Karishma Jha Time: 27 APR 25 Location: Taniland, Africa
The rattling of the plane around her was a feeling that she could never quite get used to, a strange preference towards older airframes by operators that struck her as odd. This wasn't her first rodeo so to speak, a bit of an amused smirk as she glanced to the cowgirl at her side and the remarkably calm dog. Figures that the dog would be much more okay with their ride, probably would have stuck his head out the window if that was an option. For but a moment Karishma thought of the gathered operators and what she knew of them, though she had not delved too deeply into their backgrounds beforehand. Arsala with the dog, the group's marksman and humint operative. In most cases she found that meant that there would be a need to avoid fighting, but it was nice to know they had someone to work overwatch. Juichi, pointman and combat engineer. There would probably be a few points where the two of them would need to work together, so she made a mental note of that. As pointman though, she would be following his lead for the most part when it came to combat. Then she came to Santi, "Condor" their drone operator and grenadier. Another supporting operator role that she felt would come in handy quite a bit, regardless of who and where they were fighting. Especially considering their rather discrete nature, having some form of eyes in the sky would be invaluable, and with the bit of background she saw of him... The guy could throw hands.
The other three she wasn't as familiar with, only knowing Meg as their team lead, Sohee as their tech and Moss as the medic and thusly "Doc" to her. But some words of wisdom came to her as the plane shook in a particularly rough patch, reminding her of another time in a very familiar ride. She had been much more nervous then, and it had been a lot colder and rougher a ride. But what she remembered was the relatively relaxed attitudes of the men and women she had been assigned to, a group of operators much like this and led by an incredibly overbearing and enthusiastic Norwegian. "Now Rook, I know this is your first time but just remember this." Magnus, his accent carrying over their ride and a hand on her shoulder as he gave the one bit of advice she held to most over the years. "You got your job, we got ours. No one would be here if they didn't know what they were doing, and that includes you. We're all operators, we got nothing to prove to each other. We got your back, and we know you got ours." It had been something of a surprise to hear, remembering her time in training trying to be the best of the batch for selections and just how competitive everything was. But he had been right, and that mindset got her through those two ops with him and his team.
It was why though she didn't know much beyond some basics of their backgrounds and their roles in this op, Kari didn't have any reservations about Spearhead's selections. She was confident that each of them had the necessary skills for what lay ahead, and if it came down to it each of them would be able to cover for anyone down. All she needed to focus on was her own tasks, following her team lead and the mission at hand. A mission that became all the clearer as the plane touched down and the team shuffled their gear into the only slightly less rickety bus awaiting them. She took a few moments to help out in loading the bus before getting on last and watching the countryside pass by while listening in on the impromptu debrief. From what she gathered on the conversation and the dossier, it looked like they were going to be freeing a resistance leader and helping to set up some connections here that could be used by Spearhead in their overall mission. It made sense to her, primarily in the way of making themselves an ally of the locals and having an easier way to navigate the area. Being able to work with the locals and seen as friendly usually made things a lot easier to operate in a region. When it came to be her turn for the dossier, she looked over it and got enough of an overview to tell her what she needed about the man himself.
"Expected casualties, boss? We going in hard or soft?" She could deal with either, but she tended to find that once things got loud they stayed loud for the rest of an engagement and sometimes it was nice to avoid. Her breaching bag to the side in the seat, she looked over her supplies again. Some thermite pens, a pick kit and of course the heavier stuff. "I'll also second that on any info we can get on infrastructure. I can get us in the door regardless, but could help to know the shortest route possible."
Despite parting in disappointment for how their militia had been founded, Khaliya took the time she had to try and adapt as much as she could to the adventure ahead. She carefully considered the cover necessary, spent the septims she had been given on appropriate materials such as a lightly weathered robe and study materials, and read through some rather basic scholarly works on the local Ayleid ruins. By the time breakfast came around and the group was gathering once more, she looked enough the part of an assistant academian to Arndvir and when they were on the road she alternated between talking with him and Sylruna on some basic knowledge necessary. While some were only concerned in keeping the cover long enough to get into Bruma, she was keen on making it as firm as possible, so as to stand up not only to basic and cursory scrutiny, but also the not uncommon cases of the actually observant. As her uncle and the thieves of Sentinel had taught her, always engineer a cover that could stand the test of not just the zealous and paranoid, but the overly curious. So step by step she solidified herself as appearing every bit just a modest and rather mousy redguard woman serving as the assistant to the real scholars as her primary cover. Just enough knowledge of the Ayleids, arcane engineering and architecture that only real scholars would be able to unravel the cover, and she was confident in her backup as well.
Though as they carried on up the Orange Road things slowly began to shift. Her and Sindri the Reachwoman appeared to notice it first, a slow dimming of the forest ambience. A strange shift in the air. The Reachwoman excused herself first, maybe a little more paranoid than her, but as they continued she picked up on the rather distinct senses of trouble ahead. It was something she had picked up from her father over the years of guiding the tribe through the desert and along the coast. A particular way of the land that seemed ill at ease from the presence of bandits or highwaymen. The latter were the most easily dealt with, usually able to be paid off and passed by without too much hassle. Thieves and Highwaymen were the least concerning for that, most of the time they didn't want to pick a fight and with the Militia arrayed as they were... Very few except the boldest would try and extort this group for coin. But bandits. Those were a different story. Savages and thugs, Khaliya held a poor opinion on those who turned to banditry for all the hardships they inflicted upon the people of Tamriel. They were the kind of people that would steal and kill regardless, lacking in morals and decency often enjoying what they did while others resorted to crime merely out of desperation.
After Sindri departed from the group, Khaliya made a similar excuse as well and began to fade off into the forests on the north side of the road. From what she knew of the roads ahead, this would be the side with higher ground and thus more advantageous to archers and mages to attack the group. There was never a guarantee of course, often enough bandits were not the most intelligent or tactical of people, but she wanted to be sure of things just in case. Every so often she caught sight of the Reachwoman, and when she did manage to catch her eyes she did a quick series of Yokudan hand signs that her tribe used to communicate silently. A hand signing down low to indicate silence and stealth, then motioning up ahead and back to the group. She was hoping that it would be clear enough to be understood, but soon enough an answer to that foreboding silence came to them.
Some Nord woman was screaming nonsense about papers and studies, but more to Khaliya's concern was the collection of Imperials and Nords that dispersed from the forest and ambushed the Militia. She had been careful herself not to be seen by any other bandits holding back and made sure that Sindri could see her similarly moving to counter-attack the ones raining arrows down upon their companions. Slowly and silently she approached an Imperial who had managed to put an arrow into Kiffar, a man who was already notching another and carefully tracking the large orange khajiit. Without waiting to see whether the man would strike his mark for a second time, Khaliya surged forwards with light steps, both hands coming forwards to grasp him from behind. Her left hand came over his mouth to muffle his surprise, but she knew she didn't quite have the strength to hold on for long. That was where her right hand came to grasp the man by the throat, squeezing as if grasping the handle of a blade and a glow forming from within his neck. Her Shehai manifested instantly and violently, a blade of starlight rending through the man from the inside and disappearing before the light of the starlight made steel could be seen by others.
Khaliya let the man go and fall to the forest floor, silently disappearing back into the shadows as he desperately tried to alert his companions without vocal chords...
Once more it seemed that Sylruna was the voice of reason and diplomacy, being careful and considerate of the rather varied makeup of the group and doing her best to find some form of cohesion. That said as the group devolved into arguing she couldn't help but feel her initial optimism diminish moment by moment. Her initial smile and honesty towards the others fading as several others passed over much of what she said to focus on the merchant idea if they gave her heed at all. It wasn't like Khaliya was unused to being passed over in such groups, but it still stung and she gave a glance to the dunmer woman similarly doing her best. Eventually though, the Confessor came to the rescue in a way to try and give them some form of direction and at least it looked like one of her ideas was an agreed upon starting point.
In her honest opinion it would have been most ideal for the Confessor or a similar agent of the Empire to serve in a leadership position of this militia, at the very least to ensure the interests of the Medes were being looked after and that their plan wouldn't go off the rails. Something the Legionnaire seemed surprisingly disinterested in. Still, while she found it strange that the man of the Legion couldn't find himself capable of working within the militia, she gave him a nod of respect on his way out and turned her attention back to the others. "I'll reiterate, that I was not against your suggestion Arnvidr." She began, nodding to him and thinking on the suggestion more fully. It really wouldn't take much to appear as a research expedition, as he and Sylruna had discussed already. "I was merely suggesting that if we were to use that as a cover, it would be ideal to ensure we are all properly equipped and have the expected materials to appear as such. A man of learning such as yourself would have no trouble looking the part, and Sylruna has mentioned similar capability. I feel few would look past Kiffar as a mercenary, but myself and others may need a little work to blend in better."
And that brought her to Meen-La. The criminal and a growing voice of dissent and disunity among the group. She seemed to be full of opinions, but short on any intention on working together with the others. Quick as she was to chastise everyone else, quicker was she to try and claim a leadership role for herself. She knew those kinds of people well, having seen their kind often in her travels across Tamriel. Being a criminal was the least of her issues for Khaliya though. "Though I don't think it wise to challenge our big furry orange friend for leadership, I think with settling on the cover of a research expedition, that Arnvidr makes for a more ideal choice in leadership. Choosing a criminal for leadership would be ill-advised and honestly a non-starter, as I feel it would severely hamper the efforts of the Hidden Militia and make our patrons rather vulnerable politically."
Khaliya gathered up her belongings and pulled on a pair of simple silk gloves, starting out towards the door, but making sure to give a respectful bow of her head towards those who remained. "I will endeavor to find an appropriate for myself according to the plan, and will meet with the rest of you in the morning."
Demolitions/Tech Specialist(Though very specialized)
Appearance:
A patchwork of jagged scars across the arms, a wry grin partially split by yet another across the face and a general indifference to even the most intense of violence around her. She is every bit what one expects at face value from a woman devoted to the Corps. The kind of casual attitude and demeanor, not caring what others think of her and generally keeping to "combat dress". Karishma is just over five feet of kick-ass carefully cultivated into a toned package, a subtle strength of the body that she likes to make obvious only when absolutely necessary. She keeps her hair short and more tomboyish of late after a rather unfortunate accident that left her forearms and face scarred, but does still have a bit of a fashionable sense at times wearing it in a neat bob or a pixie cut when trying to look "nice". Though she generally prefers to look quite the opposite, wearing more comfortable and casual clothing that is easy to move in and kick ass in, having fully embraced the life of a door-kicker as it were.
Bio:
A clash of glasses, the rowdy bar-songs and soon the sounds of fighting as inevitable as two branches meeting always were just to be followed by more drinking and more bar-songs. Years ago when she was still in high school, not a single one of her classmates would have envisioned Karishma Jha as being in the center of this kind of group. Back then she had been a brilliant rising star, first in class at everything she put her mind towards and seen by many as the most likely of their class to succeed. Despite it being small town Wyoming in the nineties, it was still a point of pride for herself and her immigrant parents who felt as if they were truly living the American Dream. They were loved and respected within their community, they had blossoming careers and their daughter was looking towards much the same. Then in her final year in high school, things very nearly looked to come to a halt. An administrative error one person called it, a consequence of rural life from another, and outright confusion by yet another. Her application for scholarship had ended up being passed over, while she had been accepted into the school of her choosing.
With her future ahead of her but severely lacking the finances to actually achieve it, her parents took the few months leading to her graduation to find every option possible. Her father being a born-again Christian, of course approached the dilemma as many people like him did. By praying for an angel to come and help his daughter, the nicest one possible. And three days later that angel arrived in the form of a United States Marine Corps recruiter doing his rounds.
This is where most people think Karishma changed, looking towards the GI bill to fund her college and career, likely to simply use it as far as she needed and then not look back. Most people would be wrong though. As Karishma entered into the Corps, did her first tour of duty then the second and began her college courses, it became readily apparent that this was who she was. Principally there was the idea that she chose the military as a last option, but really... Karishma had always been the kind of person to choose the most direct and likely to succeed option possible. It wasn't that she took shortcuts, or the easy way. Just as she does now, she carefully considers all of her options and takes the most direct route possible.
But one way or another, Karishma entered into the Corps and treated Basic Training as she had done everything else up to that point. With the seriousness and amount of effort it required, but not that much seriousness. Within a couple weeks she already garnered a reputation as the kind of girl that was not afraid of a little competition, knew to keep things professional in front of the Gunney, but would absolutely not back down when confronted. Respect isn't given, it is earned as it comes to pass in the military, and she would end up earning hers by the end of basic and the start of her first tour. Which, despite still being in the depths of Operation Enduring Freedom, went relatively without too many incidents. Much the same went by for her second tour, and into the next as she began to look towards actually using that GI bill. At a certain point though, while kicking in a door and filling a room with double-ought, Karishma came to a realization. A realization that she was actually enjoying herself.
Now, she did follow up with the base psych-officer, just to make sure this wasn't anything to be concerned about, but it did begin her down the path of a career Marine. Her parents were questionably okay with this when she came back to celebrate the completion of her degrees back home between tours, but it was something that left her feeling a sense of purpose and fulfillment, so they supported her in every way they could.
That was at least until she went back again in 2010 with training as an EOD tech, utilizing some of her degrees in her military career. She had worked a little bit off and on in support of EOD before this, but now she had actively pursued the new MOS and started to assist in a more support-based role during OEF. More than once she had been shot at in the line of duty, and a couple times one of her own unit had taken a bullet, but her luck had always held out in avoiding anything too serious. That was until a rather warm day in the middle of 2010 when she waddled out in the bomb suit and started work on an IED that had been discovered in a high-traffic area. Most of the nearby homes and roadway had been evacuated, so there had been no concern for collateral during her work but still she had been working carefully on attempting to extricate the explosive material and disable to device. That was when for a brief moment over the radio her CO heard that chilling tone. "Fuck"
Her memory remains a little foggy on what exactly happened, either her glove had caught on a wire or something shifted in the wrecked vehicle, or it had been remotely activated. No matter the reason though, she had been "tits deep" as she called it in the guts of the vehicle and up to her elbows in the IED one moment, and embedded in some Afghan's living room the next with much of her front half on fire. Thanks to the suit she hadn't outright died, but her arms had been shredded and the visor of the helmet had very nearly carved part of her face from her skull. In the end thanks to the excellence of highly motivated Marine surgeons, she ended up actually living through the entire ordeal and getting an extended leave from it. An extended leave that was heavily implied to lead into an honorable discharge as initial outlooks pointed towards her not being able to walk without aid afterwards, much less have use of her arms again.
Then in 2013, two years after her wounding she was back on base and going through qualifications to prove herself competent enough to not only return to duty, but to get a sort of sidegrade promotion out of it. Thus began her more... Discreet career as it were. The following years saw Karishma exceeding all expectations of her, joining into Force Recon and proving to be as devoted to the Corps as any other Marine past or present. It was actually her former CO who recommended her for Force Recon after seeing her return, commenting that "the girl has more Marine in her than any man in the Corps". Which for a moment had a bit of a solemn and respectful tone, until it was Karishma herself from the back with "Phrasing".
And that becomes much of what Karishma Jha is. She's a motivated, dedicated Marine who is as much a crayon muncher as any other door-kicker in the Corps. But there's a surprising and vicious intelligence behind those eyes that makes it clear that she can use every bit of knowledge and experience she has gathered in the last twenty years to violently disassemble a building on command. With or without enemy combatants inside. Of course since becoming a "Spook" as it were, she has had a few rough moments, especially during a pair of operations that not only saw her first and only HALO jump, but also brought her to a damning realization about her line of work.
"The world sleeps peacefully because rough men and women stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
Service History:
- 2004: Enlisted USMC Basic Infantry - 2005: Second tour USMC, begins courses while on active duty - 2008: Completion of Mechanical and Structural Engineering degrees while in service and advancement to E-5 - 2009: Shift into EOD and a look towards CSO training - 2010: Active assignments as EOD tech - 2011: Put on leave after near-fatal wounding in the line of duty, takes time to complete Nuclear Science and Engineering degrees over the course of the year - 2013: Full recovery from prior injuries, completion of CSO training and shift into Force Recon at recommendation of prior commander - 2014: Military Free Fall training completion, advancement into E-8 - 2015: Operation - Wildfire - 2015: Operation - Revenant - 2016: Extended leave post Operation Revenant - 2020: Extended leave ends, return to active duty - 2025: Assignment to Spearhead
Family/Friends - Both parents still live in Wyoming, the state that doesn't exist. - Supposedly has a partner and child back home. Open betting pool back at MARSOC over who was brave enough. - Never misses her former CO's 4th of July cookout. - Also never misses the high school reunion, no matter how awkward it always is for everyone else. - Voted as the best secret Santa on base, even if she doesn't actually celebrate
Personal tidbits - Practicing Hindu - Is not a Vegan, which confuses some - Has a tatoo of Shiva across her back - Has the most baffling of reading habits - Swears by nine millimeter
Likes - Rainy, cold weather - Rural living - Isekai anime. As bad as they are. She knows they are bad. - Hard rock, smooth liquor and a night at the bar with the bois.
Dislikes - Sand - Heat - The Deftones - A sturdy door
Was just going to quote my post I was working on it in, but figured a new post would work just as well @Rhona W
Name:
Karishma "Kari" Jha
Age:
38 - 7/9/1987
Gender:
Female
Nationality:
United States
Primary Role:
Breacher
Secondary Role:
Demolitions/Tech Specialist(Though very specialized)
Appearance:
A patchwork of jagged scars across the arms, a wry grin partially split by yet another across the face and a general indifference to even the most intense of violence around her. She is every bit what one expects at face value from a woman devoted to the Corps. The kind of casual attitude and demeanor, not caring what others think of her and generally keeping to "combat dress". Karishma is just over five feet of kick-ass carefully cultivated into a toned package, a subtle strength of the body that she likes to make obvious only when absolutely necessary. She keeps her hair short and more tomboyish of late after a rather unfortunate accident that left her forearms and face scarred, but does still have a bit of a fashionable sense at times wearing it in a neat bob or a pixie cut when trying to look "nice". Though she generally prefers to look quite the opposite, wearing more comfortable and casual clothing that is easy to move in and kick ass in, having fully embraced the life of a door-kicker as it were.
Bio:
A clash of glasses, the rowdy bar-songs and soon the sounds of fighting as inevitable as two branches meeting always were just to be followed by more drinking and more bar-songs. Years ago when she was still in high school, not a single one of her classmates would have envisioned Karishma Jha as being in the center of this kind of group. Back then she had been a brilliant rising star, first in class at everything she put her mind towards and seen by many as the most likely of their class to succeed. Despite it being small town Wyoming in the nineties, it was still a point of pride for herself and her immigrant parents who felt as if they were truly living the American Dream. They were loved and respected within their community, they had blossoming careers and their daughter was looking towards much the same. Then in her final year in high school, things very nearly looked to come to a halt. An administrative error one person called it, a consequence of rural life from another, and outright confusion by yet another. Her application for scholarship had ended up being passed over, while she had been accepted into the school of her choosing.
With her future ahead of her but severely lacking the finances to actually achieve it, her parents took the few months leading to her graduation to find every option possible. Her father being a born-again Christian, of course approached the dilemma as many people like him did. By praying for an angel to come and help his daughter, the nicest one possible. And three days later that angel arrived in the form of a United States Marine Corps recruiter doing his rounds.
This is where most people think Karishma changed, looking towards the GI bill to fund her college and career, likely to simply use it as far as she needed and then not look back. Most people would be wrong though. As Karishma entered into the Corps, did her first tour of duty then the second and began her college courses, it became readily apparent that this was who she was. Principally there was the idea that she chose the military as a last option, but really... Karishma had always been the kind of person to choose the most direct and likely to succeed option possible. It wasn't that she took shortcuts, or the easy way. Just as she does now, she carefully considers all of her options and takes the most direct route possible.
But one way or another, Karishma entered into the Corps and treated Basic Training as she had done everything else up to that point. With the seriousness and amount of effort it required, but not that much seriousness. Within a couple weeks she already garnered a reputation as the kind of girl that was not afraid of a little competition, knew to keep things professional in front of the Gunney, but would absolutely not back down when confronted. Respect isn't given, it is earned as it comes to pass in the military, and she would end up earning hers by the end of basic and the start of her first tour. Which, despite still being in the depths of Operation Enduring Freedom, went relatively without too many incidents. Much the same went by for her second tour, and into the next as she began to look towards actually using that GI bill. At a certain point though, while kicking in a door and filling a room with double-ought, Karishma came to a realization. A realization that she was actually enjoying herself.
Now, she did follow up with the base psych-officer, just to make sure this wasn't anything to be concerned about, but it did begin her down the path of a career Marine. Her parents were questionably okay with this when she came back to celebrate the completion of her degrees back home between tours, but it was something that left her feeling a sense of purpose and fulfillment, so they supported her in every way they could.
That was at least until she went back again in 2010 with training as an EOD tech, utilizing some of her degrees in her military career. She had worked a little bit off and on in support of EOD before this, but now she had actively pursued the new MOS and started to assist in a more support-based role during OEF. More than once she had been shot at in the line of duty, and a couple times one of her own unit had taken a bullet, but her luck had always held out in avoiding anything too serious. That was until a rather warm day in the middle of 2010 when she waddled out in the bomb suit and started work on an IED that had been discovered in a high-traffic area. Most of the nearby homes and roadway had been evacuated, so there had been no concern for collateral during her work but still she had been working carefully on attempting to extricate the explosive material and disable to device. That was when for a brief moment over the radio her CO heard that chilling tone. "Fuck"
Her memory remains a little foggy on what exactly happened, either her glove had caught on a wire or something shifted in the wrecked vehicle, or it had been remotely activated. No matter the reason though, she had been "tits deep" as she called it in the guts of the vehicle and up to her elbows in the IED one moment, and embedded in some Afghan's living room the next with much of her front half on fire. Thanks to the suit she hadn't outright died, but her arms had been shredded and the visor of the helmet had very nearly carved part of her face from her skull. In the end thanks to the excellence of highly motivated Marine surgeons, she ended up actually living through the entire ordeal and getting an extended leave from it. An extended leave that was heavily implied to lead into an honorable discharge as initial outlooks pointed towards her not being able to walk without aid afterwards, much less have use of her arms again.
Then in 2013, two years after her wounding she was back on base and going through qualifications to prove herself competent enough to not only return to duty, but to get a sort of sidegrade promotion out of it. Thus began her more... Discreet career as it were. The following years saw Karishma exceeding all expectations of her, joining into Force Recon and proving to be as devoted to the Corps as any other Marine past or present. It was actually her former CO who recommended her for Force Recon after seeing her return, commenting that "the girl has more Marine in her than any man in the Corps". Which for a moment had a bit of a solemn and respectful tone, until it was Karishma herself from the back with "Phrasing".
And that becomes much of what Karishma Jha is. She's a motivated, dedicated Marine who is as much a crayon muncher as any other door-kicker in the Corps. But there's a surprising and vicious intelligence behind those eyes that makes it clear that she can use every bit of knowledge and experience she has gathered in the last twenty years to violently disassemble a building on command. With or without enemy combatants inside. Of course since becoming a "Spook" as it were, she has had a few rough moments, especially during a pair of operations that not only saw her first and only HALO jump, but also brought her to a damning realization about her line of work.
"The world sleeps peacefully because rough men and women stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
Service History:
- 2004: Enlisted USMC Basic Infantry - 2005: Second tour USMC, begins courses while on active duty - 2008: Completion of Mechanical and Structural Engineering degrees while in service and advancement to E-5 - 2009: Shift into EOD and a look towards CSO training - 2010: Active assignments as EOD tech - 2011: Put on leave after near-fatal wounding in the line of duty, takes time to complete Nuclear Science and Engineering degrees over the course of the year - 2013: Full recovery from prior injuries, completion of CSO training and shift into Force Recon at recommendation of prior commander - 2014: Military Free Fall training completion, advancement into E-8 - 2015: Operation - Wildfire - 2015: Operation - Revenant - 2016: Extended leave post Operation Revenant - 2020: Extended leave ends, return to active duty - 2025: Assignment to Spearhead
Family/Friends - Both parents still live in Wyoming, the state that doesn't exist. - Supposedly has a partner and child back home. Open betting pool back at MARSOC over who was brave enough. - Never misses her former CO's 4th of July cookout. - Also never misses the high school reunion, no matter how awkward it always is for everyone else. - Voted as the best secret Santa on base, even if she doesn't actually celebrate
Personal tidbits - Practicing Hindu - Is not a Vegan, which confuses some - Has a tatoo of Shiva across her back - Has the most baffling of reading habits - Swears by nine millimeter
Likes - Rainy, cold weather - Rural living - Isekai anime. As bad as they are. She knows they are bad. - Hard rock, smooth liquor and a night at the bar with the bois.
Dislikes - Sand - Heat - The Deftones - A sturdy door
Already it seemed there was a breakdown in communications between the people gathered. Meen-La, the criminal in their midst, seemed intent on taking the lead and was starting off strong by chiding everyone else for not introducing themselves despite the rather haphazard nature of their gathering. The khajiit Kiffar seemed more bemused by all this and doing what cats did, which she felt was at least better than the bickering of the lizards. She appreciated the Dunmer woman's attempts at being diplomatic, even if they felt wasted by the competing energies of everyone else. Even the Nord was being smart about things and trying to talk through a plan, again marking him out as rather different than the stereotypical Nord. Still, this was not going anywhere with everyone having their own ideas on how best to proceed.
"If I may?" She offered, standing once more as the Confessor stood aside and the gathered militia continued their discussions. "Khaliya al-Rihad, Alik'ri nomad. My people are well versed in some of the facets necessary for what lies ahead, so I would like to offer up some options to be considered." Khaliya played it carefully as she spoke, not wanting to take the lead by any means. It wasn't like how she normally dealt with such groups in her time on the road, normally creating a false persona and allowing others to form their own image of her no matter how wrong it may be. This group would clearly be working together for some time, and trust was a necessary part of such cooperation, so she felt it prudent to be honest. At least, in what she did reveal. Some things were best not spoken of just yet.
"We have quite the varied group here, as mentioned by... Sindri." She waited just long enough for the Reachwoman to identify herself, giving a careful and cautious eye towards her, still trying to determine if she may be potentially hostile. "Which will inevitably necessitate splitting our group. At the present moment we could attempt to pass for any of the suggested approaches, but without goods we will look like rather poor merchants. Without the appropriate study materials and cover for the rest of us, our Nord friend here may look like either a rich fool pursuing a passion, or someone trying to pass as a wandering researcher. The Legion presence here, while most definitely a boon if and when violence is necessary, will also immediately mark us as a martial group of some kind, and most assuredly one affiliated at least nominally with the Empire. So a target of Thalmor sympathizers, or political enemies of the Medes."
A shifting from one foot to another followed, Khaliya carefully considering her words and how much to speak of and when, a crucial skill she had learned from her father and the tribe as they went from city to city. "I have experience working with merchants and can pass for one, as I'm sure a few others here can. And with a word, I'm sure the Confessor here can use the time until departure to secure us enough relevant goods to actually pose properly as a merchant caravan. We have our big furry friend Kiffar here, and Meen-La to serve as adequate caravan guards, while the Legion support can always be at a short, but plausibly unaffiliated distance."
"Much the same with the suggestion to form a cover of acting as a research support team, or mercenaries hunting bandits and outlaws. Considering our wide assortment of backgrounds, we could just as easily pose as a wandering caravan of entertainers and with less effort. I am personally versed in old Yokudan sword-dancing, I'm sure there's a mage or three among the group that can work some spells for public amusement, and we have a strongman.... Cat. Though regardless, we should prioritize two things. First being to either look towards the Confessor as the head of our endeavors if she is to join us, or to nominate and individual among us to lead party matters. That then leads into what is more important of the two, settling on an agreed course of action."
So an Argonian, a Nord and a Dunmer walk into a priory... It felt like the beginning of a poor joke taught to first-years at the Bard's College and she was idly considering her own part of this slowly escalating mess that her brother had talked her into. Yashar had of course pitched it as something far nobler, of the needs of the Empire and all its citizens. Being a devout adherent to the Nine, it was becoming obvious as to why he himself had become involved in this hidden militia. It was true that the Dominion was an existential threat to the Empire, that much was clear to anyone who was capable or interested in looking beyond their own small part of Tamriel. Less so was the enthusiasm that the Dominion had for ensuring that only the correct gods were worshipped. She scanned across the gathered members, carefully considering what she could discern of them without approaching directly.
The Argonian in Legion gear was the least subtle of their number, and a curiousity at least for her. She had met few Argonians in her travels, and while they very much should not be considered the standard, still this one struck her as a bit off compared to the notions she previously held. But he was polite, disciplined and brought friends. Very well armed and similarly disciplined friends. This showed at the very least that whoever organized this had expectations of some trouble down the road at some point, as much was explained by the "confessor". Then another Argonian arrived, this time in chains and while she did not protest openly, Khaliya had the feeling that she would have rather been anywhere else. That also went inline with the Confessor's words, that some of them were not entirely here by sincere choice. Not like it was any of her business if some of the members of this expedition liked to put their hands or swords where they were unwelcome, so long as they respected her and her belongings.
A Dunmer woman and a Nord were the next to draw her eyes, the former seeming to be an effort at ensuring some cultural understanding could be found between the Empire and the potential new provinces. Few understood being outsiders of faith and culture as much as the Dunmer, from her understanding. That would at least bode well towards their negotiations, and more so as she listened to the woman speak her mind. The Nord was rather surprisingly taciturn for one of his people, at least from what she knew of them. Most Nords she had run across had been boastful, boisterous and rather loud and violent. This one though, she quietly considered if he was not quite the bruiser that most of his kind were, taking in his bearing and trying to get a read on him.
And then of course, came the cat. By the shining bitch's cold tits, that was the biggest Khajiit she had ever seen, and he seemed every bit the size of one who could have overshadowed her sister Roshanara. She didn't even know they could get that big, much less how a Khajiit could get that big. What did they feed him down in Elsweyr? Smaller, weaker Khajiit? Then she noticed the shackles, the bruises across the guardsmen attempting to guide the big furry ball of muscle into the priory. Now that was something she was more familiar with, and more so as he roughed up the guards a little more and helped himself to a bit of jerky. Someone straightforward, honest and very clearly capable of extreme violence at a moment's notice. She would just need to stick close to that one and be honest when speaking to him. Maybe use small words...
Finally, she came upon the Reachman. There was no mistaking what she was, not for a Breton, a Nord and by far not an Imperial. Khaliya knew a denizen of the Reach from both personal experience and that of her tribe. It was just a way they had about them, and while her tribe was on good relations with a few clans to the point of even claiming kinbonds, there were just as many if not more who still held a grudge over the death of Sharuk The Seven-Handed and his clan. She tried to discern if the woman had any identifiable markings, but her place in the priory made that difficult, and she gave up on the understanding that it was unlikely that particular grudge would be settled this day or at least on this expedition.
"With respect, I have the guidance of my ancestors." She said at last, gathering up her pack and adjusting the leather traveling clothes currently keeping her modest, if not well armored. Another glance around and it seemed clear that at least from first look she was the only one not openly armed, looking more like a provisioner or non-combatant and that was fine with her. If needs be, she would do her part but she was more comfortable with lending her assistance towards more diplomatic and constructive means.
Coming in when I can with MARSOC CSO, focus on Breaching and Demolitions. And eating all the crayons >:[
Name:
Karishma "Kari" Jha
Age:
38 - 7/9/1987
Gender:
Female
Nationality:
United States
Primary Role:
Breacher
Secondary Role:
Demolitions/Tech Specialist(Though very specialized)
Appearance:
A patchwork of jagged scars across the arms, a wry grin partially split by yet another across the face and a general indifference to even the most intense of violence around her. She is every bit what one expects at face value from a woman devoted to the Corps. The kind of casual attitude and demeanor, not caring what others think of her and generally keeping to "combat dress". Karishma is just over five feet of kick-ass carefully cultivated into a toned package, a subtle strength of the body that she likes to make obvious only when absolutely necessary. She keeps her hair short and more tomboyish of late after a rather unfortunate accident that left her forearms and face scarred, but does still have a bit of a fashionable sense at times wearing it in a neat bob or a pixie cut when trying to look "nice". Though she generally prefers to look quite the opposite, wearing more comfortable and casual clothing that is easy to move in and kick ass in, having fully embraced the life of a door-kicker as it were.
Bio:
A clash of glasses, the rowdy bar-songs and soon the sounds of fighting as inevitable as two branches meeting always were just to be followed by more drinking and more bar-songs. Years ago when she was still in high school, not a single one of her classmates would have envisioned Karishma Jha as being in the center of this kind of group. Back then she had been a brilliant rising star, first in class at everything she put her mind towards and seen by many as the most likely of their class to succeed. Despite it being small town Wyoming in the nineties, it was still a point of pride for herself and her immigrant parents who felt as if they were truly living the American Dream. They were loved and respected within their community, they had blossoming careers and their daughter was looking towards much the same. Then in her final year in high school, things very nearly looked to come to a halt. An administrative error one person called it, a consequence of rural life from another, and outright confusion by yet another. Her application for scholarship had ended up being passed over, while she had been accepted into the school of her choosing.
With her future ahead of her but severely lacking the finances to actually achieve it, her parents took the few months leading to her graduation to find every option possible. Her father being a born-again Christian, of course approached the dilemma as many people like him did. By praying for an angel to come and help his daughter, the nicest one possible. And three days later that angel arrived in the form of a United States Marine Corps recruiter doing his rounds.
This is where most people think Karishma changed, looking towards the GI bill to fund her college and career, likely to simply use it as far as she needed and then not look back. Most people would be wrong though. As Karishma entered into the Corps, did her first tour of duty then the second and began her college courses, it became readily apparent that this was who she was. Principally there was the idea that she chose the military as a last option, but really... Karishma had always been the kind of person to choose the most direct and likely to succeed option possible. It wasn't that she took shortcuts, or the easy way. Just as she does now, she carefully considers all of her options and takes the most direct route possible.
But one way or another, Karishma entered into the Corps and treated Basic Training as she had done everything else up to that point. With the seriousness and amount of effort it required, but not that much seriousness. Within a couple weeks she already garnered a reputation as the kind of girl that was not afraid of a little competition, knew to keep things professional in front of the Gunney, but would absolutely not back down when confronted. Respect isn't given, it is earned as it comes to pass in the military, and she would end up earning hers by the end of basic and the start of her first tour. Which, despite still being in the depths of Operation Enduring Freedom, went relatively without too many incidents. Much the same went by for her second tour, and into the next as she began to look towards actually using that GI bill. At a certain point though, while kicking in a door and filling a room with double-ought, Karishma came to a realization. A realization that she was actually enjoying herself.
Now, she did follow up with the base psych-officer, just to make sure this wasn't anything to be concerned about, but it did begin her down the path of a career Marine. Her parents were questionably okay with this when she came back to celebrate the completion of her degrees back home between tours, but it was something that left her feeling a sense of purpose and fulfillment, so they supported her in every way they could.
That was at least until she went back again in 2010 with training as an EOD tech, utilizing some of her degrees in her military career. She had worked a little bit off and on in support of EOD before this, but now she had actively pursued the new MOS and started to assist in a more support-based role during OEF. More than once she had been shot at in the line of duty, and a couple times one of her own unit had taken a bullet, but her luck had always held out in avoiding anything too serious. That was until a rather warm day in the middle of 2010 when she waddled out in the bomb suit and started work on an IED that had been discovered in a high-traffic area. Most of the nearby homes and roadway had been evacuated, so there had been no concern for collateral during her work but still she had been working carefully on attempting to extricate the explosive material and disable to device. That was when for a brief moment over the radio her CO heard that chilling tone. "Fuck"
Her memory remains a little foggy on what exactly happened, either her glove had caught on a wire or something shifted in the wrecked vehicle, or it had been remotely activated. No matter the reason though, she had been "tits deep" as she called it in the guts of the vehicle and up to her elbows in the IED one moment, and embedded in some Afghan's living room the next with much of her front half on fire. Thanks to the suit she hadn't outright died, but her arms had been shredded and the visor of the helmet had very nearly carved part of her face from her skull. In the end thanks to the excellence of highly motivated Marine surgeons, she ended up actually living through the entire ordeal and getting an extended leave from it. An extended leave that was heavily implied to lead into an honorable discharge as initial outlooks pointed towards her not being able to walk without aid afterwards, much less have use of her arms again.
Then in 2013, two years after her wounding she was back on base and going through qualifications to prove herself competent enough to not only return to duty, but to get a sort of sidegrade promotion out of it. Thus began her more... Discreet career as it were. The following years saw Karishma exceeding all expectations of her, joining into Force Recon and proving to be as devoted to the Corps as any other Marine past or present. It was actually her former CO who recommended her for Force Recon after seeing her return, commenting that "the girl has more Marine in her than any man in the Corps". Which for a moment had a bit of a solemn and respectful tone, until it was Karishma herself from the back with "Phrasing".
And that becomes much of what Karishma Jha is. She's a motivated, dedicated Marine who is as much a crayon muncher as any other door-kicker in the Corps. But there's a surprising and vicious intelligence behind those eyes that makes it clear that she can use every bit of knowledge and experience she has gathered in the last twenty years to violently disassemble a building on command. With or without enemy combatants inside. Of course since becoming a "Spook" as it were, she has had a few rough moments, especially during a pair of operations that not only saw her first and only HALO jump, but also brought her to a damning realization about her line of work.
"The world sleeps peacefully because rough men and women stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
Service History:
- 2004: Enlisted USMC Basic Infantry - 2005: Second tour USMC, begins courses while on active duty - 2008: Completion of Mechanical and Structural Engineering degrees while in service and advancement to E-5 - 2009: Shift into EOD and a look towards CSO training - 2010: Active assignments as EOD tech - 2011: Put on leave after near-fatal wounding in the line of duty, takes time to complete Nuclear Science and Engineering degrees over the course of the year - 2013: Full recovery from prior injuries, completion of CSO training and shift into Force Recon at recommendation of prior commander - 2014: Military Free Fall training completion, advancement into E-8 - 2015: Operation - Wildfire - 2015: Operation - Revenant - 2016: Extended leave post Operation Revenant - 2020: Extended leave ends, return to active duty - 2025: Assignment to Spearhead
Family/Friends - Both parents still live in Wyoming, the state that doesn't exist. - Supposedly has a partner and child back home. Open betting pool back at MARSOC over who was brave enough. - Never misses her former CO's 4th of July cookout. - Also never misses the high school reunion, no matter how awkward it always is for everyone else. - Voted as the best secret Santa on base, even if she doesn't actually celebrate
Personal tidbits - Practicing Hindu - Is not a Vegan, which confuses some - Has a tatoo of Shiva across her back - Has the most baffling of reading habits - Swears by nine millimeter
Likes - Rainy, cold weather - Rural living - Isekai anime. As bad as they are. She knows they are bad. - Hard rock, smooth liquor and a night at the bar with the bois.
Dislikes - Sand - Heat - The Deftones - A sturdy door
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