Don't worry; I presumed the technology was installed into the MAS by the Powers That Be in the UEE once they were certain they had a technician on hand to maintain it. I imagine he was given comprehensive training before it was even finished with its final testing phase and given opportunities to try and fix known issues himself. The 101st seems like the sort of division where prototype/new tech that's implemented in the MAS would be done in a very slow, meticulous manner based on the gobsmackingly massive amounts of money it probably costed to develop.
Sounds good to me. Might be a fun character interaction, heh.
@Lightning Fast we may be starting to reach capacity now- With out current roster and the few more we have joining up, it may be getting to about as big as I'm capable of managing!
In that case, should I hold off on making a sheet? I've got the skeleton of one but I don't want to force my way in if there's no room for me xD
Whoo, busy weekend! @Bazmund, @Stitches any updates on characters? We'll probably be looking to get started soonish if possible!
@Lightning Fast sorry for the late response! But yes, if everyone gets their characters up, I think we'll be at capacity. I appreciate your interest though!
Whoo, busy weekend! @Bazmund, @Stitches any updates on characters? We'll probably be looking to get started soonish if possible!
MAS fully written, Personality fully written, history is bullet pointed out. We've been (literally) worldbuilding. I might be able to get mine finished today but it'll take longer for bazmund and Dino due to a mix of IRL factors and they were doing most of the worldbuilding and haven't got as much down on paper.
@vietmyke Aye, as Stitches just said, this is actually my exam week at just the moment. Literally received our indicative content for the practical exams this morning and I'll likely be crunching study really hardcore for a while now. I'll try and add to my CS in the mean time when I'm on breaks and stuff, and in the end if you'd like me to upload the work in progress at any point then do let me know - but obviously until exams are over my hands are kinda tied.
So I went to check sheets to figure out my equipment list and found out I inadvertently copied Ingram's mas to the fucking letter. I never checked his MAS profile before. It's probably going to be several more weeks as I completely work out a new MAS from scratch unless you're willing to remake his @vietmyke.
@Stitches Heyo, send me what you have over PM and we can work something out. Worst comes to worst, I have plenty of mech ideas sitting around and can switch
Okay! For everyone that's here the plan is to get started over the weekend! I know we're still waiting on a few and that's fine, but I'm going to get us started and rolling
Alright here's Pipsqueak, gonna get back to helping the other two finish up their sheets
Appearance: Lanky, short and oddly proportioned, with large bony hands and knobbly knees. Abigail isn’t what you’d call a pretty blonde, blue-eyed girl. She looks a bit ratty. She looks younger than she is, trapped in some weird pubescent mid-development phase that her parents probably promised she’d grow out of. She’s got a gap between her two front teeth that you can fit a card into. She has scars all over, notably a burn scar on her left forearm, a ragged cut on the side of her neck, all sorts of abrasion marks all over and a sealed bullet hole near her right kidney. Name: Harlow, Abigail Age: 21 Callsign: Pipsqueak Kills: 2
Psychological Analysis: Rambunctious. Abigail has this habit of using humour to cope, chatting incessantly - in both languages - cracking jokes and trying to keep morale up. As one of the youngest in the 101st she can come off as naïve from time to time but carries a weight and presence of character that seeps through her goofy exterior and hints at why she's in the team in the first place. She's naive and not always the brightest but makes up for it by second guessing herself, correcting and learning from mistakes.
Most prominent is her tenacity. Abigail isn't as patriotic as she is stubborn to keep going, even if it endangers her. Hard working, loyal and willing to do jobs most deem disgusting, she's a valuable asset in that sense. That said, she's wet behind the ears. She's seen a lot for her age but hasn't been put in morally straining situations and there's still speculation as to whether she'll be able to stomach the most ruthless parts of the job. She oozes potential, though, with an almost innate ability to predict and react to situations without thinking and has worked well under the physical and metaphorical pressure she's been put into so far.
Abigail doesn't have a lot going for her back home so she's bonding pretty quickly with the rest of the team and holds a lot of admiration towards the UEE. Her connection to Jakunta and Aleks in particular is no doubt being manipulated to maintain her steadfast loyalty and push her to her limits. She's still got a lot of the galaxy to see and an eagerness to see it all before the inevitable crash and burn that awaits all MAS pilots worth their salt.
Personal Record: Abigail was a born and bred Savonian in the northernmost ice flats of Jaatikar; a denizen out of a few thousand living in one of the remote but highly profitable Savonite mines that follow a seam through a glacier. The output is low compared to some of the high production mines in the mainland but the purity, due to being interspersed in the ice, is incredibly high. The community is tight knit but deeply impoverished with a high mortality rate. To survive in the ice flats, you needed steady footing and quick reaction times. The shale burrowers that lurked underneath the surface would often be a nuisance to the settlement and the sea was a black expanse of megafauna so incomprehensibly large and dangerous that you were better off taking an aircraft to the mainland - and these didn't arrive often, and when they did, they were full of supply payloads for the settlers.
As a result Abigail grew up with regular shortages and a devil-may-care approach to making friends, knowing full well they could one day fall off the scaffolding or freeze outdoors or get eaten by a monumental burrowing worm. But northerners were known for their camaraderie and high spirits - a survival instinct developed against the overwhelming dreariness of their home. They helped each other and learnt very quickly. They had an honour code to uphold. They were hard working, proud people. They had their own customs and rituals, perhaps not to the extent of a Krellian but minor superstitions that helped them cope with the nigh-intolerable conditions.
By all accounts, it's uncharacteristic of the northerners to take to the Coalition's takeover so naturally. But the records do not lie - the Coalition took over the ice flats first and worked their way into the mainland, cutting off the most inhospitable regions first to prevent the locals from using these areas as pockets of resistance. In truth, Abigail is always quick to remind people that the Coalition were shooting down their supply deliveries and forcing the locals to capitulate in exchange for food and medicine. Because of how infrequently they were monitored by the mainland government, Abigail’s mining colony was the first to fall and one of the more prominent losses.
Life under the Coalition was confusing. On the one hand, they were treated to more luxuries but worked harder than ever before. Drugs and crime began to spike. A red light district began to form. People turned to alcohol and narcotics to cope with the chill because the usual parties and celebrations were cut due to longer working hours. The ice flats were broken under the Coalition and changed in a matter of months. There were still sceptics lurking amongst the ice-encrusted railings, people who noticed the change early on and banded together to try and prevent what was happening - then, to disrupt production in any way they can - then, to simply survive in the new rule.
Abigail lost her father to a work accident when she was little and her mother had a severe limp due to a childhood injury which prevented her from working the mines. In order to provide for her mother, Abigail gave up on schooling early to work in one of the refinement factories in the ice flats. She became accustomed to working with older people, mainly blue collar adults and tried her best to fit in whilst monopolising on her youthful innocence. She was The Kid. And if it made these grizzled bastards feel a little better about themselves when they snuck her a pepparkakor or a cigarette, or when they’d infantilize her and go to irrational lengths to keep her safe from the other grizzled bastards, then where’s the harm in playing along?
Abigail’s position in the Ice Flats became even more tenuous and difficult to maintain when the Coalition moved in. She’d been promoted from ‘plucky young labourer’ to ‘symbol of Jaatikar’s community spirit’, as it took a village to raise Abigail and all eyes of the village were on her. She kept going to the factory because she needed the money and even less people were able to provide handouts. She looked the other way when meetings were carried out in the boiler room, and feigned obliviousness when it came to unmarked packages near the factory’s generator. When the sabotages occurred and the fights broke out, Abigail made her decision - and in the simmering aftermath of one of many failed attempts by the locals to retake the colony from the Coalition, she started to join the insurgents. She delivered correspondence and hid ammunition in crates of Savonite. She was hardly privy to the plans of the movement in general but took odd jobs from those that were In The Know and didn’t ask questions. The less Abigail knew, the better it was for everyone. By this point she was still very young (though not young enough to be turned away as a labourer by the Coalition) and didn’t fully grasp the scope of what was being attempted, nor the consequences of being involved. Her mother was kept in the dark about her participation in the movement.
When the UEE finally launched a co-ordinated assault to recapture Savonia from the Coalition, the 101st were sent north as they were best equipped for a guerilla attack in very unfavourable conditions. They initially took the port town of Luminsky and worked their way towards Jaatikar with the help of the fishermen there. But the Coalition were forewarned of their approach and came prepared, mingling soldiers of their own in civilian clothing and muddling the lines between insurgent, bystander and coalition soldier. It was a confusing, bloody affair that ultimately worked itself out as the northerners who sided with the Coalition were just as unwelcome as the Coalition itself. Jaatikar’s population had been almost halved by the assault and there were a lot of families with dead relatives, strangers with dead friends and parents with dead children.
One of the noteworthy reports from the assault on Jaatikar was the attack on the refinement factory. In order to stall production and exportation of Savonite to the Coalition, the UEE took the blow of demolishing the factory’s machinery to lure out Coalition soldiers and MAS reinforcements under the assumption that when Savonia was rid of the Coalition, the locals would have enough time and resources to rebuild. As always, it was Aleksanderin and Jakunta who helped organise the rebels and lead them in for the assault. Tangentially, Abigail was one of the insurgents who placed the charges under the generator and distillery. The explosion caused the soldiers to retaliate faster than the 101st had anticipated and fired upon the evacuating workers. During this time Jakunta was shot in the back of the leg and shattered his kneecap. Abigail, who had kept out of the gunfire and closer to the wings of the factory, rushed out to help Jakunta to safety. They retreated to Jakunta’ MAS. The sustained blood loss and urgency of the wound left Jakunta in an unsavoury position; without covering fire the Coalition would continue to gun down the civilians but there was a very real chance of irreparable damage or severe blood loss if he tried to pilot his MAS to aid the retreat. Whilst tending to his injury, Jakunta instructed the girl on how to activate the MAS’ defences and aim above the battle to fire upon the factory. The chaos of the artillery fire, rubble and noise gave the locals plenty of time to retreat and the 101st regrouped to rout the Coalition forces.
Marked by the local UEE division as an act of Exceptional Service, Abigail’s actions that day were used as something of a propaganda stunt to inspire the locals down in the Mainlands. When Savonia fell under UEE control she was rewarded with fully subsidised academic training to become a MAS pilot of her own. She accepted after encouragement from her mother and her peers, only to find out that her remaining parent died of complications from injuries sustained in the assault. Abigail’s education was shaken by this event and it held her back from graduation. In the wake of her mother’s funeral she reached out to Jakunta and Aleksanderin via electronic mail, using the address that Jakunta provided after the assault. They became penpals and Abigail found sources of comfort with a way to process her grief.
Abigail was inducted into the 101st upon recommendation from the two Savonians. Whilst her merit spoke for itself, the added bonus of her strong bonds with two of the crew and the lack of relatives back home were strong incentives that could be used to make a very loyal soldier. Her training was altered as a result of this decision as they used her experiences to produce a more fitting MAS and role in the division; a mixture of reconnaissance and evasive tactics designed to harass, flummox and disorient the 101st’s targets enough for the professionals to come in and finish the job. She responded well to the test runs of the Kolibri and even enjoyed certain parts of the ordeal, such as the High-G training and simulations. Since joining the division she has two confirmed kills, though both are marked down as finishing blows after heavy fire from her comrades.
Equipment: Standard military affair aside, Abigail has two particular pieces of equipment she keeps on her person at all times: a EVA suit and an encrypted data pad. The suit is a custom build that accompanies her MAS; it plugs in to charge in the cockpit (but has standardised UEE sockets for ease of access) and wraps around Abigail's jumpsuit when she sits down and powers the helmet. This provides assistance to tolerate the centrifugal forces she experiences, has its own O2 mask and Comms unit built in and is designed to withstand the vacuum of space for up to three hours with limited movement via weak thrusters in the back. The data pad is more of a tablet than anything else but it functions like a modern smartphone device and is primarily used to access Full Echo data and for her own personal leisure. She carries a wireless portable speaker to blast the tunes she's downloaded on it as well.
Personally assigned into Abigail's kit list are a set of combat stimulants , typically derivatives of amphetamines, that are administered through a device similar to an epi-pen. They help her intracerebral blood pressure remain stable and keep her alert enough to handle long endurance combat scenarios but make her aggressive with powerful mood swings, teeth grinding and bouts of paranoia. They are to be administered on the pilot's discretion and only when she feels it's necessary to do so. Since her induction into the 101st, she's only used combat stimulants twice in the dozens of missions she's been on - both times she recorded the date and time of dosage as well as alerting her crew of its use.
Appearance: Designed to look identical to a UEE Sparrow MAS, the only notable exception that identifies this machine in appearance is the MAS designation and serial number are printed. Designation: Kolibri C-90 Role: Scout Chassis: Light Description: Officially recognised as an altered version of the popular Sparrow MAS fitted with state of the art surveillance systems for scouting unfamiliar territory, the Kolibri's true purpose is a gutted, repurposed MAS made to counter, harass and frighten most Light and medium MAS away from the bulk of the 101st forces and into their line of fire. The use of high end targeting systems, radar and sophisticated boosters comes at the cost of its armour, relying upon the skill of the pilot to keep it out of trouble. It still functions as a data gathering unit out of combat to provide the 101st with detailed information ranging from the composition of a planet's atmosphere, a topographic map and infrared imaging software - to name a few. Systems: Countermeasure System: - Countermeasure systems are often used by lighter MAS's to avoid missiles instead of using body mounted machine guns to intercept them. Using chaff and flares, countermeasure systems have limited number of uses before needing to rearm. Countermeasures do not take up a utility system slot. The countermeasure system on the Kolibri can be manually activated in a pinch to provide distractions and disorient enemies.
Smart-Target AI (Utility): - By improving or replacing the standard MAS computer with a Smart Targeting AI, MAS's can now rapidly acquire multiple targets simultaneously, making 'blind firing' more accurate and providing an edge in close ranged combat.
Full Echo Surveillance Suite (Utility): - State of the art technology has created a sophisticated system of radars and scanners installed deep behind the chassis of the Kolibri. Slow and cumbersome to activate in combat, this utility system can be interfaced with to update the 101st's data on a location and its inhabitants. The energy it uses disables the thrusters entirely, leaving the Kolibri grounded during its surveillance. The longer Full Echo is left on and the more ground covered during the scans, the more comprehensive the results. Sustained use of the system can result in overheating of the MAS.
Faedvir Omnidirectional B67 Thrusters (Utility): - FO-B67 thrusters emphasize manoeuvrability over sheer speed. Interfacing with the Smart-Target AI system and manual controls from the pilot, these thrusters require a light touch and quick reaction times. Whilst only marginally faster than a standard light MAS in vertical or horizontal flight, the FO-B67 allows the Kolibri to perform aerial manoeuvres around its targets and avoid incoming projectiles.
M90C 30mm Autocannon Carbine (Primary): - A cut down version of the standard M90 autocannon. the M90C fires 30mm armor piercing incendiary shells from a 100 round box magazine. The M90C has semi-automatic, 5-round burst, and fully automatic firing modes, and has a fire rate of 900 RPM. Up to 4 additional box magazines are stored within compartments in the Kolibri's thighs, but it has been fitted with 2 extra hollow point magazines under the wings to compensate for the removed claymore missiles and underslug micro-missiles.
M15 Heat Knife (Secondary): - A smaller, lightweight version of the M16 without as much oomph as its descendent, the M15 is a smaller blade with dual-edged heating elements. Best used in sharp stabbing motions against other MAS in weak spots for messy damage, but otherwise incapable of piercing a chassis without multiple blows. Far more effective against lighter targets.
Ssg. Danielsson was referred to me for a routine psychological evaluation, shortly after the events of the occupation of Savonia, and his participation in its liberation. I had not at this point met with the Ssg. before, and took to reviewing his existing records eagerly once his case arrived in my inbox. From this point onwards I will address the Sgt. by his name, Aleks.
Aleks has had three previous psychological evaluations with the service - one at his time of recruitment, two as routine affairs - and at each point our findings have been more or less the same, with no more than the expected variance due to individual development and personality evolution. Aleks is an intelligent and perceptive man, with a slightly blunted affect - meaning outwards display of emotion - and an apparently cold, professional demeanour. When he speaks he has a tendency to be quite direct with his words, which has come off as confrontational more than once, and he does not enjoy small talk; these characteristics initially prompted an assessment for neurodivergent developmental disorders, however the concerns were dismissed after he returned normal results, and his demeanour was explained as a cultural quirk from his homeplanet of Savonia - which I note he refers to as Savolax. Other than this his psychiatric history is nil, barring one bizarre conversation he had during his second review, regarding his feelings about his work with the Special Reconnaissance Group. Attached is an audio transcript from one of his appointments regarding the matter.
JENNINGS: Begin recording. The date is (redacted), time is 1842 hours. Good evening, Mr. Danielsson, thank you for agreeing to such a late appointment.
DANIELSSON: No problem. Good evening.
J: This is just a follow up on one of the routine appointments we offer to troops in high stress roles, so I want you to know that we’re not putting your fitness to serve or your mental state under consideration today, we’re mostly just checking in.
D: Yes, I understand.
J: Grand. Everything went well the last time we spoke, as you know, and I was very glad to hear that you’ve not been having any problems with your mood or your sleep, or anything like that. Has any of that changed in the time between then and now?
D: No.
J: Also good, thank you. There was really only one thing I really wanted to clarify - last time we talked about your feelings about your job, and how you’ve sometimes been required to use your weapon at extreme distance, which has involved fatally injuring enemy troops from a range at which they could not feasibly detect you, or indeed fight back.
D: Yes.
J: I wondered at the time if that might be causing you some stress, or an upset - many marksmen and snipers often find that there is a moral difference, when the enemy cannot effectively fight back; in short, even despite long periods of specialised training they find themselves considering their actions to be murder rather than combat, and this has led to a lot of problems for them.
D: I am familiar.
J: With the feeling?
D: Well, no. The problems.
J: Could you tell me more about what you mean?
D: Yes. I have known soldiers who have experienced these problems, not only with our work from long range, but with any act of serious violence. Training can do a lot for your readiness, but it is often still hard for them, and many struggle a great deal with the work.
J: Have you ever had these problems yourself?
D: No. If I were much younger, or less familiar with the concept, I would struggle - but I grew up hunting.
J: I see.
(There are faint sounds of scribbling - pen on paper, note taking, records being made even beyond the tape itself)
J: How do you view your comrades who have these problems?
D: I feel for them. It is very obvious to anyone who knows them that they are in a great deal of pain, that they are angry at something - often themselves. Sometimes they will lash out over nothing, or spend a lot of time by themselves when they never used to.
J: Would you say they are good people?
D: Yes. Of course.
J: Is it because of their reaction?
D: Not always.
J: I know some people who would consider this sort of reaction to be a mark of personal weakness - or that they are unfit to fight. What do you think about it?
D: It’s complicated, but I would never say that this is a weakness. Maybe some of them are not in the right job, but that’s not to say they are bad at it, and I would not call PTSD weakness.
J: Of course. Thank you. Do you consider yourself a good person?
D: I… yes? I think so. Not really for me to say. Why do you ask?
J: Well, the last time we spoke, you expressed that fighting as part of the SRG did not bother you.
D: It’s a job.
J: Exactly. I also asked about the killing, and the emotional difficulties we’ve just discussed, and you told me that this also wasn’t a problem for you. I’m just trying to ascertain why.
D: Is it a concern for you? J: Not necessarily, not for me personally I wouldn’t say, no - though some people might find it strange, disturbing even, that you seem to be able to kill people like this without emotional impact.
D: Right.
J: Alright, let’s just approach it more directly - why do you think it doesn’t bother you?
(another pause, lasting eleven seconds, without additional sounds in the background)
D: That’s a good question. It’s probably because of how I was brought up.
J: How do you mean?
D: It’s nothing worrying, doctor. My family were very loving and supportive of me, I had a few close friends but no trouble with anyone else that you wouldn’t expect, I was a good kid and I grew into an ok man. Where I come from there is just a lot of dangerous wildlife, and we made a living out of hunting it.
J: I… see. Do you look at your targets as animals?
D: No. They are people, and I treat them differently in my mind - but I am also used to shooting at things that are incredibly dangerous and will kill you very quickly if they get close or see you before you see them. I treat the people I fight with respect, and of course there is nothing to admire about hurting them, but this way of thinking still applies. If they knew where we were, or got close, things would be different.
J: Ok. That does explain it, I think. Thank you. And how is it you cope with stress?
D: I spend time on my own or with a few friends to relax. Sometimes I go out with others to a bar or a club, I drink, maybe smoke. I like to listen to music, sometimes I- huh, heh, I uh, I draw things, like flowers I’ve seen on duty while in a hide.
J: Alright, that’s- that’s fine. I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well, Aleks, I don’t think I have any further questions for you just now. Thank you very much for talking with me today, I hope I haven’t kept you from anything important.
D: No, I was free.
(a chair scrapes briefly against the floor, and there is a sound like skin meeting skin - identifiably a handshake)
J: Great. I’ll see you again next time, Aleks, have a nice evening.
D: You also.
(footsteps, receding, then the opening and closing of a door)
J: Well, that’s all good then. End audio recording, the time is-
Aside from the obvious concerns the service originally had about Aleks’ ability to empathise, there was one further concern addressed later on by a senior NCO who had been partially responsible for Aleks’ command - specifically that Aleks’ seemed to believe in ghosts, and had at one point attempted to communicate with them by means of what I understand to be a local variation on the classical Oujia board. This caused some alarm for the officers supervising Aleks, who were - I believe - overvigilant of any signs of mental instability in their charge. I attach a transcript of their interview with him.
RANDALL: Begin audio recording. Present are Lieutenant Richard Oyewatusin, Staff Sergeant Harriet Keynes, and myself, Captain Peter Randall. Being interviewed is Sergeant Aleksanderin Danielsson. Sergeant, are you aware of the reason for your being here today?
DANIELSSON: Yes sir.
RANDALL: Could you explain your understanding of it?
DANIELSSON: Lieutenant Oyewatusin and Staff Sergeant Keynes are disturbed by my recreational use of a spirit board.
OYEWATUSIN: It is a little more than that, sergeant.
KEYNES: Messing about with a ouija board with some pals is one thing, popping off alone into the woods on your night off to do it is really quite another.
R: It does raise some questions, sergeant. For one thing, why leave the base? Why go somewhere so rural? You were gone for forty two hours.
D: The signal is better.
K: Of course it is.
R: And there’s also the question of just what you tend to receive as replies to your… broadcasts.
D: Respectfully, sir, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
R: Enlighten me.
(There is a short period of silence, before some quiet movement as Sgt. Danielsson sits forward in his chair)
D: My family and I spent a lot of time alone on mountainsides and ice floes, in the wilderness, when I was young. Long hunts across all types of terrain. Not much talking. Our whole culture is like this. I am not particularly religious or spiritual, but many of our people seek the company of the dead when they find themselves alone - especially if they have lost relatives, or need advice.
O: Right.
K: Right.
D: I can see you are concerned. But this is my business.
R: You’re in the army. That makes this army business, Sergeant.
(Another pause in the conversation, tension bristling almost enough for the mic to actually pick it up)
R: Sergeant, is there any history of schizophrenia or other similar psychotic disorders that runs in your family?
D: No sir.
R: Have you been assessed for any such disorders yourself?
D: No sir. I attend routine evaluations, as I am instructed to.
R: Alright, well we’ll get a shrink’s opinion on you after this. What about drugs?
D: I take what I’m prescribed, when it is prescribed, for as long as it is prescribed, in the manner it is prescribed. I also enjoy beer and vodka socially. Sometimes I smoke.
R: Hm.
O: Sergeant, do you believe in ghosts, spirits, or the paranormal?
D: I must ask why this is your business, sir.
O: Answer the question.
D: With respect, I cannot understand the relevance of the question.
O: I am concerned that you have difficulty establishing boundaries between mythology and reality. This line of questioning aims to establish the risk, and assess it. Answer the question.
D: Ok. I don’t know.
O: You don’t know?
D: I don’t know.
O: Elaborate, please.
D: I don’t know if I believe in ghosts or if I do not.
O: Have you ever seen one?
D: No.
O: How come you don’t know?
D: I find ghost stories interesting. I read them online, see which ones I think are the most authentic. I listen to some podcasts.
K: Sergeant, sorry for interrupting, but I thought you said this was a cultural practice you were engaging in? Is it normal cultural practice to consume paranormal themed media?
D: No. I came back to the cultural practice because of things I read online. I had not tried this for many years before now.
O: You did this out of curiosity?
D: Because I was bored. So yes.
R: Sergeant, are you telling me that you took a bus to the middle of nowhere and hiked almost a full day into the middle of the woods, in rough terrain, in order to go ghost hunting using elements of an ancestor-worship religion you haven’t engaged in for years… because you were bored?
D: Yes.
(an awkward silence ensues)
O: But you’ve never seen a ghost? No… hallucinations, or anything?
D: None, sir.
K: Why not just, I don’t know, watch one of those ghost hunting shows?
D: I do sometimes, but they get old quickly.
R: Alright, I think most of the worries here were that you had… I don’t know, some sort of serious problem. I think we may have jumped the gun a little here, don’t you think, Lieutenant? Staff Sergeant?
O: I- uh, yes. Yes sir.
K: We were still given cause for concern, sir, by the sergeant’s sudden and unexplained disappearance.
D: I was on short leave. Not on duty.
K: How were we supposed to get ahold of you if we needed you, Danielsson?
D: I had my phone.
K: And failed to answer it. Nobody knew where you were, on top of that.
R: Right. Thank you both, Lieutenant, Staff, that’s all we need from you today, I’ll handle things from here.
(there is some general noise and mumbled dismissals, as the Lt and the Ssg are dismissed)
R: Staff had some points there. Far be it from me to interfere with the personal beliefs and practices of the troops, but the next time you do something like this I want you to consider doing it on-base, or at least let someone know where you’re going and clear it with us in advance. I’m also going to arrange a psychiatric assessment for you, just to be absolutely sure, and to finish ticking boxes. And you’ll keep an eye on that bloody phone of yours.
D: I understand, sir. Thank you, sir.
(another brief pause)
R: Did you get anything back?
D: From… the board?
R: Yes.
D: I… don’t think so.
R: Huh. (a long pause, without the tension from before) You don’t sound sure.
D: It was probably my imagination.
R: I see. You gonna try again?
D: (a sniff, a pause) Maybe. I don’t know.
R: Indeed. Alright, Danielsson. Dismissed. End audio recording, time is-
Aleks was given an assessment shortly thereafter, scored low or nil in all relevant risk categories, and was dismissed from psychiatric assessment thereafter.
My own impressions of Aleks are that he is a reasonable and pleasant individual, who tends towards more reserved personal behaviours and often keeps to himself, but who has no trouble being friendly and engaging with others when he has a desire to. His directness can be jarring, and I expect that it will be misinterpreted as rudeness or irritation by those entirely unfamiliar with his culture, but he remains a good and effective communicator who notices when his demeanour is ill-received and addresses it accordingly. He is completely loyal to his friends, describing a close relationship to two others in the 101st from his homeplanet, one of whom saved the other’s life during the retaking of Savonia from coalition forces - which he feels he owes them a debt for. Emotionally speaking, Aleks is a normal - if highly self-regulated - person, who keeps a good and clear professional distance from the moral aspects of his work, without ignoring or denying them entirely. He has a general preference for getting on with work when he’s working, and leaving it for later when he isn’t - which I don’t think I have to say is not abnormal.
In conclusion, Ssg Danielsson is a well adjusted and highly mentally capable soldier, about whom I have no particular concerns, and for whom I wish a long and storied career. I closed our appointment by congratulating him on his recent promotion to Staff Sergeant, and wished him a pleasant day.
Personal Record: Aleksanderin Gabrys Danielsson was born on the planet Savonia - known to his own people as Savolax - within the territory of the Kingdom of Kalmar, an area of space settled many hundreds of years ago by an exodus of settlers from Scandinavia and Central Europe, along with a few others who merely thought they had heritage there. Aleksanderin himself is a descendant of the former, and grew up in a small, rural, semi-nomadic community of hunter foragers, whose business was primarily in mega-pest control and supplying the permanent communities on Savonia with the resulting hunted goods, as well as any valuable forage found in the process.
Aleksanderin was the fourth born child in a family of seven sons and four daughters, between a communal relationship of about six parents - the seventh of which was often coming and going, having more business than the others in the city. They were close knit, not just between each other but also with the other large families of their wider community, and it was fertile ground for the development of a unique cultural identity - hence their own name for the homeworld, Savolax, and hence their own unique language distinct even from Savonian.
His first time using the exosuits necessary for carrying and wielding the 50mm ‘rifles’ required for this line of work was when he was 14, and he took to it more or less like a natural - which is to be expected when it’s been the family business for long enough that it could have been an heirloom. For the next three years he went out regularly with his fathers and mothers, tracking, trailing, hunting, and killing beasts that were sometimes as much as a hundred times his own weight and size.
The work took them around the planet fairly extensively, and the general terrain of the northern hemisphere of Savonia quickly became well known to Aleksanderin and his family - but while he took to the work with great ability and aptitude, he ultimately found it to be poorly rewarding, and although he got on well with his family he couldn’t deny that the life was socially isolating. At the age of 17 he decided, after consulting with his council of parents, to apply for military service with the Krone Kalmar - the central government, or ‘Crown of Kalmar’ as they preferred to be known. In truth the Crown itself carried very little responsibility, being seen mostly as eccentric figureheads whose power was actually wielded by devolved and local authorities - but they nonetheless maintained a small standing army of their own, which held a pioneering force of Mekajageren, light, highly mobile, ranger infantry, known for utilising the very same exosuits the Savolax people used to hunt megafauna with.
Although at this point, the Kalmar state was nominally independent from either the UEE or the burgeoning Coalition - indeed, it did extensive business with both of them, trading resources for liquid finances and specialised hardware it could not manufacture alone - they did lean very slightly one way, and that meant that when the Krone Kalmar decided to set up a military exchange programme, it was with the UEE and not the Coalition. This would later prove to be the first factor that determined the Coalition’s eventual decision to invade, but far from the only one.
Aleksanderin was young and enthusiastic, at this point in his life, and was already very familiar with the tactics and equipment of the Mekajageren, so he was naturally among the first volunteers to travel away from Savonia and to the heartland of the UEE for ‘practical knowledge exchange’ and ‘adivsory liaison’ with their own infantry corps. While there, he was essentially poached from the Krone Kalmar along with several of his other promising classmates, and subsequently put through the selection process for the UEE Special Recon Group - a highly trained and extremely dangerous special forces section of the Infantry Corps. Although it was certainly a change of pace from his normal life, the pay was a little better and it would entail more interesting travel, so Aleks leapt at the opportunity and - just barely - made it through selection at the age of 19. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, and the first time in his life that his physical fitness had been truly below standards - but the Savolax experience with camouflage and concealment coupled with the culture of marksmanship and prey stalking he’d come from made him a promising and easily recognised choice for recruitment, alongside the other boys and girls from Savonia. During his time with the SRG, Aleksanderin was eventually selected to pilot an Ultralight MAS based on his prior experience with weaponised exosuits, and during this time continued to prove himself as a capable and level headed soldier - even despite the sudden change from a peacetime footing to a wartime one, and his engagement in active operations against Coalition forces - which, coincidentally, was another factor in the Coalition’s decision to consider Kalmar a hostile entity and launch an invasion, though again not the final straw.
For a few years, things went well with the SRG - apart from his friends dying, being constantly on the lookout for countersnipers, and having to consider the fact that in a straight fight with a full sized class of MAS he’d quite likely be literally bisected if he took even a single hit, of course.
Which is what almost happened, and how he lost his arms.
They’d been tracking the enemy for two weeks, following them through the dense woods and wide pastures of Petos-9’s temperate band, waiting to see if they were going to lead the SRG platoon to their MAS camp - since a vital component of destroying it would be knowing where it was, and the orbital cameras hadn’t been able to suss out where this particular pack of mechs was keeping nest. To cut a potentially long and painful story short, the hunters became the hunted, and against the full weight of a regular Coalition MAS patrol, the recon section was more or less totally crumbled without issue. During the fighting, Aleks ended up going one on one with a Draugar-MK1 light patrol mech, and although his own FTX-Yeoman Ultralight was a significantly more manoeuvrable piece of kit, he ended up taking a serious blow from the enemy, and when he then tried to reach for and level his sidearm at the enemy, he realised that the arm he’d reached with was no longer a part of his body. Instead, it was lying a fair distance away on the ground, still bleeding from within the mangled cage of armour that had been meant to protect it.
It was a hell of a shock. Aleks took it well, seeing it mostly as a particularly severe and unique inconvenience, and worrying mostly that his newfound manual deprivation would see him done in by the Draugar - but in truth, arm or no arm, it was not a fight he could have won, and with the SRG having been scattered by the enemy ambush he also had nobody to depend on for support either.
What the Coalition had failed to account for in their little turn of the tables was that in a forest as dense as those that they were operating in, even a light-class MAS would be left with scant room to move fast - but an Ultralight would face no such issue. In a straight fight of any sort, like Aleks had mistakenly tried to engage in, there was only one outcome - and it was fatal - but there was no way that the enemy could follow him at speed through the trees.
So as the Draugar spooled up its autocannon for a final salvo, Aleks switched on the emergency chemical fuel boosters, slammed the throttle of his main thruster array up past their safety limits, and shot off into the foliage just as the Coalition MAS let off the first round. He darted between trees, breaking line of sight wherever he could, taking cover from hostile pursuit whenever there was a tree big enough to reliably hide behind - and even though he still ended up losing the lowest third of his right leg to a lucky shot from the enemy’s autocannon, his act of reasonable cowardice ended up paying off and he managed to lose the Draugar in his tracks.
He passed out halfway through trying to apply the second tourniquet, and woke up a couple days later in a field hospital, with even less limb left than he remembered, and a spooky looking official in a charcoal suit standing at the end of his bed, giving him that government-agent smile and wishing him well.
The G-man in the ill fitting suit was there to offer him the opportunity of a lifetime. Give up his remaining arm and consent to a new set of shiny metal ones at the expense of the state, and get to pilot an experimental new tactile-interface light-chassis MAS using them, and be transferred to the 101st Legion to use it. The rest of the story from there is just 18 or so years of history, until he ended up striking a friendship with the very man he’d been surreptitiously asked to keep an eye on - a soldier named Jakunta - and then fought in the liberation of his own homeworld.
The final straw for the Coalition, regarding their diplomatic stance towards the technically-neutral Kingdom of Kalmar, was actually nothing more than rumour - the rumour being that the King of Kalmar, Karolus Valdemar, was planning to declare a trade embargo towards the Coalition on vital supplies such as Savonite. That rumour, made more credible by existing military liaisons between the Krone Kalmar and the UEE, then doubly so by the UEE’s recruitment of Kalmarian volunteers, was the blow that struck the primer, and fired the first shot in what would eventually become known as the Savonite Flashpoint.
Aleksanderin and Jakunta, being both friends and citizens of Savonia in particular, were chosen to go in with other select elements of the 101st Legion in order to assist with the liberation of the planet after it fell into Coalition hands. The campaign would not last long, but would exact a devastating toll on both his homeplanet and on the Coalition, as conventional MAS warfare began to flag in the face of homegrown resistance movements, emboldened by the arrival of the 101st and the unconventional tactics they employed.
A defining moment of the war for Aleksanderin was his chance finding of a Coalition MAS camp, located on a little peak on the tundra, isolated from reinforcements and clearly meant as some sort of rapid reaction force. He could count eight MAS units visible, stood up and ready for action, plus a few tents for support staff and logistics, all protected by two deflector screen generators.
In a brief episode of what a psychiatrist would later ask him about with great concern, Aleksander calmly identified a good piece of cover, from which he could clearly see and fire upon the shield generators, the MAS units and their cockpits, and the logistics tents. Then he set about preparing his ammunition. Three magazines total, each containing six rounds; the first magazine was loaded to fire two shots of FAEMST - Fin-Actuated Electro Magnetic Savonite Tip - which were to bypass the shield array and destroy each generator in turn. The rest of the first magazine contained high explosive rounds, which were going to be aimed at the logistics tents. Both of the remaining magazines contained Armour Piercing High Explosive Capped rounds, for use against MAS - whether they got up and running, or were going to be put down in their beds.
Aleksanderin fired accurately and without delay, and by the time the enemy’s base shields had collapsed, the next four rounds were almost on target, killing half the pilots and most of their technical support in one fell swoop as they sat down to dinner. The other pilots scrambled to their craft, but for the most part were caught by fire as they entered the cockpits, often destroying the MAS completely as it was essentially shot through the open door when they were getting in. Two enemy suits were able to reach combat ready status, but Aleksanderin had anticipated his firing hide being traced, and used his Tesla drive, in concordance with his Stealth Drive, to reposition. When the Coalition MAS made it to his hiding spot, he was ready and waiting with his sights set on them from a secondary hide, and they were dispatched in fairly short order. After that it was just a matter of affixing his bayonet, and commencing the search for survivors to take as prisoners.
The rest of the fight for Savonia was a great and bloody slog, with very little to demarcate one fight from the next, apart from the eventual discovery that Jakunta’s mech had been commandeered by approximately half a pint of precocious child. Sensing that this was unusual, Aleksander made contact with Jakunta to confirm the situation, and ended up feeding the girl targeting information in order to make sure that both her and his best mate survived the battle. The rest of the 101st elements present were chiefly responsible for carrying the weight of the fight at that point, but it would be unjust to downplay the importance of the role that Abigail Harlow had played - and once the planet was liberated, she was accordingly awarded a place in the academy for it, on both Jakunta and Aleksanderin’s recommendations.
A few years have passed since then, and now the trio are an integral part of the 101st Legion’s thoroughly bizarre, literally cosmopolitan culture.
Equipment: Apart from the standard SERE kit provided to all MAS pilots - which typically contains limited rations, a knife, a firestarter, an IFF-SOS transponder, and a sidearm - Aleks keeps a number of quality coffee teabags, a miniaturised jetboil for heating water, an extra tin of camouflage paint, and about 30m of thin paracord. Aleks has also replaced the standard issue carbon fiber knife with one made of a Boron Steel-Savonite alloy, containing a small flashlight in the hilt which is recharged through general movement and use of the knife via an internal spherical dynamo interacting with the natural magnetism of the savonite content of the knife blade.
Appearance:
Your MAS's appearance. In this case, an image would be more appealing than text, and a combination of image and text can be used.
Designation: P-TSCSA ‘Yeoman-2’
Role: Scout-Sniper/Precision Artillery
Chassis: Light
Description: The Yeoman-2 is a Prototype TSCC-SA System - meaning Tactical-Sensory-Complex Control Sniper Artillery weapons system and platform. It has been designed with the intention that, if successful, it will become the blueprint for future generations of high combat-liability ultraflexible mechs; the mech is controlled through a direct interface with an extensive suit of cybernetics installed directly into the pilot’s body, allowing for intuitive control by intention and taking advantage of extrapyramidal nervous pathways and reflex arcs within the pilot’s own body in order to boost response times and physical flexibility well beyond what most MAS units are capable of through traditional control mechanisms. A full series of TSCC type units has been produced and are now undergoing combat tests, piloted by hand selected operatives whose personal abilities fell into the top fifth percentile of all active duty combat operators, and who had either sustained injuries or otherwise had cybernetics suites installed that marked them as good candidates for surgery, with regards to immune response and good somatointegration.
This particular model of the TSCC line, the Sniper Artillery MAS - also designated as Yeoman-2, after the model of ultralight MAS its first pilot lost his arm using - has been designed to act as a long range, highly mobile, high lethality scout-sniper; the MAS unit is equipped with a full suite of standard thrusters in order to affect rapid repositioning after delivery of payload, plus a Starbruck-Oselementa Repraglaz-18 molecular stealth drive in order to maintain concealment during and after the process.
Systems:
L8A6 ‘Longbow’ .312M Rifled Gun (PRIMARY)
Essentially the illogical conclusion of applying infantry anti-materiel rifles to the scale and operational remit of a Light MAS weapons platform, the Longbow is a 312mm artillery piece designed to be wielded like a rifle, and includes a 6 round detachable box magazine that can be topped up from the breech, as well as a highly reinforced frame and bayonet mount to afford the user some ability in close quarters combat should the need arise. The Longbow is a gas operated semi-automatic weapon with a relatively long cycle, but can have its piston restricted in order to seal the barrel and prevent the function of this mechanism, which then requires the manual operation of the bolt to cycle the weapon, ejecting the expended shell and introducing a new round to the firing chamber of the Longbow’s receiver assembly - effectively meaning that the Longbow can be toggled between bolt action and gas-operated semi-auto. The Longbow is also capable of firing a broad variety of different types of munition, from high explosive and/or airburst anti-infantry rounds, to armour piercing high explosive rounds, to sub-caliber armour piercing fin stabilised rounds. Indeed, if fed sensory data from a scout craft, the Longbow could also theoretically be used as a true artillery piece to provide indirect fire, rather than in its traditional role as an oversized sniper rifle-MAS killer.
Carpathia-Ruthenia 101 Phase Linked Energy Burst System (PLEBS) twin shoulder mounted lasers (PRIMARY)
A pair of highly mobile beam laser weapons, mounted on short mechanical arms attached to the main body of the mech just behind the shoulder joints, which are based closely on common point defence designs and have some shared purpose with such systems. These weapons have been up-sized from the standard point defence designs however, and can also be used as a direct fire anti-armour weapon, albeit at fairly limited range in-atmosphere due to the dispersal effects of high intensity short wavelength laser systems in a gaseous environment. The arms upon which the weapon bodies are mounted are usually kept closely tucked in against the mech body, and a gimbal system at the end of each arm is used for forwards-facing aim, enabling them to be used as a point defence system in a pinch.
A 1.6m long sharpened piece of Titanosavonite typically kept in a holster on the mech’s chest, but which can also be fitted to a mount on the end of the Longbow rifle for use as a true bayonet. The handle of the dagger, not unlike the miniature version wielded by the pilot on foot, contains a spherical dynamo system which is powered by movement of the weapon itself - especially large swings or thrusts when attached to the Longbow - however this mechanism is not capable of maintaining a charge and has no battery attached to it. Instead, it feeds current directly into a pure savonite circuit within the blade of the weapon itself, generating a small but incredibly powerful electromagnetic field when thrust or slashed with. Most MAS unit components are well protected from EMP effects, of course, but the true purpose of this addition to the bayonet is to disrupt and neutralise energy shields so that the knife can strike home true and penetrate the armour of the target.
A spectacularly complicated piece of equipment that is best described as a plentitude of different systems installed throughout the body of the Yeoman-2, the Repraglaz can completely neutralise almost every signature and emission produced by the Yeoman-2 other than its visual appearance, rendering it more or less totally undetectable outside of visual range, until its weapons systems engage and it opens fire. The Repraglaz drive can also be activated during flight, but when at full throttle can only dampen flight signatures.
Unlike most targeting software suites, the Jageropta Package is more or less useless to a pilot that hasn’t trained extensively with it - not only because it is complicated and requires extensive training, but because it is equipped with several deep learning processes that directly complement the markman’s skill profile, weapon and munition of choice, intended target, and in some cases even overall intention. There is no projected shot path, in favour of supplying the organic user with more raw information to inform their decisions - indeed, the user is king with the Jageropta, and while this harshens the learning curve, it raises the performance ceiling by that much more.
Redherring Countermeasure Suite (AUXILIARY - COUNTERMEASURES)
A more or less standard suite of flares, chaff, thermal masking aerosols designed to operate in conjunction with the stealth suite, and heavy metal dispersal systems to confuse radar. While standard automatic activation protocols are in place, each element of the system can also be activated manually at varying response levels - for example, a single flare for signalling purposes.
I'm a little confused as to who we're playing. The premise says this:
"We the players will play the role of the 7th MAS (Mobile Armor Suit) Squadron, a unit from the United Earth Empire's 101st Mobile Armor Legion, as they return to friendly space from a long and grueling campaign and prepare to go home."
But the post seems to imply we're the new pilots. Furthermore, it sounds like these new pilots haven't seen eachother, let alone fought together. Could you clarify this so we can get a post going?
@Stitches Not everyone is a new pilot- I think left the number of new pilots joining kind of vague. You can be a longstanding member of the 7th, or someone being transferred from another unit to the 7th, or a brand spanking new pilot. If you're a longstanding pilot, you're probably hanging out with the Ingram and the others, or doing your own thing on board the ship. In this case, Aleksanderin and Abigail are more likely than not veteran members of the 7th Squadron. The shuttle serves as a convenient start point for pilots that are new to the squadron- such as our resident test pilot being cleared for field testing.
As far as 'Orientation' goes, it is merely plot devicetm for getting everyone in the same room.
Thanks for the clear-up, I think I was expecting the basic closed introduction post with a clear cut idea on what to do. It's better that this is more open ended imo. I'll work on a post now.
Name: Jakunta Age: 41 Callsign: Yak Kills: Not that many, probably only a bit over 10 over the length of his career.
Psychological Analysis: Jakunta is direct. His age and experience have granted him the wisdom of being able to cut straight through to the point he’s trying to make. A warrior since his youth, his development was marred by a lack of consistent relationships or a stable environment to grow into. He fights not because it is the right thing for him to do, but rather the only thing he knows and understands. He respects and admires his comrades but he's quick to get over their deaths and largely unfazed by their behaviour towards him. Once his communication skills had improved and obedience to the collective army had been drilled into him, he’s been reported to be trustworthy and loyal. There have been some interesting developments to the norm; Aleksanderin quickly became a kindred spirit who Jakunta frequently spends time with and the recent introduction of Abigail to the team has brought out some uncharacteristically sentimental behaviours from the brute that have yet to be fully established and documented.
Personal Record: Planet: Zalava, ruled by two feuding factions - the Tyrnapoldov Liberation Front (TLF) and the Pozchy Republic (PR). The two factions have been locked in a civil war for several generations. Due to their constant fighting, they were always technologically behind other space-faring empires. There were hardly any resources worth taking over and Zalava was left largely to its own devices for a few decades.
Jakunta was born on the Tyrnapoldov territories of the planet and raised in poverty. Witnessing his older siblings fight and die in the war whilst absorbing vehement propaganda, coupled with a cultural slant towards honour and glory in battle, Jakunta veered away from education and into a uniform whilst he was still largely a boy. The camaraderie and violence of a battlefield soaked into his formative years as he became disgusted, outraged then desensitized to the atrocities of war.
It was ultimately a want of manpower and space to grow that pushed the Coalition into backing the Pozchy Republic and since then, Jakunta and other Tyrnapoldov combattants have harboured the sort of festering hatred that you could only really garner from a long, pointless war. Unlike the grand scale assaults and skirmishes the Coalition was used to in space, Zalava introduced the capitalists to a civil war unchecked; Jakunta and his posse were quick to demoralise and terrorise the opposition by targeting medics and hospitals then injuring POWs. Under Coalition law, this branded the Tyrnapoldov soldiers as war criminals with substantial bounties on the heads of any platoon leaders; relative, of course, to the abysmal economy of the planet and worth very little off-world.
Jakunta saw the winds changing. With the financial backing of the coalition, the Pozchy Republic was beginning to spread and his resolve started to waver. The thought of a Coalition-controlled Zalava and how difficult it would be to keep his life in that future spurred on a prompt escape from the planet on a freighter ship to the nearby Savonia. With very little funds, no grasp of the language and no connections on the planet Jakunta took any work he could find - then when he had enough to get by, any legitimate work he could find. He ultimately went from working under the table to a shipyard labourer and got to see MAS construction up close, admiring the behemoths of machinery whilst performing fairly low paying, menial labour in the production line. He moved into the mainland and started processing huge slabs of fish from the port of Veslem. Through osmosis, Jakunta learnt the language piece by piece and garnered the help of a sympathetic priest to become literate. From there, Jakunta applied for Savonian citizenship - and heard of the UEE backing his Tyrnapoldov brethren back home through the radio.
As soon as he was eligible by Savonian standards to join the UEE infantry corps, Jakunta signed up. He half hoped to return home and fight off the Coalition once and for all but found himself instead jettisoned into unknown frontlines, bloody wars held on numerous other planets like his and expected to fight just as hard as he did before. Jakunta exceeded expectations. His aggression had him placed into the Vanguard and from there new opportunities to learn such as MAS piloting courses and supplementary training became available. At this point in time Jakunta had to start considering his future - he'd been in enough battlefields to realise he wasn't dying as quickly as he had originally anticipated - and took on the supplemental training to better himself. It was ultimately that decision that flagged him for the 101st; he had more than proven himself through experience alone and if he managed to achieve similar results in a MAS then he was a promising candidate.
When Jakunta passed the necessary examinations to join the 101st, the group dynamic almost immediately threw him off. He wasn't standoffish per se; he just didn't know how to operate smoothly with such a close knit group. Alienated and alone, it fell to Aleksanderin to try and connect with the brute and better integrate him into the team. At the very least they shared a language he could speak better than English and a common understanding of the job description. What came from it was a tepid friendship that slowly warmed up until they were quite close. Jakunta never truly got along with the rest of the crew as much as he did with Aleks and the pair of them began training together to perfect their combat style.
From there Jakunta was a silent, steady foundation to the team. He didn't partake in the niceties of bonding and getting along with the others because he didn't need to - regardless of his personal opinions on the others (and their opinions of him), he would continue to protect and support the team with unwavering loyalty. Whether this stemmed from a sense of duty or the looming threat of his fate at the hands of the Coalition should the UEE end up dissatisfied with his performance remained to be seen. He didn't open up a lot. He didn't bother to learn much about the others - Aleksanderin was an exception but even then they weren't prone to long, heartfelt discussions about their experiences.
Then the assault on Savonia happened and something shifted in Jakunta for the better.
The familiarity of the territory brought out some latent leadership skills in Jakunta that spurred him, alongside Aleksanderin, to handle the responsibilities of rallying and organising the locals in a counter assault against the Coalition. All those engrained tendencies from Zalava came out as he became a powerhouse, a moral booster and an infantryman once more. He lead the charge more often than not with the vanguard then retreated to his MAS for devastating cover fire; he had to handle a gun and a knife on the field instead of in his MAS since the UEE wanted as little structural damage as possible. To the 101st, the change in demeanor was significant as they finally put Jakunta into a situation he was acutely familiar with.
When a young girl risked her life to drag Jakunta out of the line of fire after a bullet to the knee he made a split second decision and took an incredible risk by instructing her how to operate his MAS and perform his duties. Coupled with his exceptional performance on the field, the UEE put Jakunta under investigation and ultimately gave him several months' recovery leave to mend his injuries. They ultimately decided to keep Jakunta in the team but on a short leash to see how his change in behaviour would play out.
What they found was regular correspondence with Aleksanderin and a more demure approach to his job. Jakunta found a smidge of empathy and began warming up to others. No longer spurred by violence and patriotism, he started to slow down and carefully consider his actions. There isn't a lot of documentation on what he did aside from recovering in hospital and spending some time renting a cabin practically off grid, which he labelled as 'R&R'. He attended his physiotherapy sessions and made a decent recovery by carefully following advice from medical professionals. When he returned to work he was under a month's probationary period where UEE officials and his direct superiors tested his physical and psychological fitness to work and found no underlying issues.
When the young girl that saved Jakunta eventually reached out to him about a personal loss during her academic training, the UEE monitored the correspondence channels. What they found was an uncharacteristically gentle approach to the young girl and signs of Jakunta appreciating, then enjoying the regular messages. The same effect was noted in Aleksanderin and their strong dynamic plus Abigail's promising predicted scores marked her as a potential candidate for the 101st. Since her induction into the team Jakunta's behaviour has improved and he has finally started to come out of his shell. This promising new potential and his well-established record outweigh his age and lessened physical capabilities, retaining his position in the 101st for the foreseeable future.
Equipment: Aside from standard military affair, Jakunta has with him: A photo of a dog, a pack of tobacco and an iguana keychain.
Designation: KRAKONO-M3 Role: Artillery / Supportive Fire Chassis: Heavy Description: A large, slow and heavily armored MAS utilising it’s large weapons systems to target enemy fortifications, buildings, slow moving ground troops and vehicles as well as opposing stationary targets with devastating results. Alongside an impressive medium to long range arsenal, the MAS has an additional thick layer of armor bolted onto its chassis. The KRAKONO-M3 is intended to be used as a mobile, medium-to-long range artillery and anti-heavy MAS unit. The MAS is best suited for a supportive role, providing firepower to the more mobile and close-range MAS’s. The KRAKONO-M3 has several weaknesses that prevent it from operating efficiently without friendly support: Fast moving MAS’s and vehicles. Elevated terrain forces the already slow MAS to either hunker down or commence at an even slower pace if forced to move forward. Laser Weapons. This MAS has armor based defences that intend to protect it against ballistic and plasma based armaments which leaves it vulnerable to laser weaponry. Systems: Superheavy Mount: 80 centimetre caliber artillery cannon. A weighty, large and slow canon mounted onto the KRAKONO-M3 to act as a siege artillery piece. Primary Mount: Anti-MAS ballistic canon. Used in combat against opposing MAS’s that have low armor but high shield defences. Primary Mount: Anti-MAS laser canon. Used in combat against opposing MAS’s that have high armor but low shield defences. Secondary Mount: Light machine gun. Used against encroaching ground infantry near the MAS. Secondary Mount: Flame vents. Used against lightly armored enemies beneath the MAS. Utility system 1: Smoke discharges. A defensive system to deploy a vast cloud of smoke to hide the MAS and allow for retreat. Utility system 2: Uparmor. Additional armor plating bolted on top of the MAS. Raising it’s armor by half a weight class and reducing it’s mobility.
Baz is in exam hell atm but me and Dino will carry things until then. Our post is 90% done, we paused to make sure the sheet was given the greenlight and will finish it soon.
2x Thank
