[CHAR] XCOM: Retaliation

[Ithradine]

Helene Mauss

Name: Helene Mauss

Age: 30

Nationality: Germany

Base of Operations: Europe

Bio:
If asked about her life or service before XCOM Mauss will typically reply along the lines of "I don't see the relevance of the question. Read my record if you want to know."

What her record would tell is she was born to a wealthy, notable family to Sigmund and Katrin Mauss descended from German nobility. Her father is the current CEO of Mauss Armanments, a well-known weapons manufacturer at the cutting edge of their industry. The German military currently employs a wide range of Mauss products producing a steady profit for the family.

Helene was fortunate to have quite the extensive education thanks to this wealth however she consistently found herself bored with most subjects presented to her, not out of dis-interest but because they were too easy. She was quickly deemed a prodigy by many of her instructors and advanced by two grade-levels to compensate for her advanced learning abilities. One of her favorite hobbies she acquired was Chess, a game she would play with her father whenever he was home like a ritual. After only a few months of practice, she never lost a single game against him except for occasions in which she would let him win so he wouldn't quit their tradition.

Those early games of chess created a deep obsession with large-scale planning and strategy, and so she began playing any strategy games she could get her hands on. The thrill of completely outmaneuvering and devastating your enemy in one calculated strike brought her the greatest delight which no amount of money could buy. Her siblings refuse to play any type of game that isn't random chance with due to her ability to figure out the optimum strategy for playing and even then, they would complain she cheated at random chance as well.

The rapid pace at which her mind matured left a gap between those of a similar age and thus she had very few friends during her time in high school. This left plenty of time for her to pursue her other passion, martial arts. Helene was a firm believer than in order to have a sharper mind she needed to train her body as well, her intelligence and serious attitude quickly rose her through the ranks. By the time she graduated high-school, she was already a black-belt.

Her ears were filled day in and day out of all these grand designs and dreams her parents held for her, to the point she finally was fed up with others trying to control her life. The choice to join the army was one made by her own hand and of her own desires. Helene had no trouble climbing to the top of her training class and never lost a mock battle when she was squad leader. Those who admired her gave her the nickname 'The Iron Maiden' for her harsh attitude and fierce presence on the battlefield. She was enlisted in 10th Armored division after her training was complete leading her own squad.

In all the missions she would go on, there was never a single casualty in her squad. In personal combat, Helene preferred to be the first one breaching building and clearing rooms. After a few years of experience, she put in a request for screening to become part of the KSK, or Special Forces Command, to further her pursuit for the ultimate tactical challenge. She declined many offers for an cushier officer position stating that she prefers to lead troops on the field than in a safe tent.

The first part of the training was nothing compared to the endurance section that was to come. Helene not only thrived under the conditions presented by her but finished in the top percent of her group and earned a special accommodation. She was assigned leader of a tactical assault team who would later become the most decorated operating unit in the KSK, with Mauss intent on keeping her clean record of no deaths.

Nothing lasts forever however as Helene was to find out during an escort mission of a high-ranking military general. The entire day Mauss had a deeply unsettling feeling in her gut which she expressed to the general half-way to their destination who dismissed her feelings say he "Had nothing to fear with your team around.". That was right before green flashes of energy spewed from a tree-line they were passing through and the lead car burst into flames and molten metal. She had just suffered her first causalities and it happened in a matter of seconds. The sounds of crackling plasma and smell of burning flesh have never left her mind since that day, it was a recurring nightmare for her. Shots came from all sides and for the first time in her life she felt out-played, just when she was prepared to die alongside the rest of her comrades a unknown jet dropped off reinforcements as the aliens moved in for the VIP. As she struggled to hold the line, she could hear the inhuman screams of their attackers as the unknown squad carved their way through the aliens. By the time they got there, she and the general were the only ones not seriously injured. She practically demanded that XCOM take her to which they didn't refuse.

Those of her team would suffered only injuries recovered but she was no longer their leader. For the first time in awhile, Helene found herself not in charge of her own squad and instead part of the Vanguard unit, Night Owls, as a point-guard. She found herself grow quite attached seeing she was not leading them, a change of perspective she appreciated. She is the only survivor of the Night Owls from the Battle of Berlin, known as Operation Swift Strike, the most costly operation in XCOM history. She currently lead the most elite XCOM squad, the Grim Crows, made up those survivors from that mission. Each member is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure humanity's victory.

Appearance:

Class: Assault

Squad: Grim Crows

Rank: Captain

Personality:
Helene is very strict on herself and, as a result, is strict on her squad. She is the first one to admit that mistakes can happen to the best of us, but she demands that you work to fix them. Her outlook on the alien invasion is one filtered with a hidden hatred, and takes enjoyment in knowing XCOM does not have to show mercy to the aliens. Somehow always two steps ahead of her opponents, she takes on sort of a mentor role with newer operatives.

Strengths:
Tactical Genius - Able to come with an effective strategy no matter the circumstances
Expert in urban warfare
Expert Agility - Intense training and control over her body allows for better maneuverability and acrobatics in combat
Perfect Memory - Remembers everyday events in perfect detail

Weaknesses:
Emotionally Scarred - Trauma from the battle of Berlin has left her near-emotionless
Grudge - A burning hatred for the aliens can cause her to perform reckless actions

Psionic Potentil: Yes

[Jangel13]

Angelo the sniper

Name: Angelo Ortega
Age: 23
Nationality: Puerto Rico
Biography: Was born in Puerto Rico and was part of a military family so they didn't stay in the country long. Soon when he was 5 years of age he left and went to Florida to live out the rest of his life. He had joined the army and was about to get married to the love of his life who was actually a nurse in a local hospital. However, he was soon broken when the invasion first came. His fiance was then killed when they came and invaded the hospital. He saw his wife covered in green goop and as a result, he killed the aliens with what little weaponry he had on him making him a noticeable and he was then given the chance to join the XCOM program after showing his proficiency at killing the greys with accuracy.
Base of Operations: South America
Squad: (Will be assigned)
Class: Sniper
Rank: Squaddie
Personality: A hard worker and willing to do whatever it took so long he could get rid of the monsters that took away the woman he loved. He is often a perfectionist not accepting anything but an accurate shot and hitting his target. It was how he was able to be a great sniper as he wouldn't accept anything but the result he desires and if not he will work relentlessly until he can get it.
Other: Carries aq gold chain necklace with the name of his fiance on it "Susan"
Strengths: Quick reactions, Marksman (Very Accurate), Iron-willed
Weaknesses: Weak constitution, Incapable of close combat, becomes enraged after the death of a squadmate.
Psionic-Potential: Yes
Mech Soldier Candidate No

[thedman]

Joseph "Joe" Vitali

Name: Joseph "Joe" Vitali

Age: 37

Nationality: United States of America

Appearance: 5'8" in height. He's a very muscular and wide-chested man, with tanned skin and short, black hair. He has hazel eyes. When in combat, he wears a full-face helmet.
imgur.com/woJuxQk (Number 6)

Biography: Born in 1983, in New York City, Joe was born into a family of policemen, soldiers, and civil servants. He admired his policeman father, and wished to be a policeman himself. However, his father was killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks. Two days after, he enlisted in the Army. He joined with the United States Army Special Forces (colloquially known as the Green Berets), and made a name for himself, participating in many high-risk operations against insurgents. After two tours in Iraq, he retired from the military, and served with the NYPD as a counter-terrorism advisor. When the aliens resurged in 2020, he was recruited by XCOM for his impressive military record.

Base of Operations: North America

Squad: (Will be assigned)

Class: Gunner
Rank: Squaddie

Personality: Very much fits the Italian-American stereotype, in that he's loud, really friendly, and can't shut up. He tends to make friends easily, and enjoys talking to the people he's with. On the battlefield, he gets more serious, but will still crack a joke once in a while.

Other: He's a really good cook.

Strengths:
-Strong: He's very strong physically, strong enough to fire a LMG standing up easily.
-Skilled: Has a great degree of skill with various weapons and forms of combat.
-Determined: When he wants something done, he goes and gets it done.

Weaknesses:
-Survivor's Guilt: When a squadmate or innocent civilian dies, he tends to feel responsible.
-Loud: He tends to make a lot of noise.
-Bulky: He's a big guy, and can't sneak around or fit into tight spaces easily.

Psionic-Potential: No
Mech Soldier Candidate: No

[NPC]

Name: Emily Verbeck
Age: 21
Nationality: England - United Kingdom
Appearance:
Biography: Born to a poor area of London to two working parents and the youngest of three brothers. Emily had ti often fight for a seat at the table. When she reached the grand old age of twelve she was gifted a paintball gun, this minor present supplemented her now violent nature. She loved that gun as it had taught her about speed, accuracy, percussion and zeal that was needed if she was to join the armed forces. When she reached the age of 16 she applied to the British armed forces as a door kicker infatrywoman. By the time she was 18 she was out of the boot camp and the chief point woman to her squad. When the first signs of aliens arrived she was put in London defending against the first incursion and the subsequent arrivals. Now that there is a new threat on a global scale she was recruited into the XCOM program.
Base of Operations: Europe
Squad: (Will be assigned)
Class: Assult
Rank: Squaddie
Personality: Emily seems almost like a teenager in how she acts, she as a person, although very straight forwards seems to have quite the attitude. Beside this she is friendly so long as you dont interrupt her in what she is doing. She seems rather reckless when you look into it. often charging into dangerous situations without thinking, she is often seen taking dares and bets to do stupid things such as race up the HQ to beat the lift via the stairs and foot. She is however very loyal and seemingly dedicated to her job and only her job. Regardless of how much jibing she gives her team-mates.
Other: (Any extra info or Quriks)
Strengths:
Agile and Fast: She has very good agility and speed, meaning she can close distances in half the normal time.
Good Climber: Can climb up pipes and walls quickly
Small: Due to her shorter size she can fit into smaller gaps

Weaknesses:
Need To Prove Something: Due to her smaller stature she has the feeling she needs to prove something to everyone
Reckless: She often acts without thinking

Psionic-Potential: No
Mech Soldier Candidate Yes

[Zoey Boey]

Nian Zhen, Medic

Name: Nian Zhen
Age: 28
Nationality: Chinese
Appearance:

My Hider

Biography: Her father was an accountant and her mother was a date entry manager in a large corporation in Hong Kong. Adrenaline was not a common factor in her family. She had two sisters, and a healthy competition was inspired amongst them. While her sisters went on to become a lawyer and a doctor, Nian Zhen was struck with a wanderlust and patriotic duty. Terrorist attacks from strange groups had begun to sprout up around the world, and in China. She felt it her responsibility to do something to protect the world and her homeland. So, the excitable Nian Zhen acquired a medical liscence during army training. She became a field medic in the Chinse People's Liberation Army, joining the Ground Force branch. It soon became clear she had a talent for protecting others and herself on the field of battle.

The rumors of alien contact were hard to avoid. Interested in perhaps humanity's greatest threat, Nian Zhen was more than willing to join XCOM, the world's true first and last line of defense against extraterrestial invaders.

Base of Operations: Oceania
Squad: Red Dragons
Class: Medic

Rank: Squaddie

Personality: Nian Zhen is naturally optimistic. She believes in humanity and the future of XCOM, as well as the innate goodness in all human beings. Kind, compassionate, if naive at times. Intelligence is one of her strengths, she knows her craft and the technical aspects of other professions well.

Other: Being from China, she has several cultural traits that are unique to most western cultures.
Strengths: Medical knowledge and appliance of that skill under pressure.

Weaknesses: While more skilled with a gun that the average soldier, compared to her squad mates she is not a good shot.
Psionic-Potential: No
Mech Soldier Candidate: No

[HachiRoku]

Hiroya Mochizuki

Minimum effort, maximum result.
Name: Hiroya 'Black Lightning' Mochizuki (望月広也「黒い稲妻」)
Age: 29
Nationality: Japanese (Shinjuku, Tokyo)
Appearance:

Biography: Born and raised on the streets of Shinjuku, Hiroya learned that the world wasn't fair early on. Strapped for money to support himself as a young adult, and his younger sister Miyuki's school tuition, he was caught in a desperate situation, culminating in low-life jobs for the Inagawa Group, one of Japan's largest Yakuza gangs. Eventually, a confrontation with a bosozoku gang led to them kidnapping his sister. Enraged, Hiroya stole an MP7 and HK417 from the Inagawa stronghold, sneaking into the bosozoku base and killing the gangsters who had held Miyuki hostage. Rather than offer a stern reprimand, his superiors saw his potential, promoting him to a clandestine assassin's role. After some years of performing covert operations for Inagawa, Hiroya (codenamed 'Black Lightning', or '黒い稲妻') was noticed by XCOM's recruitment divison. Come 2015, an alien attack pod had landed in Tokyo, with Miyuki presumed dead. Not soon after, an XCOM mole, serving as an Inagawa director, ordered Hiroya to perform a counter-assault on Thin Men, posing as Yakuza members assassinating Prime Minister Abe in Tokyo, and linking up with the remaining alien elements. The alien spies were easily outmatched by the vengeant Hiroya, who knew the streets like the back of his hand and wished to avenge his fallen sister. With minimal time wasted or public notified, the Thin Men fell one-by-one, and in moments, Hiroya had done the job, as usual. Before he could tell his superior of his most recent victims' odd blood and patterns, he had been spilled the beans: the Council liked his audition.
Base of Operations: Asia
Squad:
Class: Scout
Rank: Squaddie
Personality: While Hiroya is able to take orders and cooperate if necessary, he is very much a 'lone wolf'- give him an objective, directions, and supplies, and he can produce an effective result all on his own. Still struck by grief over the apparent loss of his sister, he tends not to open up about his past, especially given his most recent occupation.
Other: Theme
Strengths: Stealth, recon, quick & short encounters
Weaknesses: Drawn-out battle, being flanked
Psionic-Potential: Y
Mech Soldier Candidate: N

[McSamsonite]

Name: Trevor Hickory

Age: 26

Nationality: German

Appearance: Black shaggy hair and hazel eyes. Very defined jaw bones, and fairly short in height with lean, formed musculature.

Biography: Trevor grew up on his own most his life. He bounced from home to home within the system for the first years of his life, and when he turned 12 he left his current caretakers and vanished from the system with his best friend Tania. Never wanting to be apart of anything that could track him or make him do things that made him feel stifled, he and Tania lived on the go, never settling down longer than a year at most. They made their living from "confiscating" funds from agencies and programs they deemed unsuited for the capital. They became good at extorting, moving unseen, and hiding in plain sight. Tania was very good at the talking and grifting, while Trevor handled the subtle art of appropriating. They made many enemies with many gangs and thugs, making it necessary for them to learn to fight with guns just as well as with hand-to-hand weapons.
When Trevor was 22, he and Tania came into contact with a Thin Man. They knew about the alien invasions taking place, but they'd never had to worry about it as long as it didn't effect them. Then when they were confronted with a Thin Man, they were terribly outmatched and had to use all their skills in non-detection... and it still wasn't enough. Trapped on top of a building with the Thin Man making his way up the stairs to the rooftop where they hid, they had no choice but to climb down the outside of the three-story building. They made it one story down and didn't even have time to find a window to climb back into before the Thin Man discovered them and fired down at them from the rooftop. Tania was hit and fell without a sound. Trevor already knew she was dead before she hit the ground. With no alternative, he jumped the remaining height onto a patch of grass. He performed a roll back onto his feet, and before he could register any pain, he sprinted away as fast as he could, vowing vengeance for Tania. After he recovered from his fall and heartbreak, he was contacted by XCOM because of his innate tactical ability, and firsthand experience with the alien threat.

Base of Operations: Europe

Squad: (Will be assigned)

Class: Ranger

Rank: Squaddie

Personality: Very quiet and standoffish. He assesses situations well in advance before taking any action. He is closed off to anyone new until they gain his trust, then he is voraciously loyal. Because he had spent his life taking it upon himself to assess the nature of people he targeted, to determine if they were bad people and unworthy of their money, he tends to be very blunt when asked questions; both to give short answers, but also to see how people react when he tells them things they don't expect to hear. He finds that's usually when you see people's true colors.

Other: He prefers to sleep on the ground. Growing up as he did, beds were a luxury and he now prefers the comfort of minimalism. He owns only what's necessary for his immediate task, changing through his items as it suits him.

Strengths: He is very good at going unseen and quiet. He is quick and agile, using his speed in close quarters more than brute strength. Very loyal when befriended. He is honest in everything he does and thinks everyone else should be the same.

Weaknesses: (Anything that has a noticeable negative impact on your character such as Trust issues or Fears) He lacks strength to the fullest. Because he relies so heavily on his speed and agility, he is very minimally armored. His loyalty is both a strength and a weakness; if put in a situation of whether to sacrifice a friend or a population, he would save the friend. He is honest to a fault. His tongue sometimes getting him into more trouble than he can easily get out of.

Psionic-Potential: Yes

Mech Soldier Candidate No

[Evil Snowman]

Name: Nadezhda Moskvin
Age: 25
Nationality: Russian

Appearance:

Biography: Born in Russia Nadezhda cannot recall the motherland. Her mother emigrating to Australia when she was still just a baby. Growing up in loving family with both her parents. Nadezhda cam to idolise her father forms a young again. Her father maimed former Russian soldier who badly injured in the line of duty. Nadezhda growing up on cleaned up stories of her father exploits. Always lacking the most bloody details until she old enough to handle it.

Eventually wanting to emulate her father Nadezhda ended up enlisting in the Australian army at 18. Sending the first couple years as a basic solider and seeing her first tour of duty in the middle east. Upon her return, Nadezhda felt like a change while wanting to stay in the army she looked into crouse and training and ended up taking training to be a combat engineer. Having small interest in several parts that were involved in the position. The training turning those interests into things she loved and Nadezhda passed her course top of her class. Nadezhda finding what she was being taught came somewhat naturally to her.

From there she simply continued to merely go where she was deployed earning several distinctions forms her commanding officers. The alien threat became real shock for Nadezhda when she on shore leave in Berlin when the Aliens attacked. Although she was able to be evacuated she was trapped in the city for part of the attack before rescue. Letting her see first and just what aliens were capable of.

After the attack, she was called back to duty and soon after that X-COM recruited her. The events of Berlin leaving a their mark on Nadezhda not that she’ll speak about it to anyone

Base of Operations: Australia.

Squad: (Will be assigned)

Class: Engineer

Rank: Squaddie

Personality: Nadezhda’s personality depends whether she is or is not on the field.
While not on the field Nadezhda is fairly happy laid back person. Quite content to go about her duties or business on her own. At times try to mingle with squadmates as she feels like it and won't pass up the chance to interact with them should the approach her. Unless she really hates them. Then they’ll get told to sod off.
On the field Nadezhda will try to act like good soldier and follow orders although she may question them if she thinks they are really stupid and thinks she had a better idea. She’ll always do her best to work with her squad even if it has someone she doesn’t get along within it.

Other: Nadezhda tends to keep a tally of her kills by marking her armour. Provided she knows it was her who got the kill.
Although Nadezhda speaks English she has a partial Russian accent form her parents and tends to swear in Russian, she also can speak Russain.
She also tends to mutter to herself when thinking.

Strengths:
Team Player: Out in the field Nadezhda will follow her orders do her best to work with her squad. Even if she dislikes or distrust a squad member and will go out of her way to support them as needed. Even if it means taking a plasma round for them. Hoping by doing this they’ll do the same for her. She will, however, draw the line and giving her life for her squadmates.

Quick Witted: Nadezhda is very good at thinking on her feet and can quickly come up with idea’s and apply them effectively.

Weaknesses:
Fear of Psionics: Being in Berlin when aliens attacked Nadezhda as developed fear of Psionics and tends to panic when the aliens use them on her even if she manages to resist. She tends target aliens she knows have Psionic powers even if they’re better targets or more important targets. If the squad is flanked or ambushed by Psionic aliens, she may also panic
It also makes her distrustful allies with Psionics. Although she’ll still work with them to the best of her ability, she’ll try to keep her distance

Psionic-Potential: No
Mech Soldier Candidate Yes

[Ciphra]

Name: Cole Duponte
Age: 23
Nationality: French

Appearance: While sporting a light brown scruff beard, Cole stands at 5'11 with a light brown buzz cut, pale blue eyes which seem to pierce the soul of whatever he looks at, lean and toned physique, and a tattoo of a crow rests on his left arm to represent his pride in his work, and to remember all those he has killed.

Biography: Cole was born in Louisiana and raised just outside of New Orleans. His father died a few months after he was born while serving in the military on a classified operation so he never knew what happened to him. However Cole still felt pride when his father came up in conversation and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. He never imagined how he'd do that, but when his mother took him to France while she was a diplomat over there when he was 17 his friend's dad somewhat took Cole under his wing and taught him a few tricks from his own military days. After further discussion and loving the new place he lived in Cole joined the French Foreign Legion. With that came a new identity and the last name Duponte.

With several successful missions under his belt and clearly becoming a up and coming star in the spec ops world Cole was offered a job with XCOM to which he gladly excepted. He is part of the European branch and proudly serves his country and planet by whatever means are at his disposal.

Base of Operations: Europe
Squad: Grim Crows
Class: Ranger
Rank: Squaddie

Personality: While trying to be a honorable man, Cole struggles to stay honorable when it comes to dealing with the aliens. Unlike with other countries fighting, this is a whole different matter that seems so much more important. So when it comes to the aliens honor goes out the window. While in Cole's eyes honor has to do with two wits having it out, when it comes to the aliens he just views them as close to animals, or maybe even rodents. Pests that should be exterminated and kept off the world. If they were friendly and trying to make an alliance that would be one thing, but from what he understands all the aliens want is to take the world for themselves.

In his personal life he loves to have fun, make crude jokes, drink, and train. While he wants to get married at some point, he knows that his work comes first because without doing what he does there is no future for a family he builds. It is that dream of his baby girl or boy playing in the back yard while he's sitting in a chair with a smile on his face that keeps Cole going each day in this struggle.

Other: Has a tendency to be a little overly violent or excessive with things.

Strengths: Cole is excellent with the combat knife and his quick reactions to thigns that happens around him. Once he was given a sword he was able to become efficient with that as well along with close quarters combat.

Weaknesses: Cole's biggest weakness is how much he values his friends. It is the constant struggle for him seeing his closest friends die. He gets a huge adrenaline rush when it happens and he was trained to take advantage of that, but after that initial rush or the battle is over Cole struggles heavily with getting over the loss.

Psionic-Potential: Yes
Mech Soldier Candidate No

[AdmrlStalfos19]

Kira "Behemoth" Lawson

"I can quit any time I want. Then again, that begs the question; why should I?"

---

Personal Information

---

_Name:

Kira Lawson

_Accolade:

Behemoth

_Age:

34

_Gender:

Female

_Nationality:

New Zealand

_Appearance:

Easily the tallest woman out of those serving XCOM as soldiers, Kira's standing height of 185cm (6' 1") puts her on a comparable footing with the many men on the force. She weighs in at approximately 74kg (163lbs). While she does have pronounced hips, Kira has always been a top-heavy woman, with a BWH Ratio of 38-25-29 if measured in inches and 97-64-74 if measured in centimeters. Her shoulder length coal black hair will often, but not always cover her right eye. As a final not to her appearance, while Kira's face is attractive enough and makes her look younger than she is, her skin is very pale, indicating a lack of Vitamin D in her system.

Full Body Image

_Personality:

Kira has never been one to go out and try to make friends, having always preferred her own company. As such, she's often one of the quiet ones, often wanting to get straight to the point of a conversation as opposed to exchanging pleasantries. However, while she remains silent most of the time, Kira isn't afraid to speak her mind when it's her turn to add some input on the matter at hand. And once she's made up her mind, there's no going back; she'll do her damnedest to ensure things pan out how she decided would be her way.

While first impressions of Kira tend to dictate that she's cold and aloof towards most everyone around her, a lot of that comes down to an internal depression that she's suffering from. Having lost one's entire family can do that to a person, so it's understandable that she'd rather keep herself detached from her squad-mates, if only to ease the pain that she'd feel in the extremely likely event that she'll lose them. This is the main reason for her reluctance to share her past, and why she's quick to become defensive should anyone attempt to pry. She may put up a stone-cold front, but Kira is hollow on the inside, and all she has left to her is her pride. Expecting Kira to swallow her pride, therefore, would be a tall order. Even the smallest amount of damage to it would get her depressed all over again.

If there's any time in which Kira can put her sadness behind her, it would be whilst she's on a mission. But even then, her lack of confidence will be written all over her face. In her mind, she has no reason to be confident; she's seen what some of the aliens can do first hand, and such, she doesn't want to underestimate them. Furthermore, what she doesn't know is how well her squad-mates would fare against some of the things she's seen, whether she just witnesses it herself or otherwise. As such, Kira will likely focus on her own survival. If she wants to save a certain squad-mate and thinks that she can, she'll try, but otherwise she's in it for herself. She's not normally the type who would sacrifice herself for the betterment of the mission, but if she personally doesn't see her way out of an alien engagement alive, Kira will take as many ET's as she can down with her before she ultimately kicks the bucket.

_Biography:

Serving her country wasn't the first thing that Kira Lawson imagined herself doing. In fact, she was a problem child and somewhat of a delinquent in her youth. Kira grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, where she was the youngest of 6 siblings. Much of those siblings were older brothers, who'd later grow up to have very successful careers. Her one older sister, the eldest of the family, moved up in the world as a successful entrepreneur, and had even immigrated to the United States of America in order to make a name for herself there. However, Kira herself knew no such motivation. She never strove to get good grades in high school, and she had a usual habit of skipping classes for a smoke, and feigning incompetence at some of the tasks in the classes that she did turn up to. She never got an Excellence grade in any of her NCEA subjects in high school, and never even got close to scoring Merit grades either. All she ever got were Achieved grades and Not Achieved grades, the former of which were very few and far between. Kira chose to drop out of school at 16. This angered her parents enough to kick her out of the house, and they had her shipped into a military training camp that was stationed in Central Otago. They had high hopes that said camp would finally be able to instill some sense of discipline within Kira.

Realizing that she couldn't weasel her way out the situation that she was put in, Kira simply followed the drill instructor's orders, as strict as they were on her. Eventually, Kira found something that she actually had an affinity with; and it turned out that affinity was with guns. Starting to like this training camp that her parents had shipped her off to now, Kira pushed herself with that same dreaded obstacle course that the drill instructor had always verbally abused her over her incompetence with, and her newfound prowess with it had caught the attention of a hotshot cadet by the name of Reece Baxter. At first, Kira wasn't a fan of Reece's natural cockiness, but the more of his claims he managed to back up, the more she started to warm up to him. While they never ended up married since Kira wasn't so keen on the idea, she and Reece did eventually get together and start a family. They originally to have only two children, but Kira's body had other ideas, with her giving birth to triplets on her second pregnancy, all of which were girls. Their first son was christened Cameron Lawson, and the three triplets were named Teagan Baxter, Melissa Baxter and Emily Baxter.

Unfortunately, the whole family fell apart the moment the aliens invaded New Zealand. Reece and Cameron were out on a hunting trip, and wound up being the first of the family to encounter the Thin Men. However, while they both survived the encounter, Cameron had been shot by one of the Thin Men, and paramedics had to be flown to the hospital in Christchurch before they could try and treat him. By the time Kira, Reece and the Baxter triplets could drive over there, they were informed by the staff that Cameron didn't make it. Naturally, Kira was devastated by the loss of her son, and while Reece comforted her, Teagan, Melissa and Emily split up and went their different ways. And then the aliens set their sights on Christchurch. Realizing that their daughters were missing, Reece and Kira armed themselves with a couple of AK47s that the former had stashed in the back of the SUV they drove there with, and split up to search for them. Kira managed to spot a strange device that managed to land right in the center of the cathedral grounds, but as she drew near it, it activated, and a familiar scream could be heard in the distance. Kira rushed towards Emily the second she found her, held onto her for dear life, and tried to pull her out of range of the strange device, but no amount of brute force would get Emily any further away from that thing, which eventually overpowered the grip that she and Kira had on each other and abducted the poor girl. Enraged, Kira went on a killing spree from then on, gunning down every Thin Man that got in her way. However, Reece wasn't lucky enough to escape death this time, as he and the other two daughters were surrounded by the Thin Men and slain where they stood. It wasn't all bad news. When Kira got home, she got an email whose sender she didn't recognize in the slightest. Its contents were mostly written in Japanese kanji, which Kira could only read enough of to confirm that this was in fact written in Japanese, but one word stood out: XCOM. Curious as to what this "XCOM" wanted from her, Kira bought herself the next flight to Tokyo, and packed everything she could fit in two suitcases.

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Combat Information

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_{Base of Operations:}

Asia

_Squad:

N/A

_Class:

Gunner

_Rank:

Squaddie

_{Psionic Potential:}

No

_{Mech Soldier Candidate:}

Yes

_Strengths:

• Masochist: Kira's abnormally high tolerance to pain leads her to take less damage from alien attacks
• Relentless: If Kira attacks an alien that she'd flanked, her critical hit rate improves
• Heavy Weapons Affinity: While firing the light machine gun, Kira's aim improves

_Weaknesses:

• Defeatist: Missing an alien takes a toll on Kira's Will
• Unfit: Kira's general lack of fitness leads her to move more slowly than other XCOM squad members

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Miscellaneous Information

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_{Main Theme Song:}

Supposed to Be, by Icon for Hire

_{Battle Theme Song:}

XCOM 2 OST: Hold the Line!

_{Ideal Voice Actresses:}

Victoria Harwood (En)/Yoshiko Sakakibara (Jp)

_{Tidbits of Trivia:}

• When she's not on a mission killing ET's, Kira is usually out paying her respects to the XCOM squad members that who died trying to protect humanity, smoking a cigarette all the while. If she does feel the need to smoke, Kira will separate herself from any non-smokers, and if it's windy outside, she'll position herself so that the wind doesn't blow smoke in anyone's face. Kira has always been a smoker ever since near the end of intermediate school, but before the point in her life in which she lost her fiance and her children, she would never consider herself an excessive smoker. Now, however, a full packet of cigarettes isn't enough to sustain Kira for even a single day.
• As far as future relationships go, Kira doesn't mind who would ultimately serve as her partner in terms of gender... just so long as they don't look to be over 25 at first glance. Considering that she herself is 34, this would effectively make Kira a cougar, but she has her reasons for being specific with her age range. Most notably, she'd appreciate a bubbly personality to counteract her natural pessimism.
• Kira has been trained in quite the arsenal of mid- to long-range weaponry, but has always found that the heavier the gun that she wielded was, the more comfortable she felt firing it. Her effectiveness in using a light machine gun lends her well for the Gunner position, but she tends to wear her armor slightly looser than recommended. This is most likely since otherwise the thick armor would dig into Kira's breasts due to their sheer size, and this has given her great discomfort in the past.