[OOC] Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

[FourtyTwo]

@ReusableSword

Oooh, drugs. Nice CS but would like a couple edits then happy to go into chars and to post in IC:
-Probably not a great idea to use hallucigens on ops with the team or else everyone is getting wrecked (which is less easy to tell than a sticky plasma setup!)- great idea though I can imagine a skit of Skye joking about the last time he packed them by accident haha! Also, there's absolutely comedy gold out of that use- an utterly stoned super soldier is gonna be hysterical at times I think!
-Scale back the armour a teeny bit - most I'd say it can take is about 20mm rounds at push and probably go with only a big handheld of choice and a smaller shoulder mounted weapon, ie one HMG/cannon, then maybe a choice of a Trophy or mini-missile system for AT alongside the mortar)

All good though, very nice.

@LadyAmber

Nice first post! If you'd like too, feel free to set up the bit on mission as we'll kick off from in there too on the next round of posts.

Fun fact, NZ is really under-sold in RP terms so it'll get a little airtime in this RP hopefully!

[PerfectThought]

Stafford

Name: Dr. Iller 'Stafford' Boxer

Age: 47

Appearance:

Left Shoulder Tattoo

Iller, the obviously more senior man, stands at a lithe 5'10 with an erect posture and square shoulders. His neatly clipped haircut is ginger-brown with the occasional white hair peppering his scalp. The hair is complemented by a smart and gentlemanly moustache and clipped beard. His singular dark blue eye gazes softly at the world around him, topped by a pair of large, continuously furrowed, pair of bushy eyebrows.

His right eye is marred shut. A gaunt and sunken pit where his eye might once have been. Forced shut by a large jagged knot of scar tissue. This scar runs diagonally from the centre of his forehead to the left side of his face, even with the corner of his mouth.

He holds himself with an air of grace and a quiet viciousness, that of a man settled into his reality and comfortable with his place in the world but still more than happy to deal with those in his way. On his left shoulder he has a tattoo of some kind of regimental badge. Besides that tattoo his skin is unpierced and unmarred, only broken up by a vicious knot of scarring on his abdomen, seemingly from some kind of stab wound long ago.

Nationality: British (Possesses a vaguely Mancunian accent.)

Callsign: Stafford

Skills:
Handgun Mastery: Thought highly proficient with most weapons he struggles to use right handed standard-ejecting rifles, due to his lack of a right eye. Due to this at close or medium range he is incredibly skilled with handguns, of all varieties. Though far from the best marksman on the team, he is more than capable with his revolvers. Even skilled enough to be able to safely and effectively dual-wield them at close range.
Marksman: Stafford is highly trained in the maintenance, operation, and effective usage of long-range sniper rifles. Especially his personal long-range weapon.
Quarterstaff Mastery: Though a slightly unconditional carry Dr. Boxer is highly trained in fighting with a quarterstaff. He can operate and fight with it incredibly effectively. Being known to easily dispatch multiple assailants with relative ease at a close range.
Reconnaissance & Communications Expert: Iller is a highly trained scout, and therefore is capable of surviving on his own in a hostile environment for some time. Combined with training in unconditional combat, such as jungle and tundra combat areas. An extension of this is experience with all other duties of a scout including being well experienced with reconnaissance, and having more than ebough experience to operate Personal Ultra-high Range Communications, and to effectively utilise pong range communications.
Charismatic: Dr. Boxer is often described as incredibly charming. Being a naturally likable character, combined with good manners, and a very good understanding of how to get people to do what he wants means he is more than capable of getting even the most stubborn hard-ass to get along with him. He also utilises his doctorate is social psychology to understand how people think and various group dynamics.
Unempathetic and Mission-driven: no matter how friendly and gentlemanly he may present himself, in the end his only real motive is to get the job done and be paid. He doesn't really care what he or others have to do to achieve that. That applies to the most extreme degree.

History: Iller Boxer was the only child of the reclusive Guymon P. Boxer, and his wife Angela. Count Guymon Boxer was the sole heir of the Boxer fortune. Old money that was formed through some form of historical unscrupulous activity, long forgotten by the public. Angela, Guymon's beloved wife, and Iller's mother would die giving birth to the infant. Fortunately he would grow up to be a fit young boy. However, much to his father's chagrin Iller would grow up to be a troublesome and mischievous boy. Due to this it was decided that Iller would be put into full-time schooling. He was sent off at the young age of 6 to a prestigious boarding school near the Manchester area, where he would grow up in full-time schooling until age 17 when he would be freed to attend college.

After breezing through school and then college, the young Boxer would face his first academic adversity upon entry as an undergraduate to the infamously gruelling Imperial college. However he would quickly excel in his chosen field of psychology, and would go on to complete a master's, and then a doctorate. After this using his family's connections, he would garner a commission into the Army, eventually joining his first choice of regiment: Queen Elizabeth's own Royal Lancers. Here he would happily spend the next 8 years serving as a commander of a light infantry reconnaissance unit before applying to join UKSF. Here he would continue to serve for another 7 years with an exemplary record. Until about a year and a half ago when, using the high-status and numerous connections his long career and familial nobility garnered him, he was invited to join the mysterious Raven Squad unit.

Personality: outwardly he may seem like a friendly intellectual, inwardly he is quite the opposite. Though not actively cruel and sadistic he is definitely uncaring and vicious. He finds it advantageous to be liked and to have connections (of which he has a lot, given his status and experience). His own qualms with 'immoral' actions are how others might perceive him. However in the face of danger, or failure, these concerns quickly go out the window. Overall he is ruthless, calculating, and unafraid to use whatever advantage he can to exploit his opponents. While not disloyal, he feels no strong allegiance to anyone other than the group that aligns with his goals the closest.

Tactical Suit:

Thoth Mk.3 Custom Recon Suit

Stafford's tactical suit is a menagerie of different pieces of cannibalised equipment expertly hewn-together for his specific needs. His ballistic helmet is capable of reflecting small arms fire from anything weaker than a 10mm round straight to the face. It contains an impressive sensor array including: an in-build digitised sight-system; rear-view capabilities; sound-amplifiers & dampeners; limited satellite communications ability; retractable radio communications antenna; limited radar ability; and solar charging. The suit has a small-scale integrated exo-skeleton, which helps him carry slightly heavier loads as well as hit slightly harder, but overall makes no significant change. However the lower half of the exo-skeleton have been removed and replaced with a far more heavy duty set of cybernetics, which allow him to travel on foot at speeds of up to 40 mph for distances up to 20 miles. They also allow him go unscathed from longer falls than normal, and act to help him stay balanced and stable no matter the terrain. This is all complemented by light torso armouring, some in-built chest webbing and storage pouches and finally a thermal-dampening, insulatory, water-proofed, and adaptive camouflaged cloak.

Weapons:

Hammerhead Sniper Rifle

This custom BaroTech 'Hammerhead' Pump-action Sniper Rifle was made to order for Stafford. It has been modified for left-hand firing, with the ejection port, bolt, and all other pertinent features flipped to afford Stafford easier and more effective usage of the weapon. It has an intentionally parred down profile, lending for it to be far more manoeuvrable than one would expect given it's weight and calibre. It fires the ridiculous depleted uranium .950 JDJ rounds. These rounds deliver force comparable to that of being hit by a Toyota Prius travelling around 30 mile an hour, more than twice as powerful as a .50 BMG and similar to that of a 20mm autocannon round. This insane round can punch a hole through just about anything given the correct version of munition is loaded for the right target.

However multiple compromises have to be made for this weapon because of the sheer power. Because of the power behind it's shot it is impossible to fire from any position other than prone, with a very heavy support. Internally it is somewhat similar to many other bolt-action high calibre sniper rifles, however taken to the extreme. Due to this the bolt draw is incredibly heavy, making it tricky to stay precise with. The greatest effort has been taken to ensure the strength and reliability of the rifle is unhindered while also making it as lightweight as possible. This is achieved by large parts of the rifles being made of titanium, which is incredibly expensive. However the rifle is still about twice the weight of an SA80, and the ammunition is incredibly heavy. Due to this Stafford can only carry a limited amount.

Finally, impressively, the rifle is supressed. A seemingly impossible feat has been accomplished by accomplished by converting the sound into heat energy. This means the suppressor becomes incredibly hot during usage via the sheer immense amount of heat energy being released. However this, and other fragile elements of the rifle (including the sight) means that no more that approximately 3 rounds a minute can be fired without permanently damaging components of the rifle. This rate is even lower in less-than-optimal environs. Also the rifle is not truly suppressed, like a pistol would be. As it emits a rather loud, and distinct squealing. Somewhat similar to that of a kettle boiling. Fortunately this sound drops off around 15 feet away from the barrel.

Twin 'Token' Pistols

A pair of lavish select-fire pistols. Fitted with an internal suppressor. Firing 10mm auto. They're designed for a quiet operation, however in a pinch they can be set to full-auto and Stafford can go in guns'ablazin. Each one of the twins has a 19 round capacity and sit just under 2kg each total. They retain a light weight due to being made of a mixture of traditional steel, and various cutting edge polymers.

Extendable Quarterstaff

Despite being a very strange choice, Stafford carries a quarterstaff with him during almost all operations. He enjoys it for it's wide range of combat applications, and it's unique property of being able to be transported just about anywhere as it isn't obviously a weapon. His staff can be shortened to about 4 feet in length for easy stowage, and can be extended to anything between 4 feet and up to 8 feet. It has a simple iron binding on either end, and the centre is simply bound in leather. It also has utility usages including but not limited to, tent pole, mounting pole, emergency splint/stretcher pole, and can even be used for things like digging or smashing things in a pinch. Everything and more one would want from a big stick.

Equipment:
• Advanced battle HUD, with pertinent operation info, an in-built camera, and a camera over his right eye wirelessly linked to an implant in his ocular nerve to help eliminate depth perception issues.
• Aforementioned camouflage, or 'ghillie' cloak.
• Scout monocular/rangefinder.
• Various signal flares/smoke grenades.
• Compass and (if possible) maps of the area, and (again if possible) information on the locals and their primary language. At least to some degree, even if limited.
• Canteen with in-built filtration system.
• Compressed aerosolised paint (miniaturised high-tech spray-paint).

Hobbies: Dr. Boxer spends most of his free-time reading, often about scientific research, and researching whatever takes his fancy. He is also an avid rugby player and frequent cigar enjoyer.

Likes:
• Port.
• Cats.

Dislikes:
• Squeaky doors.
• Velvet.
• Modern churches.
• Not achieving his goals.
• Unnecessarily cantankerous people

Theme:
spotify.link/m0PCPdiPvyb

[FourtyTwo]

@PerfectThought

Cool, accepted, post in chars and IC! Skye I can already tell may have a few friction points based on his background but that's just a British thing and par for the course! That rifle is ludicrous - a real anti tank gun for the modern age and I think it's fair how you balanced it.

One query:

-Is the Ghillie an adaptive camo, per se that it's not full cloaking? I'd say it goes nicely but do want to make sure lights and mediums have a little distinction though so long as it's not a core and too OP (ie movements), all good

[ReusableSword]

@FourtyTwo updated the characters armor and loadouts

[PerfectThought]

@PerfectThought

Cool, accepted, post in chars and IC! Skye I can already tell may have a few friction points based on his background but that's just a British thing and par for the course! That rifle is ludicrous - a real anti tank gun for the modern age and I think it's fair how you balanced it.

One query:

-Is the Ghillie an adaptive camo, per se that it's not full cloaking? I'd say it goes nicely but do want to make sure lights and mediums have a little distinction though so long as it's not a core and too OP (ie movements), all good

@FourtyTwo

I would expect nothing less than a Mancunian and a Scot going at it.

As for the cloak. It's adaptive camo, definitely not cloaking. It's kinda meant to act that it'll hide him pretty well at night, from afar, or if he's still and prone. It's by no means cloaking, and if someone knows what they're looking for, they'll see him. It's primary usage is more-so cloaking from thermal cams, and secondarily warmth.

And I think he'll fit into light better than medium. I moved away from my initial character concept onto more of a scout/sniper character. That's why I added the exo-leg things, to compliment his mobility.

[FourtyTwo]

@PerfectThought

Fair, it has been a bit fluid I suppose in that category but the first op is more of an assault anyway. Works for me, post away!

[PerfectThought]

@PerfectThought

Fair, it has been a bit fluid I suppose in that category but the first op is more of an assault anyway. Works for me, post away!

@FourtyTwo

Just curious, was Skye commissioned? Because if she was an officer, given both of their experience in UKSF, they might well have previously worked together.

[FourtyTwo]

@ReusableSword

All good, post in char and IC when ready

[Little Bird]

I'm still putting the last touches on her, but I figured I'd post it up right here anyways so as to get feedback as far as what I might need to remove or amend. Figured I'd aim for the medium female slot since the light role seems covered.

Name: Michele Amélie Moreau
Known Aliases: Jeanne Marie Durand | Abigail Vance
Age: 28

Apperance:


Nationality: French|American

Callsign: Frelon (Hornet)

Role: Medium. Extradition, Extrication, & Retrieval (E.E.R.) Operative.
Skills:
Tactical & Support Skills
Stealth; She's quick and light on her feet. She moves silently and is an expert in being inconspicuous to the eye. She is able to easily enter locations while avoiding detection, and can easily cause damage while behind enemy lines before they even realize she's there.

Climbing & Repelling; a learned climber and boulderer, Michele is able to scale surfaces with or without a harness and rope line. In tandem with this, she is also proficient repelling down walls and ridges.

Scuba-diving; a skill picked up during a stretch of criminal undertakings. Michele is an accomplished and certified diver. She's experienced in free diving, recreational diving, technical diving, ice diving, and cave diving. Able to use both conventional air supplies and rebreathers.

Physical and Combat Skills]
Combat Training; Michele is learned in military style hand-to-hand and weapons Combat. Much of her knowledge and expertise therein is derived from U.S. Marine and Navy SEAL martial arts, and the Isreali self-defense of Krav Maga, making her particularly lethal in tight spaces.

A Dancer and A Gymnast; Classically trained in Ballet and later in modern dance and breakdancing. Through her teens she branched out into gymnastics and acrobatucs, excelling in floor routines and on the balance beam. She's extremely nimble, unquestionably balanced, and boasts a superior sense of awareness of her movements and surroundings. She is able to swiftly and effortlessly navigate through a skirmish, and can think on her feet with quick improvisation.

Ambidextrous; Michele is able to use both of her hands with precision.

Ambush Specialist; utilizing a combination of her skill in Stealth movement and a healthy supply of smoke bombs, Michele is probably the first to propose an ambush tactic. Despite her stealthy nature, she had little trouble drawing attention to herself in order to lure targets into prone and compromised positions.

Close Combat Weapons; Michele's experience spans the use of blunt force weapons over cutting implements such as knives and swords. She utilizes batons, staffs, clubs, nightsticks and the like. She will, however, make use of stabbing options if available. She's also quite fond of weapons with hooking functions, used in disarming and redirecting assaults.

Firearms; Specializes in short to mid ranged firearms. Handguns and pistols, SMGs, shotguns, and low caliber rifles are all on the table.

History: The illegitimate daughter of a United States intelligence operative and an otherwise innocuous French woman, Michele was raised in France by her mother. Her biological father was unaware his one night stand had conceived a child, and was already returned to the US by the time Michele was born.

She grew up in Southern France, particularly in the city of Marseille. Her mother, Estelle, having been a lauded dancer had decided to go from performer to instructor in order to raise her daughter. Michele formally became a student of her mother's school at age 5; she had been informally "trained" prior in mimicking her mother's movements while watching her teach. She remained a student of dance through her life, but grew more invested in acrobatics and gymnastics after watching them on TV during the Olympics. She began her practice in gymnastics at age 10 and competed in multiple junior events, even winning a few

When Michele was around 12 years old, she had grown curious about the identity of her biological father. Though her mother was uninterested in reconnecting with the man that had "screwed and cruised" on her, she acquiesced to Michele's insistent pestering and looked into the matter. Two years later. With a DNA test and some sleuthing, the mother and daughter tracked down one Brian Rumlow. He was ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative. Fortunately for Michele (and unfortunately for Rumlow), a history of injuries had landed the agent into an administrative desk job within the agency.

What this meant: at age 15, with travel documents in hand and an exchanged program arranged with school in Washington DC, Michele landed at Dulles International and found her way to the Falls Church doorstep of Brian Rumlow. To call the meeting awkward would have been an understatement.

Putting long stories short: a DNA test proved Brian Rumlow to be Michele's biological father. Over the following months, the young girl attended a DC school by day, and spent time with her father by night. Whike there she would add rock climbing to her list of skills. Over time, her constant pestering lead to Rumlow teaching her combat techniques and some marksmanship.

Three years passed like the blink of the eye.

At age 18, Michele returned to France, intending to pursue higher education in University. Other plans, however, got in the way. After opting to return to the world of gymnastics, she was eventually tracked down by some less than noble people... supposedly, her mother had crossed someone in the underground along the way, and owed a sum of money. These criminals leveraged Michele's mother to get her involved in a string of high profile heists to repay the debt.

Realistically, only one heist was enough to settle the debt, but the mobsters were insistent on getting their money's worth out of Michele. Utilizing physical abilities to infiltrate well guarded artifacts and vaults of gold, she fell steeply into to the pit of organized crime. Over the following years she built a rap sheet of a dozen high end thefts throughout France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, mostly targeting assets of the well-to-do.

At the peak of her criminal career, her team hatched a bold plan for a powerful client: stealing The Mona Lisa from The Louvre, and putting it into the hands of an "Italian contact." The operation neatly succeeded... but in home stretch, with the painting in hand she apprehended... not by the police, but by the enigmatic Raven Squad. But, just when she thought she was a dead woman, she was not only spared, but offered a new line of work.

Raven Squad was in the loop about Michele's prior history, and the reason she got into the criminal enterprise. They offered her redemption in the chance to put her talents to better use. Taken aback, but grateful, she accepted on the spot. Her first mission: a successful sting operation on the very crime syndicate she had left for RS.

The beginnings of a new life had begun.

Personality: WIP

Tactical Suit:

Stinger Armor; A specialized suit designed for mobility and conducting combat in confined and crowded environments. It has a kevlar layer set under lightweight, composite plating that can deflect light gunfire and safely absorb moderate gunfire (in which case the outer plating is pierced and the kevlar stops the bullet). Built into the armor is a small but powerful thruster system that functions as a compact jumppack. The visor is equipped with visual aids, inclusive of inferred sensors, and short range radar and sonar. Furthermore, the innermost layer of the armor is outfitted with neuromuscular electrodes that provide temporary stimulation to the brain and muscles, allowing for brief bursts of moderately heightened strength and agility. These electrodes (and Michele) require a cool down time between uses.

The armor can be equipped with a contained breathing apparatus and small air supply for brief exposure to toxic gases and fumes.

Favored Weapons:
[i]Tactical Stun Gun; a compact weapon that generates a high voltage output of electricity. The output is enough to incapacitate a fully grown man for several minutes. Built into the Stun Gun are a high wattage flashlight that can double as both a searchlight and vision impairment device, and an anti-grab bar that shocks adversaries if they attempt to seize it from the user's hand.

Beretta M9; semiautomatic pistol using 9x19mm rounds. Effective range of 50m. Frequently used by Michele with a suppressor.

FNP-90; a compact, 5.7x28mm caliber sub machine gun. Fires at a rate between 850-1100 round per minute. It's small size makes it ideal for combat in small spaces against unarmored enemies.

Heckler & Koch HK433; a German made assault rifle carbine; 5.56×45mm caliber. Fires at 800 rounds per minute. Rounds have capacity to penetrate armor.

Ciener Ultimate Over/Under; pump action shotgun built upon a carbine design. Effective range of 50m.

Dual Tonfa; colloquially called nightsticks. Made from a durable but lightweight titanium alloy. A simple design of a two and a half foot long club and a six inch, rubberized handle affixed perpendicularly at about a quarter of the length down the stick. While typically only using one in tandem with a small riot shield, Michele will sometimes dual wield for either novelty's sake or for all out offensive purposes. They can be wielded using the stick as the handle for added range and hooking and disarming techniques.

Equipment:
Smoke Bombs; canisters, sized at approximately 12oz. When activated, incendiary chemicals react, dispensing obscene amounts of smoke into the desired space. Smoke creates both visual hindrance and inhalation hazard to anyone not equipped with respirator systems. Best for small to mid-sized rooms and corridors though they can make for a good distraction in larger spaces.

Climbing Gear; Michele is rarely far from her harness, ropes, and pulley mechanisms. All of the equipment she uses is high end, certified for use in rock climbing at an advanced level. With it, she can set herself up for just about any climb. Among thus gear is also a portable zip line system with a loaded grappling hook and line and an anchoring attachment. It allows for scaling up smoother vertical surfaces such as the sides of buildings, and and an additional means of movement across long gaps.

Scuba Gear; also close by when needed is the collection of air tanks, breathing apparatuses, wetsuits, flippers, and other diving mechanisms needed for underwater exploits. She's regularly prepared to handle any manner of dive.

Hobbies:
- Rock Climbing and Bouldering
- Spelunking & Exploring
- Dancing

Likes:
- Dogs (cats are alright too)
- Learning new things
- Post Rock & House/Dance music.

Dislikes:
- High Heels
- Fast Food
- Country Music
- Blackmail/Extortion

[FourtyTwo]

@Wayward

Very nice! Accepted. I'd actually say ironically the female light catagory has sort of become more of the medium.....ish.

Her character is an interesting one, a bit more of a sneaky infiltrator and heister which I have always wanted to see in this RP, and she fits the bill REALLY well in terms of what I can imagine she'd then be like, coupled to a medium. I'd say she almost fits better as a light, but I like the idea of her being a bit more geared for assault styled work- a grappling hook, jump-jet and a teeny bit more armour turns her into an absolute monster where I imagine some armour goes a long way for survivability, but as a light operative, that would be utterly ludicrously cool too so actually I'd say riff on both. I'll go into the below on where I think we're at as this is getting a little more hazy in classifying!

Can't see anything to add but I'm sure once the RP gets going, I'll gel it all together IC to start opening up characters a little bit more which comes fairly naturally for everyone I'd say.

Post up your CS and good to go for the IC, work on your personality as you go if you want to dive straight in.

--------

Ok, so given there is something I've something I've never seen happen before in these RPs, the Lights and Mediums have way more overlap than I anticipated. As such, I'd probably say it's actually worth the characters having some degree of flexibility- the idea being that optical camo and infiltration gear can be taken up a lot easier than say, a bespoke assault or heavy armour setup (Skye to some degree is included in this). A bit of lore on optical camo is that basically, it is still a very uncertain thing- it needs an operative who knows how to sneak to get the most out of it, so chances are, the hybrids as I'll nickname them have some ability to do it but it'll pertain more to specific operations or missions as there will be some opportunities for the lights to work together on some more stealthy wetwork using a different gearset than their usual. In short, they might lose some of their armour, but they'll gain a lot more covert-ness for when a mission requires complete stealth.

--------------

One more thing- for an RP that is fairly light/wacky in terms of the comedy, Skye is the "straight man/woman" character in comic terms, meaning if your character's got a trait you want to play up for giggles, don't take Skye as the bearing of how wild you can be. I've kept her as a sort of pivot point for other characters to vibe off- she's the one that will always be the team mum but be aware, she WILL judge your character silently and she certainly won't miss a chance to get them back in a very particular way!

That first post is a good place to explore both the casual and combat-ready side of things. The next post I'm planning actually has the brief, which candidly explains what is about to go down in the actual operation (linked in the same sequence), if you see what I'm doing there cleverly- then it'll cut to the actual mission itself :)

--------

@PerfectThought

Probably about five/six years ago. They very likely have, and very likely they both know what they're capable of- Skye I would say is the sort of character who would have been just reliable and good at what she did, to the point she's almost a "fixer" like character- you point her in a direction at your problems and put fingers in ears as to what happens next. Very cold, stoic, detatched and she probably likes that about him in professionalism, but she is Scottish so there is always this sense of warmth and hospitality beneath that surface, which I imagine is the fault line that splits them. That said, no doubt they get on and there's some historic knowledge of what they do and don't.

---

@ReusableSword

I've just realised Ogre and Frigga are polar opposites btw, this is gonna be REAL saucy. One loves nature, the other burns it down. Biologists and Physics, fight fight fight :)

[Little Bird]

Tbh, I kind of reckon that the close combat aspect would/should be more of the medium's wheel house. But honestly, I reached a point where I figured the class designation was less important than a functional role on the team.

[FourtyTwo]

@Wayward

In a way, yeah- it's different methods. Heavies are brutes, mediums use momentum (a lot of armour coupled to speed) which can almost create a gun-fu style of just fluid, clean movement (I really love the Titanfall pilots for this, it's the idea that it's like being hit by an onrush)- so lights are better at making do with very little of the former two and thus krav maga and parkour-setup hit and runs comes into their play a lot, hitting first hard and fast unexpectedly. That said, it's a guide more than anything so to be fair, what you did is really cool. But yeah, post in chars when ready

[BigPapaBelial]

I do apologize that post of mine was made from a phone and fat fingers do not a typo free post make. I'll clean it up tonight after work.

Yes I just read it over myself and am fairly embarrassed by all the typos

[FourtyTwo]

@BigPapaBelial

All good, my first post was chronic and needed plenty of edits!

Might pop up a post Friday evening to keep things turning, feel free to post before/after than as it's a bit of a filler to just keep up the pace (there is no posting order in this RP, so if you want to write, write away but leave a reasonable gap if you can between posters and a couple of days after the last!)

[Little Bird]

I'll be jumping into the IC later today. Turned in early last night because there was a chance I'd have been called into work early this morning. By the looks of it that won't be happening though.

[FourtyTwo]

@Wayward Looking forward to seeing it!

[Little Bird]

Jumping on to apologize. A truck took down a power line by my house this afternoon so we've been without power. So my post will be delayed to tomorrow.

[BigPapaBelial]

@Wayward

Damn. I feel that though. Believe it or not *Ripley's jingle* I have had that happen to me in the past too. It sucks. I feel you man.

[FourtyTwo]

@Wayward

Oh shit, that sucks to hear man :( Hope stuff gets resolved your end wherever you are!

[Awesomoman64]

@FourtyTwo

Much to Skye's annoyance, Glitch is back!

Xander Clarke

Name: Xander Clarke

Age: 28

Appearance:
When picturing what a special ops counter terrorist operator would look like, Xan is usually not what most expect. Cursed to be just under 6 feet, Xan stands at 5’11”. While he is not exactly bulging with muscle, his training does keep him toned and fit. When next to the other members of Raven Squad, however, Xan looks to be a stick. As such he doesn’t feel the need to “show off”, opting to wear long sleeved V necks or dress shirts and jeans as his casual wear.

Being more of an indoors person, his pale skin lacks any sort of tan. Not that he would really get one anyway with all the gear he usually wears. His sandy blonde hair is kept short and spiked forward with the sides buzzed. Easy to maintain and not a heart break if it gets ruined by his helmet. Below his foggy blue/gray eyes, he styles his facial hair in an anchor beard. Another combination of style and practicality.

The first words out of Xan’s mouth exposes the origins of this Aussie, as he uses Australian slang and makes no attempt to hide his rather thick accent.

Nationality: Australian

Callsign: Glitch

Skills:
IT: Xan is a tech junkie. He can repair and dismantle all manner of devices, vehicles, weapons, really anything that has parts and wires. His knowledge of both hardware and software is extensive, and he is prone to use that knowledge for the benefit of his team. Well. Most of the time. He has even developed his own special programs to use on the fly, but we’ll get to those a bit later.

I’ll drive: From dune buggies, to military jets, and even the more advanced mechs, Xan knows or can quickly learn how to pilot them all. He doesn't even need to be at the helm as Xan has been known to take control remotely if a stubborn tango (or a friendly) refuses to get out of the driver's seat when it’s his turn.

Sleight of hand: Years of experience has taught Xan that every second matters when it comes to an operation. Fumbling to reload or put away his gun could waste precious time, and inversely at any moment be forced to drop whatever he's working on and draw his weapon. As such he has practiced these actions over and over again until he could reload at record speed, and fluidly pull out and put away his equipment in the blink of an eye.

One step ahead: Though at times he may seem spontaneous and random, Xan is very methodical in the actions he takes. Though he can’t predict the future or see every possible outcome, he is extremely observant. There are patterns in everything and he will follow them to anticipate what is about to happen and be prepared to react accordingly. This is one reason why he keeps such a versatile assortment of gear on hand, so that none of his options are restricted when the time comes.

History:
The early years of Xander’s life were, uneventful to say the least. He was born in Perth as the youngest of 3 and the son of an accountant and doctor. It was in those years that he learned he had a knack for technology. He would build all sorts of small gizmos and contraptions, eventually learning how to add circuitry and chips that he could code to run specific functions. Unfortunately, his genius did not come with discipline. Many of his creations were crafted and used for the sole purpose of messing with his siblings or disrupting school lectures. Wanting to combat his mischievous nature, but also nurture his gift, his parents decided the best course of action was to enroll him in the Australian Defense Force Academy.

From day one Xan excelled at the ADFA. His studies focused on computer and cyber security along with engineering, further enhancing his technological abilities. While he still had issues following all the rules and obeying his COs, it was found that he thrived in a military structured environment. Running drills, learning military tactics and strategies, having clear goals, and working with others to accomplish those goals really gave Xan a great sense of purpose. He especially loved the more high stress drills and training as they really pushed and challenged him both physically and mentally. After graduating from the ADFA, Xan immediately joined the Australian Army as an infantryman. Though many protested this, saying his mind and skills would be better suited in R&D or military intelligence, Xan was adamant that he be placed in the action and not behind some desk or in a lab.

It came at no surprise that due to his abilities in the field, Xan was given the chance to join the SASR rather early into his military career. From there he played key parts in many classified operations. That alone may have been enough for him to be considered for the most elite team on the planet, but it was his performance during a more recent mission that made him known.

Xan's squad had been deployed to raid a warehouse confirmed to contain illegal weapon shipments. It was supposed to be a textbook raid. Surround the building, go in fast, and catch them with their pants down. It wasn’t until they began breaching that they learned what nightmare they had stumbled into. The weapons belonged to Artemis, and they weren't about to give them up. The SASR were not only outnumbered, but also out classed in terms of equipment. In minutes more than half the squad was wiped, and the mission changed from securing the weapons, to escape.

Cornered and Desperate to at least get him and his men out alive, Xan changed up his strategy. He knew his team was better trained than these guys, they just had to find a way to eliminate the enemies technical advantage and level the playing field. Using just his cell phone, Xan was able to breach the enemy's network, scramble their communications, and turn any security system against them. From there it was a matter of moving swiftly and strategically to take advantage of the chaos. In the end, despite all the odds against them and the heavy losses they incurred, the remaining SASR not only survived, but emerged victorious.

That’s the official story, at least.

When everything was over, Xan was hailed as a hero, a title he pushed back against and still refuses to acknowledge. Regardless how he felt, the incident gave him a lot of attention, and it wasn’t long after that Xan was contacted by the Oracle with an offer to join Raven Squad.

Personality: A beer in his hand, a smirk on his face, and a quip on his tongue, Xan is an overconfident jokester. In nearly all situations he will be making comments and “clever” observations that others may also find humorous, but usually earn him eye rolls and dirty looks. Xan doesn’t mind this as he’s accepted his position as the team jester.

In addition to his comedic antics, Xan rarely doesn’t have some sort of scheme going on or a prank he’s planning to pull on his comrades. All in good fun of course. He would never try anything that would jeopardize a mission or put someone in harm's way. Only stuff around the base to shake things up. In a way, it also keeps his skills sharp, as most of what he does in action could be viewed as “pranking” or “tricking” the enemy. And for those seeking revenge, he takes all retaliation in stride as he’s well aware that what comes around, goes around.

His cockyness does not stay at home, either. Even on the most critical missions, Xan will be cracking jokes and making light of dire situations. Some might interpret this as Xan not caring, that he doesn’t take his job seriously. In reality, it’s simply another tool in his arsenal. If he keeps things light, it helps his team not crack under the pressure of it all. And if he acts like he’s always one step ahead, his enemies might start second guessing their next move and start to make mistakes.

Tactical Suit:

On the surface, Xan’s Tac Suit would seem to be the standard issue exoskeleton with his default choice in clothing being the urban camouflage. While it does still offer the same benefits of jump packs, enhanced movement, protection from most common firearms, and even increased strength, Xan has also added a number of his own modifications to his suit. Most of them have been approved for field use, but some are features he may or may not have gotten cleared.

HUD: Helmet visor displays a myriad of information Xan needs to keep tabs on during a mission such as battery life of both suit and all his equipment, progress of any programs running on his tablet, and status of The Dingo. It can also alternator between several different kinds of views such as therm and night vision.

Amplification: Boosts his tablet, allowing it to have a much greater range and signal strength through most surfaces.

Aim assist: No, the suit doesn’t auto target or track enemies. Instead it is able to detect faint movements in Xan’s arms and steady them. It allows his accuracy to remain high even under extreme stress and even counter some of his weapon’s recoil for a more consistent bullet spread.

Lober: Left shoulder mounted grenade launcher. Simply load with whatever grenade or can of beer that needs to be sent farther than you can toss it, aim, then watch it go.

Mamaragan: Sometimes the best option is to call down some lightning, and this high powered taser fashioned to Xander’s right arm does just that. While its range is limited as the retractable probes can only go a few feet, Xander can crank the voltage up as high as he needs to take down a target or fry a system. Assuming his suit has enough energy to support it.

Weapons:
Due to the amount of equipment Xan is already carrying, he will usually default to one rifle and one side arm.

Assault Rifles:
F88 Austeyr
Sig Sauer MCX

DMR:
SR-25

Pistols:
USP Tactical
Glock 19

Equipment:

Tactical Tablet: Xan carriers with him a specialized tablet loaded up with dozens of programs, viruses, malware, everything he needs to break through an enemy firewall or create a backdoor into their systems. All he needs is to crack a network password or even directly connect to the right device. From there he can download any data needed, take control of anything linked to that network, basically become a nightmare for anything relying on tech. Simultaneously, he can use them to keep hostile cyberattacks at bay preventing unwanted intrusions entirely or hitting them with the metaphorical Uno reverse.

Once a program has been launched, the tablet clips securely onto Xan’s left arm, offering an extremely convenient way for him to carry it while it can both recharge and continue whatever upload or download was initiated. The tablet itself is lined in a bullet proof case, providing even more protection in the event Xan drops it. Oh, and from being shot, I guess.

The Dingo: Secured to Xan’s lower back is what appears to be a large carrying case, but in reality is an advanced portable sentry gun. It can be deployed and retracted in a matter of seconds for quick use and repositioning. When active, it uses state of the art motion and thermal sensors to identify and lock on to a target almost instantly. It will then have a short delay as it waits for a signal from the friendly chip, a microchip Xan made sure was wired into every tactical suit on Raven Squad that tells the sentry “No. Bad dog.” If it does not receive this signal, whatever it is aiming at will be sent sixteen 7.62mm rounds per second until the target stops moving. Xan can also control the sentry remotely with his tablet.

Warning! It is not recommended to use The Dingo auto target mode while in a situation where civilians or non Raven Squad personnel are involved. They are not equipped with the friendly chip and The Dingo does not like strangers.

3 x EMP Grenades: If Xan can’t hack it, then the next best thing is to knock it out completely.

3 x Flashbang Grenades.

3 x Smoke Grenades.

M9 Bayonet: Combat knife that can attach to the F88.

Field repair/tool kit: Never know when something needs to be fixed on the fly.

Hobbies:
When there’s down time the two most common things you’ll find Xander doing are tinkering with his gear, or orchestrating pranks on the other squad members.

If inspiration hasn’t struck in those regards, he’ll usually default to playing some sort of video game or flying one of the many aircrafts stored at the base. (Assuming the hangar staff let him.)

But on rare occasions where Xander just needs to shut out the world and turn off his brain, he can be found playing the piano where one is available.

Likes:
-Cold beer.
-Rainy days.
-Good company.
-Automation.

Dislikes:
-People without a sense of humor.
-Selfishness/”Lone Wolf” types.
-Prolonged CQC.
-White Chocolate.