Mockingbird (Dio Sparks) | Male | 19

Appearance:



Meet Mockingbird – the most eye-catching person in the room.

This kid looks like a rainbow vomited all over him. Looking at him can sometimes feel like being on an acid trip, and has been known to cause epileptic seizures. When he’s not specifically putting effort into controlling them, Mockingbird’s skin, eyes and hair just sort of do what they want, and what they want is to flicker through every random color and pattern that you can think of. Sometimes they’ll change color based on his emotions, too.

Once you get past the swirling LSD colors, though, you’d be surprised to find that the super-soldier known as Mockingbird is really just a short, androgynous-looking kid. Years of a specialized diet have kept him small and wiry – at just over 5’7” (171.45 cm) and weighing in at 58.3 kg (128.5 lbs), Mockingbird’s height and frame are ideal for slipping into nooks and cracks to lurk in wait.

In terms of his actual face, Mockingbird is blessed with fabulous bone structure… even though it’s a little hard to see under all the colors. This boy’s angular face is accented with high, sharp cheekbones and young-looking, unusually wide eyes. Also worth noting are his girlishly long eyelashes and inhumanly clear skin. Mockingbird’s best feature, however, is actually his hair – kid’s got a head of thick, silky smooth hair that reaches halfway down his back and looks like something straight out of a shampoo commercial. It looks best down, but on missions he pulls it back into a low ponytail.

In other words, we’ve got a real pretty boy on our hands, folks. It’s a pity he hasn’t met enough other human beings to have developed enough taste to appreciate it.

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Personality:

Mockingbird is the perfect soldier -- obedient to a fault, he can barely even comprehend the idea of questioning a direct order. Any trace of rebelliousness was beaten out of this kid back in training, where disobedience and talking back were punished by a quick zap from the shock collar. It doesn’t matter what abhorrent or degrading task he’s ordered to perform. If a superior asks him to kill a litter of puppies, Mockingbird won’t even blink – he just pulls out his gun and shoots.

From that alone, it’s pretty clear that Mockingbird’s personality is a little unsettling. It’s not just the blind obedience: this super soldier has no concept of ethical systems or moral codes at all. It’s just a product of his upbringing. After all, this is a kid who’s spent his whole life without human interaction, being attended to by robots and taught to obey orders at all costs. It’s not that he’s a bad person, per se – he just doesn’t understand morality, or worth. Human life, friendship, love… all of that is incomprehensible to him.

Mockingbird is the perfect killer -- to him, it doesn’t matter if target he’s aiming at is a six-year-old girl or a middle-aged criminal. Mockingbird can kill anything and feel no guilt whatsoever. Why should he? He’s never had a single relationship in his entire life, and is thus devoid of any empathy whatsoever. It's not even that he enjoys killing. It's just the way he was taught to be.

This, of course, means that Mockingbird’s interactions with other human beings are bound to be… a little odd. He learned about human interaction from textbooks, so he’s always unfailingly polite and grammatical to a fault. He’s friendly, even, because the textbooks say that that’s how humans build trust in each other. But there’s something a little stiff about his mannerisms. Maybe you’ve noticed that his smile’s a little too wide, or that his speech patterns are strangely formal. Maybe you tried to hug him and he flinched back. Whatever it was, it tipped you off -- there’s something not quite right about this kid.

Well, it’s not all bad news. As a person for whom even the most mundane of things is new, Mockingbird is endlessly curious about everything that’s out there. And, like most sheltered young people, Mockingbird is a little too trusting for his own good. He doesn’t know much about things that you can’t read about in a textbook, and as a result he’s hopelessly gullible. Idioms, sarcasm, and metaphors? Yeah, those will fly over his head like a UFO.

In conclusion? Mockingbird’s a perfectly pleasant, friendly young man. He just happens to have a very casual attitude towards brutal murder.

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Team role:

Overwatch -- Mockingbird's camouflage-focused genetic enhancements enable him to pull double duty as a sniper, and a recon/infiltration specialist.

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Skills:

(1) HIDING: Mockingbird can literally paint himself into the background, or change up his color scheme a little and blend into a crowd of civilians. Aside from the his obvious genetically enhanced capabilities, however, Mockingbird’s basic training included instruction in the art of holding very still for long periods of time and squeezing one’s self into places that no human body should ever be able to fit into.

(2) MARKSMANSHIP: As a sniper, Mockingbird is naturally a pretty good shot. He’s good at accurately shooting things from a distance, and hitting them on the first try! However, on the flipside, the focus that Mockingbird’s training put on accuracy meant that in close quarter combat, he often can’t react fast enough and spends too much time trying to line up an accurate shot.

(3) UNREPENTANT MURDER: Humans, aliens, robots, animals – whatever. Mockingbird doesn’t care what it is: if you tell him to kill something, he’ll do it. And he won’t feel bad about it either. Why should he? That’s his job. It’s what he was built to do.

(4) PARKOUR?!: This kid is a space ninja. Climbing, catching himself after jumping off cliffs, etcetera, suspending himself by a cord off a building to get the perfect angle for a shot… you name it, and he can probably do it. All in the name of accuracy, right?

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Genetic Enhancement:

The scientists responsible for Mockingbird’s genetic modifications thought that splicing chameleon genes into human DNA was totally a great idea. The result they ended up with after nineteen years of research? Well, a kid whose default appearance is an art teacher’s worst nightmare.

Mockingbird is a human canvas -- with a bit of mental effort, he can construct a pretty good camouflage, or give himself a complete makeover. Blond hair and blue eyes? Sure thing. It’s the world’s speediest disguise.

Well, that’s the military use, at least. More importantly, Mockingbird’s body also functions as the world’s only walking, talking drawing tablet. If he’d be willing to co-operate, you could draw diagrams on his skin! He can also recreate scenes of cute, fluffy animals frolicking around on his skin… and animate them too! Pretty nifty, huh?

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Armor description:



Mockingbird’s gear was built to optimize his potential as a sniper, enhancing his camouflage and allowing him to access high vantage points or execute complex mid-air acrobatics for the sake of making perfectly accurate shots. It was designed for him to be able to make the most difficult shots under the most strenuous conditions, and all while nearly invisible – in other words, to make him the perfect assassin.

The real purpose of Mockingbird’s armor isn’t actually defense: it’s enhancing his camouflage. Mockingbird’s armor covers his whole body from head to toe. In its default setting (that is, when it hasn’t been turned on), the whole thing is a neutral grey color. After activation, however, the material mimics any change in Mockingbird’s body coloration, occasionally correcting for minor mistakes. Helpfully, it also masks his heat signature and hides his shadow.

Mockingbird’s shooting capabilities, meanwhile, are augmented by his helmet. The helmet’s visor acts as built-in binoculars to enhance his vision far beyond regular human capabilities. It also has heat and motion-detecting capabilities, allowing Mockingbird to detect and eliminate threats that he might otherwise visually overlook before they reach his team.

Connected to Mockingbird’s armor by means of electrical cables are two (a sniper rifle for long distance shots, and a sub-machine gun for emergency close combat), a knife, and a grappling hook. The gun he slings over his back, the knife’s on a thigh sheathe, and the grappling hook’s attached to a utility belt. This specially designed equipment is hooked up to Mockingbird’s armor by an electrical cable, allowing them to benefit from Mockingbird’s camouflage.

But more importantly… what’s the grappling hook for? Lightweight and flexible, Mockingbird’s armor sacrifices defense for maximum maneuverability. With this streamlined armor and the aid of a grappling hook and cord, Mockingbird can be a ninja achieve the perfect position for an accurate shot by lowering himself off buildings to snipe a target through a window, or jump off a cliff to shoot a fleeing enemy only to catch himself at the last minute.

Significant weaknesses of Mockingbird’s gear? Well, a single bullet from the right angle could penetrate the defensive layer: this armor’s meant to protect Mockingbird from shrapnel and glancing blows, not to stop bullets. Worse, however, is the fact that the armor’s camouflage is controlled by a device within the armor located on his chest, just beside his heart. If this device is damaged, the camouflage functions shut off and the armor defaults back to grey. Furthermore, while his camouflage is almost perfect when it’s working, it doesn’t magic away footprints – in other words, Mockingbird can be tracked if he’s on the ground!

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Backstory:

Once upon a time, a baby was born in the slums of the industrial planet Mechnar-12B to a prostitute. That baby was named Dio Sparks.

Then he got sold on the black market as a source of spare organs in exchange for 21 thousand credits, and that was the end of that. His mother promptly used the money to buy a kilogram of synthesca powder, the good quality stuff, and no one on Mechnar-12B ever saw the child again.

Approximately two days later, a certain government researcher purchased a living human baby off the black market from an organ trader. He was looking for a subject to continue his experiments in splicing chameleon genes into human DNA with viral RNA -- the last three children that he’d tried ended up dying, and this particular kid had been a real bargain.

And thus it came to be that Mockingbird, fourth of his name, came into the world.

After that exciting start, Mockingbird’s life settled into a comfortable routine: he’d wake up, cry a lot, be fed and cleaned by a small army of robotic lab assistants, and then there’d be experiments performed on him all afternoon.

Shockingly, he survived. And the experiments worked -- his constantly changing skin, eye and hair color was a bit of a dead giveaway.

Once it was clear that Mockingbird wasn’t going to die after all, talk in the lab shifted to how they could make their new invention useful for NEST. And thus it came to be that, at three years old, Mockingbird was moved into a series of interconnected white rooms with a shock collar, a loud speaker, and everything that a child could use in the process of being raised into a super soldier trainee.

For the researchers, who had no qualms about irrelevant things like child abuse, this seemed like an ideal situation. They’d teach Mockingbird his lessons over the loudspeaker, and if he didn’t do them right, then they’d give him a nice little shock as motivation to do better next time. It was a lot less effort than giving him to a drill sergeant or finding a foster family to raise him, and hey! This way, he’d even learn to live without human contact.

Meanwhile, Mockingbird took to his training fairly easily. As a young child, they focused on easy things, like holding a single position for long periods of time, reading etiquette manuals and blending into a tree trunk, or memorizing the proper way to take apart and reassemble a gun. By the time he’d reached his early teens, they’d worked their way up to giving him farm animals and captured rebels to shoot, just to get him used to killing things.

With a childhood like that… well, are you really surprised that Mockingbird grew up a little twisted?

---

Theme Song:

STANDARD EDITION:


FIGHT CLUB:

Duck | Male | 20

Appearance:



At roughly 189cm tall, Duck is slim, but fit. Not exactly the musclebound beefcake one might imagine upon hearing the word “supersoldier”, but make no mistake: he is in great physical condition and should be considered dangerous to the average Joe.

Olive skin is pulled tightly over muscle and bone, and while free of acne, does have a number of dark moles particularly on the chest. A number of small scars are present across his face, but they’re not defined enough for one to notice them with a passing glance, save for one over his right eye, dividing his eyebrow into two unequal parts.

His dark, straight hair is kept short on the back and sides, with the front and top having a little bit of length. He styles it back rather messily, something which earns him the contempt of some of his superiors. Still, nobody’s forced him to get it trimmed, and he likes being difficult, so it’s all groovy. A tight beard covers his jaw and chin, swinging around his mouth and under his nose to work in a moustache. The beard has a couple spots where it simply doesn’t grow, namely under the corners of his mouth and a strip on his left cheek.

A large, hooked nose lays to one side, a remnant of some old nose injury perhaps. A pair of wide ears flank his head. With shorter hair, he might just resemble a tall monkey.

When not in his combat gear, Duck prefers old, loose, comfy t-shirts and khaki pants.

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Personality:

Duck’s a very smart guy, and he’s fully aware of that fact. It’s given him quite a bit of confidence. Maybe even too much. It’s rare for him to even entertain the notion that he might possibly be wrong. But he’s the brilliant mallard! When is he ever wrong? Haha…but, rare as it might be, it does happen from time to time, and Duck isn’t the happiest guy around when it does. He gets very defensive, quickly lashing out at those around him to deflect the embarrassment. He can’t be wrong. He must be perfect.

And so too must those around him be, as any of his former coworkers could attest. He tends to toe the line between effective leader and terrible tyrant, going to any length to draw the potential out of those around him. They simply must be the best. The scorn of others doesn’t matter when one comes out on top. Yet... Duck is still human. He cares for those around him. And while sure, he can go too far when pushing others, he’s not blind to their frustration nor is he deaf to their complaints. As long as it isn’t in direct conflict with his own decisions or ideas, he’s open to suggestions.

Now, from all of that, one might assume Duck to be some sort of calm, collected straight shooter. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Quick frankly, Duck’s a goofball. Not that he’s incapable of being serious, he just really prefers not to be. He makes quips and jokes at inappropriate times. He plays pranks and does terrible impersonations. Anything he can do to make people think that he just doesn’t give a solitary flying fuck, he does. He doesn’t want those around him to know just how much he really does care. Hell, he doesn’t want to let himself know how much he cares.

Because when you care about something, you try so much harder to hold onto it.
And the harder you try to hold onto it, the more it hurts when it’s ripped away.

Honestly, Duck’s probably in the wrong field of work, not that he had much choice in the matter. He doesn’t handle loss very well, and unlike many in the project, actually had enough socialization and exposure to the outside world to actively care about human life, to understand it’s value. The thought that he might have to take a human life sits in the back of Duck’s mind, but he doesn’t pay it much attention. He’s pretty sure that he could handle it.

God, he hopes he can.

---

Team role:

Support -- Duck provides suppressive fire and anti-armor capabilities as well as real time battlefield intel through the use of his drones.

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Skills:

(1) RAPID ANALYSIS: Given his enhancement, Duck’s mind is able to interpret, store, recall, and analyze information incredibly quickly. He learns at a hyper accelerated rate while being able to nearly flawlessly access his memories and thoughts as if they were stored on a hard drive. His processing is really only limited in how quickly he can get the information.

(2) TACTICS: Not to say that Duck’s had any special tactics training, he’s pretty much on par with his fellow supersoldiers. But when shit hits the fan, Duck, unable to lose his mind to instinct, can instantly pull up centuries worth of military knowledge and find what would best fit the current situation. Duck cannot claim that he does not know what do. But knowing what to do and being able to do it are two vastly different things.

(3) TINKER: Perhaps another product of his enhancement, but Duck is fascinated by machines and electronics and cannot help himself from poking around and learning how they work. More importantly, he seems to be obsessed by finding out how they can work even better.

(4) R&D TABLE TENNIS CHAMPION: The entire Research and Development wing has tried and failed to overthrow the King of the Court. Who will be the next to kneel before His Majesty?

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Genetic Enhancement:

The idea behind the modification that Duck underwent was simple: enable the subject to access the long-term memory as quickly and efficiently as one can access the short-term memory. The actual details behind that, not so simple.

And not so clean.

But through the efforts of some of the top minds of humanity, coupled with countless surgeries and a gratuitous amount of drugs, the project was a success. Not only that, but so much more was achieved. Surviving subjects of the procedures demonstrated vastly enhanced cognitive functions following recovery. Subjects had little to no recollection of events prior to the procedures, but all experiences going forward could be nearly instantly recalled with near-perfect accuracy and quite a bit of detail. They learned at an accelerated pace, with a retention rate far beyond top percentile. Attentiveness was far past where children of that age should be. Bona fide lab-cooked geniuses, those kids.

While initially those subjects were used in Research & Development, where they achieved some truly astonishing breakthroughs, the powers that be wanted to see some battlefield applications. Subjects with this enhancement made for prime candidates for leadership roles in the field, and when paired with other subjects of the N.E.S.T. Project, produced impressive results.

Some minor psychological issues have been logged with subjects that have experienced combat, but we believe this to be a non-issue.

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Armor description:



Despite the bulky look of Duck’s armor, it doesn’t offer much in the way of protection. The plating is fairly light, with much of the weight actually coming from the complex electronics stored within. Movement is somewhat restricted, but not enough to be too much of a problem. It’s got a fairly dull color scheme to it. Great for operations in wooded areas, not so great for looking like badass.

The armor comes equipped with an alternative source of firepower to the standard automatic rifle: the highly experimental laser weapon system. Mounted on the left shoulder is a fairly large cannon of sorts, capable of firing large, powerful bolts of energy that tear through armor plating. While handy, the laser cannon does require a rather long charge up time before it can fire, afterwards it will be unusable while it cools down. It’s powered by six yellow cylinders that clamp onto the rear end of the weapon.

Those cylinders, however, are not just generators. Each one houses a camera, a miniature laser bolt repeater, and small anti-grav units in addition to the actual laser battery/generator itself. They can detach from the weapon itself and act as drones, capable of sustaining an altitude of about five meters above a given surface, and are usable up to twenty meters away from its base. The repeaters aboard the drones don’t offer much in the way of penetration, but against unarmored targets, they’re brutally effective.

Duck has underwent a procedure, implanting a device in the back of his skull that connects to the base of the brain. His helmet can connect to this implant and receive and interpret simple commands in order to execute a number of functions. Cycling through the various camera feeds on his drones is easy. Actually piloting the drones is a bit tougher, but he can still manage it, however more complex maneuvers are beyond him unless he switches to the wrist mounted controls. He’s currently working on setting up an automated system for the drones, but as for now they still require manual input, which does limit their effectiveness. As far as the neurocontroller goes, he can theoretically pilot all six drones simultaneously, but only if he’s simply mirroring the same commands to each one. As of now, he can only work three drones independently in battle, and even that requires most of his attention and drops the performance of each drone. The fewer he’s controlling, the better his piloting and the more he can focus and what else is going on around him. Until that automated system comes online, he’s much more likely to use one passive drone to gain battlefield awareness, and one active drone to deal with threats...unless he’s charging the cannon that is.

The cannon requires at least four drones attached to actively charge for its next shot, however it really only becomes feasible in combat if all six drones are connected and generating energy. After the shot, not only is the cannon drained, but the drones themselves are going to be low on power. This, of course, cuts down on Duck’s combat ability...but hey, experimental weaponry is experimental. They can recharge slowly over time, of course, but they can also connect to the large power bank that rests on the back of the armor. It resembles a large backpack and serves as the power supply for the armor, controlling everything from the onboard computer to the hydraulics on the limbs. The importance of this bank is so great that the majority of the plating on the armor is covering this power source. It’s simultaneously the strongest point and the most vulnerable.

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Backstory:

Duck and his brothers Blue Jay and Robin have been apart of the NEST project for as long as they (or, for that matter, anyone else) can remember. The project is home as far as he's concerned, and if he's ever been even remotely curious as to his origins well...tough tiddies. His personal file doesn't have jack on his home or any possible relatives. Same for Robin and Jay. They'd know, having broke into the files on more than one occasion.

The three are staples of the project, each having undergone a procedure that drastically enhanced their mental functions. Lab-grown geniuses, it would seem. They breezed through their education with incredible aptitude and swiftness, particularly the mathematics and sciences. Why, even as children, they were on par with most top scientists, something that the Project exploited without hesitation. The three became rather intimate with the R&D labs, helping to achieve a number of astonishing breakthroughs in many different fields. Of course, all research belonged to the Project, which didn't quite exist officially. What humanity didn't know could later be used against it, obviously.

While they were incredibly valuable as research assets, the three were still subjects first. Along with their education and engineering duties, they were put through the standard military training and education regiment, along with a focus in leadership development. The idea was to create a series of hyper intelligent, loyal soldiers to move into officer roles for the Project's budding quasi-military force. For the most part, it seemed like they would be a success.

With their success came a sort of freedom that many other subjects didn't get to experience. Their movement aboard the ship was more or less unrestricted save for a few key areas. They had free reign to communicate with crewmen. Securing information and media from the outside world was disturbingly easy, really. Robin drowned himself in books and comics, while Jay became obsessed with news and politics. Duck found himself more drawn to ancient movies and music. And sports. Duck somehow convinced his superiors that he needed table tennis equipment for his research. They obliged. Duck currently reigns as R&D's Table Tennis Champion.

As training continued, though, so too did their research efforts. Their latest efforts were focused on advancing the fields of Energy Armaments (Duck), Cybernetics (Robin), and Artificial Intelligence (Blue Jay). If the project could equip their soldiers with better weaponry, enhance even the worst soldier with augments that greatly increase performance, and support those soldiers with legions of mass-produced autonomous warmachines well...what force in the universe could rightly oppose them?

While progress has been smooth, the day has finally come for the boys to leave training and finally experience live operations. Duck may hide behind a joker's mask, but he is equally terrified and excited for his new team's first assignment. Simulations were no problem. He simply did what had to be done for the mission to succeed. If somebody had to die for that, no biggie, there were no consequences. But in live operations...well, people MAY have to die. Could he do that? Could he knowingly send people to their deaths?

What would John Wayne do?

Theme Song:


Alternate SRSLY Mode

Sparrow (Mary Cross) | Female | 21

Appearance:



Yes, this rather bored looking woman would be the N.E.S.T. Project’s little Sparrow. She’s a taller woman, standing somewhere in the ballpark of 180cm. Her’s is an athletic build with visible, yet not enlarged, muscle tone. Despite the strength her body may convey, she’s rather light on her feet, gliding as she moves with the grace of a dancer.

Her dark brown hair is rather fine, falling flat against her head down to the base of her neck. It’s rather straight, with nary a curl in sight. Her bangs arch around her face, cut just a tad below the brow. Two small gray-blue eyes peek out from beneath the dark curtain. There’s a tiredness to them, more evident by the bags underneath. The bags aren’t too obvious though, for which she can thank the sun having darkened her skin somewhat. It’s still light, but there’s a bit of an even glow throughout.

Below even the bags would be a short, upturned nose and a small mouth. A scar runs from the corner of the left side of her mouth to about halfway up her cheek, curving up as it goes. It leaves her with a permanent half-smile of sorts. Her teeth are rather clean and all accounted for. They’re a bit on the smaller side, but they do the job. Her face tapers down to defined chin. It gives her head a sort of inverted triangle shape.

When not in combat gear, Sparrow prefers lightweight clothing. She’ll usually be wearing some sort of black, brown, or green color scheme though.

---

Personality:

Ah, the rebel without a cause.

Sparrow’s always been a bit of a problem child, causing enough trouble to be a nuisance, yet not enough to justify kicking her out of the program. She probably gets away with more than she rightly should...but if so, then it’s only because she’s so damn effective. Brutally effective. When she puts her mind to something, it gets done. The results she brings to the table just cannot be argued.

That, however, makes it all the more frustrating to see how she acts. She’s a lone wolf. She barely cooperates with her team, putting in the minimum effort possible before acting on her own. She’ll accomplish the mission, but in her own way. Really, issuing orders to her is an exercise in futility. She seems them more as suggestions. The punishments that come along with such insubordination don’t seem to phase her too much. Yes, they can be severe, but they haven’t served to straighten her up just yet. Not permanently, anyway. And as annoying as that can be to her superiors, she’s seen as too valuable to just throw away. Many of them are simply waiting for her to fuck up a mission, any kind of excuse to get rid the brat. And make no mistake, the moment that they can justify getting rid of her, the moment that the cons outweigh the pros, she’s dead.

And she knows it.

It shows in how Sparrow interacts with others outside of the mission. She cares about herself: everyone else can get bent as far as she’s concerned. She can seem a bit selfish, which really isn’t unfair to say. Sparrow can also come across as a bit mean-spirited, something that is not really helped by her love of sarcasm. She’s not above having a laugh at somebody else’s expense. She’s also extremely competitive. She wants to be the best. Hell, she’s gotta be: it’s really the only thing keeping her alive.

She’s not all bad though. Not saying she’s nice in any way, shape, or form, but she certainly is a free-spirit. The aloofness and her carefree ways could be seen positively. Maybe.

It’s not an easy thing, getting past Sparrow’s walls. Nor is it particularly rewarding. She doesn’t trust well, if at all. She keeps most people at arm’s length. Quite frankly, it’s pretty easy to get on her bad side. She cannot stand blind loyalty. Humans are meant to free, so to see somebody that’s chained themselves to another person, group, or idea? It infuriates her. She wants to do nothing more than to rip off their blinders and show them the world. Then, y’know, kick them in the ass for making her have to do that in the first place.

Underneath that steaming pile of bitch is a girl with a strong moral code. Despite her “brutal effectiveness” in accomplishing her mission, she won’t compromise herself. Unethical things are just a no go. The ends do not justify the means. Life is precious and shouldn’t be wasted: even if she does have a dislike of people in general, she doesn’t want to see them get killed. Enemy combatants are a bit of a different story though. If it’s between her and somebody else...well...it’s an easy choice. But every time she has to make that choice, she resents those that force her to fight more and more.

She bides her time now, but Justice comes in time. And with that thought in mind, she moves forward. Whatever she must do to survive, she’ll do, because Justice IS coming.

And Justice is she.

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Team role:

Flex -- Sparrow’s very mobile style leads to her darting to and fro across the battlefield, rapidly responding to put herself in the best possible position for the current combat engagement. While her light armaments and armoring do not allow her to be an offensive or defensive juggernaut, she can fill either role rather competently. Add in her ability to seemingly be in all places at once, and Sparrow not only fills certain weaknesses in the teams composition, but allows for more strategic options.

...if she'll cooperate, of course.

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Skills:

(1) RUNNER: Sparrow’s always been rather naturally athletic. She’s also been pretty fast since she was a kid, so...running just kind of became a given. She quick and she’s got enough stamina to go for quite a while. Don’t race her, and don’t let her chase you. It will be embarrassing.

(2) ACROBAT: While Sparrow’s enhancement did much for her ability to move her body, she had a knack for gymnastics long before that. Add in a flair for the dramatic and a pinch of more-or-less superpowers, and we’ve got one flashy bitch here. She soars through the air, twisting and turning in a mesmerizing manner. And she sticks her landing. What can she say? She’s got the moves like Jagger.

(3) DEXTEROUS: Another little bonus of her enhancement, but Sparrow’s got amazing hand-eye coordination. Her hands move like the wind, deftly maneuvering exactly how she wants them too. Please, try her at five finger fillet. It’ll be more embarrassing than the race. And you’ll cut off a finger. So that’s nice.

(4) COMBAT AWARENESS: The young woman has a rather keen battle sense, rarely losing herself in the heat of combat. Her instincts are strong and her mind sharp, so when the tide of war shifts, Sparrow is on top of it.

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Genetic Enhancement:

Enhanced Agility <Reflexes/Dexterity>

If the human nervous system is the biological information highway, then Sparrow's system would be the Autobahn.

Despite undergoing her procedure later than the norm, Sparrow's body adapted quite well. Her nervous system was enhanced greatly and her response time was lowered dramatically. While she might not have been able to develop as much as a standard subject of the N.E.S.T. project, she can quite easily hold her own against them. Along with her reflexes being cranked up to eleven, Sparrow's motor skills are off the charts. With the hands of a surgeon and the balance of the gymnast, she's a damn fine shot, even when on the move. She commands precise accuracy with every movement of her body.

For the most part.

But the procedure wasn't flawless. Mary's "enhancement" has left her rather restless. If she doesn't have something to focus on, she tends to fidget, squirm, or even twitch. Sleep is damn near impossible. She became impulsive, excitable, aggressive. But arguably, the worst of it is her lack of restraint.

This, like so many other flaws of the human mind or body, is easily controlled via a drug regiment. The normal, daily drugs dull Sparrow's system, which causes her to become rather lethargic. Not so great for combat performance, but they keep her calm and to an extent, docile. It's not perfect, however, and tends to wear off as the day goes on. She's still a bitch, but at least she's slower.

In combat, however, this simply will not do. Instead, she is treated to a chemical cocktail affectionately referred to as "Blitz" or a number of different terms by the soldiers who use it. It's a blend of powerful combats stims that usually increases focus and provides energy comparable to multiple caffeine shots along with releasing a sort of euphoria that nulls most pain until it wears off hours later and leaves a nasty hangover. Reaction time usually increases. It gets it's name from the intense rush that kicks in a few moments after ingestion.

For Sparrow, this causes her system to go into overdrive. Her twitching, fidgeting, and whatnot is dulled out, leaving only perfect control. Her aggressiveness and impulsiveness remain, however. More than that, they seem to be just as amplified as her abilities. When the stims kick in, Sparrow more or less fades out and simply lets her combat instincts take over. She's hard to order around when she gets like that: unless she has complete trust in both the order and the one issuing it, she's likely to just ignore it and do her own thing. It's best to just relay information to her and let her do with it as she sees appropriate. At least, that's what her superiors have resigned to doing.

The hangover is nasty, however and leaves her drained, sore, and overall miserable. Of course, the effectiveness and duration of Blitz and the corresponding hangover depends on the dosage she was given.

Blitz is also highly addictive and comes with a wide array of side effects. Many of them bad.

Most of them bad.

Thanks, Government.

---

Armor description:



Sparrow's armor is outfitted in a white and gray color scheme, making it perfect for arctic operations and absolutely useless for camouflage just about everywhere else. Sparrow insisted. It is designed for optimal mobility. The plating is very thin and light, offering just token protection with little to no restriction on movement. The main feature would be the mag boots.

While most NEST suits do come equipped standard with magnetized boots, Sparrow's have been modified with highly experimental anti-grav generators. They don't offer her flight capabilities obviously, but they do allow the woman to float over most surfaces in a manner that resembles ice skating. It's quicker than running, but covering long distances would still be better in a vehicle. Rough terrain ceases to be an issue, though. The anti-grav when used in conjunction with the magnetic function can allow her to scale vertical surfaces or skate along walls or ceilings. They can even be used to glide in air, though it serves as little more than slowed falling. Due to the anti-grav unit's strict load restrictions, however, the concept hasn't become standardized. The general consensus being that the increased mobility doesn't make up for the harsh sacrifices made in protection, armaments, and support equipment. The prototype would have been scrapped altogether had Sparrow not volunteered to test it in live combat situations.

It comes equipped with a discrete assault rifle that could easily pass for any of dozens of makes. When not in use, it can be attached to a magnetic connector on the suit's back. Sparrow is a decent shot with it, and for medium-range encounters, it's her go-to weapon. But she's not a big fan of rifles and given the opportunity, she'll go for her next weapon any day of the week.

That would be her customized hybrid revolver. Straight out of the NEST Project's Engineering R&D lab comes this behemoth of a sidearm. It's capable of firing not only traditional bullets, but also the experimental laser, EMP, and explosive rounds. Of course, those specialized rounds lack the penetration and stopping power of the standard round, but allow for more utility. The revolver can be stored in the built holster on the armor's right hip, but Sparrow frequently carries it around with her even when not suited up.

She carries a smaller pistol in a similar holster on her left hip. It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done if she needs it. It's usually equipped with a silencer and primarily used when Sparrow needs to take out a target quietly from a range. Otherwise...

The Baton. Another experimental toy from the boys in R&D, the Baton at first glance seems like little more than a flashlight. However, upon activation, the emitters within the handle create a highly condensed laser field of about 28½ in, affectionately referred to as the blade. Contact with the blade can result in severe burns and lacerations. With the beam so tightly condensed, it can actually cut. What a concept. The Baton easily ties, if not outright beats, the Revolver when it comes to favorite weapons. It's a nice and silent way of dispatching enemies, even if it does require her to get way too close for comfort. The baton is usually stored horizontally across the small of the back. It's common for Sparrow to use it in conjunction to the Revolver, bobbing in and out of close range to alternate Baton swings and handcannon blasts. She'll usually carry it when not armored as well.

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Backstory:

Mary Cross was a daughter of a rebellious colony. And after the rebellion was put down, many of the orphans were rounded up and taken away. Partially as punishment, partially to acquire new subjects for the NEST Project. Mary, who lost her parents in the suppression, become one of those children.

She underwent the procedure at a much older age than was the norm. It was the first successful procedure performed on somebody already that far along in their development. Though, success is perhaps not the right word. While Mary did adapt physically to the enhancement, she developed a number of less-than-desirable personality and behavior traits. Rather than scrap the subject as a failure, though, she was used to test a number of drugs and combat stims. She would be put through the standard training and education. After all, it would be a waste to just throw away such a subject. Good, bad, or anything in between, the data that she could provide could prove to be invaluable.

She ended up being a rather difficult youth, constantly flirting with trouble, but her impressive natural aptitude for combat and sharp instincts kept her from going too far. Still, it was a dangerous game she played, though she seemed to enjoy the thrill.

Mary's assignment to a team struck many as odd, what with her poor teamwork and bad attitude. It certainly wasn't her choice. The Project grown tired of her antics. They had no use for lone wolves, but had decided to be merciful this time, more for the data's sake than her own. She would be given one last chance: either shape up or be put down. Mary, not one to willingly off herself, would go along with things...

For now, anyway.

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