DISCLAIMER: YOU ARE ALLOWED TO CONTROL A SINGLE CHARACTER FOR NOW. THIS MAY CHANGE WITH TIME.
NAME::
SPECIES: (Human, alien, machine? You are allowed to create your own species too).
AGE: (Please do not put in creepily underage characters.)
FACTION ALIGNMENT: (Are they with the Gnosis Eater Sect? The Dolsilvec Regime? The Unified Celestial League? The Carnazir? The Zrovreni Solar Revolutionary Pact? An independent agent or from another faction altogether?)
HEIGHT/WEIGHT (OPTIONAL):
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: (Reference images not mandatory but helpful)
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION: (A paragraph minimum. Who are they, where did they come from, why are they fighting, all that good stuff.)
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT: (Why were they selected for such a dangerous mission? It is advised to include their greatest strengths here. A paragraph minimum.)
WEAKNESSES: (Minimum of four. Can be physical, psychological, strategic, training-related, etc.)
SKILLS AND TRAINING: (What are some things your character was taught, programmed to know, genetically inherited, etc.? Things such as first aid, hacking, survival, tracking, alien languages, demolitions, martial arts and so on are included here. Training is essentially how your character fights; are they a long range sniper, a close-in assault trooper, a sneaky saboteur?)
LOADOUT: (This includes your weaponry and any equipment you are taking with you. You are allowed a maximum of three ranged weapons starting out and two melee ones. Other weapons such as grenades, timed explosives, and mines you can larger number of. In the case of gear such as portable turrets, drones, and living creatures, you are typically limited to at most two. Typically non-combat equipment such as medits, repair tools, tracking devices, and so on you are allowed more leeway with. Armour and such unsurprisingly is typically limited to one... unless say, you're some bizarre multi-bodied organism or something. Remember, you can acquire more weapons and equipment with time.)
AUGMENTATIONS: (Does your character have any notable upgrades to their default bodily capabilities? These can include cybernetic, ethereal, and biological implants or devices of note as opposed to general performance enhancers that grant them additional abilities, enhance their default bodily capabilities, or even network with their gear and armour. If your character is partially cybernetic, a lab grown bio-entity, naturally possessing ethereal internal components by default and so on, these would be the last major augmentations they acquired.)
ETHEREOLOGY: (Is your character capable of manipulating unearthly currents of power from the dimension known as the Abzu? Maybe even those from The Abyssic Plane? This is the series' version of magic. If so, describe how they care capable of doing such. Provide a few examples of this if possible and the role it fulfills for them.)
PERKS: (Perks are special abilities that are unique to the species your character is. Each species has three and you are allowed to have all of them. They can include having certain weapons only they are capable of using, creating specialized minions to assist you in battle, or increasing your proficiency in piloting certain vehicles among others. You may also have one additional perk of your own but it must not overlap with a pre-existing one for any of the major species)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: A relatively large military man, broad shoulders hairy chest noncom style. White skin tones with various farmer tan lines, thick muscles that aren't really visible because it looks like he is just a fucking tree trunk of a human man. Square jaw faces brown hair, with a stubble covering his face. His eyes are a dark blue/green color.
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION:
Long ago, maybe sixteen years back, a man enlisted into some rebellions army, mainly as a militiaman, to fight against those attacking his people. Lying about his age and managing to get past technology by the fact that his people just needed raw recruits for defense, he was able to join in the ranks. Not much is known about his people, but this is how he was brought into the ZSRP's army later in his life, where he distinguished himself and was able to excel in his ability as a leader and engineer.
Bravery and saving those around him were his top priorities. The lives of his comrades were key to his mission, and he followed through almost every time. Thankfully his career was simpler and easier than most; he was focused on engineering building things, demolishing those that weren't safe and up to standard. He did play combat roles though, such as building bridges in combat zones or demolishing undetonated ordinance. He has even been with nuclear devices before.
But this lead to the one stain on his record, which was the destruction of a habitation block in a city, it was partially occupied by civilians, himself, and several members of his unit. Out of six hundred, he was one of twelve alive. Six months later, his last deployment was over and he was asked to retire instead of reenlisting. He sadly took to this but found himself working for various mercenary companies finding jobs similar to what he did originally, with a local militia. He did get an offer one day, which he took, it was a role for a demolition specialist to travel to sites and keep them out of various entities' hands.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT: Last resort operative, if during the risk of being overrun, this individual is meant to destroy all artifacts to prevent capture from enemy forces. Also useful for getting into areas, fixing various machines, and safe passage of various terrains. Easy to manipulate into working, and good track records help as well.
WEAKNESSES:
- Xenophobia/Untrusting - those around him either have to be good friends or a human from his culture group. It is extremely hard for him to trust individuals outside of his comfort zone. In hindsight, he is an amazing individual physically and strategically in an army where he knew almost everyone. Still, in an environment surrounded by others, he is out of his league.
- Visually impaired - Early in his military career, he was hit off his ass. He wasn't hurt much, but it raddled his eyes a bit and caused him to lose focus. If it wasn't for his suit and optical aids in combat, his maximum sight for a person would be 25m before they began blurring in completely with their surroundings.
- PTSD/Black-out rage - One of the reasons he was asked to leave the military once his contract ran out, they wanted to give honor to him before they would be forced to discharge him. In the heat of the main battle, he gets into it, and it may lead to those who are not looking like the soldiers he used to fight with getting shot in the back. It is on his record as having a form of PTSD, but he has not had a major public attack.
- White Knight Mentality - this is either a weakness or a strength depending on who you talk to; he is a champion of those around him and a stalwart defender of his allies and the weak. (mainly humans) He will risk his own life to defend an individual in need of help, for as long as they survive, his job is finished.
- Etherless - His soul and body are not fit for Ether, it has some inherent ether in it, but it can't be used effectively, so he is afraid of it and works against it.
SKILLS AND TRAINING: Leadership at a squad level Demolitions and Engineering training Subdermal Network Layer - Infecting with heavy equipment. Basic flight school (dropped out) Heavy Machinery/vehicle training Heavy Assault training Basic military training (Survival, first aid, basic martial arts, rifleman training, basic entrenching/camo)
LOADOUT: Heavy Assault Power-armor - Modified with extra plates and materials that block ether abilities that come into contact with it. It's meant to take a lot of damage, and as long as there are plates to replace damaged ones, then it could last pretty much forever. The mechanics may need to be tuned up and oiled, but they are shock resistant for the most part and able to take blows. Small bits are added on, such as a slot for the brace of large armored riot shields on the left arm—a magnetic belt for sidearms, ammunition, grenades, and a knife. The back has another magnetic slot for a backpack/canisters.
Magnetic Shield - A thick shield that is meant for breaching heavily armed individuals locked inside an enclosed area. Six and a half feet tall, two feet wide, and six inches thick of corrosive resistant metal. The lower side of the shield has shock-absorbing wheels for debris and easier movements. It has a mount for a heavy weapon its the tt, and a small holster for a close-quarters weapon.
Heavy Assault Rifle - A large-caliber assault rifle with a 30 round magazine side, can feed belts as well. 18-inch barrel, and a mounting lug for various attachments on the undercarriage of the barrel. x6 20 round magazines x2 160 round belts
5 shot shotgun- A 12 gauge short barrel shotgun that comes with the shield. x15 buck-shot x5 breeching slugs x15 flechette rounds
Broken Blaster pistol - A pistol based around energizing particles of the air and propelling it forward. It had shattered upon impact under the weight of his armor. x 5 power packs
Knife - A thick bladed multipurpose item, fit for him compared to his armor, it is a standard length knife with a locking lug to become a bayonet if needed.
Frag Grenade x 5 - standard grenades
Stun/Flash Grenade x 3 - Standard stun grenade
Incendiary grenade x 2 - Similar to thermite, meant for destroying weapons.
Backpack - A metal box with various compartments and magnetic locking lugs on the side to hold various equipment
Toolset - A standard toolset, with a shovel and a portable welder/cutter
Explosive set x8 - Salvageable explosives blocks and detonators. Similar to C4 explosives.
Most equipment is lost in transit, unable to find a portable crate.
Portable crate x2 Explosive sets x 30 Armor Plate replacements x 50 Replacement parts for armor Food, hygiene equipment, extra clothing Medical Pack Ammunition for rifle x 8 20 round Magazines x 4 160-Belts worth of belt lugs x rounds 6,000
Ammunition for Shotgun x 400 buckshot x 400 Flechette x 50 breeching rounds x 500 slugs x 120 incendiary rounds
Pistol Ammunition x 20 power packs x1 power pack recharging set w/ micro solar panels and hand-crank
AUGMENTATIONS: Subdermal Network Layer - This is mainly to interface with equipment and better transportation modes.
ETHEREOLOGY: NA
PERKS: Anti-Ether armor - A set of armor wrapped in a material that is resistant to most Ether types, able to cut off teleportation behind him and most attacks from in front of him.
Future Tank Destroyer - Tactics based on tank destroyers of ancient times, frontal armor meant to take any attack with great offensive ability in one direction in front of him. Getting on his sides or behind him is the best way to end the fight.
Engineer - To build, you must clear the land. A demolition expert and fortifications expert, he can destroy any fortification given he can get close to it or has artillery/air support. Then proceed to build something better, or a bridge over the crater. Mcgyver would be proud of the solutions to his problems.
Before being incorporated by the GES he worked for an independent owner of a Mega-Corporation. He has no ties to any governments and is disinterested in each faction's games.
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’2, 120kg’s (accounting for cybernetic parts)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION:
Silver was born in the Void, though where, when or to what family within the mysterious race he does not know.
During a run through the edges of Pact space, his ship ran too close to a patrol for their liking. In the ensuing engagement Silver’s ship was destroyed, along with a decent portion of his natural born body. Whether it was through some series of luck, ether or natural ability, Silver clung to life and was picked up by a large time scavenging corporation.
Recognising the value in even a partially intact Voidhanger, they stabilised Silver and kept him alive long enough to put him on the black market. There he was bought by parties unknown with the intention to sell him as an exotic trophy in order to seal an upcoming corporate merger. The majority shareholder of the mega-corporation was known to be an eccentric trillionaire, Nolan Grimes.
Though instead of adding Silver to his xenogenic collection, Nolon saw a different kind of purpose. He had heard the rumors of the Voidhangers and was well aware of their strange connection to the Ether (a subject that fascinated him more so). As a result, Silver was imbued with cybernetics, redesigning his internal structure, parts of his arms, part of his skull and completely rebuilding the lower half of his body.
Why Silver was able to retain his own mind and not be constrained in any manner is a question that the Voidhanger still asks himself even today. Regardless he was brought back better and stronger than ever. He spent the next several years training and actively engaging in corporate espionage and assassinations. Always corporate and never political, Silver (Nicknamed Silvershot), stayed out of the limelight creating an infamous name for himself.
Though he has never met any Voidhangers, he has grown not to care for the galaxy's politics or wars, he simply exists for the function he was brought back to do. For the longest time Silver believed himself to be without attachment and even without feeling, allowing himself to get lost in the cold calculation and logic needed to be an assassin.
This was until his contract was sold. It was an odd mission, his employer tasked him with stealing documents from the GES. What the documents contained Silver didn’t ask, he never did, but he infiltrated the black site with success. Not saying it was easy but he pulled it off without the operation going south, retrieving the documents and relaying them back to Nolan.
It was only when Nolan’s deal with unknown parties went south that the GES came knocking. Though instead of vengeful reprimand, they brought a deal, access to information about certain Archaeotech projects in exchange for Silver’s contract. Nolan didn’t even blink before signing him over. And there began a new life for the assassin, though how long it would last is anyone's best guess.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT:
Even before his heist at the Gnosis black site, Silver’s infamous reputation was well known within the corporate and even political world. Rumours swelled throughout the communities with some stating the man glides through the thickest of walls and others believing he can morph into existence through any shadow cast.
In reality the Voidhanger has honed his ability to slip into the Ether and is now attempting to learn how to blink,. His preferred method of assassination is ship to ship, piloting a small stealth craft and pulling off otherwise impossible maneuvers to be able to reach his targets in the black of space using his natural space immunities.
Though considering how this mission is shaping up, maybe the GES were still sore about the heist and that’s why he’s here. Regardless, nothing matters, not to Silver, the goals haven’t changed, only the path to get there.
WEAKNESSES:
Unknowingly to Silver, his biggest weakness is actually psychological. Not knowing his kind, years upon years of shutting down his emotions and a final betrayal of the only father figure he ever knew has left him rattled. Everything is starting to bubble to the surface leading to a potential explosion or collapse.
This, in turn, is affecting his ethereal abilities. The rush of emotion causes him to lose focus and make mistakes, either leading him to spend too long in the sub-dimension or causing real world consequences.
Another weakness is working within a team. Silver has never had to co-exist or work alongside anyone, he has no experience in this area and is not overly fond of the idea. The work he produces is like an operation or a delicate artform, others detract from this.
Combat wise, Silver is not built for frontal assaults or dug in grunt warfare. His armour is light and built with stealth in mind. He can slip in and through enemy lines but leading a charge across no man’s land is basically suicide.
Finally his immune system on planets is still subpar, though his cybernetic enhancements overcome the most severe repercussions, his natural born immunity deficiencies (planet side) still come into play now and then. If unfocused and untreated, they can become a real problem.
SKILLS AND TRAINING: Silver has excellent knowledge in the following areas:
Long range sniper Hand to hand combat Swordsmanship/daggers Throwing knives (and variations of) Deception skills/lying Natural born ethereal abilities
He also has a decent knowledge in the following:
Explosives Tracking Languages of the UCL Healing/repairing himself (and himself only) Cybernetics/robotics Programming Piloting small ships
LOADOUT:
Camouflage ability “invisibility cloak” more like translucent, so still partially visible Suit is solar powered AI scout drone (in built into the suit, can help with repairs to suit/cybernetics) Silenced High Impact Sniper Silenced pistol Small Ammo pack with 3 mags for the rifle and 4 mags for the pistol
AUGMENTATIONS:
Shoulder mounted darts (stun and poison) Cybernetic filter system “Hidden blade” wrists that can be removed and thrown, suit can manufacture more from scrap metal Right hand has an EMP charge, not powerful enough to take down full power armour but can fry vital circuits if placed in the correct spot, or override door panels etc. Knock out gas left hand HUD interface Powerful legs Thrusters for jumps or movement in space, cannot fly
ETHEREOLOGY:
Silver, although he had no training from other Voidhangers, has honed his natural abilities over a much longer time period. He is able to heal his flesh and fade out of existence in the physical plane. He can reach the full minute before needing to return.
He’s also pushing himself to learn how to blink. He has learned to do it over less than a meter but struggles to move further.
PERKS:
Silver has the Unearthly Resilience and Traveller of Outer Realms abilities. He has also kept a hold of his defence shield, not needing to improve it in any way.
FACTION ALIGNMENT: Dolsilvec Regime, formerly(?) Zrovreni Solar Revolutionary Pact.
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 9’4’’, 430 kg.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Zsresrinn’s massive arthropodal body has an oblong and rounded shape, rather similar to that of a flea. While not exceptionally tall for a vrexul, she is remarkably bulky, with a broad, imposing frame and cords of semi-synthetic muscle rippling underneath her carapace. A number of her limbs have been surgically and augmentically altered, as well as supplemented with prosthetic grafts, so as to allow her to stand almost upright on the lower pairs alone, leaving the others free for combat or other tasks. Indeed, her forelimbs are clearly divided into different categories specialised for various functions, from long scything ones clearly designed for attack to clusters of small and slender ones for fine manipulation. Her naturally grey segmented shell is overlaid with heavy plates of cybernetic armour fastened to her body, which occasionally slide about and rearrange themselves to ease her movements. Small openings line her flanks for parasitic vermin to exit her body, occasionally flaring and crackling with cold grey-blue light from her integrated evrzedigor mote.
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION:
Zsresrinn was hatched in a hive-city of the Ugnosk Global Concord, an ex-colonial planetary nation-state in the outer galactic regions and a member of the Zrovreni Pact. Although touting itself as a free, fluid society where each could flourish in accordance with their merits and abilities, in opposition to the stagnant and exploitative - or so the news broadcasts went - League, the truth was a less presentable one. One among the Pact’s more unscrupulous allies, the Concord’s government practiced subtle techniques of indoctrination on its population, inconspicuously directing its members along paths calculated to benefit the central authority first and foremost. The vrexul were especially vulnerable to this, due to their high exposure to information technology during their education; their training modules were often inseminated with subliminal stimuli and memetic keys to ensure their views and perceptions remained agreeable to the Concord’s leaders.
Such was also Zsresrinn’s lot. Noted for showing exceptional physical fitness even among her kind already at the larval stage, after pupation she was exposed to materials that insidiously built up an optimistic view of a military career in her mind, and, believing to be acting on her own will, enlisted in Ugnosk’s armed forces on reaching adulthood. Despite the Concord’s obfuscation, its claims of rewarding merit had at least a grain of truth to them. As Zsresrinn distinguished herself in her early deployments, first on peacekeeping duty, then on operations against rogue militias and the occasional League advance unit, she received a number of commendations, though never truly rose through the ranks due to her lack of command aptitude.
Eventually, she was recommended to one of the Pact’s many armed organisations, and left Ugnosk to travel the wider galaxy as a special combat operative. The bulk of her military experience comes from those years, fighting the League, separatist groups, hostile local regimes and more on hundreds of battlefields. She never spared much thought to the greater ideals she was supposedly fighting for, beyond a basic understanding of why this or that enemy needed to be opposed; battle was quite simply her element, perhaps due to residual indoctrination from her youth, or perhaps due to a real inclination of hers. During that time, she visited the first landing sites of the vrexul repeatedly, growing more and more fascinated with her people’s history and its riddle, and in time the mysterious deliberations of the Evzredigor bestowed her with one of its fragments.
Shortly before war broke out on Chalgeol, Zsresrinn, along with a number of other vrexul, was assigned to assist the Dolsilvec Regime, largely as a political gesture, a show of both support and force. Although never formally decommissioned from the Pact (not in the least because the groups she had worked with had always been rather light on formality) and not truly subordinate to the Regime’s officers, they nevertheless often found themselves “strongly advised” on their deployments. Being a voirvorde, Zsresrinn was attached to a classified research program on esoteric technology, in the hopes that the unique way in which the semi-etheric evzredigor fragment merged in her body would provide useful insights. However, little progress was made before the civil war escalated. The program was eventually disbanded, and Zsresrinn returned to the frontlines to battle the Carnazir over a grueling decade, before a task of great importance was suddenly found calling for someone with an unusual set of skills.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT:
Zsresrinn is first and foremost a combatant, with tremendous innate strength, decades of experience and a whole armament of military augmentations and weaponry. As one of the relatively few vrexul troops fighting for the Regime, she represents one of the heaviest concentrations of raw destructive power in a single body at its disposal, making her a prime choice for a compact security detail to both protect against hostile forces and safeguard its interests from opposing parties if needs be. Additionally, being an evzredigor host and having a however slight acquaintance with void-technology research, it is believed she may at the same time be able to interpret some of the data at the objective site.
WEAKNESSES:
Heavyset: Built as a colossus and loaded with heavy armour and weaponry, it’s little wonder that Zsresrinn is not very mobile, either in or outside combat conditions. While it is difficult to make her budge from a point she has entrenched herself in, the same applies to her as well, and her movement is plodding and unwieldy. In addition, being large and slow makes her a very inviting target to any enemy with a minimum of accuracy.
Up Close and Personal: Compounding the problems of her poor mobility, Zsresrinn is very limited in her ability to strike at foes at longer ranges. Besides low-accuracy suppressive fire, there is not much she can bring to bear against more elusive targets.
Grunt: Never one very gifted for tactical thinking, serving as a specialised combat operative used to working with supporting elements has left Zsresrinn with little experience in independently coming up with solutions to complications in the field. Unless someone more capable takes the lead, her only response to most situations is stubbornly forcing her way through them with brute strength.
Ravenous Metabolism: The larger a being is, the more energy it expends, and the vrexul are no exception. Though a host to internal symbiotic cultures that can hold off the worst pangs of starvation for some time, Zsresrinn needs to regularly consume large amounts of nutrition to remain healthy and active, and her swarm of parasitic organisms only adds to the number of mouths to feed.
Ape shall not kill Ape: Unless they are renegades who have clearly betrayed the Orphan Fleet and sided with those who sought to destroy the Evzredigor, Zresrinn is extremely reluctant to fight other vrexul and praolznevatz. Even if coming under their fire in the heat of battle, she will avoid dangerously injuring them as far as she is able, believing that the bonds among their kind should transcend inconstant political allegiances.
SKILLS AND TRAINING:
A veteran warrior, Zsresrinn excels in close-quarters combat and terrain interdiction. She has mastered the skill of making the most of her many powerful limbs to strike and grapple multiple smaller enemies at once, or even latch onto and claw away at larger and armoured targets. While unable to match the raw strength of opponents like unztadlige or mechanical vehicles, by striking at weak spots with her claws and weapons she can become a threat even for more imposing foes. Her skills likewise include entrenching herself in vantage points and pinning down hostile activity through sweeping fire and blocking chokepoints.
Beyond her combat experience, Zsresrinn is skilled in surveillance and area defence, as well as, to a lesser extent, military equipment maintenance, field medical care (mostly for vrexul anatomy) and foraging.
LOADOUT:
Hellhammer: Distinctive vrexul heavy weapon, and a personal favourite. Carrying 2,000 standard anti-materiel rounds.
Inferno beam emitter: High-yield energy weapon capable of melting through armour, but with high dispersion and drastically less effective at long range. Carrying two reserve power packs, can be internally recharged at the cost of metabolic activity.
Dauvnil Spineblaster: A semi-biological weapon firing chemically propelled organic projectiles. Small missiles can disperse into shredding fragments or release corrosive acid payloads. Ammunition is grown internally at the cost of reserve biomass.
Rupture Claws:Large reinforced blades integrated into Zsresrinn’s two upper forelimbs, can be withdrawn when at rest.
Adaptive Exo-Plating: Less of a real suit of armour than a system of protective plates attached to Zsresrinn’s natural exoskeleton and connected to the underlying muscles, allowing them to slide about and rearrange themselves as the situation requires.
Integrated toolset: A number of simple mechanical tools bound to smaller retractable limbs.
AUGMENTATIONS:
Unsurprisingly, Zsresrinn is so heavily augmented that it has been joked her grafts and enhancements outweigh what’s left of her original body. From synth-muscle strands to redundant carapace layers, through specialised feelers, redundant organs and several implanted eyes capable of filtering out different signals and light wavelengths, her strength, endurance and perception are reinforced to unnatural heights. A number of other augmentations have even more bizarre effects, such as rapidly transforming biomatter from one shape to another, sacrificing excess mass to quickly close over wounds, circulating hormones to override fatigue for a time, and maintaining a veritable miniaturised ecosystem capable of providing vital nutritional substances that are directly digested, though it is designed to supplement and balance a regular food intake and not replace it.
ETHEREOLOGY:
Zsresrinn has no innate etheric potential. While she can use her evzredigor fragment to imitate etheric abilities, usually in the form of animate projectiles that coalesce into small aggressive monstrosities on impact and screens of shimmering fog over her entrenched positions to impair enemy aim, she cannot match a true user of the Abzu in potency.
PERKS:
Living Armory: Like many of her kind, Zsresrinn stores most of her weapons inside her body in a partly decomposite form while they are not in use. This does not include her hellhammer, although she does carry its ammunition store internally.
Envoy of the Decomposing Abyss: A host to a fragment of the Evrzedigor. Besides the practical advantages, it also serves to bolster Zsresrinn’s morale, as she feels the assimilation strengthens her connection to her people and their origin.
Psychoparasitic Synchronization: Zsresrinn makes the most of being able to share the perception of her subordinate organisms. Many of them have refined senses, allowing her to keep watch over wide areas and detect enemies attempting to flank her.
As many of their species, Linus is a bulky, rocky, intimidating specimen with a rough and jagged exterior, their coloration a mixture of raw umber, dark brown, and taupe shades. Around their face, neck, ribs, and some joints, they show a much lighter burnt orange shade, as if there truly was lava within them which permeated trough miniature cracks of their outer layer. Lin also has some remarkable spikes on their back, the longest measuring some 30 cm and sitting just above their shoulder blades. From there, a line of gradually smaller and smaller spikes descends in both directions; to the tailbone and the top of their head. They have a similar line of 7 to 15 cm spikes on their forearms and forelegs. Besides that, there are some even smaller 3 to 5 cm spikes jutting randomly from various locations on their body. They have five claws on each hand, and five on each foot (one of those sticking up from their heel). Their face is what may pass as a “pleasant-looking” one for a Celaderaka, because it is a bit on the smaller size, has such round eyes, a petite nose/snout, and two rows of very neat though sharp teeth.
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION: Linus is a child of refugees who fled their homeworld and moved to Chalgheol, which at the time was seen as an ideal planet to move to. They, their parents, their siblings, and the rest of Linus’ clan got deeply involved into the Dolsilvec Regime, which was still prominent back then. Linus enlisted in its military academy and then military as soon as they were able. They served in the DR military for a while, but as years passed, Linus realized the DR was dawning. That alone might not have swayed them, but they were young and idealistic, and the Carnazir propaganda and popularity appealed to them. They sought like-minded allies, defected, and splintered off into an independent militia group.
Thus, Linus formed Laguna together with two colleagues, Javan Lanfen and Kowara Nahulae. The founders and also leaders of Laguna together with its then members decided to stay independent, and began offering their services for-hire. They did some pro-bono work in the beginning, mainly to get people off Chalgheol and relocate them as well as to build alliances and make connections. It was during one of these early missions, when Linus was relocating some of their family and friends, that they got caught in the middle of the crossfire, and expended too much ether to protect not only themselves but all of their charges. As a result, Lin had to be extensively operated on, and took a long time to recover.
In the mean-time, another leader was selected to replace them, and so Linus was shifted into a second-in-command position. It took years of work for Linus to regain the full confidence of their allies, and show that they were just as effective of a combatant as they used to be. It is only two years ago that they regained their former leadership position. When Laguna was approached by the GES, Linus took the opportunity, and accepted the mission, desiring to solidify their leadership position. Besides, they’re highly curious to discover whatever’s in the lab (and nick a sample if they can).
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT: Part of the reason Linus was selected is Laguna’s reputation as a successful, business oriented, semi-neutral militant group. Of course, Linus is fairly well known as one of its leaders (despite having attained that position relatively recently). They have many successful missions under their belt, and one of their specialties is hostage rescue and refugee relocation. It is said that they are a terrifying and fearless combatant, who can put aside their feelings and cooperate even with those they personally find distasteful. Lin has plenty experience working as part of a team, not just with people from Laguna, but even with strangers. Their days of relying on pure overwhelming power may be over, but they have learned to rely more on cunning, planning, preparation, and tactics. While their sensitivity to and limits regarding ethereality are known to some, Linus has proven that they are not to be underestimated even if someone is purposefully aiming for their weak points. As for why they specifically (out of other potential candidates in their group) have agreed to participate in this mission, it is chiefly because Lin desires to fortify their leadership position within Laguna.
WEAKNESSES: Firm loyalties and biases. Though they’ve come into contact with many factions and beings in their years of work, Linus has certain ingrained preferences and disinclinations. Besides absolutely trusting anyone from their own militia group, they personally favour the Carnazir faction. They are wary of yet mildly positively inclined to the ZSRP, are neutral to indifferent to various nomad groups, have complex relationships with other militia groups, are cautious to mistrustful of the GES, don’t want to have much to do with the UCL, and are very negative (yet sometimes regretful) towards the DR. Accordingly, they are inherently more or less trusting of someone depending on what faction they work for (or present to work for). A person’s allegiance is the main factor in how Linus feels about someone and treats them, and they are slow to change their opinion on any particular individual, requiring several cases against or for a person before Lin’s judgement about them begins to shift. Linus is definitely the type to see broad alliances first, the individual latter (or never).
Weakened threshold for ether feedback. At some point in their past, Lin has been forced to go overboard, break the threshold, and let the ether flood through them as they dealt with some tough enemies. They’ve been rendered comatose as a result, and though they recovered mostly intact, they’d discovered the price to pay was a permanently lowered ether threshold. They have since had augmentations implanted in their body to help deal with the radioactive feedback, but it was not a perfect restoration/replacement, so they have been forced to adapt a much more thoughtful and cautious use of their ether abilities.
Higher susceptibility to ethereality. For the same reasons as above, Linus is generally weaker against fellow etherealists, their abilities, and other abzu-related occurrences that may affect them. Though they have ways to defend against or evade such abilities, if they do get hit with something, they will be more easily and more heavily damaged as a result.
Fear of the Abzu. This is something Linus would never ever willingly admit to, but they are terrified of the Abzu, the Abyssal plane, and anything living within it. They do not handle well (or at all) being: exposed to qillatu, teleported, or faced with creatures from the beyond (whether they’re from Abzu or the Abyssal plane). When such a thing happens, Lin becomes panicky, nauseous, and enraged, determined to exterminate the source of their irritation (as they prefer to call their emotional response). Thankfully, they are (psychologically speaking) fine with most other ethereal abilities. Note: They also dislike religions worshipping beings dwelling within or originating from either dimension. Also, Linus doesn’t ever want to experience crossing the threshold again.
SKILLS AND TRAINING: Expert:
Melee combat, both armed and not
Handling various firearms
Extensive military training and experience
Etherealist
Hostage rescue, protection, and relocation
Decent:
Infiltration and extraction
First aid
Negotiation
Business know-how
Driving (some ground vehicles)
Knows the basics of some other languages (mainly those used within the Carnazir and ZSRP)
LOADOUT: Medium Power-armor. A reliable armor which has good defense, yet allows for decent mobility and flexibility. It has several damage-negating and shock-absorption components. Also, several of Lin’s Nerakian keys are fully integrated within it, while the rest temporarily stick to it while inactive. The helmet and neck plating provide the best defenses, and are on the heavier side for it, but also resist ether abilities, protect against most projectiles, heavy impacts, and can stand up to a good deal of pressure. All armor parts are built into Linus, and similarly coloured to them, so it is difficult for enemies to discern the organic from non-organic parts. However, the armor leaves some parts exposed; Lin’s jaw, joints, palms, the back of their legs, and a thin line around the waist where the chest part of the armor ends and the bottom part begins. The armor includes a harness and belt which contain mags, their sheathed weapons, and a few grenades.
Serah. An unusual combination weapon, which integrates a miniature hand-cannon into a spear design. The spear is 3-meters long, its spearhead leaf-shaped and capable of both piercing and slashing. A small spike protrudes from the butt of the spear, both so it can be more easily set against the ground to brace for an oncoming charge and so its user can strike with the rear-end. The hand-cannon is an energy-based handgun, which is thick, robust, mounted up and behind the spearhead, encased in a layer of protective plating, and counter-weighted with some more metal on the other side. Its blasts of energy are medium-sized, incorporating both heat and pressure, and can punch through even heavy armor (given enough time). In exchange, it loses accuracy after about 20 meters, though since Linus typically uses it point-blank, that is not an issue. To lower recoil and lessen how often it breaks apart, many shock-absorption and dispersal components are built into the weapon.
×6 power packs
12-gauge shotgun. A powerful Celadarakan firearm, its tight spread of fire making it more accurate than the average shotgun. Enhancing it with ethereality makes it all the more devastating.
×80 buckshot (5 mags)
×70 slugs (5 mags)
×36 armor-phasing flachette rounds (3 mags)
Energy rifle. An old military-issued firearm with a slightly outdated design. Nonetheless, it is a reliable weapon.
×4 power packs
Claw sheaths. Built into Lin’s armour at their feet and forearms are simple but tough retractable claws, which serve as an additional offensive and defensive option for melee combat.
Backpack. Contains various supplies: rations, a full water canteen, flashlight, tape, scissors, wallet (incl. ID and credit card), and a medkit.
AUGMENTATIONS: Qillatu filtering and dispersion system. A combination of cybernetic and ethereal implants that primarily filter qillatu so it can be safely absorbed by the body and secondarily disperse the rest (if the overload is too much to filter at once). This functions as a support and near-replacement for Linus’ biological system for containing ether and dealing with qillatu, however (as previously mentioned), their ether threshold remains far weaker than it had originally been.
Regenerative nanomachine nests. Implants and augmentation that support Lin’s deathless ascension perk.
ETHEREOLOGY: Linus uses ether most frequently to enhance their physical capabilities and weaponry. They also add it to projectiles to power them up, store it up to cause detonations, and use it to boost their and their allies’ movement. However, for Lin, their ether abilities currently serve both as a support and/or as something they keep as a last resort.
PERKS: Deathless Ascension. Linus was born with enough natural ether abilities and talent that they were able to learn to survive typically fatal wounds (except brain removal). This ability had malfunctioned only during and immediately after the period where they crossed the ether threshold, but has since been restored through natural recuperation and by implanting several regenerative implants into Lin’s body. The latter procedure has enabled Linus to replace their body parts, however the process is (unusually) slow, exhausting, and ether-expensive, so waiting for outside medical intervention is much preferable.
Bloodlust Consecration. Linus can generate ether clouds, and though they are smaller than average, they are no less efficient. They largely use the clouds to momentarily and precisely enhance their endurance, raw power, or as a support to their firepower.
Nerakian Keys. Linus has 15 keys in all, and they serve a three-fold function. Two of the keys are stinger-shaped projectiles, which when active can fly around an enemy to slowly and passively siphon off their (ether) energy or (when an opportunity arises) stab into an opponent to sap them quickly. Five of the keys are ether-repository orbs built into Lin’s armor, keeping ether passively stored when inactive and enabling ether-transferal both into and out of the orb when active. The energy siphoned by the stingers is saved by the orbs. Eight of the keys are barrier discs that add another layer of defense when inactive and attached to Linus’ armor, and fly around Lin or an ally when active, ready to activate a damage-absorption barrier at a moment’s notice. One disc forms a small circular barrier, but the more discs are dedicated to guarding a certain person or area, the larger the barrier is.
SPECIES: Alverius Animo Sanguisugea Ardakatanatis (Gestalt creature made from Void-Eels, Micro-swarms, and a Vrexul’s corpse.)
AGE: 18 months since creation. Components average 51 years
FACTION ALIGNMENT: Unaligned
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 15 feet
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Legius appears as some twisted Vrexul. Its whole body is covered in a dark grey spiked carapace. It stands on two digitigrade legs but is almost bent in half hunching, so much so that its height is easily reduced by three feet. Though sometimes, it prefers to move by scuttling along the ground. It possesses more appendages than there could ever be a need for. It has four hulking arms, each ending in vicious claws. The upper pair is slightly larger than the lower one. Both hang well past its knees, with the lower pair almost reaching the ground. Six spiderlike limbs extend from its back. Fifteen feet long, they end in sharp spikes, mostly used for combat and movement. Grafted to the base of its spine is a long cybernetic tail capable of extending and retracting by several feet. It has a face that no mother could love. Two giant pairs of mandibles open up to reveal an array of razor fangs in its mouth. Topping it all off is a ring of eyes that sprouts all around its head, both organic and cybernetic.
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION:
Impressed by the praolznevatz’s ability to summon creatures from the Abyss to augment their ether capabilities, the ARS (Autonomous Research Society, a subgroup from the UCL) sought to accomplish the same.
They conducted various experiments. With no data to go on, the scientists tried everything they could think of, hoping for something to take. It turns out that the abyssic plane is not home to the most benign of creatures resulting in some horrible accidents. Vast amounts of both knowledge and skill are needed to tame these creatures. But they started making some headway, discovering that some parasites could be combined to be something more than the sum of its parts. One such combination that showed exceptional promise was Ardakatanati and Sanguisugea. Ardakatanati are swarms of microorganisms. They are indubitably parasites, infesting fauna and devouring them from the inside out. Sanguisugea are ethereal eel-like creatures from the Abzu appearing in every color of the rainbow. These eels have tremendous psychic potential but are usually only food for more powerful void dwellers. They have the capability to seep into the mind of a creature, effectively hijacking it, but that is where it ends, as they have no true intelligence and can have great difficulty binding to living matter. These two species combined so perfectly that they were effectively creating an entirely new organism. Perhaps they fused too well. See, Ardakatanati is not a single entity controlled by one interweaved consciousness as they thought. It is a hivemind communicating so flawlessly with each other that it is undetectable. Using multiple swarms, they created one massive swarm of Ardakatanati. When they infected the swarm with Sanguisugea, this new amalgamation gained sentience. Deciding to shift tracks, they decided rather than enhancing soldiers, these creatures would be weaponized, as they had far too much potential to waste. However, there was one problem these two creatures are exceedingly hard to capture, to the point where it was almost impractical. But, they had come this far and needed results. Since it would be a waste to dump years of research into some random body, they extracted all of the parasites and prepared something worthy of their creation. While the ARS is a small community, they have considerable backing, both monetary and physical from the UCL. The reason for their private and separate existence is the nature of their experiments. Most are ethically reprehensible. Many of their members believe that the only way to get results is to experiment on real organisms. They acquire subjects through a wide range of methods, from outright capturing small vessels to looting battlefields. Nothing is beneath them. Thus they had the perfect baseline component, a mighty Vrexul soldier.
Whenever a subject was infected, these parasites would disassemble and reassemble it at a molecular level, changing and wrapping its form. Linking to the hivemind, this change was directed and controlled. It was a lengthy process of steadily flooding the Vrexul body with parasites while feeding it biomatter, restarting the process if something went awry. But they succeeded with the result: Alverius Animo Sanguisugea Ardakatanatis or Legius.
Legius is a biological-mechanical-suit housing a hivemind of over a hundred psychic parasites. After undergoing various experiments, it was decided that while it shows great promise, it should undergo more thorough testing in a real combat environment. Legius was paired with one of their few trustworthy operatives, Pravos. Unbeknownst to ARS, Pravos had already defected to the GES in all but name. She had long ago realized that ARS was a vile organization and that their crimes would go unpunished since they were part of the UCL. Determined to belong, she searched for a place that stood for something. Finding the GES she immediately joined. Sometime later, her talents she got recommended, and she was recruited for the mission. Already in possession of Legius, she decided it would be a great asset to have and took it with her. Unbeknownst to Legius, Pravos never left on their assignment. She left Legius with its last order; follow any commands given by ranked GES personnel.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT:
Legius was strictly spoken, never recruited for the mission. Instead, it came with its handler Pravos, a now-deceased etherialist. Pravos was an expert etherialist and a genius researcher, someone who would be a real asset on their mission.
Think less crewmember, and more weapon, less person, and more object, then you are thinking along the right lines. Legius is a thing to be used. A weapon to be pointed in a direction and unleashed.
Its greatest strength is that of a shock trooper. Quickly deploying in a location and clearing it of hostiles or punching a hole in a defensive line. With its hivemind, it can concentrate on anything and everything at once. Utilizing its body to the utmost potential, elevating its appendages to perfect killing weapons, which translates into it firing at everything at once and striking at multiple targets simultaneously. It furthermore excels at facing power armor and mechs of a similar size. With agility and strength that should not be possible at its size, it overwhelms targets with a barrage of strikes that are all but impossible to stop.
WEAKNESSES:
Negative IQ- Intelligence is not its strong suit, to say the least. Any form of planning, tactical or strategic, is entirely foreign to it. The bigger picture might as well be invisible, and any cause or reason is also wholly disregarded. Furthermore, it is almost unable to take any initiative. Leaving it quite ineffective if left to its own devices.
Hangry - The drive to feed exists deep within the hivemind. It is not a hunger born out of necessity but out of desire. If it does not ingest flesh, the hivemind starts to clamor for food until it reaches a crescendo of madness. It is an agonizing process where Legius slowly loses functionality with every part of the collective that gives in to the hunger. Qillatu, on the other hand, is necessary for survival. While it does not need to consume large amounts of qillatu to survive, it is addicting, and too much has dire consequences.
Short Breath - Sleep is essential to its sanity. It needs a bare minimum of six hours of sleep in order for it to stay operational. The less sleep it gets, the more out of control it becomes as it steadily descends into madness. All the parasites still have memories from their first hosts, leaving them wrecked in nightmares and ghostly pains as the hivemind starts to relive each of their hosts' deaths. Other parasites hallucinate about being reunited with lost ones or other strong memories from their previous partners.
Side access panel - Perhaps Legius greatest weakness. Legius was programmed to follow the commands of a handler to prevent it from going rogue. One can connect to it through the ether, commanding it. Any order given through this is absolute and must be obeyed, only superseded by its most basic instincts. Additionally, it regards anyone who has the reins to its ether link as an ally that must be protected at all costs. This gives the potential of an enemy taking over and controlling Legius.
Fire burns - It has a primordial fear of fire. A fear so great it overrides any commands and goes into a frenzy fleeing from the fire through any means necessary. Alternatively, it goes into a comatose-like state, utterly unable to do anything.
SKILLS AND TRAINING: As a gestalt creature, Legius is but a year and a half old. With most of its time spent in labs undergoing experiments. So it does not have the most extensive skill set. But it is not a mewling babe. Most of the hivemind was in other hosts before they amalgamated. Some memories of their previous partners, although vague yet remain. Most are combat-related, as the most stressful memories are those that are easiest to recall.
Close combat Traversing terrain
LOADOUT: 1x HRS Railshotgun. It primarily shoots kinetic projectiles coated in plasma at hypersonic velocities. But can be modified to fire other types of ammunition. While it has a slow fire rate, it packs a devastating punch.
2 x Cobras. Relatively short stubby weapons with three rotating barrels capable of laying down an insane amount of rounds. A standard amount of ammo is supplied, and more can be manufactured by consuming bio-matter.
2 x Plasma Blade. These can only be activated in short bursts, but they are extremely effective, cutting and stabbing through virtually anything.
AUGMENTATIONS:
Legius has been augmented to such a degree that there is little if anything left of its original body. Most of its enhancements are purely biological, as the largest factor in its development was the Ardakatanati. These tiny creatures ate and simultaneously recreated it at a molecular level, essentially enhancing its entire frame. Major enhancements include: Augmented muscle fibers capable of contracting far faster and further than any natural muscle. A hardwired nervous system, its nervous system was replaced with organic optic fiber, giving it near-instantaneous reaction times. Strengthened carapace, a dual-layer carapace protecting against both energy and kinetic projectiles. While incredibly durable it is not the equal of other mechs in this size category as it relies more on speed than pure durability. Weaponized, All of its limbs have been augmented, with the idea of a weapon in mind. With extra hardened and sharpened spikes, claws, and teeth, it is bristling with razor edges. Redundant Organs, these organs add extra survivability, but that is not their primary function. It needs far greater vital systems to operate under the extreme duress that its body undergoes. Powercore, A powercore is embedded into it to provide the necessary energy and power for itself and its weapons. Sight, Possessing 360-degree vision due to extra organic and cybernetic eyes as well as being capable of seeing most of the electromagnetic spectrum, it is quite observant. Along with a dual eyelid system to protect against blinding attacks as well as environmental dangers. Even better, it can “link up” with its weapons, knowing exactly where they are aiming by receiving a direct feed from the weapon. Glands, various glands are spread out all over capable of supercharging it with different chemicals based on what is needed. Minor augments include: enhanced hearing and smell.
ETHEREOLOGY: While the hivemind is no expert in manipulating the Void's Energies, it has some minor capabilities. Proved to be able to summon spores from the Abyss. These spores create minor rifts in realspace, irradiating anyone it attaches to.
As the more physical side of the parasite hails from the Abyssic Plane, it can consume qillatu to strengthen and evolve itself. The drawback lies in that it now has a threshold for qillatu and can only consume so much before it overloads, leading to devastating after-effects.
PERKS:
Living Armory - All of its weapons and even its carapace is encoded into its DNA.
Unnatural strength and speed - Its body, teeming with otherworldly parasites, is engulfed with power from the Abzu. Capable of giving it immense boosts of strength and speed.
Carnivores regeneration- It is capable of regenerating and replenishing ammo through converting biomass that it has eaten.
FACTION ALIGNMENT: Independent the 5 primary factions, but a fanatical member of Nova Stella Pura.
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5'11", ~400 pounds with the suit on.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Corsica's appearance is that of her armour. She had since given her skin to the fires of her rites. While one could technically dismantle the armour around her, they would only be greeted by burns that have since replaced the entirety of her appearance.
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION: Reclaimer: a title only given to the elite soldiers of the Nova Stella Pura. It's not a position of power, nor is it a position of glory. It's a title that signifies one thing.
It's the willingness to reclaim an entire planet from biological threats.
Born into the Nova Stella Pura, Corsica grew up with their teachings. She knew the history and teachings their ancestors left for them. On their hidden ships that drift endlessly through space, she trained in the ways of their fire. Not every one took the path of the soldier. Some took scholarly, technological, or spiritual paths. Corsica wasn't one of those people. The nightmares the assaulted her wouldn't let her. Visions of the death and destruction that they would bring.
No, by the age of 14, she had already worn combat armour. By age 20, she had fought on the battlefield against horrid, mindless monsters that converted into biomass to self propogate. By age 30, she had seen enough death and destruction to last hundreds of lifetimes. Throughout her time on the corpse worlds infested by those mindless monsters, one thing remained constant.
She survived.
At the age of 40, she was designated for the final rites. She embraced the flame and burnt away the impurities. She donned the armour she would wear for the rest of her life. Was it a tomb or a temple?
She continued fighting against the monsters. Battles that nobody would hear about. Battles that ended in tens of thousands of deaths. But it was her duty.
She would do whatever the High Prophet told her to do.
At any cost.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT: Corsica's recruitment was based on two key points. Her specialization allows her to act as a vanguard against any sort of biological agent or weaponry that the task force may encounter along the way. Additionally, her ability to exterminate any sort of large organic xenotype is unrivaled.
WEAKNESSES: Consistently On Fire - By virtue of the super heated plates and armaments that are constantly created around her in combat, people can not be around her unless they are are capable of withstanding extreme heat. The superheated metal often ignites any flammable matter around her. If she has to fight around people who are unable to withstand the heat or is otherwise predisposed, a significant portion of her defenses are disabled.
Organic Specialist - Technology often poses a challenge for Corsica. Robotics, vehicles, and non-living targets often pose a large problem as the only means she has to beat easily them is to attempt to overheat them at extremely close range. If the technology is specifically designed to be heat-proof, then she has almost no means to eliminate it.
Ethereologist In Name - As she has the necessary organs, anti-Ethereology equipment work on her. She, unlike other ethereologists, is unable to gain any considerable benefit from possessing these organs.
The Nightmares - Sleep is the only time Corsica feels fear. Her paranoia creeps in while she's defenseless and nightmares that had haunted her since she was a child reappear.
SKILLS AND TRAINING: Corsica was taught the necessary things for someone of her position.
Primarily: Marksmanship specializing in large amounts of enemies. Close quarters combat specializing in asymmetrical xenotypes. Area denial tactics. Asset elimination. Long-term field operation. Knowledge of typical alien ecology.
LOADOUT: Foundry of the Reclaimer Given to those within the Nova Stella Pura who have sanctified themselves within combat, the Foundry of the Reclaimer is an armour design unlike any other. Rather than being a suit that one can freely remove, it becomes the wearer's new skin once they have gone through their rites. One could consider it their last rite; the suit will be the coffin they are buried in.
Despite the suit's light appearance, it uses cruel methods that allow its defenses to be much stronger than presumed. The suit puts such an immense pressure on the wearer that liquid breathing is a requirement. In fact, the inner most layer could be called nigh impenetrable. Unfortunately, the person inside is not privy to this same impenetrability. Rounds still penetrate, wound, or even kill the fleshy interior. The suit just prevents the round from leaving the body.
Capable of complete life support, the suit is completely cut off from the outside world. It's capable of limited zero atmosphere to pressurized environments and can block heat from even the hottest flame. It had also been designed with lifespan in mind. While the suit is not modular, the primary fabricators are capable of converting most metal, energy sources, and even food to forms that the armour or wearer can use.
The suit is equipped with hundreds of micro-fabricators, allowing for the flash-fabrication of super heated silicon-carbide plating and armaments.
The suit also possesses a speech modulator, because speaking with one's respiratory tract filled with liquid is difficult.
The Purifier A design given to the Reclaimers that specialize in the removal of large biological contaminants, the Purifier is a DMR that primarily fires a specialized incendiary round. Its firing rate is nothing special nor is its accuracy. Rather, the only unique part about the guns design is the immense heat the gun is designed to operate under and its durability. Even when the barrel is glowing hot, it will not bend nor warp. It makes for a surprisingly effective club, if push comes to shove.
The round is more unique. Designed to penetrate layers of armour and detonate in soft tissue, the round spreads molten shrapnel within a target. However, it doesn't stop there. The shrapnel is a carefully engineered compound designed to turn any biological matter--and contaminants--to ash. While it would be uncommon to see, a handful of bullet riddled combat armours with nothing inside but bones and ash have been spotted on plagued worlds.
While technically it is chambered in such a way that it can fire a common rifle round, the gun's reliability and accuracy go down if such is done.
Solar Tablet What would be called an incendiary charge has a more colourful name when employed by the Nova Stella Pura. Their Solar Tablets are a wide scale incendiary device designed for area denial. A primary explosive spreads a long burning gaseous compound across a wide area. Alternatively, the charge can be oriented in such a way that it can pierce basic materiel and spread the compound within.
AUGMENTATIONS: As it acts as a second skin and organ system, Corsica's armour could be considered a full body augmentation. Underneath it all, she has additional augmentations to allow for being stuck within a sealed suit indefinitely.
ETHEREOLOGY: While having the necessary organs of an ethereologist, Corsica is unable to actively manipulate the abzu in any meaningful form. Instead, she has a sixth sense when it comes to detecting ethereality signatures.
PERKS: Psycho-Kinetic Consciousnessness No Longer Feeling For better or worse, Corsica can no longer feel pain. While seemingly a boon, the inability to feel pain often causes her to be unsure of her current state. If her leg broke, she wouldn't be aware and would worsen her injury until someone told her.
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION: Vin was born on a small Voidhanger fleet that had recently split from a larger Voidhanger fleet. The reason for the split was that the fleet leader had a major dispute with a small group of the fleet. Causing them to be exiled and have to survive on their own. Despite this, the fleet and Vin would rather well for themselves. However, Vin was never told what caused the exile since that topic had been considered taboo within the fleet.
The fleet would face ups and lows over the years. When he was thirteen, as the fleet passed through a system, they were ambushed by a large group of pirates. In the fighting, Vin's ship was heavily damaged and made a blind jump to escape. With the idea that they can find and form up with the fleet later. Landing in a random system and the ship's damage forced it to crash land on a nearby planet. But, not before sending out a distress signal.
Vin does not remember much after that and when he woke up. He was in a GES hospital with other Voidhangers, and his right arm being cybernetic. It turns out a GES ship was returning from a mission when it picked up the distress signal. It diverted course and investigated the signal. Finding the wreckage of Vin's ship and rescued the survivors. Also, his right arm was badly damaged and had to be removed. Vin found out that his family was killed in the crash, and he was rendered an orphan. He was devastated at the news and had no idea of what to do. Taking pity on the boy and after much consideration, after they could not locate Vin's fleet, the GES elected to raise him, which Vin agreed to.
It took some time for Vin to adjust, and he would be brought under the care of a human named Maral Tokhta. An old GES researcher who would prove to be the right choice for him. Acting like a mother to him while teaching the ways of the GES. Vin, under Maral's care, would grow to like and respect the GES. Especially their tendency to help others in need. Eventually, when he was old enough and after thinking about how he could repay the GES for what they had done for him. With some resistance from Maral, Vin felt the best way to do so was to join the GES's military. After passing a trial, Vin went through training and would specialize in hacking, infiltration, and sabotage. Being deployed on various missions for the Sect. After a mission dealing with a threat to an allied world of Kive, Vin was assigned to an important mission to the world of Chalgheol.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT: Vin was chosen for the mission for his skill with hacking and infiltrating enemy strongholds. Being able to gain valuable information by hacking into an enemy computer, hijack it, or if needed, if a dig site is compromised. Delete all important information from its databanks. Along with hacking into robots and have them turn against their masters. In the case that the group faces a hostile bunker or fortified position. Vin's job is to eliminate it by using stealth and explosives. Along with setting traps for enemy combatant and, if needed, destroy relics from falling into enemy hands.
WEAKNESSES:
Fear of Additions - For personal reasons except for his cybernetic arm. Vin has a distrust of augments and chooses to go without them. Not wanting to be altered and has revulsion towards visibly heavy augmented beings.
Infiltrator - Due to his armor and training, Vin is more suited to stealth operations than as a frontline soldier. His armor being light and not meant for heavy assault roles. Thus, he is at a disadvantage in frontline combat.
Pained Ethereologist - For reasons unknown to him, it causes physical pain to Vin whenever he uses his Ether abilities. How much pain he feels is determined by how much Ether he uses. Thus, on low levels, he can tolerate the pain but, using a large amount of Ether can be very painful for him. So he prefers to use a low amount of Ether or not at all if possible during a mission.
Ether Vulnerable - Due to the condition of it being physically painful to use Ether. Vin takes extra damage from Ether based-attacks, and Vin is less likely to use his Ether abilities if hit. To not overload himself with pain and hinders his ability to be useful on the battlefield.
SKILLS AND TRAINING: Hacking Encryption Decryption Hand to Hand Demolition Infiltration Stealth Etherealist Commando Training Advanced Knowledge of Robots
LOADOUT:
Light Power Armor - The armor has a built-in digital interface on his left forearm that can be used wirelessly or with a wire to hack into terminals or robots. Along with the ability to cloak itself and is ether resistant. Also, being vacuum-sealed so Vin can operate in space or in hazardous conditions and has magnetic boots so it can stick to a metal surface. Plus, it has magnetic slots for carrying weapons and gear.
Silenced Submachine Gun 5x Mags
Silenced Pistol 3x Mags
Plasma Carbine 6x Plasmas Packs
Combat Knife 8 Explosives Charges with detonators 4 Frag Grenades 5 Trip Mines Small metal backpack to carry various gear
AUGMENTATIONS: A cybernetic right arm that has been modified to have a concealed blade that extends from his top part of his wrist. It also has been modified to launch laser-based attacks through the palm of his hand though it has a limited amount of shots before it has to recharge.
ETHEREOLOGY:
Vin can manipulate Ether to form a layer of armor on himself or on another person, and the strength of the armor is dependant on how much Ether Vin uses, which he tends to use it at either low or medium cost. Another Ether ability is that Vin can use Ether to stun foes by causing Ether to form and explode like a flashbang in an area near him.
PERKS: Unearthly Resilience, Traveller of Outer Realms and Choronzon Personal Defensive Shield
BACKGROUND PRIOR TO BEING SELECTED FOR THE MISSION: A former Major In the UCL Military, Rho-Hux
Rho-Hux devoted his existence to being a soldier. When given a mission he would spend hours researching his foes, the landscape, similar battles, and equipment that may be used on both sides. Once he became a Major, he excepted all those under his leadership to be up to par with the latest military information.
His most famous mission was Operation Swamp Dragon. His battalion was to aid in taking over the city of Caddadast on the planet Omia. Omia was a planet made up mostly of dangerous swamps, and Caddadast was a well-fortified city. After trying and failing to breach the walls, Rho-Hux decided to starve the city out. He ordered his forces to poison the swamp water around the city preventing them from fishing or receiving clean water from within their home. Every time a group went out to get resupplies from elsewhere, Rho-Hux would launch a series of brutal guerilla attacks. The final nail in the coffin came when Rho-Hux received some anti-aircraft reinforcements. Soon the citizens of Caddadast found themselves trapped within their own city without food or clean water. This victory earned Rho-Hux the nickname of “The Constrictor of Caddadast.”
However, Rho-Hux's battalion came to an end when they came across a stray Abzu entity. It wiped out Most of Rho-Hux's battalion with only him and a few survivors seeking shelter in the wilderness. They were classified as MIA for months until Rho-Hux was found alone and half-starving in a cave. His story about what happened during his time in hiding are inconsistent, and due to his deteriorating mental health, he was discarded from the military.
REASON FOR MISSION RECRUITMENT: Rho-Hux, having known nothing outside of life on the battlefield, and not wanting to grow old and be forced to spend his life in an institution, heard distant rumors about the mission and hacking into some classified files. He has gone on the run and is trying to join this mission so he may serve a higher calling again. Rho-Hux wishes to die on the battlefield for the good of the UCL. He sees himself as nothing but a soldier.
Ethereology: “Ghosting” as some people call it. Rho-Hux can mute any noise he makes (like footsteps and breathing), remove his scent, and change his body temperature to match the environment around him. While this does not make him invisible; it does aid him greatly in stealth missions and when combined with his Octopus suit, he seemingly disappears from existence only to reappear behind his soon to be deceased enemies. The drawback to this power (other than the usual drawbacks to ether powers) is that if Rho-Hux were to be set on fire while using this power, his body temperature would rise dramatically, causing him to burn internally and externally."
Strengths:
-four arms, each can hold a weapon. -skilled swordsmen -stealthy -years of experience -loyal and respectful to allies
Weaknesses:
-Fire damages his gear, disrupts his Ethereology, and is extremely painful to him (as it is to most organic beings) -His mental state is fragile and is prone to fits of mania and PTSD. -His age is catching up to him. He is not as strong as he was/thinks he is.
Starting Weaponry, Armor, and Equipment:
Octopus armor: Blends in with the environment around it. This when combined with his ether power makes Rho-Hux nearly impossible to detect. It is light and offers more mobility for the wearing at the price of not being as sturdy for defensive as other advanced suits of armor. It also malfunctions horribly if set on fire for too long.