Crossword Genius

Fighter prepared without her present (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gift

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'present' is the definition.
(I know that present can be written as gift)

'fighter prepared without her' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'fighter' could be 'f' (abbreviation in war plane e.g. F-16 etc.) and 'f' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'git' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gift that I've seen before include "Offering" , "A present or a natural ability" , "Natural talent" , "Endowment" , "[BOUNTY] ?" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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