#garbagegremlin

"-And that concludes tonight's stream! Thanks to my loyal fans for your support!"

A voice known by all in the online gaming community rang out into a microphone from an apartment in Korea. Hana Song, the world's number one Starcraft champion had finished one of her nightly streams for her loyal fan base, thirteen million fans strong and continuously growing. A fanbase that was strong before the second Omnic Crisis had doubled in popularity after the internet sensation joined the South Korean military, personalizing her Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army suit to her own liking and making a name as a deadly militant. A heavy sigh left the young woman's chest as she waved to a camera placed adjacent to her computer screen before moving her hand forward and turning the camera off. A couple of keystrokes to her keyboard and her streaming service was shut down as her fans continued to speak in chat to one another. Live streaming her games had become more of a recreational hobby after she had joined the military in the fight against the omnic titan that threatened her home every few years. Her life was now dedicated to the protection and rebuilding of her country no matter the damage that was caused by these omnics.

Hana scooted her seat back from her desk, stretching her arms above her head as she closed a few tabs on her internet browser. She switched to a video streaming site tab, opening the playlist of artist Lúcio De Santos, a Brazilian artist with whom Hana knew personally. "Sweet, Lúcio dropped his newest single!" She commented gleefully to herself as she played the song through the surround sound speakers in her computer room. The hip hop melody of the newest beat driving Hana to nod her head to the beat as she searched through her social media sites, making a post to once again thank her fans for their support.

A rumble from her stomach sent her from her computer room to the kitchen of her lavish two bedroom apartment in Busan, South Korea. The fame that came with her professional gaming career as well as her new reputation as a MEKA pilot gave her the ability to finally support herself on her own, and at such a young age it was a freedom that she thoroughly enjoyed.

Opening the door to her fridge, Hana gazed curiously at the various fruits, veggies, drinks and snack foods at her disposal, before settling on a bottle of soda and a bag of chips to tie her over. It was mid afternoon, around two o'clock when she had grabbed the snack, deciding to wait until she made dinner that night to actually fill herself. It was unusual for her to be up this early on a Saturday, normally she would have been sleeping after a full night of gaming, but this day was an exception. Hana had partnered with a local charity for her stream that day, all proceeds from her fans would go to support those in dire need of help in her country as well as surrounding countries so that they could repair themselves after the most recent attack from the titan omnic. Hana thought of all of the money raised, in total close to $10,000, which was very surprising even to her, causing her to smile. "It's good to know that I'm still number one." She commented, mostly referring to her still ruling Starcraft rating.

Slouching on a comfortable couch in her living room, she grabbed a nearby remote and turning on a large flat screen television, nearly the size of one of her apartment walls. She flipped through a few stations in hopes that she might find something to entertain her, instead it was the typical boring weekend shows or a news station advertizing more threats from omnics around the world. She sighed, taking a sip from her soda and crunching on a few chips as she left the channel on a news station covering an attack from omnic forces near the Australian outback. "Australia? That place hasn't been in the news since I was a kid..."

Hana watched the stream closely as a news reporter from a neighboring country covered the recent damage done by a massive omnic attack to the radiation ridden Outback. Grainy camera shots and videos of destruction and bodies, human and omnic alike filled Hana’s eyes with a growing sadness as the reporter asked the question that everybody was thinking.

“After nearly two decades of isolation from the outside world, the Australian outback is being threatened by Omnic forces, and for what purpose? Does something lie in Australia that the omnics are after? Stay tuned to this station and we will keep you informed, back to you Teresa.”

A scoff came from Hana’s lips as she pressed the off button on her remote control, picking her snack items up and moving back into her computer room. She placed her food items on her desk before settling in, tying her shoulder length brown hair up in a loose bun as she intended to hop on a game and relieve some stress. Anytime she saw news reports about the omnics resurfacing against humans, a hatred would begin to rise in her throat, no matter what she would protect herself and her country from those who threatened it. Her head solemnly turning to a photograph on her computer desk. Her brown eyes filled with a sadness as she gazed into the smiling faces of her family; Mother, Father, and her older brother. She remembered all too well how she lost them in an attack from the titan omnic she grew to hate. When she was only five years of age, the titan omnic rose from the depths of the ocean again to threaten South Korea, the military struggled to fend off the robotic assailant as thousands of innocents perished. Families were destroyed and lives were cut short of their true potential, and such was no different for Hana Song’s family. Her father and brother perished as they attempted to enter the safe room of their old home, and it was Hana’s mother who succumb to hunger and dehydration as they were pinned in their underground bunker. For nearly a week Hana was trapped, until the cleanup crew arrived and discovered her barely alive in the depths of the safe room, hiding in her mother’s arms just hours after she had passed.

Hana never truly got over the loss of her family, and just looking at the happy faces that she would never see again brought a tear to her eye. She wiped it away before making a stern face, “No tears, papa would not have wanted that. You have to stay strong.” A habit that she had formed, Hana always reminded herself of what her parents wanted for her in life, and used that as her motivation to keep moving forward. She was raised by her grandparents, and though she loved them dearly, she kept her distance once she was on her own to keep them, and herself, safe from any potential future heartbreak.

The login screen to an old but still widely popular game appeared on one of her three split screens, and just as she was about to hit the play button, a notification blew up on her third monitor. It was an email notification. She raised a brow for a moment, turning her chair to the third screen and opening the tab above Lúcio’s media page, it was a letter from the Captain of her MEKA branch.

Hana Song,

We regret to inform you that an upcoming threat to our nation’s borders has called you and your team back to the battlefield. You are to assemble at the naval base by 0800 hours in the following morning. Attached is a brief summary of the mission you and your task force are assigned to on this mission, de-brief yourself and be prepared for mission departure.

Captain Jun-Seo

“Ugh, it figures. I can’t catch more than a month’s worth of break before I’m thrown back out into the field.” Hana sighed heavily, leaning back into her computer chair and rubbing her temple in frustration. “Well, no point in wasting time.” She spoke to herself, opening a drawer to her desk and grabbing a cellphone. She dialed a number on speed dial, which was answered shortly. “This is Hana Song reporting for duty. I’d like a full tune up on my MEKA unit performed before 0600 hours tomorrow, per Captain Jun-Seo’s orders.” She spoke in the Korean language to the officer on her phone, before thanking him kindly and opening the document attached to her confidential email address. “Let’s see where we’re going this time.” She commented as she placed the phone down on her desk, picking up a tablet and dragging the mission file from her computer onto her tablet. She stood from her desk as she skimmed through the mission summary, before noticing the location she was being deployed to.