Thane "Old Man" Cross
"A nation can only leave a man to die so many times before he doesn't come back"6'4" Tall, Athletic Build, Grey eyes, Silvering Hair
Gender: Male
Race: Gracian
Age: 568
Abilities:
"A Cut above the Rest" - Due to his breeding Thane is a prime subject of the physical body. making him stronger, faster, and more clever than most unaltered beings. That was back in his Prime, currently he can still beat the average man in most things but can't stand up to those who are physically enhanced
Ocular Implant in Right eye - allows Thane to adjust zoom and switch between view types (Normal, Infrared, Night Vision)
Arm Mounted Weapon Tether - An Electrical jack on Thane's right wrist that can connect to his rifle interfacing with his Ocular Implant allowing it to access a scope like camera mounted on the gun's barrel. Also if Thane would be forced to drop the gun the tether could be reeled back in to quickly rearm Thane in rare circumstances.
Cybernetic Arm - Thane's left arm has been replaced with a Cybernetic Prosthetic. This prosthetic is equipped with a twin energy pistol mounted above the wrist, and a grappling cable mounted underneath the wrist for mobility.
Equipment:
CTS Armor - The "Chameleon Tactical Skin" Armor plating is type of stealth technology that allows the user to blend in almost perfectly with his environment as long as it is not moving. Making Thane almost Invisible when he is sniping.
Old Birtha - Thane's Personal Energy Sniper Rifle, She has been with him for years and always served him well.
Tactical Knife - Nothing fancy just a knife Thane keeps in case of close range combat
Bio:
As a young boy Thane was literally groomed to become part of the Gracian military with both of his parents serving in some form of the armed forces and undergoing genetic enhancement in an attempt to produce the perfect soldier as an offspring. And the product of these enhancements was no failure. Even at a young age it was clear that Thane was faster and stronger than the other children his age. And while most others were sent to grade school Thane was off to the Military Academy.
It was at the academy that Thane really grew to appreciate his enhancements as they put him at the top of his classes. Thane was stronger, faster, smarter, and more agile than any of the other cadets and it made him a target for the other classmates. But still Thane pushed on ending up graduating at the top of his class and was selected to join a special forces division of the Gracian Military "The Black Blades".
Thane's boot camp for the Black Blades was unlike anything he had seen at the academy and he was pushed to his limits every day. It was here where his proficiency with a rifle started to show. It seemed that his reaction times and calculating skills went beyond even his enhanced abilities and it was set so that he would become the "perfect" marksman. But this was not an easy path, it was on his first field operation with the Black Blades that Thane lost his right eye and the first time he had to fight to survive.
Tasked with assassinating a Imperial Admiral, Thane thought he had the easy job of just taking the shot. But things never go as planned the glint of his scope was spotted by a counter sniper who quickly sent a bullet down Thane's scope. Luckily the Scope itself deflected the bullet, but the scope itself basically exploded and lodged glass shards into Thane's eye. One slip up and the mission was aborted the other Blades disappeared leaving Thane alone behind enemy lines and injured. After Two weeks of running, avoiding his enemies, and nearly starving to death Thane finally made it to safety and was picked up by the Black Blades, but by that time it was to late his eye had become infected and would have to be removed.
This was the first time Thane would come to alter his body. He decided to take on a cybernetic eye implant so he wouldn't have to use a scope and risk this kind of failure again. He even went as far as to add a tether line on his arm so he could interface with his rifle better. By the time of his next "failure" Thane spent 276 years with the Black Blades taking on vital missions to "End the War" and in this time there were many times when Thane would be left to survive on his own after a mission as it seemed the Black Blades never really had an exit strategy for their troops.
Thane's second failure was finding out the truth. After a sting of assassination missions against targets that seemed to be advocating for peace Thane decided to do a little investigating of his own and used his time abandoned by the blade find the truth. After a few hints and tracking down the Political Rival Thane saw it, An Imperial Politician in communication with his commanding officer in the Blades. The two spoke for a bit on a well done operation and how the will of a "Bal Collective" had been done. Having a piece of information he could use Thane retreated needing to learn more of this Bal Collective.
Thane would spend his free time in the next three years researching into this Bal Collective but never found much. Although he was able to tie them to assassinations and accidents on both sides of the war that would end up killing or incapacitating those who seemed to be on the path for peace. But the day came when apparently Thane had not been careful enough in covering his tracks while researching and the Bal Collective found out about him. While on route to a mission Thane's squad turned on him attacking him mid flight. Thane's superior strength and ability allowed him to come out the victor, but there was a contingency. An Explosion from within took down his transport it landing somewhere in the Middlelands and gravely injured Thane.
Luck smiled on Thane that day as some human farmers pulled him from the transports wreckage and nursed him back to health. When Thane came to he thanked his rescuers and quietly made his way back to Gracian territory. Upon his return it seemed that Thane had been Blacklisted from most of his contacts, but some old friends owed him a few favors and Thane was able to get himself a cybernetic arm to replace the one he lost in the crash. He also learned that all records of Thane had been erased from the Gracian records. Knowing this wasn't a good sign Thane left the Gracian lands disconnecting himself from the grid to prevent him from being tracked and returning to the Middlelands to plan out his next action.
Thane would spend the next 50 years laying low in the Middlelands acting as a farmer and a bit of hired muscle to keep pirates away. It was after he was sure that the Bal Collective would assume his death that Thane decided to return to civilized life. Luckily the 50 years he had spent as a farmer had tanned Thane's skin and his prosthetics were easy enough to hide allowing Thane to blend in with most of the Empire's culture. Needing a steady source of income to replace his failing body parts Thane began work as a hired gun within the Empire starting to make a name for himself. For the next 200 Years Thane would hide himself making new aliases, never taking off whatever stupid mask he downed for that name and ended up taking 20 different aliases over the span.
Finally 18 years ago Thane ran into Murdoch a kid with a good head on his shoulders and even let Gracian's into his group. So Thane took a chance deciding he might of found a place to settle for a bit he handed over his full "Resume" and opted for a position among the crew. Not being an idiot and looking a gift horse in the mouth Murdoch accepted the proposal and Thane has been a member of the crew since. Still pulling his weight even at his old age.
Personality:
An old soldier at heart. Thane is very rough and has a bit of a dark sense of humor. He isn't afraid to speak his mind and wont sugar coat his words. That said he is loyal to his companions refusing to see one of his own left behind as he once was. Full of old war stories Thane is always willing to spin a tale in his free time.
Relationships:
Deckard - "What can I say about the Boss? He is fair and doesn't discriminate against Gracian. A good leader, able to keep his cool and make the right call. Also really hard to kill... Don't let him know about that job, it was a long time ago..."
Vendro - "I feel bad for the kid, life can be tough and to be murdered at the age of 10 must of really messed with him. Must be weird for him to have spent so little time in his normal skin I mean after this much time I would of upgraded to an adult body if possible."
Caspra - "That girl is a little firecracker to say the least. Has a bit of a funny accent sometimes and is a bit hard to read. But she doesn't bother me much, as long as she keeps herself down on the battlefield we should get her toys back no problem.
Other:
Chef - bit of a seasoned cook. A bit of hands on training and a few downloaded recipe books makes him good at what he does.
Story Teller - A very long life gives Thane a lot of stories to tell, and he isn't shy about it. The Old Man can talk for hours