Name:
Niko Hiruko

Gender:
Male



Age:
20

Job:
PT Pilot

Personality:
Niko has a tired way about him. His whole life has been wrought with strife and challenge. As soon as he was born it was determined that the boy was born deaf. He has never truly heard a sound in his life. Initially his father and mother both learned signs in order to teach him language and he was an avid reader as early as 3-4 years old. It was around his fifth birthday though that it was determined that Niko had contracted a form of Aplastic Anemia in his legs, requiring a bone marrow transplant. He managed to get the transplant by the time he was ten, he was running laps around other boys his age later that year.

This sickness took him five years to overcome, and while he did eventually overcome the Anemia in his legs it largely sapped him of his previous joy and curiosity that he boasted while he was young. Even if he does have some small bursts of energy and happiness, it is absent in his day to day life.

That being said, Niko’s defining characteristic is his determination. Even if it may seem like he is tired with being the world's chew toy. Once he sets his mind to something death is the only major roadblock between him and succeeding.

Niko is not an incredibly personable boy, though when he does find a friend it is well noted by his lack of personal space, after all his favourite past time is taking naps on the lap of a loved one. Not that he gets that opportunity all that often – but he finds a way. He is fairly good at reading lips – even at a distance but he doesn’t like doing it all that often. As he feels it is a bit of an invasion of privacy. He is easy to shock, or even surprise in a social setting. He does not often expect kindness from others – as such it can be something of a treat for him when he is on the receiving end of it.

In battle is the only common occurrence of Niko’s eyes widening or opening fully. He is a completely different person when in combat and is fully aware of his surroundings. His training has lead him down the path of being a marksman and is incredibly proficient in the field. His almost absolute reliance on guns have differentiated him slightly from many Huckebein Mk II M pilots.

Skills:
Outside of a PT, Niko is a proficient boxer. Having no way to replicate this skill inside of his PT, around the age of ten he picked up marksmanship. Having been a natural with a rifle and high impact revolvers the skill translated fairly well to his piloting. As mentioned above, Niko is fairly talented at reading lips, while he sometimes drops words here and there at a distance he is exceptionally good at keeping track of up to two speakers at once, his eyes flickering between the two. That being said he typically has to be fairly close to do so.

Inside of a PT Niko’s greatest skills are entwined with those outside of a PT. His ability to keep track of multiple things simultaneously has greatly affected his ability to utilize the Huckebein's flight in conjunction with his G-Revolvers. As such he uses the weaknesses of the Huckebein, specifically its lack of armour plating and durability to his advantage. Or rather, he is capable of fighting in a way that minimizes their weaknesses enough so that he does not need to concern himself with them. While he is a complicated and very versatile fighter, he is still young and lacks basic experience. As such he can make mistakes that originate from lack of knowledge.

As a hobby Niko also is a capable sartor, fairly commonly he stitches up his own clothing with little designs and even the odd smiley face.

Bio:
Niko was born in 167 SE and was raised in Southern Ontario, Canada. His parents were both immigrants. His father from Russia, and his mother from Japan. His father took his mother’s maiden name as his own when they married and as such Niko Hiruko was born. Niko was told by his father plenty of times during his upbringing that he was never to give up, as his life was a blessing. It was this mentality that carried Niko through multiple diagnoses and rallied him towards his life as a solider.

His father helped him undergo serious physical and mental training exercises that, while they were not formal PT training, would prepare him for the training he would later have to undergo. Though this was not his father’s intention as the suits had not yet been developed for mass use, Niko had always intended on joining the military. Though he did see men and women of the military as dogs on a leash, he also believed that it was the best way in ensuring the quality of life of those around him. He would later be proved unanimously correct in the coming struggles humanity would face.

When the DC War began Niko was actually quick to jump to the call. He was allowed into a formal training program with the Federation although there were large doubts about his capabilities as a solider for two primary reasons, his stature, and his deafness. He is a fairly short young man however he is boasts a strong physique. He claims he is simply late while waiting for his growth spurt, however who knows if this is true. However, throughout his training he was capable of proving himself through his firearms expertise and hand to hand combat. Even capable of harming opponents by using his deafness as a tool, say by firing weapons in close range – even without hitting a target. Through tactics like these he had proved himself a capable soldier.

It wasn’t until the L5 campaign that Niko would actually see deployment, however. During which he fought more than a few battles, his expertise in ranged combat with specific care to avoid loss of human life is what landed him the spot on the UTX. This tenuous peace is something Niko himself wants to preserve at all costs and as such he is willing to fight and die for the UTX.

Unit:
Huckebein MK-II M

Appearance:


Weapons:
Steel Knife
Kept on the right forearm of the suit.

60 mm Vulcan Guns
Mounted in the head area are a pair of small-caliber guns.

Giant Revolver x 2
Often shorted to 'G-Revolver', these two pistols fire large bullets and are the Mk. II M’s primary close range guns. They are capable
of being used at the same time. While looking like revolvers, they hold significantly more than six shots each and can be fired rapidly.

Boosted Rifle x 1
A sniper rifle-like weapon that fires solid rounds at a high velocity. It's capable at being used at a long range, and can pierce right through targets.

Rectangular Launcher
This large launcher is a standard weapon among all Huckebein MK-II Ms. It is a fairly large cannon that fires off huge rounds.

Chakram Shooter
A small disk with explosive teeth, referred to as a "Chakram" is stored in the left arm. It is guided and reeled back by a wire.

Equipment:
N/A

Notes:
A large mute symbol (speakers with a line through it) painted on the shoulders of the suit. As well as tattooed behind Niko's right ear.

Has a pair of 'Smart Glass' that transcript words in most languages into English text for Niko to read for use in large groups and in combat missions.

Name:
Makoto Mizushima

Gender:
Female

Appearance:


Age:
Nineteen

Job:
Earth Federation Army 2nd Lieutenant

Personality:
Makoto is not a particularly welcoming individual. Joyless, detached, even cold at times, she displays a distinct lack of sociability when surrounded by peers. Though she is never outright rude or impolite, the girl is always kurt and straightforward, with a disdain for the finer bits of social grace, the deceptions and posturing of it all. She is a perfectionist, demanding the best and accepting nothing less from herself or her peers. With a no nonsense approach to most things, she finds common cause with few individuals but those who impress her through strength of character or resolve. She has an appreciation for those who are straight to the point, valorous, strong in their convictions or simply dedicated to their pursuit of excellency. Those individuals may be lucky enough to gain her praise, be tolerated by her less than welcoming outlook, or see the smallest curl of a smile present itself on her perpetually downturned lips.

Skills:
Psychodriver: Makoto is a psycho driver of untested potential. To that end, she has an innate talent for piloting mech beyond her years and a certain instinctual ability to read her opponents' maneuvers and react accordingly.
Inquisitive Mind: A natural sponge for information, Makoto is always thirsty for tidbits of knowledge. Be they practical or mundane, she is a veritable encyclopedia of factoids, from the history of rice crackers to the maximum effective range of a Barrelion.

Biography:
Born to two fairly normal parents in Sakai, Japan, Makoto had a prosperous but uneventful childhood. A bright girl if single minded girl, she excelled in academics in her younger years, making her way through the top rankings of regional examinations during her middle and highschool years. With a keen interest in the sciences, she attended the university of Tokyo at age seventeen, during which the first truly vital discourse in her life occurred.

The knowledge that humanity was not alone among the stars, brought by the harbinger that was Meteor-3 spurned the world's brightest minds to come together, and form the Extra Over Technology Investigation Committee. Far from the titans of technology that made up its many members, the EOTI was always in need of those who proved capable to support its more menial endeavors. They looked to the world's universities, and among those chosen to join them was Makoto, under the guise of an internship at the prestigious Mao Industries.

In truth, her time there was not glamorous. The research on alien technology was done by the actual professionals, a laboriously slow process weighted down by bureaucracy, the bulk of which fell upon peons such as she to painstakingly weave through. It was not this work that proved a to set her on course for a far different life, however, but the people it put her close to.

Bian Zoldark was a brilliant man by all accounts, one to be admired by his academic merits alone. He was charismatic, kind, even inspiring. Despite his importance, the doctor spoke with Makoto on multiple occasions, lamenting the shackles placed upon he and his team, laying plain for her the importance of their research for the sake of mankind itself. For all it was worth, those small talks, those discussions inspired Makoto, to take on with vigor this important work despite how humdrum, and to pray that the development of this vital technology not stagnate as the doctor feared.

This inspiration would be what drove her into the ranks of the Divine Crusaders when Bian Zoldark defected from the EFA. Having witnessed over her years with the EOTI how dull their defenses against threats unimaginable had become, she wholeheartedly believed reformation by force necessary. Though but a girl of eighteen during her enlistment, she scored exceptionally high in the simulations and thus found herself quickly upjumped to the cockpit of a Lion during the opening blitz of the war.

A natural pilot, she scored many a small victory for the cause, cutting down tanks and fighters, even the occasion Personal Trooper, and rising within the ever evolving ranks of the DC's structure. Determined, devoted and dangerous within an AM, she was shocked to find that instead of being placed at the vanguard of the conflict, she was shuffled into the rear as the EFA began its counter attack to turn the tides.

The hurt of this demotion quickly faded, however, as she realized just what she was expected to guard. In the wake of bold EFA assaults, a battalion was formed to defend the Crusader's very creator, and the man whose passionate proclamation brought upon the fiery baptism engulfing Earth. This Last Battalion was compromised of aces from across the DC's forces, and the honor of serving in it was hers.

The closing months of the war were not so exciting as the bloody combat that had distinguished young Makoto, but she would yet see the last of the conflict. Spearheaded by the Hagane, the EFA broke the lines surrounding Aidoneus Island, the headquarters for Dr. Zoldark himself. As the last line between he and they, Makoto and her fellow battalion members launched forth to cease their advance in a climactic battle above Meteor-3 itself.

Skilled as she was, though, the Hagane's forces were her better. During the initial sortie, her Guarlion was severely damaged. Rounds penetrated deep into its frame, shattering the lining of her cockpit and causing its ejection protocol to malfunction. Though she cleared the wreckage of her crippled machine as it plunged into the ocean below, her pod could only sputter into an emergency landing along the shores of the island.

It was a mercy, perhaps. Laying wounded far from home, she was spared the fate of most her companions and Dr. Zoldark himself. Instead she sit, bloodied in a cockpit damaged beyond repair as the sky itself tore asunder and the awesome might of a Tronium Cannon ripped apart the land she had meant to return to. In the wake of the battle, her cockpit was recovered by the EFA forces surveying the island, and she was taken into custody for medical care and detainment.

A bittersweet fate, Makoto never got to see the fruits of Zoldark's ambitions. The L5 campaign was a success, the Aerogators repulsed by the very men and women forged in the fires of battles like the one upon Aidoneus. She spent the entirety of it at some military hospital, nursing a crushed leg and shrapnel from the inside of her cockpit.

Though many chose to fight onwards, Makoto herself realized that the events over Aidoneus, and the destruction of the Aerogators, had satisfied the wishes of the late doctor. Earth was strong now, hardened by war, bloodied but better for it. There was no more need for petty infighting. That knowledge led her to acceot the pardon and subsequent commissioning offered by her captors at the EFA. They were in need of seasoned pilots, and she had little quarrel in lending her aid over a prison sentence.

Besides, she had yet to test her metal against those damnable threats from beyond, and it so turned out a certain task force, looking to investigate just those threats, was in need of volunteers...

Unit:
RAM-004 Lion

Appearance:


Weapons:
Vulcan:
Body-mounted guns on the torso of the Lion for quick strafing attacks.
Homing Missiles:
A small salvo of long range missiles from an arm-mounted launcher.
Assault Blade:
A mecha-sized sword used for close-combat enemy encounters relying on motorized teeth, similar to the ones on a chainsaw.
Railgun:
A long range assault gun designed to easily penetrate enemy armor.

Equipment:
Thrusters:
Installed to increase the Lion's overall acceleration after complaints it was 'too slow'.

Notes:
Makoto walks with a limp, having sustained serious injury to her upper thigh when shrapnel shattered her bone. It is still healing.