." He turned from the window and looked her straight in the eyes. "I have one condition before I commit to piloting it however. You have to be my Operator. A Raven can't function without one."

She gasped at his request, a bit surprised that he would want her, a twenty year old girl with no combat knowledge or experience, to hold such a position. She knew of it from the tales told by the colony's retired Ravens –those who refused to continue fighting after the National Dismantlement War. The Operator was a tactical analysis officer, someone who would give the Raven information about what threats were coming from where, and how best to counteract them.

"You're the only person I want there." He said, turning back to the window. "Because you are the only person who can understand."

'…Understand what?' She thought, trying to figure out what to say in response.

'What it's like…' he thought to her, "…to lose someone dear to you."

She accepted.