Name: Elliot Gratsky
Species: Amasi (Appears Human)
Age: 28
Description: Elliot is - as stated - an Amasi, a being whose natural state is that of a collection of mist that holds intelligence throughout its many particles, capable of reshaping itself into numerous forms to interact with other beings. Mostly, this is done out of curiosity or necessity, but there are those who remain in a solid state for longer periods of time...which risks a condition known as Echoing, the state of being lost in the part, unable to remember that they are not what they appear to be. When an Amasi is in a free-floating state, it is a self-directing mist that has a somewhat predatory edge among its inquisitive intellect. Their culture revolves around the use of crystaline structures and the reshaping thereof for their needs, and their means of consuming is for the individual particles to effectively sandblast a living target and absorb the nutrition directly. They see the world in hues of infrared, sense it, and speak to each other in the mind only. HOWEVER, an Amasi taking upon the shape of another being is copying the functions to the hilt. As human, it functions as human, and so on.
Now, Elliot is what he is, but he is taking the form of a rugged six-foot human...and while he is NOT Echoing, he likes the human shape enough that he would only change out of it as a last resort. He prefers the
challenge of being a human, the satisfaction of achieving things as one. He is built like an army veteran, the build of a man who went through training, saw plenty of action, lived to tell about it, got out, and continued in both personal training and getting busy. As you can see, he has somewhat wild black hair with sideburns, hazel eyes, and some beard stubbling. He has no particular tattoos or markings, but he appears to smoke. Very often, you'll see him in dark clothes, fingerless gloves, military-grade body armor, maybe a helmet if he feels the need, and whatever odds and ends he needs to get to work. If you ever see him as an Amasi, you're seeing a gray and strangely purposeful cloud of mist, roughly to the mass of a human being or a bit more. As it's a mass of gestaulting particulates he is in that form, you can't just shoot him. You have to destroy his mass to do any harm.
Now, what's he like as a
person? Try to imagine the way Corporal Dwayne Hicks was in
Aliens. Of all the space marines in that movie, he was by far the most professional and serious one. He didn't lack for any individual character, but he put the mission before the jokes. Elliot is what Hicks would have been if he'd lived long enough to leave the service and go into business for himself. He is stern, does not pull punches, and gets to the point. Perhaps after the point is made, or if there isn't anything important to say, he'll lighten up. The job, though, comes first. It's a necessity, and necessity tells him how to operate, allows him to think outside the box and get creative in dealing with a situation. Because one thing he does NOT appreciate is any case - whether accidental or on purpose - is when he is backed into a corner. Common sense and forethought are his shield, suspicion and scrutiny his sword. Anger is his gun, carefully aimed and in short controlled bursts.
Weapons: Quite a number of things are stored in the Archer (His ship), but I'll stick to preferred weapons here.
All-Purpose Utility Hand-Cannon - This weapon is a rather weighty-looking pistol built for multiple forms of attack or utility use, based upon the intentions of the owner. It is fires clip-fed gauss pistol shots with its magnetic driver, or a front-loaded grappling hook with line-and-reel attachment, or any number of receptive grenades that can be attached to the front and then launched, or you can even just use the projected magnetic wave (short range only) to disrupt electronic equipment or knock a gun from someone's hand. It's a gun that delivers for many situations. Elliot has the full package, including a modest supply of fragmentation, incendiary, EMP, concussion, flashbang, and shaped stickybomb grenades. It IS kind of bulky for a handgun, but not much worse than a Desert Eagle...and frankly more dangerous than that.
The Crowd Pleaser - Perhaps a tribute to all Space Marines, the Crowd Pleaser is Elliot's custom-built heavy riot shotgun. It is a heavy-blasting, auto-loading, double-barreled phalanx-spreader designed to hit whatever's in its cone of fire with high-velocity flak designed to embed, to shred, and knock you right off of your feet. This has some degree of penetration into armor, but its primary effect is to give the user some space with the blowback, to allow you to keep a crowd at bay and pick off surviving targets while they are prone and more vulnerable to attack. The ammunition is customized from full particle phalanx cannon ammo to allow a non-heavy weapon to carry extremely harmful ammunition. The Crowd Pleaser is built from a current-gen riot shotgun and is therefore able to take normal, solid, and exploding slugs, propelled at greater velocities than a 20th Century varient using today's often-used magnetic drivers.
Paladin Armor - Elliot wears a para-military fullbody armor with internal composites and external metallics to allow for tough protection that keeps him relatively flexible and able to move in combat. It also insulates him from any electrical hazards that might occur as a result of any metal part coming in contact with him. This is an infantry model armor which allows him the full range of motion while reading his every movement to deliver extra force at key points via sensors. The Paladin Armor is a protective suit, and a combat suit. Thus, while it isn't a powerarmor, it has output points for a marginal output concussive pulse to allow for stronger hits, improved agility and running speed, and incoming impact force reduction to minimize the concussive force of an attack. Its subtlety allows for its greater strength. Comes with wrist computer for tactical displays and unit coordination (or whatever you program in there), communication system, and proximity alert system to warn of incoming targets.
Skills: As an Amasi, Elliot is capable of stripping the flesh from any exposed target he comes across and can take any number of shapes, though it's limited to his relative mass. However, he is largely not in it to do things that way, so let us focus on what he can do as
Elliot.
What he is capable of is peak soldiering with an impressive tactical ability based largely on necessity. He does what works best, no distraction, for his goals in mind. He has a very strong will and highly resistant to pain. Being not actually human, the one thing he can't NOT have is the ability to mentally disconnect that certain people have to make the pain seem like it's elsewhere and not here. He is capable of wielding about any military-grade weapon you put in his hands and capable enough with machinery...since he has his own ship to maintain.
One thing of importance. While Elliot does not have to be in charge, he is good at it. He sees a problem and he deals with it, and he can back up whatever he thinks is the right idea, if asked. He has no stirring NEED to be in charge, but regardless of what position he IS in...he does have one subbordinate, regardless. Sort of.
Bio: As far as YOU know, his name is Elliot, but...
He is, as you know, an Amasi. He can mist, he can talk telepathically (to his own kind), he can see infrared in mist-form, etc. That is how he was before he took on a human form. Who he was and what he did while ON Amasis remains unknown, as it is far more interesting to note his behavior in leaving the homeworld. Curious of lesser species as they are, members of the Amasi do not ordinarily hop aboard a ship and ask for a ride to the nearest station. However, this is the case for one Elliot Gratsky, who simply walked up to a ship that'd made planetfall and said "'Bout goddamn time somebody showed up. I've been coolin' my jets long enough here. Mind giving me a lift?". He explained that his ship had suffered a terrible malfunction from a faulty engine core and he had to bail out before it went critical, and then landed on Amasis in the survival pod. His longterm survival came in bartering away whatever the Amasi were interested in and answering whatever questions he could in order to stay on their good side. He explained that it just barely worked.
Stories aside, Elliot got into outer space and quietly soaked in every detail he could without arousing suspicion. So, this was life in space. Intriguing. The more he got into it, the more he wanted to make this life his own, pursue something for himself, and most of all enjoy what he was doing. As a predatory being, he naturally gravitated towards jobs that involved inflicting pain and/or death for a profit. It started small with simple jobs. As his experience in a human form grew, so did his capabilities to hunt down and deal with different and more high-profile foes. There was no form of contract he would not pursue on the matter, unless it just wasn't feasible for him. Curiously enough, though he had - by this time - retained his physical form for some years, he had not been Echoing, lost in the part. He simply enjoyed the exercise, the challenge, and the experience. It was in this manner that Elliot Gratsky became fairly well-known in bounty hunter and mercenary circles, enough so that he could begin to aim higher and acquire a team. The type of team, though, had to be acceptable to his way of doing things. He didn't have time to ease them into his life. They had to hit the ground running.
It's not as though he were broadcasting the fact that he wanted a team, but sometimes people had asked to run with him and he turned 'em down because they were looking to ride his coat-tails, not pull their own weight. He needed an associate who could keep up, and the first one that seemed to know the score was Grace Hart. He didn't ask if that was her real name or what someone like her was doing at his end of the galaxy. She looked tough, she had skills, and she was willing to get her hands dirty. How did he know? There was this guy he had to find, just a hoodlum with an amped-up body carving people apart with a special knife. After tracking him down to his usual 'hunting ground', Elliot found him fruitlessly batting at a ball of light with his weapon. It seemed confusing at first, but then he remembered reading about the Ignis and their own morphing ability...from their natural state (Light) to a physical form (Often human). This ball of light flitted around until it became a young lady kicking the guy's head from below the chin in such a way that she snapped the poor bugger's neck. Once he fell, Elliot knew he had a good applicant in Grace.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Name: Grace Hart
Species: Ignis (Appears Human)
Age: 21
Description: Well, that depends. Like Elliot, she has two actual forms. There's a great deal of strangeness out in the 'verse. Ignis are human-like beings whose minds have developed to direct and form energies conforming to the use of light. They became known as the Ignis as members of the race began to change into hovering light forms (roughly spherical, essentially transforming their bodies into masses of free-floating charged ions). This, and other lesser feats, are all skills that
Grace has command of through several years of use in order to survive. And when she is not in the form of a white ball of light that is 2-3 feet in diameter, she is a slim if slightly-curvy athlete with shoulder-length white hair and silver eyes. No marks, scars, or tattoos...but she DOES have an occular implant which I will get to later.
Grace is at least a head shorter than Elliot, and she seems ultimately more vulnerable, physically. This is true, but misleading. She is quicker than him, more lithe and agile, more flexible. In all the ways his durability would make him somewhat lacking, she excells in. And while there is nothing wrong with his eyesight, her sight and concentration to a task are stronger, a singular focus that is extremely hard to break...since it is her species which is more capable of distraction. You find her in either unimpressive casual clothes when not doing something important or in a combat sneak suit made for quiet and unimpeded motion with full flexibility and light protection in mind.
In general, Grace is a rather quiet person who keeps to herself. She is attentive and always keeping a close eye on her surroundings, but it is not in her nature to speak up unless it is important. She is soft-spoken, but audible enough - say, for instance - to be heard via personal commlinks in the heat of battle. It's clear that Grace is both a survivor and harbors some resentment towards her parents, as 'Grace Hart' is unlikely to be her real name. She is highly competent on her own, but tends to follow the lead of Elliot Gratsky. Grace seems to prefer working with him and rarely voices an objection to his decisions. She will show initiative if action is needed, however, and will do what is necessary without hesitation. The only question is what she won't do to bring about a satisfactory conclusion to a job. On a lighter side...Grace does possess a sense of humor, and demonstrates a talent for slight of hand.
Weapons: Once again, a number of things may be found aboard the Archer, but for now...
Eagle Talon Sniper Rifle - It was inevitable, with the world of munitions moving on, that someone would make the most dangerous of long distance weapons even more so. The Talon is a rail-sniper rifle using magnetically-driven velocity to project armor piercing or explosive rounds over a great distance with extreme force. The ammo slugs have been rated as heavy anti-armor ordinance fired from a weapon that is only marginally heavier from a mil-spec gauss rifle. This is due to the fact that the Eagle Talon IS an mil-spec gauss rifle, with an upgraded magnetic driver which works harmoniously with the detachable sniper barrel Thus, you have your sniper rifle AND your mid-range killing machine without it being overly cumbersome in battle.
Molecular Knife - Because she is not physically strong, Grace makes use of a knife in combat as a means of protection and execution in close quarters. Her weapon is essentially a standard combat knife in design, crafted from strong alloys with a decent insulated grip (All of their equipment is insulated.) and a laser-sharpening to the width of a molecule for swift and deadly cuts.
Occular Implant - Grace and Elliot tend to engage in alot of bounty hunting, it pays to have an implant directly into the eye that gives her all the relevent information posted officially about a target or piece of equipment. It also functions as a basic HUD and connects to displays aboard the Archer, should it be needed. It's a generally useful bit of support equipment.
Snake Suit - While she is unaware of the REASON it's called a Snake Suit, this sneak suit is made of a mesh of impact-reduction fibers that grant a certain amount of low-profile protection...although it's design is really for reducing the noise of all actions and to allow for a full range of motion in the user, though there is some additional padding inside of the suit in key places.
Skills: Grace DOES make use of her abilities, so here goes...
An Ignis' primary ability is be able to transform from a humanoid form to a hovering ball of light that moves around pretty much like a Will-of-the-Wisp and doesn't have much of a physical presence while in that state. Apart from that, she is capable of creating disturbances and distractions made entirely of light or distort the light to render her invisible to one's own sight. All of this requires concentration (which she has in spades), and therefore would stop if it were broken somehow.
Grace is a capable survivalist and more aware of her surroundings than even Elliot, who is essentially a military-level professional in that regard. She has learned this through years of basically having to survive on the streets with litle more than a knife, her wits, and a liberal use of her powers. The last part really helps, but it doesn't allow you to live alone like that withou the rest. Her quiet and her focus also lend a hand in all of her tasks, leading her to be able to surprise people with ease.
Bio: Saving Grace.
Her real name is not, and never was, Grace Hart. Before she took that name, she was an Ignis living on Throne with her parents. That is...until she was 18, where they unceremoniously kicked her out when the household developed financial problems. How that exactly transpired, we may never know, because Grace doesn't talk about it. On the day she was disowned by her parents, she did not even look back. Changing her name and identity was an act of a clean break, and while she had little-or-nothing to her name, Grace was a survivor. It wasn't 'at all costs', but it was going to be to the disadvantage of anyone who decided to give her any trouble. She used her abilities as an Ignis to her advantage. Ignis enjoy a certain level of psychic power and light manipulation, especially in the area of transformation to and from balls of light and rendering themselves invisible regardless of form. Because of this, it was actually a bit easy to gain the bare essentials of life.
The real kicker was during one day where, in the midst of her daily routine, she was almost blindsided by a man with a wild look in his eye and a wicked curved blade. He was just a wandering killer with augmentation, the kind that kill for the hell of it. They'd never seen each other, nor was he the associate of anyone she had stolen from or gotten into a fight with before. This encounter was completely at random, which was a shame because the hoodlum decided that Grace should be his next victim. Sadly, for him, he had no idea what he was dealing with. In light form, his knife was completely useless against her, and she led him around like a cat chasing a laser pointer light. After a little of this, he seemed suitably distracted, which was when she RE-manifested in a position to kick up into his head in a manner that thrust it back hard and fast enough to snap it and kill him instantly.
The next thing she heard was "Damn, that was good.", and there was a black-haired man in body armor with a couple of weapons on hand. None of them were being pointed at her, so she relaxed. He introduced himself as Elliot Gratsky, a Bounty Hunter. She gave him her name - the name she'd been using - and asked him what he wanted. He said "To tell you the truth, I was hunting that guy down. You just earned yourself a chunk of change without even knowing it.", and then suggested that maybe she should put her talents to good use the way he did, maybe even work together. He didn't outright say it, because he didn't want to take credit for her kill, but he implied that they could do well as a team. She understood this and agreed, and ever since they have done just that. Sometimes, Grace wonders just what Elliot is to her. They work together, they trust each other, and they respect each other's privacy without issue. In the end, there was only one answer. He's Elliot, and that's all that matters.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Name: The Archer (or just Archer)
Type: Skuld-Class GunshipDetails: The Archer is a medium range swift attack ship refitted for long range travel. As the home away from home for Elliot and Grace, who have no other home to begin with, its purposes are largely in support and transport, though it is made for quick darting combat with an enemy, having a relatively small profile when faced head-on. This is, strictly speaking, a small vessel...but it has been equipped to support several beings, longterm. It houses a modest fighting ability, decent acceleration to avoid getting hit in ship-to-ship combat, sensory array, armaments, and reasonably-sized load of weapons for the traveling mercenary. This vessel IS capable of both docking and planetfall, though the stabilizers are generally retracted during flight.
Weapons:Mid-Range 'Riot Blast' Missle Pod - Located in the forward section behind an armored doorplate. It's made to slide open, fire the missles, slide shut, load more missles into the rack. Count is six missles per rack, usually two reloads and nothing special about the missle heads, apart from the usual target locking ensemble.
Long-Range 'Hull Piercer' Railgun - Mounted below the missle pod in a similar fashion, contained inside an armored plate until used. It is a railgun equipped to fire slugs with shaped charged designed to puncture hulls with great accuracy. Design specs allow it to carry a maximum of ten shots (must be reloaded outside combat).
Mid-Range Gauss Turrets - Being a gunship, it has a number (eight) of exterior-mounted turrets made to lock on a target, offensively or defensively, and open fire. They're bulk suppression cannons, not particularly powerful, but useful in a group. Guidance by computer targeting.
Mid-Range Decoy Missles - Small-but-numerous missles launched from four side-mounted missle launchers, designed mainly to gain the attention of seeking/targeting weapons and, with their erratic flight patterns, draw their fire.
Cargo: This is essentially a basic rundown of their extra supplies.
The Archer carries a supply of food and water suitable for a small group over a period of a week (apart from the water recycling system). It also houses other basic necessities for life in space which we need not list.
There is a weapons lock-up for spare armaments to be used in the field. As opposed to their custom weapons, these are more standard issue, a number of them claimed from the battlefield after taking down targets. These include at least a few examples of the current-gen gauss rifle, gauss pistol, combat knives, grenades, demo-charges and explosives...and to a lesser extent, a couple of grenade launchers and sniper rifles.
Similar can be said of basic combat armor and helmets, but not so many of that since a fair amount of those tend to get wrecked in the field from the death of their targets.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>EXTRAS:During the first mission of the roleplay, Elliot and Grace picked up THESE gems...
M41A Pulse Rifle w/Launcher
M41B 'Variable Phase' Plasma Rifle
Cobra Assault Rifle and Ammunition
Wrist-Mounted Paladin Shields
Murdock Heavy-Caliber and Drone Bullets
Skuld-Class Gunship Turret Ammunition (Exploding, Heavy-Piercing, EMP Disabler)
Hull-Piercer Railgun Ammunition
Riot-Blast Missle Pod Packets (Six Missle Packets)
Demo-Packs with Remote Triggers
...because, of course, they didn't trust their employers, and rightly so. Hence, the soaking for equipment.
Also important is the fact that these two are on payroll to look after Mary Williams, thanks to her brother.
-The Williams Family-
(Father) Admiral Douglas S. Williams [Ret.]
(Mother) Vice Admiral Elizabeth D. F. Williams [CO, TGRN Base Aetna (The Grand Republic's main R&D base)]
(Sister) Rear Admiral, Lower Half Victoria F. Williams [CO, Heavy Task Force 762]
(Brother) Captain Henry S. Williams [CO, TGRNS Somme Battle-class Heavy Cruiser]
