Cicely Feng
Cicely Feng, also known as Backhand, is a character in Cyberpunk RED.
I didn't come here to make friends.[1]
— Cicely Feng, Cyberpunk RED
Appearance
Cicely is described as a heavily chromed woman of Chinese descent,[2] with a gruff, short-tempered attitude, and as a task oriented person.[3]
Biography
Early life
Early in Cicely's carrier as a techie, people begun to call her "Backhand" due to her abrasive personality and her tendency to praise and punish others while using the same phrase. Fortunately for them, Cicely used her words when delivering a "backhanded compliment" more than her cybernetic third arm. Over the following years, instead of changing course, Cicely took that handle as a badge of honor and dared anyone to get on the receiving end of hers. Usually, her behavior stayed only as verbal, but at least once she had to use her cybernetic backhand to hurt someone that was bothering her.
Despite her wishes to not rely on anyone, Backhand could be relied upon to get things done, no matter what it was. If you ever needed anything done, and done right without an overly care of someone's feelings, Cicely was the one to call. She was considered a great freelance techie for those reasons. At the same time, if you ever went against her, you only needed to understand that her loyalty was limited. It was not uncommon for people working with Backhand to be willing to turn their back on her, but only if they thought they could get away with it.[1][3]
2044 - 2045
Although Cicely was an excellent all-around techie, her brusque manners made it hard for people to work with her for long. It might have been this reason as to why shortly prior to June of 2044, Cicely begun working as the Forlorn Hope's in-house techie, repairing anything that was given to her and maintaining the building's tech functional. The owners of the Hope, Marianne and John Freeman, were used to dealing with smartasses, and were able to put up with her behavior by giving it back. One of Cicely's first tasks was to fix the drone of Aurora O'Reilly, a media that had been led to the bar to meet her mother, and who would soon become a regular patron as well.[2][3]
In 2045, a fire destroyed the Forlorn Hope. While this was happening though, both Backhand and Doc Stoic were off for the night, surviving an event that took the life of others. Cicely was the one sent by Marianne to check out the building that would house the new Forlorn Hope, also being instrumental for its establishment. There, Backhand set up her own workshop and sleeping quarters, and despite rarely staying the night in the Hope, she used her room on occasions. Cicely was still as sarcastic and sardonic as ever, but made sure to keep the building well maintained, and she enjoyed repairing any item or weapon given to her despite her complains.
During the bar's reopening day, Cicely's blunt personality drove off her assistant, so she requested the aid of the mercenaries hired to help around the Hope. Before they reached the door of her workshop, though, Backhand tried to surprise them by opening it first while smiling smugly, clearly knowing they were about to knock, though the how she knew was a secret she kept for herself. After sitting in front of her computer and an abrasive welcome to the mercs, Cicely told them about strange energy peaks throughout the building that, despite not being a threat, were bothersome enough to be checked out. She gave them a specialized techscanner, and sent the crew back to Marianne to pick up the Hope's universal key. Cicely either helped or guided them in fixing the problems successfully, though she was irritated that someone was messing with her building. Despite the knowledge of an upcoming Red Chrome Legion attack, Marianne continued with her plans, daring the boostergang to attack a place full of the strongest edgerunners in Night City. Like the rest of the staff, Backhand was prepared when the Legion began the assault. Cicely, however, prioritized the fire bombs the Legionnaires were planting all over the building rather than fighting back. In her own words, she had to defuse them before "some doomba accidentally shoots one and blows us all the hell up." Assisted by staff and patrons of the Hope, Backhand was successful in her endeavor, saving the building from another fire.
When the Freemans found out the identify of the culprit that had destroyed the former Forlorn Hope — a Maelstromer by the name of Ripper — they hired a merc crew to deal with him. Backhand might have helped them in hacking a technician's Agent during their work, as she had a deft hand with that. After Ripper was dealt with, the Forlorn Hope celebrated it with a party. The grumpy Cicely even congratulated the mercenaries for doing a decent job.[2]
Stats & Equipment
| Stats | Source(s): Danger Gal Dossier (p.44) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 6 | REF | 5 | DEX | 5 | TECH | 7 | COOL | 5 | ||
| WILL | 6 | LUCK | — | MOVE | 5 | BODY | 5 | EMP | 4 | ||
| Skills | Maker 4 (Field Expertise 4, Fabrication Expertise 4), Athletics 7, Autofire 13, Basic Tech 13, Brawling 7, Concentration 8, Conversation 8, Cybertech 13, Education 10, Electronics/Security Tech 13, Evasion 11, First Aid 9, Handgun 13, Human Perception 8, Interrogation 7, Language (English) 10, Language (Streetslang) 8, Local Expert (Heywood Industrial Zone) 8, Perception 10, Personal Grooming 9, Persuasion 9, Stealth 7, Wardrobe & Style 9, Weaponstech 11 | ||||||||||
| Cyberware | Artificial Shoulder Mount (w/ Cyberarm (w/ Techscanner, Tool Hand)), Contraceptive Implant | ||||||||||
| Armor | TUp Light Armorjack (Body & Head) | ||||||||||
| Weapons | Excellent Quality Heavy SMG (Basic Heavy SMG Ammo x80) | ||||||||||
| Gear | Agent, Carryall, Computer, Duct Tape, Flashlight, Tech Bag | ||||||||||
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GRAY, J. et al., Danger Gal Dossier. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2023. (p.44)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 SPIVEY C. et al., Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2024. (pp.10,13,18,34,58,116–117,121,124–126,130,132,138,153,169)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hope Reborn+. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2023. (p.4)