[video] backdated to the 17th

[quixotically]

Okay, it should be on, so --

[The video starts with a close-up of the lower part of a face. But then, Elle leans back, and the rest of her face comes into view. She grins.]

Awesome! Man, this is cool. Er -- Hi! I just got here today. Name's Elle, Elle Days, I recently signed on as a guide, so I've got training starting pretty soon, but I wanted to try this thing out. [She holds up a hand and wiggles her fingers in a wave, her smile widening.] So, uh. Hi.

I guess I could say a few things about myself? Sure, alright. Um... Back home, I do work as a courier. Which, really, means I do a little bit of everything, not just delivering mail or whatever. Running, gunning, exploring, throwing rocks at deathclaws... Getting into trouble. That sort of thing. Uh... I live in a casino-slash-skyscraper thing with my friends. Anddd... My favorite drink is Nuka-Cola. Um.

[There's a beeping noise. Elle glances to her left, and her grin is back.] Right! And I didn't come alone. I brought a friend along for the ride. [She adjusts her communicator so that a robot comes into view.] This is ED-E. ["Eddie."] He's what we call an eyebot. He's like a floating radio with lasers. And, a few other nifty tricks. Say hi, buddy.

[The robot bounces in the air and makes more beeping noises, cheerful this time.]

Oh! [The feed refocuses on Elle again. She leans in closer.] And, uh. Boone? Are you watching this, too? This is where you ran off to, right? [She smiles sheepishly.] Sorry to crash the party. But, they offered, and, I mean, d'you really think I would've said no? [Cue nervous laughter.]

Anyway, uh. I look forward to meeting all of you! Thanks. Um. Now to stop the...

Comments

[folkscallmewander]

[A wave from this orange alien.]

Hi Elle! Hi ED-E! I'm Wander, and I'm happy to meet you two! You're gonna love this place! It's got all kindsa people an' the forest's real nice; it's jus' an amazing planet!

[quixotically]

[Little orange fuzzy guy?? Yeah, that's about the same kind of weird she's used to. Elle feels like most people are probably surprised to see aliens, but considering she's befriended super mutants and ghouls and brains in jars, this isn't all that weird.]

It's nice to meet you, Wander. I'm really looking forward to getting out there and seeing what this place has to offer. I've traveled a bit outside of it, but I've spent the past year running around a desert. Not a whole lot of diversity, there. I mean, we've got an old ski resort in the north, and Zion was beautiful, but... Sand 'n' sun's been my life.

[folkscallmewander]

Well, you're in luck! I think this planet's got some desert, but it's mostly forest 'round here. I'm sure you'll like this place a lot!

[It's definitely better than an endless hot desert, but Wander's in no position to insult Elle's home.]

There's a lotta other humans here--you're human, right?--so you'll fit right in!

[quixotically]

Yeah, I'm human. A little irradiated, but human.

How're you liking this place? Have you been here long?

[folkscallmewander]

[Good, he got it right!]

Let's see...I got here 'round summer, so...I guess five months? Yeah, seems right!

[what_ho_jeeves]

What ho, Miss Days! I am Bertram Wilberforce Wooster, but my friends call me Bertie.

Is "throwing rocks at deathclaws" a sort of sport? Like cricket?

[quixotically]

[Wow, that sure is a name.]

Uh... It's not supposed to be. Honestly, it's a pretty bad idea. It's pretty likely to get you killed. Deathclaws, they're a kind of animal where I'm from. They stand at least seven feet tall, with horns and big teeth and, well. Claws. Long claws. They're nasty. Throwing rocks at 'em just makes 'em mad.

[... seriously tho. Wilberforce??]

[what_ho_jeeves]

[That's the name of his father's lucky race horse. He made a lot of money the day Bertie was born, backing that horse.]

Oh.

Not like hunting foxes, then, not unless foxes were the size of lions with razor sharp fangs and were angry at being hunted.

[quixotically]

I don't think I've ever seen a lion before. Or a fox... But, yeah. I think you got the gist of it.

I've gone deathclaw hunting before, and I really don't recommend it. Damn things can take a .308 to the skull and have the nerve to just look offended about it. It's got all the elements of a sport, though. Running, swearing, screaming, risk of injury... It'd be one of the highest stake games out there.

[what_ho_jeeves]

My Aunt Dahlia would probably like it very much. She rode with the Quorn and the Pytchley in her youth. I'd best not mention them to her, else she might take it into her mind to try to import some for the local hunt.

[And then the ranks of the British aristocracy would end up being much reduced.]

[vengeance_driven]

Hey ah... I'm Boone's friend. Niko. He tells me a lot about where he came from a lot. Good to meet you.

[The idea of Boone talking a lot is kind of funny.]

[quixotically]

[Boone's friend?

Boone's been talking to someone?

Boone has a friend.

... well, now she's nervous. She wants Boone's friend to like her. She doesn't want to not get along with him the way Carla and Manny didn't get along. She has to be on her best behavior.]

Hi, Niko. It's good to meet you, too. Um... [What does she say?? What does she say.] I'm... I'm happy to hear that he's made friends. [She can't say that she was worried about that.] It... um. Have you been here long?

[Well. That could've gone better, but it could've gone a lot worse.]

[vengeance_driven]

[She is acting really, really strangely. Strangely enough that it takes him a moment to answer, not because of uncertainty about himself but more that he's wondering if he has something on his face or something conspicuous that could be making her nervous.]

[But nothing. So...]

I've been here a few months. Since about when Boone got here.

Rex is a pretty good dog. Helped us figure out dogs don't like creepers. It was kind of helpful.

[quixotically]

[His pause makes her more nervous. Did she say something wrong??? Calm down, calm down, take it easy. Just... relax. Yeah.

Luckily, Rex is an easy topic. She smiles.] Hey, and if we end up with a rat infestation, then he'll make himself especially helpful. He hates the things.

The creepers... I've heard a little about them, but not a whole lot. Do other detection systems not work? Or are they smart enough to dodge things like tripwires?

[vengeance_driven]

Tripwires can get them- once. You don't hear them coming. Usually they get you out in the wilderness, so is better if you have a beast on you when you go out. Or just go out in the day. Creepers like to be out at night or in shadows more, and they don't like beasts.

There are lots of infestations, too. He went after the props pretty good. One got loose at my place, and it got me bit on the ass before it turned into Boone's hat and took off down the street. [Boone's new friend is a classy guy.]

video

[thumbsdown]

So you showed up, huh.

[He doesn't look or sound unhappy about it. It's actually a nice surprise. There's a lot of barking going on behind him, too. Rex recognises Elle's voice, and is excited.]

Think someone missed you.

video

[quixotically]

[Elle lights up.]

There you are. I'm so glad I was right, and hadn't taken some other crazy offer to work at some other-world resort. How've you been? I heard you made a friend.

[She laughs and waves, in case Rex can see her, too. Her voice immediately drops into "baby-speaking to an animal" tone.] Hi, Rexie! Have you been a good boy?

[She laughs again as ED-E pushes himself against her to get into view of the camera again, buzzing happily.] Looks like he's not the only one who's been missing someone.

[thumbsdown]

I've been okay.

[Kinda cold recently, and not all too happy with the rain, but okay otherwise.]

Yeah, I did. Niko. You talk to him?

[He fixes the camera so that Rex is on the screen for a moment, then sits down so he's not walking around with it. He hasn't been home long, so he's still in his patrol uniform.]

[quixotically]

[Elle waves more energetically when she sees that Rex's gonna be able to see it.]

Yeah! He seems pretty nice. And he said you've got cats! I wanna see, they sound really cute.

[thumbsdown]

Yeah, I've got cats. One of them is Niko's. Don't think they wanna be apart, so... he left her here.

[He looks away from the communicator and cranes his neck to see if he can see either of them from where he's sitting, but he can't.]

Not sure where they are right now, but it's not hard to find them. One of them is pregnant, so she doesn't move much.

[Video]

[ratkicker]

[Jade jumps a bit at the sight of the robot. She's run into too many guard bots and ED-E looks a bit too advanced for personal use.]

Hey, Jade here, also new. What kind of robot is that?

[video]

[quixotically]

Nice to meet you, Jade.

An eyebot! They were originally made to spread news and propaganda, so mainly they served as radios. This little guy's special, though. [She pats ED-E's side fondly.] He was made to be especially tough. And, well, like I said, he's got lasers, too. I don't know if that's standard for other eyebots, I've only really seen him and ones focused on repairs and medical support.

Re: [video]

[ratkicker]

[Spread propaganda? Jade's definitely wary of that.]

Was it a government-created bot? It's pretty advanced, even without all of those upgrades.

[video]

[quixotically]

Nope, actually. They were made by the same company that made a lot of our tech, RobCo. But after the Great War, what was left of the government took them and used them to spread propaganda, and made a whole bunch more of them, so...

[video]

[ratkicker]

No surprise there. But it sounds like they were really useful before the government controlled them.