Mercs are people too, right? In between jobs, a newbie Runner makes a little video diary for herself, introducing her teammates and violating the most basic housemate rules!
Fannao's Home Video
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Fannao's Home Video
The video feed flickered to life, the static cutting out to reveal a young Orcish girl sitting in, what can only be described as squalor. A Street Mage in the truest of senses, she had telltale runic tattoos along her arms that lightly glowed with arcane purpose. She was surrounded by piles of clothes and take-out boxes, one of which has an abnormally large mass of fur digging through it. The girl adjusted the camera a little causing the lens to go out of focus before sitting back, cross legged, on a mattress. She cleared her throat to speak.
"Hello, me! Er, well… past me. It's future me. So… What have we been up to? We're not dead yet, for starters! See? I told you, we'd make it inside the Wall one day!"
She shot two finger guns into the camera as the focus auto-adjusted.
"So, we just finished moving into a house in the Ultraviolet Quarter and it is dope!"
She threw her hands into the air, flicking her dreadlocks out to the side.
"I got my own room and everything! With more than two square feet of space!"
"Boss? Are you alright?"
A voice came from off camera, accompanied by a tentative knock. The Orc lunged forward and collected the recording device, giving the lens an unflattering view of her chin and nose.
"Oh and I got housemates! They're the coolest, that's Stelline, let me show you! She keeps calling me boss so we're like… super close!"
The girl pulled the door open, turning the camera to show a short Human woman with a disciplined posture and blank expression. Small seams in her pale skin along her arms hinted at a number of augments that hid just beneath the surface of her flesh. She stood a respectful step away from the door, obscured partially by the bead curtain that the Orc had hung in front of the doorframe. The camera is thrust through the beads separating the two, showing Stelline at an unflattering angle.
"I'm recording! Say hello to past me!"
"Hello to past me."
She responded immediately without question, causing a short giggle from the girl behind the camera.
"This is Stelline. She's all bite, no bark. She ain't from Nova but ain't she the cutest?"
"Correct, I am not native to the island of Kae. I do not bite, I do have claws though, past boss."
"And they're sharper than teeth!"
Static swarms the screen, ending the recording for a short moment before the camera cuts back to life. A new area of the house comes into view, lens peering down the hallway towards a door that stood ajar, a crude 'occupied' sign hanging on it. In the dim light of the morning, the camerawoman sneaked close to allow the recording a look inside. Within, standing far above the low sink, looking into a second higher mirror placed above the mirror of the basin, was a tall, shirtless Orc with toned muscles galore, shaving his clean face with a razor.
"That's Dunji. Or Guns if you wanna annoy him." The camerawoman whispered.
"He's got a jaw that can cut glass and the muscles of a pornstar. He's the eye candy of the group, not good at much else."
"Mornin' Fannao."
A new voice spoke. Walking past the camera, another pale woman who was far from home. This time, it was a ginger dwarf with the sides of her head shaved and long hair in a tight braid. She trudged towards the bathroom in an oversized tank top and basketball shorts. Without a single fuck, she flung the door fully open, startling Dunji within.
"Occupied."
"Out. 'fore I emasculate ye in every sense of th' word."
She shoved her way in and past the Orc as he set the razor down. She leaned forwards to check her teeth, being perfectly level with the first, lower mirror.
"And that's Clover. Baddest bitch in Nova. Both of 'em are totally my type but take that to your Misty grave."
Fannao whispered to the camera as she watched on.
"Yeah, yeah, you frigid bitch, I'm moving. Was done anyway."
The Orc shoved her back with his hip before being literally kicked out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him. He let out a soft chuckle before locking eyes with the camera.
"Fannao, were you recording me?"
"UH, NO."
The static consumed the visuals once more, the poorly edited cut taking the footage now to a similar hallway, this one much cleaner than the last.
"It's still super early, so we're gonna go room to room. Wake-up call style. Catch these beautiful freaks in their natural habitats."
She giggles to herself as she approaches the first door.
"This one's Ito. Housemaid, Archmage, Doctor, International Hazmat suit model. She does it all."
Fannao knocked on the heavy door, lowering the camera down to her chest so as to not shove it in the target's face for a change. After a moment the door cracked open and a face obscured by a medical mask and safety goggles poked itself out of a dark room. Behind them, a few moving tendrils of inky blackness shifted around in the dark, an unnerving sight that Fannao seemed entirely unbothered by.
"Hello Fannao, is something wrong?"
"Good morning, Ito! Just making something for past me and I needed you."
"...It's morning?... Oh. Can you, um… give me half an hour to prepare?"
"Nah, you did great!"
"Wha-"
With another interrupting cut, Fannao now moved to another closed door. This time they're given no intro. The girl reached forward and opened the door slowly. Sat in the centre of the room with a cable plugged into the back of his neck, connecting him to a strange device before him, was another Dwarf with a large Afro.
"That's Ramsay, like after that one movie guy. He's our chief hacker and Drone-maker extraordinaire!"
Without turning his head, Ramsay responded, returning from the Mists.
"Spook, whatcha slingin'?"
"I have no idea what he's saying half the time but I play along."
She whispered to the camera before responding.
"Where's Brap?"
"What's the damage, Fannao?"
"Nothing, where is-"
She was interrupted as a giant four legged block of military hardware with a gun sticking out of its front moved in front of the camera, whirring loudly as its fans kicked into life.
"There he is! There's my best boy!"
She said, starting to pet the combat drone.
It moved into her touch with a cheerful beep, content that Fannao posed no danger to its creator. Ramsay returned his consciousness to the Mists, letting the Orc keep herself occupied.
The next abrupt cut took the view to a door being edged open silently.
"Lady and GentleME, I present to you: Nightingale! The Beautiful Nightshade of Nova."
She spoke in a hushed tone as a woman came into view. Dark clothing, hood up and a tight fitting mask hiding everything but her eyes, like the street's answer to the Velnak Shinobi of old. Nightingale seemed to have been just finishing some sort of practice, running a rag down the side of one of her twin blades. She slowly raised the swords together and, in one fluid motion, slid them into individual slots in her back, the steel sliding seamlessly into her spine and vanishing with ease.
"So. Fucking. Hard. Core. Gods! I wish my spine didn't fucking suck."
She sighed, slowly moving back. and closing the door the same way she opened it. As she did, there was a slight glint in the gloom as Nightingale made perfect eye contact with the camera, a silent acknowledgement that she knew Fannao was there that the sneaking mage wouldn't see until she went to rewatch the footage.
The last door cut into view, Fannao approaching it with gusto.
"Last but not least we got Roark. The newest big guy in our crew of muscleheads. Real 'Federation' guy. Just listen."
She made a horrible impression before reaching for the handle. As she did, the door flung open, the large Orcdirectly in front of her with his cell phone up to his ear and the other hand adjusting a tight fitting flat cap.
"Just get it done, yeah?"
He said as he bumped into the camera, the video getting a very close inspection of one of his suspenders. He took a step back, gesturing to the phone in his hand towards the camerawoman. He mouthed 'I'm in an important call!' to her only to be met with a giggle as she zoomed in on his increasingly displeased face. Roark balled up the fist on his prosthetic arm for a moment before switching the phone into it. With a grunt, the large Orc stomped forwards, reaching out to the camera with his more articulate hand. He covered the lens as the video cut once again, just cutting off Fannaos yell of protest.
The video resumed with a stable camera, the view centred on Fannao sitting in front of it on a couch in another new room. Clearly a common space in the house. Fannao set down a steaming, chipped ceramic cup on a coffee table cluttered with robotics, cards and a trashy romance novel. She took great care to show the camera that she was setting it on a coaster, giving a very pointed look accompanied by a set of raised brows to it.
"So, me. That's our group of friends that we've got. We did pretty good for ourselves eh? I got a real good feeling about these guys!"
As she spoke, several of the video's subjects began quietly filtering into the room, standing behind the oblivious Orc girl.
"Fannao. We need to have a talk about recording people without permission."
Dunji said, folding his arms. The girl jumped, falling off the couch in shock as Roark stomped towards the camera once again.
"No, wait guys, come on, pl-!"
The video cut off as Roarks hand covered the lens once more. There was just static for a solid five seconds before going completely blank. Shortly after, a pixelated pirate stepped into view, waddling across the screen. As it reached the centre, it began dancing to an extremely loud, bitcrushed version of some song that blared through the recorder's speakers. The words "END TRANSMISSION." formed beneath him.
"Jokes on you, Ramsay, you just made it better!" Fannao smiled, hugging the repaired camera to her chest.
"Hello, me! Er, well… past me. It's future me. So… What have we been up to? We're not dead yet, for starters! See? I told you, we'd make it inside the Wall one day!"
She shot two finger guns into the camera as the focus auto-adjusted.
"So, we just finished moving into a house in the Ultraviolet Quarter and it is dope!"
She threw her hands into the air, flicking her dreadlocks out to the side.
"I got my own room and everything! With more than two square feet of space!"
"Boss? Are you alright?"
A voice came from off camera, accompanied by a tentative knock. The Orc lunged forward and collected the recording device, giving the lens an unflattering view of her chin and nose.
"Oh and I got housemates! They're the coolest, that's Stelline, let me show you! She keeps calling me boss so we're like… super close!"
The girl pulled the door open, turning the camera to show a short Human woman with a disciplined posture and blank expression. Small seams in her pale skin along her arms hinted at a number of augments that hid just beneath the surface of her flesh. She stood a respectful step away from the door, obscured partially by the bead curtain that the Orc had hung in front of the doorframe. The camera is thrust through the beads separating the two, showing Stelline at an unflattering angle.
"I'm recording! Say hello to past me!"
"Hello to past me."
She responded immediately without question, causing a short giggle from the girl behind the camera.
"This is Stelline. She's all bite, no bark. She ain't from Nova but ain't she the cutest?"
"Correct, I am not native to the island of Kae. I do not bite, I do have claws though, past boss."
"And they're sharper than teeth!"
Static swarms the screen, ending the recording for a short moment before the camera cuts back to life. A new area of the house comes into view, lens peering down the hallway towards a door that stood ajar, a crude 'occupied' sign hanging on it. In the dim light of the morning, the camerawoman sneaked close to allow the recording a look inside. Within, standing far above the low sink, looking into a second higher mirror placed above the mirror of the basin, was a tall, shirtless Orc with toned muscles galore, shaving his clean face with a razor.
"That's Dunji. Or Guns if you wanna annoy him." The camerawoman whispered.
"He's got a jaw that can cut glass and the muscles of a pornstar. He's the eye candy of the group, not good at much else."
"Mornin' Fannao."
A new voice spoke. Walking past the camera, another pale woman who was far from home. This time, it was a ginger dwarf with the sides of her head shaved and long hair in a tight braid. She trudged towards the bathroom in an oversized tank top and basketball shorts. Without a single fuck, she flung the door fully open, startling Dunji within.
"Occupied."
"Out. 'fore I emasculate ye in every sense of th' word."
She shoved her way in and past the Orc as he set the razor down. She leaned forwards to check her teeth, being perfectly level with the first, lower mirror.
"And that's Clover. Baddest bitch in Nova. Both of 'em are totally my type but take that to your Misty grave."
Fannao whispered to the camera as she watched on.
"Yeah, yeah, you frigid bitch, I'm moving. Was done anyway."
The Orc shoved her back with his hip before being literally kicked out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him. He let out a soft chuckle before locking eyes with the camera.
"Fannao, were you recording me?"
"UH, NO."
The static consumed the visuals once more, the poorly edited cut taking the footage now to a similar hallway, this one much cleaner than the last.
"It's still super early, so we're gonna go room to room. Wake-up call style. Catch these beautiful freaks in their natural habitats."
She giggles to herself as she approaches the first door.
"This one's Ito. Housemaid, Archmage, Doctor, International Hazmat suit model. She does it all."
Fannao knocked on the heavy door, lowering the camera down to her chest so as to not shove it in the target's face for a change. After a moment the door cracked open and a face obscured by a medical mask and safety goggles poked itself out of a dark room. Behind them, a few moving tendrils of inky blackness shifted around in the dark, an unnerving sight that Fannao seemed entirely unbothered by.
"Hello Fannao, is something wrong?"
"Good morning, Ito! Just making something for past me and I needed you."
"...It's morning?... Oh. Can you, um… give me half an hour to prepare?"
"Nah, you did great!"
"Wha-"
With another interrupting cut, Fannao now moved to another closed door. This time they're given no intro. The girl reached forward and opened the door slowly. Sat in the centre of the room with a cable plugged into the back of his neck, connecting him to a strange device before him, was another Dwarf with a large Afro.
"That's Ramsay, like after that one movie guy. He's our chief hacker and Drone-maker extraordinaire!"
Without turning his head, Ramsay responded, returning from the Mists.
"Spook, whatcha slingin'?"
"I have no idea what he's saying half the time but I play along."
She whispered to the camera before responding.
"Where's Brap?"
"What's the damage, Fannao?"
"Nothing, where is-"
She was interrupted as a giant four legged block of military hardware with a gun sticking out of its front moved in front of the camera, whirring loudly as its fans kicked into life.
"There he is! There's my best boy!"
She said, starting to pet the combat drone.
It moved into her touch with a cheerful beep, content that Fannao posed no danger to its creator. Ramsay returned his consciousness to the Mists, letting the Orc keep herself occupied.
The next abrupt cut took the view to a door being edged open silently.
"Lady and GentleME, I present to you: Nightingale! The Beautiful Nightshade of Nova."
She spoke in a hushed tone as a woman came into view. Dark clothing, hood up and a tight fitting mask hiding everything but her eyes, like the street's answer to the Velnak Shinobi of old. Nightingale seemed to have been just finishing some sort of practice, running a rag down the side of one of her twin blades. She slowly raised the swords together and, in one fluid motion, slid them into individual slots in her back, the steel sliding seamlessly into her spine and vanishing with ease.
"So. Fucking. Hard. Core. Gods! I wish my spine didn't fucking suck."
She sighed, slowly moving back. and closing the door the same way she opened it. As she did, there was a slight glint in the gloom as Nightingale made perfect eye contact with the camera, a silent acknowledgement that she knew Fannao was there that the sneaking mage wouldn't see until she went to rewatch the footage.
The last door cut into view, Fannao approaching it with gusto.
"Last but not least we got Roark. The newest big guy in our crew of muscleheads. Real 'Federation' guy. Just listen."
She made a horrible impression before reaching for the handle. As she did, the door flung open, the large Orcdirectly in front of her with his cell phone up to his ear and the other hand adjusting a tight fitting flat cap.
"Just get it done, yeah?"
He said as he bumped into the camera, the video getting a very close inspection of one of his suspenders. He took a step back, gesturing to the phone in his hand towards the camerawoman. He mouthed 'I'm in an important call!' to her only to be met with a giggle as she zoomed in on his increasingly displeased face. Roark balled up the fist on his prosthetic arm for a moment before switching the phone into it. With a grunt, the large Orc stomped forwards, reaching out to the camera with his more articulate hand. He covered the lens as the video cut once again, just cutting off Fannaos yell of protest.
The video resumed with a stable camera, the view centred on Fannao sitting in front of it on a couch in another new room. Clearly a common space in the house. Fannao set down a steaming, chipped ceramic cup on a coffee table cluttered with robotics, cards and a trashy romance novel. She took great care to show the camera that she was setting it on a coaster, giving a very pointed look accompanied by a set of raised brows to it.
"So, me. That's our group of friends that we've got. We did pretty good for ourselves eh? I got a real good feeling about these guys!"
As she spoke, several of the video's subjects began quietly filtering into the room, standing behind the oblivious Orc girl.
"Fannao. We need to have a talk about recording people without permission."
Dunji said, folding his arms. The girl jumped, falling off the couch in shock as Roark stomped towards the camera once again.
"No, wait guys, come on, pl-!"
The video cut off as Roarks hand covered the lens once more. There was just static for a solid five seconds before going completely blank. Shortly after, a pixelated pirate stepped into view, waddling across the screen. As it reached the centre, it began dancing to an extremely loud, bitcrushed version of some song that blared through the recorder's speakers. The words "END TRANSMISSION." formed beneath him.
"Jokes on you, Ramsay, you just made it better!" Fannao smiled, hugging the repaired camera to her chest.