Jade Lé-toile [Revamp Completed]

  The Lé-toile family was one known for it's secretive nature the moment they rose to relevance among the Atlas power struggle, not quite able to compete with the military, but able to keep pace with the SDC at the height of their power. That's because their wealth was in Research and Development of new weapons and science materiel, and was the sole private development company in Atlas when Atlas was reaching the peak of their potential. This fame and power came with a responsibility as well, to be proper, to keep appearances for the welfare of the company and anyone involved. The current CEO of the company had a single daughter to his family, Jade. Jade's mother died during childbirth, so it seemed that it would only be the two of them carrying this burden. Jade was put through a rigorous amount of advanced education including formative lessons on proper elocution, how to walk, how to eat, how to exist.

Admittedly, this didn't make for the happiest of childhoods, but then again, it was the only life that Jade had ever been born into. This wasn't to say either that her father was cold or distant either, he was a good father that quite simply lacked very much time and had a reputation to uphold for the business that made the Lé-toile family their living, the very same which he planned for Jade to run one day. Reality had other plans however, when Jade began to find average activities to be rigorous struggles of futility. She began to lose weight at a rapid, alarming pace so their personal physician was called in to perform an examination. At the age of 13, Jade was diagnosed with a rare wasting disease that caused her metabolism to be far more aggressive than the average individual. She was losing muscle mass at a rapid rate, and was given an estimated year before she would become too weak to walk or lift things at all.

This came as a shock to everyone involved in the company, as all of the work that Jade had done seemed to be completely wasted, her father seemed to think so too. The CEO of Lé-toile Armaments became the most secretive part of the company altogether and was labelled a shut-in by most of the Atlas community, for some time this bolstered their public appeal and most believed it to be a publicity stunt, but as time passed, the charity events stopped, the public meetings ended, and despite continuing success, the company simply fell into obscurity. Jade was forced to use a motorized wheelchair to maneuver about to avoid burning more calories than she already did on a daily basis, as well as being too weak to stand on her own anyway. The quiet hum of the wheelchair came to be one she despised.

Although her formative studies ended, her general education was still very alive, and she took it far more seriously now. She spent any free time she had after her studies in the library, often reading the first book she saw and had not yet read. Her time on the estate was lonely however, she didn't have many people to talk to besides her tutors, and her father whenever she caught him outside of the study. She replaced social interaction with her time spent in the garden, enjoying music, or daydreaming for most of her life until she had completed her education. Her advanced studies proved to be fortunate, as if on cue, her father passed away late into a night in his study.

He was so reclusive that Jade never even knew he was as ill as he was, and he had made good work of hiding it. Following this, the future of the company was rife with uncertainty all the way up until the last will and testament was read to Jade. Naturally, all rights to the company and their fortune were left to her, but something else was included in this. An old crate in one of their more heavily guarded warehouses was noted to have a 'gift' for her to use.

Upon entering the warehouse and opening the crate, she was met with a strange jumble of machinery the likes of which she'd never known. It appeared as a mechanical suit, with a note attached to the chest of the suit that said the word KESS before it was even opened. The inside contained the full contents of her fathers last words.

"Jade, there are many things that I wish that I had been strong enough to say to you on my own, but that just was never in my nature. I tried to give you the life that you deserved, but instead you were given a curse that shouldn't be wished upon anyone. Only now do I realize that I should have been trying to give you the life that you could do as you wished with. I made you this so that you can finally do just that. After this, you are free to do as you please, run, stand, or even fight. This is all that I can give you besides the love that I wish I could still give you in person. So go. Go and experience life for yourself, my little starry gem.
~Dad"

Jade was awestruck by what she had learned, but decided to see exactly what her father had meant in his letter. With the aid of several of the lead developers for this project, she donned the suit and was able to activate it. She stood for the first time in five years, she walked for the first time in five years, she ran for the first time in five years... she smiled for the first time in five years, and she understood what her father was trying to say. Contrary to what the company heads wanted for her, she took a leave of absence from the company and granted them control as the time being. She decided that she wanted to do something with her life that could show others the same degree of kindness that her father had showed her. She was made a special exception when she applied to Syne and was accepted, hoping to use the gifts she had for the sake of everyone she encountered.

 There was a large deal of quiet in the room that Jade sat in. She sat before the Lé-toile Company Board of Directors to sign over temporary ownership of the company to them. They all wanted to speak up but the eerie quiet in the room seemed poised to bite back at any who threatened it. Eventually, one of the eldest Directors felt determined to try it.

 "Ms. Lé-toile, I must insist that this course be stopped before it begins. This is reckless and is not the action that your father intended you to take after his passing."

 The room was once again silent, as Jade mustered up the words that she wished to articulate properly to the gentlemen seated before her.

 "Directors, you speak of your knowledge of my fathers intended course for me and for the company, however, it seems that you are avoiding the empathy with me that is so crucial to the proceedings of this venture." Jade paused for a long moment and signed the document on the table before her before rotating her chair and speaking once more. "I've known my father for my whole life, and you only knew him for a portion of yours."

 With no more words to speak and her task completed she wheeled out of the room and breathed a sigh of relief that the proceedings went as well as they had. Now that she had done that, it was time to catch the next airship to Bellmuse and to a whole new chapter of her new life.