The Eye of the Styx - Centurion
b. 471 RC║Zern Empire║Martian║Male
Physical Appearance
A graceful man with an elegant and refined appearance, the product of precise genetic engineering and years of strict training. He stands 183cm tall, exactly as his parents ordered, with a strong and athletic build. His blue-black hair is kept shorter in the back and longer in the front, with the bangs parted asymmetrically with one long strand on the left and more swept on the right. He will never grow facial hair, and his complexion is light but healthy and without imperfections. Pale grey eyes gaze out from behind narrow spectacles — a fashion statement, as his eyesight is engineered to be 20/10. He is every bit a specimen of the superiority of Martian genetic engineering, and projects a demeanor of absolute assurance and dignity.
Personality Traits:
Aesthetics of an Elegant Noble
Monster of Calculation
Cool Under Fire
Humor as Dry as a Desert
Familial Loyalty
Cooking Enthusiast
Biography:
The König family, as their name hints, is a branch off the Royal lineage — and one fairly close to the tree at that. They have always prided themselves on their loyalty and devotion towards the Imperial throne, and have a close relationship with the military as a result. Gilbert Andreas was born in 471 RC, the third son of General Johannes König and Lady Liselotte König née Eisenach, in a luxurious hospital on Martian soil. Growing up there was nothing more that he could have asked for — except for perhaps some free time, as his days were filled with lessons and sports and even his “playtime” was scheduled with the children of allied families (it was through such “playdates” that he first became acquainted with his distant cousins, the royal children). He had an easy temperament and learned quickly, to the delight of his governess, tutors, and parents — not that this last pair cared much, as a third son tends to be more disposable than anything else. Following in the footsteps of his father and older brothers, he attended a military preparatory school for Martian elites and eventually matriculated at the Deimos Military Academy in 486.
To his parents, his performance at the Academy in his first year would be described dispassionately as “meets all expectations” — high praise from and to anybody else, but for Gilbert this was simply the natural consequence of the advantages that he was born into. Lacking enthusiasm for most of the subjects covered in the classes, unable to enjoy even the thrill of intellectually crushing his classmates — but how was that any different from the rest of his life? It was not until the field simulations in second year that he first felt the thrill of excitement — the melody of the battlefield singing in his blood, the edge of putting your (simulated) life on the line. Defying the preferences of his family, he declined the invitation to join the naval command track in favor of “dirtying his hands with wetwork” — intelligence, espionage, and small-team tactics, to name a few. In his later years as a student, when Mobile Suit training was added to the curriculum, he discovered a certain romance to these machines that allowed a human to enter a battlefield that was once reserved for only ships.
With his pedigree, competence, and loyalty to the empire all being unquestionable, and the rising tensions on Venus and Luna plus the ever-boldening pirates creating a need for manpower, the Military Intelligence Bureau had had an eye on him throughout his last two years at the Academy. The day after graduation, he formally joined a special operations group under the MIB’s auspices and entered a grueling three-month training program to prepare him (and the other new recruits) for the true battlefield. While his first few missions involved investigating the nascent Mekon movement on Venus, the attempted assassination of the Imperial family turned the MIB’s attention firmly on the pirates.
For the next several years, Gilbert and his fellow operators were tasked with sniffing out the haunts of pirate scum and either wiping them out or setting them up for a proper battlegroup to exterminate. Infiltration, reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, assassination, sabotage — so long as it furthered the goals of the Zern Empire, there was no task too dirty for these men and women who valued loyalty to nation and people above all else. Their work also provided invaluable assistance for the prevention of surprise pirate attacks on Zern battlegroups, and to the setting up of ambushes and interceptions on pirate fleets and convoys.
As the conflict with the pirates began to decline, Gilbert was given command of his own special forces group and assigned to be part of the “sweep-up” effort to hunt down the last of the pirates — the ones too savvy, or too secretive, to have been wiped out in the major conflict. Given broad leeway to act semi-independently of the military proper, his mission took him across the inner solar system — from Venus, to Luna, to even the dead Earth.
Eventually it was deemed that his talents would be better utilized elsewhere, and his group was placed at the disposal of the Royal family and a number of high-ranking Nobles for whatever tasks and investigations they needed to be carried out. Most recently, his group has been “gifted” to Venus’s planetary governor in order to help him combat the growing Mekon movement. With the upcoming Expo also being held on Venus, Gilbert’s workload has grown to an almost unmanageable amount . . .
Skills and Abilities
Refined Human: Gilbert is one of those top-of-the-line models called “Refined”. His physical and mental capabilities are greater than baseline humans’, and he is more resistant to illness and disease. As a Refined he is capable of entering into a state of heightened physical performances known as "Overclocking". When in this state he is temporarily able to react, move, and process information at a considerably faster rate, enhancing his ability to fight inside and outside the cockpit. The state is difficult and exhausting to maintain. As a sniper, this state augments his already-prodigious ability to calculate movement patterns and trajectories.
Ace Sniper: Gilbert is an Ace with numerous kills to his name and many years of experience hunting down pirates on the battlefield and in their hidey-holes. It can be said that he’ll never miss a shot as long as the target doesn’t dodge in an unpredictable manner. Nor has anyone managed to get the drop on him in recent memory. He considers the hardware of the Mobile Suit to be a hindrance to his sniping abilities, as the responsiveness and feedback are lacking compared to good old flesh and bone.
Special Operations: even without a mobile suit, Gilbert is still a frightfully-effective soldier. Investigation, infiltration, and execution are his unit’s bread and butter, and they go wherever there is a need for their specialized skillset.
Pedigree: chivalry, politics, diplomacy, music, art, literature, poetry, cuisine. These are the skills and attitudes expected of a high Noble, even if he seldom has any desire to use most of them. Yet keeping a finger on the pulse of Martian high society is necessary for anyone with a famous name who wants to stay alive and untarnished, moreso for one with connections to the MIB.
Amateur Chef: who would have thought that he would find enjoyment in the skills employed by the servant class, moreso than any of the typical hobbies of the aristocracy? The palate and dexterity of a Refined Human are nothing to scoff at, and though he lacks experience some of his dishes can match or even exceed what is typically served in Martian restaurants.
Personal Items and Equipment
8.58mm Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle: his preferred weapon outside of a Mobile Suit, the round it fires is more than powerful enough to penetrate plate glass and body armor. It accepts a 10-round magazine.
Smart Glasses: a recent trend in wearable technology, similar to a concept once introduced by a monolithic corporation on ancient Earth. These look like normal spectacles, but they can connect to the internet, record, transmit, and play back video and audio, and provide annotations akin to “augmented reality”.
Strengths and Weaknesses
A true member of the Martian elite, he can draw on his connections among the nobility if he feels the need, though he greatly prefers not having to lean on his family name. A veteran of almost ten years, he is skilled at sniffing out and corralling insurgent and outlaw operations and is a feared combatant both inside and outside of the Mobile Suit cockpit. As one of the foremost snipers in the Zern military, he understands their tactics and playbook intimately.
His loyalty to the Empire sometimes blinds him to the very real faults within the system, though he on occasion admits that a certain amount of carefully-considered change can be helpful. He understands on an intellectual level the problems that the Venusians and Lunarians often face, but finds it impossible to truly empathize with their plight. He was raised within a worldview that looks down upon mutated Venusians and implanted Lunarians, and though he personally bears no animosity towards them this bias sometimes slips out in his words or behaviors.
Chosen Mobile Weapon
ZIMS-02Sc Tommy Sniper Custom
2nd Generation Long-Range Use Custom Mobile Suit
Limited Production || Gilbert Andreas König
Unit Appearance
The Tommy Sniper Custom is based on the Tommy Commander Type frame, but discards the big-and-blocky aesthetic for something sleeker and lighter — sacrificing some of the armor in exchange for theoretically-improved acceleration and handling (though, in reality, the mass of extra equipment and downgrade of the overclock booster system means that overall performance is worsened). The head is extensively modified to support extra sensors and cameras. A navy-gray-black muted color scheme keeps the mobile suit unobtrusive against the backdrop of space and debris.
Technical Details
Accommodation: Pilot only, enhanced six-screen cockpit in upper torso.
Dimensions: 18 meters
Powerplant: Improved medium-output Wilberforce Reactor; essentially, intermediate between a medium-output and high-output reactor
Equipment and Design Features:
•Minor Modifications
The Tommy Sniper Custom has many of the features of the standard Tommy Commander Type, with modifications geared towards reducing unnecessary mass, compensating for compromised mobility, and improving electronic performance and heat dispersal. The hardened Liten armor has been made thinner in strategic locations, decreasing mass at the cost of only a little real protection. Additional verniers have been placed across the shoulders and legs, allowing greater fine control of the mobile suit and improved reverse velocity.
•Limited Booster System
Limited in the Tommy Sniper Custom, with the majority of the power draw being dedicated to its MAG weaponry. Its functionality is essentially limited to one or two emergency boosts to keep one’s distance from an approaching foe, but continuous use is essentially impossible.
•Enhanced Sensor Suite
Mounted on the head of the Tommy Sniper Custom is an array of improved sensors and communications systems capable of longer-range detection and limited electronic noise suppression, replacing the original ‘feather plume’ of the Commander Type with something more closely resembling the face and beak of a hawk. There is also an additional visual sensor that can “slide” over the normal optics, further extending the range at which the pilot can see.
•Capacitor Packs
Optional parts that can be equipped to the Tommy Sniper Custom to improve its sniping performance. Essentially a scaled-up version of the capacitor concept pioneered in the H-VIPER, these packs can be charged from the MS reactor or support craft during ‘downtime’. Each pack, over half the size of a Tommy backpack, can provide power for twelve Greyhound shots at standard power. When dry, they can be jettisoned to reduce weight.
Weapons and Combat Capabilities
Handheld Armaments
•Holdovers
The Tommy Sniper Custom can use any of the weapons and equipment the ZIMS-02 Tommy and ZIMS-02 Tommy Commander Type can.
•H-VIPER Extended-Range Custom
With the extension of the barrel, the addition of a small scope, and a minor improvement in power throughput to match the higher output of the Sniper Custom’s generator, the H-VIPER becomes an adequate mid-range anti-MS weapon.
•“Greyhound” 180mm Anti-Ship Rifle
A testbed scoped bolt-action MAG rifle intended to combine the most desirable traits of the Whiskey, Screwdriver, and H-VIPER arms — firepower, precision, and fire-rate, respectively (the debate on whether it performs as advertised is ongoing). The integrated capacitors function similarly to those on the H-Viper, allowing a greater rate of fire than other MAG rifles for the first volley (though there is not enough power supply to shoot while recharging the capacitors once the initial charges are expended). This generates tremendous heat stress on the barrel, however, and an external cooling system has been installed to compensate. Overall, it’s an extra-heavy rifle with a high energy requirement. As continuous fire will eventually overwhelm even the aggressive cooling system, the barrel must be periodically inspected and replaced in extended engagements. Although the process of opening the cooling jacket, ejecting the barrel, and installing the new barrel has been streamlined as much as possible, this is still a period of time during which the MS is not shooting. Usually uses a twelve-round magazine.
•Braunen-H2 120mm Heavy Machine Gun
A conventional "powder-type" quad-barreled machine gun, usually fed from box magazines, with a hybrid anti-MS and anti-aircraft role. The bullet velocity and penetration are greatly superior to the Heckler, at the cost of greatly increased recoil. It must be fired from a braced position or, ideally, a bipod or tripod mount. As a support weapon, it is typically used in a defensive capacity or to suppress an area.
Fixed Armaments
•Flashbang Launcher
The Tommy Sniper Custom sacrifices one of the Tommy Commander Type’s flashbang launchers to make more room for its enhanced sensor suite.
•Variable-Payload Launcher
Multi-tube launchers that can be loaded with a variety of materiel, from flashbangs to smoke grenades to HE warheads. The Tommy Sniper Custom mounts one two-tube launcher in its left forearm compartment, and up to two three-tube launchers in place of the thigh grenade racks.
•Nanocarbon Knife
A last-resort close combat weapon produced by the Sharp Workshops. The blade is thicker and sturdier than that of the Saber, reflecting its intended use as a thrusting, armor-penetrating weapon. Due to being difficult to parry with and unsuitable for slashing its popularity has suffered; however, its reduced weight makes it an appropriate accessory for the melee-aversive Sniper Custom. The sheath is typically attached to either the shoulder or calf, but can be jettisoned if needed.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The ZIMS-02Sc Tommy Sniper Custom has superior sensors/communications and power generation then the baseline Tommy Commander model, at the cost of reduced mobility and protection. The downgrade of the booster system means that it lacks the close-range performance of the Commander Type, and would struggle in a theoretical where it is forced to engage in a brawl with an MS on par with the Commander Type. However, as a long-range use MS it makes up for this seeming deficiency by being as far away from the targets as possible, taking out targets of opportunity and maintaining distance as the battle progresses.
Technical History
With the success of the ZIMS-02R Tommy Commander Type, some enterprising minds turned towards the problem of designing a dedicated Tommy variant for elite sharpshooters. Using the already-improved Commander Type frame as their base for their line of test models, the engineers stripped away everything that they thought that a unit filling a sniper role would not need — resulting in a high-performance long-range combat mobile suit that they dubbed the “Tommy Commander Sniper Mod”. With the success of the test-type concept, in part due to a stunning exhibition with Gilbert as the test pilot, the ZIMS-02S Tommy Sniper Type was registered and the design was simplified to be cheaper and easier to produce, using the original Tommy as a base instead.
Waste not want not, however, and the pieces left over from the experimental program were cobbled into a mobile suit given to Gilbert for his personal use. After additional adjustments to tool it to his personal style and taste, the Tommy Sniper Custom was born.
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