A N S G A R S T A U D I N G E R P R E L U D E
One might be forgiven for not expecting much from a man like Ansgar. Born to a supply officer in the German Army, and his mother a doctor with her own establishment that she practiced at, his life was slated to be a relatively quiet one. Either follow in his father's footsteps, into the ranks of pencil pushing officers, or in his mother's footsteps as a doctor. Both respectable and necessary professions in life, no the most glamorous, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Yet, for reasons he will not speak of carelessly, Ansgar was ashamed of where he came from. His parents sat back and let others fight their battles for them, and against both their wishes joined the German Federal Police, with one singular goal in mind. Gain admission into the elite ranks of the GSG-9 Counter terrorism unit. An organization that only one in five applicants can make it into, and without the backing of his family, one could be forgiven to think he would not be readily making it through the difficult process
Yet, 22 weeks after beginning his training, Ansgar stood proudly among the few that were successful in their training, to be accepted into the ranks of the GSG-9. He had invited both his parents to the ceremony, neither of them showed, which hardly surprised him at this point. Disowned by family, he found a new one with his brothers and sisters in arms, deploying in counter terrorism missions that remain classified, acting as an ordinance specialist, both in the EOD and deployment of explosives sense, often breaching into rooms that he could not hack the electronic controls of, a rarity indeed. Being constantly on loan to other GSG-9 units in need of the extra explosives and technical assistance never gave Ansgar the sense of camaraderie with any single unit, being on constant rotation on a needs of the mission basis. This would eventually be both his saving grace and damning flaw, when he would find himself face to face with the Void.
The mission was supposed to be like any other, a kidnapping ring had been snatching people off the streets at night and one too many had gone missing in too short a time span. Intelligence operations had pinpointed a bizarre cult that had, by autopsies of the remains dumped into the rivers, been engaging in cannibalistic murder rituals. Their compound was based out of a World War 2 era bunker complex, abandoned by the local populace to further distance themselves from the sins of the past, leaving them as a monument to the atrocities of the past, and a warning against them happening again. With most of the complex underground, and maps likely outdated and no longer accurate, it was a blind plunge that did not sit well with the GSG-9. Yet, they had their orders, as simple as their superiors worded them. Storm the compound, arrest any who surrender, lethal force authorized, and rescue any survivors. Life is hardly ever that simple, of course.
Word of the cult and the impending assault on the compound had reached the Department of Paranormal Surveillance and they were quick to offer the assistance of the Division. However, at the time the officials in charge of the operation put little faith in this group of 'state sponsored witch hunters' in his own words and denied the Division any access to the mission. The decision would cost nearly a hundred GSG-9 operatives their lives, the teams split up to assault each known entrance into the compound simultaneously. It was a disaster, the operatives ill equipped to handle the unknown Mystics that had been organizing the cult operations. Void creatures resilient to conventional gunfire slaughtered many of the operatives, and Ansgar would find himself cut off, trapped and hunted in the halls of the bunker. The assault had killed all but one Mystic, yet he was behind defenses that no mere bullet could pass through.
Between running skirmishes with the cultists, and flat out running from the remaining creatures, Ansgar would stumble across an old munitions cache, ignored by the cult, and undocumentd due to the locals steadfast refusal to enter such a dark place. Anti tank weapons from WW2 were stockpiled, and the then agnostic Ansgar took a gamble. There was no promise that the munitions would still work, hell, that they wouldn't detonate in the Panzerschrek the moment he fired the thing. But he was able to worm his way back through the compound, confronting their leading mystic. The first shot went wide, unaccustomed as Ansgar was to the weapon and, perhaps, lack of maintenance aiding in the missed shot. But that missed shot hit the alter that ritually bound the void beings to this world, and the atmosphere of dread and horror was gone, as was the creature looming behind him. Ansgar had his orders, take him alive if possible, but a second rocket made his decision clear. The munitions caused sympathetic detonations in the stored munitions the cult had stockpiled for their planned revolution, burying Ansgar alive.
It took several days of starvation and inability to move before he was dug out, not by the German officials, but by Division personnel. After the reports of what had been found in the complex were made, the Department of Paranormal Surveillance was quick to move in, citing the lack of cooperation by the official for the losses. They're original intent was to uncover how the cult had done what it had, but all they found was the unconscious Ansgar, already listed KIA by his superiors along with the hundred other operatives. He was nearly dead, a few more minutes would have led to death by asphyxiation, but he was nursed back to life. However, being buried with the darker things of the Void did not do his mind many favors, and one would have to forgive his feverish hatred and horror towards anything Void related, only matched by how calm and menial he is outside of work. Despite the trauma induced mental injuries, the Division had use for someone who could face the Void and those that would wield it, and survive to see another day.
I D E O L O G Y
Ansgar is a man of two faces, something that can be rather jarring to those that only see him at work, and those that only readily see him at peace. However, what might define him most is his hatred of anything Void related. Most Division members are distrustful or outright hate the Void, but the extent that Ansgar feels it at could be considered unhealthy at best. He is barely able to not lash out at Mystics, even those allied with him, and it takes the explicit orders of his superiors to ensure this. Even then, the zeal that his hate inspires him to when combating the Void is unsettling, like he carries a burden from his near death experience in the ruins of that bunker complex that transcends human hatred. Indeed, for a man who used to be so content with helping his comrades first, and fighting second, the energy and eagerness he has for inflicting harm upon the void is jarring to those who used to know him well.
At peace, Ansgar is a quiet man, friendly and approchable, but not loud. He would as much prefer to spend time in a study, or a workshop, reading up on the latest advances in technology or integrating the latest advances, always pushing that edge as far as he could to get one step above the Void. His work is as much a way to center himself and distract himself from the past, and the all consuming hate, as it is getting a leg up on the enemy. As such, as friendly as he may be off work, interrupting his workshop or research time without good cause is a ready irritant. And he is almost always working, if he isn't asleep, feverish with memories of the past, so someone is almost always interrupting his work. But, if the reason is sound, he will be understanding. Just, one would be warned to not waste his time if he is working.
When on the field, another part of him comes through. It was observed, during his time with the GSG-9, that he tended to split hsi work persona and his civilian persona, to protect the latter from the harsh realities of what must be done during the former. Not enough to warrant concern, just a foot note in his dossier. After his traumatic near death experience, the line in the sand became more defined, and the extremes more jarring. At work, he his focused and cruel, no mercy and follows his orders to the letter with no concerns of the morality or the long term reprecussions. He has a job, and he is there to follow orders, regardless of whether he agreed with them or not. It makes for a good soldier, but a terrible leader, and more than once has he done questionable things under orders, fully aware that following orders was no defense in a court of law, should the time arise.
Ansgar is an atheist, although not always. He used to simply lack any professed faith, an agnostic, as while he had not once believed there was no God, he also could not rationalize ever knowing there was one. It was a key difference he had to explain quite a few times. However, after his experiences with the Void, he has given up on their ever being a God. Looking at the doctrine and beliefs of religions in general, he cannot fathom that if there was a deity of any sort, and that it meant well for its creations, that it would allow such things as the Void to exist. Humans going bad, he could rationalize not intervening, as that was humanity making its choices. But an external, inhuman entity like the Void? That was beyond human fault, ergo, a god like deity would have cause to intervene. As such, if it does not, either it is more malefic than it appears, or it does not exist. Considering the trouble they already deal with, Ansgar prefers the latter idea.
A P P E A R A N C E
Ansgar stands just under 5'6" tall, rather short compared to many of his peers and the point of poking fun at him. He weighs just under 150lbs as well, not an ounce of fat on his frame from the conditioning required to carry the heavier ordinance and tech gear needed for given missions. His frame doesn't show it, being built as lean and wiry, deceptively easy to overlook (no pun intended) and more than capable in pulling his own weight. He usually prefers his GSG-9 style combat fatigues over straight up armor, and even then, much like many members of his former unit, he is as comfortable responding in civilian attire, with the vest thrown on top, as he is being in full gear.
W A R F A R E
When it comes to weapons, Ansgar has a few preferences. Explosives being the highest, but not always the most pragmatic. As such, he typically prefers a G36A2 rifle, attached with a hand tooled 40mm AG36 attachment, modified for higher exit velocity and, rather disturbingly, a complete removal of the fuse delay before priming. He has argued that, facing what the Division does, he cannot afford the risk of having to bring something down and a safety feature preventing it, even if it would injure or kill him. As a sidearm he prefers a USP Elite, chambered in .45 caliber, with no attachments at all. No frills, nothing fancy outside the gun itself, it is a backup to his rifle and is on his person at all times.
However, he isn't brought along for his firearms, adept as they may be used, and his specialty is in electronics and ordinance. He has a kit that he fastens to his leg, much like a First Aid Kit, that contains common tools for bomb defusing and disposal, while it lacks the full versatility of a EOD operative in full bomb suit and kit, it is vastly more mobile and lightweight. Second is an arm mounted PDA, military grade, that he utilizes for bypassing electronic security measures. When the need for subtle bypass of doors is required, either the PDA or a lockpicking set kept in a compartment on the armguard, which he refuses to disclose the details on beyond it works.
When subtly isn't required, Ansgar gladly resorts to his explosives. Typically, he carries HEF Grenades, High Explosive Fragmentation, a custom retooling utilizing a far higher explosive core to make it of limited use against lightly armored vehicles, or equivalent Void beings, as the sheer power of the detonation ruptures armor to a degree. Granted, they are heavier and take more muscle strength to lob a equivalent distance, and lose out on some fragmentation effect, but these hardly bother Ansgar. When tactically necessary, he can bring a variety of explosives such as breaching charges, concussive and flash grenades, demolition munitions (C4 being the most iconic example), as well as pyrotechnics such as White Phosphorus, or Less than Lethal tools such as tear gas canisters. Of course, he obviously cannot carry ALL these options at once, but considering his otherwise lightweight set up, he can pack a surprising amount of explosives.
T R I V I A
+ Claustrophobic to a degree
+ Cover jobs usually involve pyrotechnics or police work
+ Dearly misses Germany, finding it far more agreeable than the States
+ Has practical training in most explosive deployment methods
+ Has an odd fascination with historic weaponry and tactics