Do I even need another character? Did I even need the second one?
These are all very good questions
These are all very good questions
Name: Ayem Moestadja. Sometimes AM, both as initials and as shorthand for her first name.
Title: Sergeant Outrider Ayem Moestadja, a specialist officer. Her correct term of address is technically still 'madam' or 'officer Moestadja', but she doesn't often enforce this.
Height: Significantly taller than normal, largely due to boots and cybernetics. At 180cm, some find Ayem intimidating.
Weight: Just as her implants add to her height, flight alloy bones also detract from Ayem's weight. Despite her size, officer Moestadja barely clears 40kg. If you ever find her gripping your arm in a windstorm, this is why.
Age: Very unclear. Even ignoring the discrepancies in her history, she looks at least a decade younger than she should, and she looks to be almost thirty.
Race/Species: Humanoid cyborg.
Tier/Influence: 3 (Regional); Ayem is known to several megacorporations and considered a high-class mercenary, even if she wouldn't call herself that. Luck and travel keeps her two steps ahead of a public reputation. Those that know her know her as legend.
Group(s): Node of the Network. Although the Free Republic of Kirchenstadt no longer exists, nor do the Cyrawaloc Empires that swallowed it, it is technically still a legal entity- An entity that consists now and forevermore of a single woman.
The Harmonious Network that arose from the ashes of these societies puts little weight on the role of government, but it still needs military strength to defend it from threats that lurk beyond and within its borders. A vast corporate military-industrial complex takes these concerns into private hands, and the Free Republic is one of thousands of mercenary companies that are kept on hand in case of need. Ayem is its army.
Appearance: Confident. Whether her face is padded with headphones and scarf, crowned with her officer's cap, or masked by a grim flight helmet, Ayem rarely seems out of place- If anything, her ability to look calm and natural in the strangest situations is what draws double-takes.
Features are comparable to Dutch-Javanese. Very dark, straight, thick hair is kept just below shoulder length or tied back, often in a bun. Her height attracts attention, as does the rest of her modified build, which has been compared to something from a high-voltage power station- Uncannily jagged and lifeless, a steel-cable statue over which clothes have been thrown. It shows when she walks, leaning forwards as if falling; and turns, twisting her neck (or whole upper torso) as if her spine rests on ball bearings.
Ayem wears a very small cat's smile to all occasions other than frustration, which erases it without touching the rest of her face, and fear, which she is terrible at hiding. There's little that scares Moestadja, but what does leaves her visibly panicked. Her motions in this state resemble those of a malfunctioning robot, which only draws laughter and more stress.
A warm winter jacket is her casual wear (she loses heat easily). More often she's seen in captain's cap and uniform- A long, buttoned navy coat. Despite appearances, this is designed to be worn in the cockpit and includes a wingsuit as well as her gun and comm unit.
Not all of Ayem's kit is subdermal. When her 'hands' retract, what remains are a biomechanical skeleton of black alloy and blades.
Personality: Ayem keeps her life simple, and is noteworthy in that she's capable of doing so without simultaneously making it more complicated. She uses very little wordplay or sarcasm, and her pleasures are modest. When she speaks, she normally uses as many quiet words as necessary, no less, no more. Politely amicable but not especially outgoing, Ayem spends much of her time alone, seeking out safe places to relax or empty worlds to explore. She rarely feels dejected, even when she is sad.
When she needs to be forceful, Ayem makes no deliberate effort to intimidate. She just makes it clearer than usual that she means what she says, and lets consequences speak for themselves.
Ayem picks up lovers as she travels, sharing feelings without really growing close, and leaves them behind as quietly as she arrived, with no hopes other than that they might be a little happier for having met her.
She knows how to drive most motorcycles. She likes rain.
Abilities:
- ( 3 ) Pilot. Moestadja has spent decades working with aerial and orbital biomechs and her rank was not won easily. The aerobatic skill that dazzles grounded spectators translates all too quickly into terrifying control of an ancient war machine. With neurons rewired to interface with her wings, Ayem is lord of the heavens and she knows it. In space and in air dogfights often end before they begin, and those who put her on her defensive do not find her to keep that role for long.
- ( 2 ) Fighter's bones. Ayem's implants leave her only a little weaker than the average human, and much, much lighter. With so little mass to move, her muscles can sustain her in melee for far longer than other combatants while still moving just as quickly. Her unnatural flexibility, too, allows her to spin and dodge in unexpected ways.
Additionally, Ayem's 'hands' are actually retractable sheathes for her true hands, which are artful metallic weapons. She has no use for knives or gauntlets.
All this does not come without cost. Ayem's inertia is pitiful, and the punches that wind a man of her size will throw her to the floor. She cannot perform heavy lifting tasks, let alone wrestle, and does not handle recoil well. Sometimes she needs help getting a revolving door to turn. - ( 2 ) A good shot. Military training, of course, would be incomplete without teaching how to handle a gun. Ayem doesn't carry her pistol around for show. Notably, her implants leave her ambidextrous, and she shoots with her left hand. Her weapon's unusual cycling mechanism can also, with practice, be performed one-handedly.
- ( 2 ) Neo-animism. One must understand that Ayem is neurotypical. She does not hallucinate or experience psychotic symptoms of any kind. However, much of what she sees is not actually there.
Ayem is acutely sensitive to the presence of what she calls zeitgeisten, spirits of the age. These take on many forms- Buildings with impossible street numbers and shapes, streetlights that grow like trees, unusual people, bizarre creatures made of their environment. They embody the gestalt flows of mortal emotion, especially when they are attached to worldly trappings of technology. They are everywhere that sentients inhabit, a constant in Ayem's life.
A zeitgeist is as real to Ayem as anything else she might see on the street, and she has counted some among her friends. This does not mean that they are an asset. Many zeitgeisten are violent, and if Ayem can see them, then they can see her. Even the amicable ones usually just give cryptic advice. Unmappable cities can trap her, unpayable debts can find her. There is good reason why Ayem is constantly looking for safe, quiet spaces, often in the wilderness.
Other breeds of hidden magic are also visible to Ayem, but these are typically not found in the planets she frequents.
Items:
- ( 4 ) My wings. The Kelelawar Q1-2 is an aerospacial biomech of military origin and forgotten legacy. Powered by a massive jet engine and the wisdom of long years, the Q1-2 stands four meters tall at the shoulder, and with wings spread wide, casts a shadow five times that.
Directed-energy weapons including pulsed laser fire and air plasma cannons form the bulk of the Kelawar's capacity for violence. The rest is concentrated in its flexibility and the tremendous strength of its claws- One in each of its four wings, two on the fuselage. Collisions with the Q1-2 result in a brutal melee which giant beasts are better built to withstand than starfighters. Although its build is sturdy, the living war machine can heal its own wounds, given time and nourishment.
Ayem's Kelawar is probably the last in existence, but it was designed for the long haul. The creature has grown not only more intelligent with time, but also kinder, gentler. Though it rarely understands the instructions of sentients other than Ayem, it nonetheless moves slowly in order to make way for them, and its single eye watches them with friendly curiousity. As patient as an ass and loyal as a hound, it will perform any service for its master.
As a living being, the Kelawar's capabilities are directly dependent on its level of exhaustion. In order to use its ranged weaponry, it consumes a tremendous amount of nuclear fuel, which Ayem can only replace at great expense. It is capable of eating organic matter to sustain itself and slowly replenish its engine fuel, but this, too, is generally bought. Without either kind of fuel, the great beast is reduced to gliding and walking on its knuckles. - ( 2 ) Sleeve trick. Ayem carries a collapsing plasma pistol in her left sleeve. It can unfold into her hand at a moment's notice, ready to fire. An unusual weapon in this day of fully-automatic firearms, the gun is designed to trade firing rate for range, and must cycle after each shot both physically and electronically even though its only ammunition is power and liquid xenon. This takes a second or so, but ensures an effective range of over a hundred metres.
History:
