Cenco

NCQ — Polaris

O R R Y

Simulation Labs, New Anchorage CC
[[ Around 0200 Hours ]]

With the rush of adrenaline still coursing through his body, Orry had to force himself to focus on his breathing to begin getting it under control. He cursed in frustration under his breath as he quickly undid the straps that held him in the Simulation NC Pod’s seat, needing the extra freedom of movement. Balling his hands into fists and stretching out his toes, he confirmed he still had all his limbs. Of course he did— but having just had two of them blown off of Red Rover during the simulation by sniper-fire, he couldn’t help but instinctively check.

Several more quiet moments passed before the boy felt calm enough to climb out of the pod, taking one last deep breath and letting it go as a disappointed sigh. He had been improving, that much was clear— but considering he had begun with absolutely zero experience, that wasn’t saying much. He just wasn’t improving enough. Every other pilot in New Anchorage was still far ahead of him; a fact that was entirely expected, considering he’d only participated in his first simulation a month ago— and even if he had as much experience as they did, Orry believed he’d still be the weakest link, but that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t about being better than any of them, it wasn’t about impressing anyone, and it wasn’t about gaining their acceptance; the only thing that mattered was being good enough that, when the time came, no one would die due to his incompetence.

Orry glanced towards Dr. Lofgren, seated at her usual spot behind her desk. The boy went to open his mouth to speak to her, but hesitated, feeling a pang of guilt roll through him— he had been in this room enough times that he knew she didn’t have a very normal sleeping schedule, but he still felt bad about keeping her up and busy at these hours nearly daily. Doing his best to shake the feeling away, his eyes moved down to the datatool on his left wrist, files on Red Rover’s past excursions with previous pilots open on it. He navigated to one in particular: a report on one of the red mech’s battles against a longer ranged NC. His eyes scanned over the words even though he could almost recite the entire thing verbatim from memory by now— it was more of an idle gesture to make himself look busy as he steeled himself to talk to the doctor.

“Could I redo that, please… uh, ma’am,” he spoke up, eyes moving up from his wrist. “Something similar, I mean. Similar scenario, but same difficulty and all...” He trailed off, a small, apologetic smile appearing on his face as he did his best to ignore the shame he was feeling from asking for even more of the woman’s time.

The boy rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, moving over to a chair against the wall of the room, his gray hoodie and thin black jacket laying in a pile on the seat. He picked up the hoodie and threw it on first, and then the jacket over it, giving him space to sit down for a moment while he waited for the simulation to be set up. He sat leaned forward with his head facing the ground, staring hard at his hands and still dwelling on his inadequacies.

Stop wasting her time, you selfish dick. Complete the sim this try or accept that you can’t do it and piss off.

Both his wrists were were wrapped in white bandages, covering his hands but leaving his fingers free, meant to help prevent any sprains or dislocations—the only time he didn’t have any on lately was when he was showering, immediately replacing the bandages with new ones after. He picked at the material with a finger, realizing how used to it he had become—like wearing the datatool, it had become a part of his skin and he no longer ever noticed it on him, despite how much it had bugged him at first.

His expression softened at the train of thought, and he caught himself smiling, not even certain as to why at first. Maybe it was the fact that it was some small proof that he was adjusting to this new life— after the past year, any semblance of stability made him happy. It was a far cry from how he had lived before, but maybe it’d be enough for him.

“Give me a momen—” Lofgren’s voice began but as soon as she stated the comment the echo of a loud ‘bang’ thundered from underneath them and before they knew it the entire lab went dark. No back-up power fluttering back on, none of it. He wouldn’t have known it but he was sure that Lofgren was frowning in displeasure.

The sudden noise and rumble started the boy out of his thoughts, his head snapping up and pain flaring through his still sore neck at the motion. He froze in the darkness and felt his heart rate spike, not even daring to breathe as he tried to understand what had happened while the noise echoed and died. Dread began to grip him, a heavy silence setting in. The power going out was strange enough on it’s own, but accompanied by what had sounded like an explosion…

Orry swallowed hard, turning on the display for his datatool, the light it gave off helping cut through the darkness ever so slightly. He fumbled with the screen, turning the brightness all the way up.

“Was… that a bomb?” he asked, as much to himself as to the doctor, his voice strained as he finally began breathing again.

“It sounded like an issue from within the power station… but we should have backup protocols in case of emergencies and need for them— curious and foreboding that they are not activating immediately.”

He heard screams and gunfire echo through the halls, breaking the impossible stillness in the labs. Were they being attacked? That’s what had to be happening, right? No, no, it couldn’t be, not yet. Not yet, he wasn’t ready.

No no no no no no no!

Whoever the attackers were, they didn’t care that he wasn’t ready.

Orry clutched at his chest, feeling his heart beating uncontrollably. Wide eyes locked on the lab’s closed door, the distant screams of the dying commanding his attention and making him feel sick. He couldn’t stop wondering who they were, having their lives undeservedly ripped away from them so violently. What was he supposed to do? What could he do? All he could think of for now was to get himself to stop panicking, as warranted as it might be in the situation. He had to keep himself calm, or he’d be even less than useless. He was in a military outfit now, of course an attack was a possibility. He couldn’t panic so quickly—he hadn’t even seen anything yet.

Don’t lose it already, dirt. Make yourself at least a little useful before you have a fucking breakdown and eat a bullet.

Orry nodded to himself shakily, blocking out the sounds coming from the halls as best he could, and went back to purposefully controlling his breathing. His mind worked as he tried to think of what would be the best course of action. He wasn’t sure about best, but he knew what appealed to him the most right now. Staying put seemed like a sound idea to keep himself alive, but he didn’t matter, not nearly as much as the other pilots. As nervous as the thought made him, he wanted to head out of the room and try to find the others—especially Ana, Madison, and Vera, whom he found himself worrying about the most.

He stood up from his seat, running a hand through his hair nervously as he shot a glance over to Dr. Lofgren, looking for some sort of direction from her. The woman was one of the reasons he was hesitating to run out of the room— he didn’t want to leave her alone. She was as important as any pilot, and he liked her. Not that he’d really be able to leave someone he didn’t like, but it was an extra point in her favor. Though he was certain the fear he felt had to be noticeable in his expression, Orry did what he could to hide it behind a thin mask of determination— he had to convince himself he could keep it together.

That’s when he noticed that Lofgren had stood up from her desk as she moved over to a nearby locker nonchalantly.

“Catch.” She uttered as she opened it manually, retrieving something from within and tossing it towards him as she continued skittering through the locker. As Orry’s hands moved to catch the item he noticed what it was— a basic handgun that used power cells to generate thermal energy; or as it was known contemporarily, a laser pistol.

The boy fumbled with it a bit, taken by surprise, but managed to not shoot himself. He tightened his grip on it, making sure it was pointed to the ground and away from either of them. He glanced between it and Lofgren, thankful to have a weapon but not fully trusting himself with it. It was better than nothing though; the bad guys likely wouldn’t know he was a terrible shot. Actually, they probably didn’t care either way. He decided to keep his concerns about how much help the gun would actually be to himself, since he knew she was just as aware of the fact as he was.

More comforting than the gun was how little Lofgren seemed to be fazed; it helped him keep calm as well.

“Right, so… how’s this gonna go?” he asked, making sure the gun’s safety was off.

Lofgren closed the locker, leaning what appeared to be a shotgun of sorts against her shoulder as she turned to look back at him. “We need to regroup. By my estimates it is safer to head deeper into the medical and science facilities since the nearest gunfire is in the opposite direction. I would prefer not to die, so I would recommend we being quick with approaching. There is also an emergency armory adjacent to the medical ward.”

The boy stared as she spoke, taking a moment to get over the weapon she had chosen. A small smile broke his tense expression as her words registered—they’d be going to find others.

He nodded, smile dropping as he bit the corner of his lip, the idea of going outside the room not a pleasant one. He moved to the door, holding his breath to listen and try to judge if there was anyone near on the other side. It sounded clear. He glanced over to the woman nervously, reaching to place his hand on the manual release.

“Unless you want to wait for them to corner us, I’d advise you to pull the latch.”

“R-Right,” he barely managed, squeezing the pistol's grip in his hand before pulling the door open with the other.

NCQ — Polaris

Ah, okay, for whatever reason I was thinking the surgeries had to be done beforehand. Thanks for the correction!

NCQ — Polaris

Nothing like a little cranial detonation to build some character!

Yeah, that would be unfortunate, I don't think he'd be recovering from that one anytime ever.

NCQ — Polaris

Ordent "Orry" Callaway

“Look at it this way: if I surprise you, great, I can be of some use.
And if I don't, whatever; I get myself killed and no one's any worse off. Uh, other than me, I guess.”

_{[ ⛨ ] C A L L S I G N}

---

Red Rover

_{[ ⛨ ] N C O R I G I N}

---

Volkov

_{[ ⛨ ] D - O - B}

---

October 10th, 2657 (19)

_{[ ⛨ ] G E N D E R}

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Male

_{[ ⛨ ] A P P E A R A N C E}

---

Orry stands at 6'2", and is extremely lean thanks to his hyper-active teenage metabolism. For most of his life, he's been skinny as a toothpick, only avoiding being nothing but skin and bones thanks to playing sports. Over the last year, though, he's begun to fill out, especially so in the last month or so since he's arrived in New Anchorage and sought out help with following a more structured, militaristic work-out routine. Even with that progress, he still very much looks more like a boy than a military man, with thin features and distinct, messy deep-red hair that goes well with his russet-colored eyes.

He nearly always has a kind of lazy expression on his face, matching perfectly with his generally disheveled appearance -- he much prefers loose, comfy clothes, and will always forego zipping or tying anything up if he can avoid it. He especially has a fondness for track jackets. In the care-free, civilian world, his appearance makes him very approachable, though perhaps less so around hardened veterans. It's hard to ever find a time where he doesn't have multiple bandages somewhere on his body, brought on by the things he puts himself through.

_{[ ⛨ ] P E R S O N A L I T Y}

---

Orry is nothing if not stoic and personable. His displays of emotion are extremely subdued and subtle, most often coming through as nothing more than an easy but genuine smile. He loves spending time with others (even those that have traits generally viewed as unfavorable), and is always willing to talk and help out with anything. It may come off as odd to some, but any suspicions of ulterior motives on his part are usually washed away quickly.

The other defining trait of his is an unbelievable work-ethic, often coming as a surprise after the laid-back first impression he gives off. Since arriving in New Anchorage and hearing about Graham's tests that were less than a month away, he hasn't actually laid down in a bed and slept once. He's only caught quick, short naps whenever he could, working through his recovery and trying to bring himself up to par with all the others that took the test. He sought out help from peers constantly, fighting through his worry of being a bother to study and learn and implement. While he's still nowhere near as skilled as a trained soldier, he's improved rapidly enough to get some positive attention from Commander Graham and a few peers, and managed to just barely pass the tests, throwing up in pain and exhaustion more than a few times along the way.

All of this stems from deeper, psychological problems -- namely, an inferiority complex and, to a lesser extent, a guilt complex. Orry puts little value in himself, and puts everyone around him on pedestals. He always sees the good in them first, and easily understands the bad, making him a pretty good ego-booster. His self-sacrificial nature comes from this -- it only makes sense to him that he should take the fall for people who are more talented and amazing than he is, so that they can more easily better themselves. The last thing he wants is to be a burden or to slow another down, and so he works as hard as he can to avoid that. This also comes out in the form of his subdued nature, as he acts as such to not ever push his problems or own emotions onto anyone else, so they can keep their focus on themselves and not have to worry about him as well.

His issues have their benefits, though -- like turning him into a somewhat competent soldier within a month.

Altogether, Orry is of the likable sort, easily making friends with even the most disagreeable of people quickly enough. Being so genuine and hard-working endears him to others, only helped by his warm, composed disposition and the enjoyment he gets from social interactions. Despite that, it's not too difficult to tell that there's something off with him, especially after seeing the lengths he'll go to for what are essentially strangers.

_{[ ⛨ ] S K I L L S E T}

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Quick Learner:
Orry picks things up quickly -- show him how to do something once, and he can get it done on his own. This helps him when he's helping out others with whatever they need to get done. In terms of use for when he's piloting, he can pick up on enemy habits immediately, and use them in his favor -- especially useful for his specific assigned mech, and is the biggest reason why it was the one he was given.

Reliable and Determined:
Due to his nature, if Orry says he'll get something done, he will. Whether that means spending money out of his own pocket to cheer a friend up, or spending his day fixing something, or getting himself into trouble to cover someone else, he'll do it without hesitation. This extends to the battlefield, and though he's prone to nerves, he embraces them and does all he can to not let them get the best of him, for fear of letting down his squad-mates. He will take a hit to create an opening to eliminate a target -- again, something all but necessary when piloting his mech.

Stamina:
Orry can fully function on nothing more than cat-naps, and both his mental and physical stamina hardly take a hit for it either. He can remain laser-focused for hours on end, as well as physically exert himself for just as long -- helped by his determination, which makes it possible for him to push himself far past the point where most anyone else would stop. This isn't always healthy, obviously.

_{[ ⛨ ] B A C K S T O R Y}

---

Before New Anchorage

Orry lived a comfy life as part of a happy family. His mother was a mechanic, and his father a researcher, both with Volkov's Calgary-branch -- jobs that paid well and kept them in the upper-middle class. Rounding out his immediate family was his brother Foster, older than him by three years. Foster was the more outgoing and confident of the two siblings, and with good reason -- he was a gifted child. Intelligent, resourceful, and capable of piloting an NC, he knew from an early age what he wanted to do, and he worked for it.

Orry looked up to his brother greatly, doing what he could to keep up but always watching his brother accomplish things from the stands. The older boy was a bit of a power-maniac, and often showed that by controlling Orry in underhanded and physical ways. It was never anything truly terrible, but it would definitely be classified as abuse, as it was near constant, Orry himself willingly subjecting himself to it in hopes of helping his brother.

Beyond that, Orry's life was a simple and privileged one. He attended good schools, was able to play any sport he wished, always had the latest video games on the day of release, and was never too hungry or cold or hot. An easy life, where the most difficult thing he had to deal with was schoolwork and worrying about his latest crush. While his brother continued to be extraordinary and became an NC pilot, Orry was content with coasting through his years uneventfully, planning to follow his father and become a researcher of some sort with Volkov.

Of course, he wouldn't have ended up in New Anchorage if nothing had gone wrong. Nothing's classified, and anyone with any authority and the necessary curiosity can easily find out that about a year ago, Orry's mother died in a freak accident while she was on the job. It was determined that she hadn't followed the safety protocols that were established and well-taught, and so no compensation was given to the Callaway family. A few months later, Orry's father committed suicide, presumably brought on by his wife's death. That left a guilt-ridden and angry Orry to deal with Foster, who's old habits of abuse came back with a vengeance due to the tragedy.

In a fit of emotions, with nothing left for him but a brother broken beyond repair that he was growing to despise, Orry got himself tested for NC compatibility and immediately after getting a positive underwent the necessary surgeries -- all while Foster was away for his duties. The disbelief at what he had done came just after the pain hit -- he had done something so extreme just in some childish act of rebellion to spite his brother. The more he thought about it as he began to recover, though, the more he came to terms with it. There wasn't anyway he could've continued his simple path through life after all that had happened -- he had to do something more, or his fate would end up being similar to his father's.

With that sobering realization, Orry set off on his own, leaving the city he'd been born and raised in behind to look for that something more. He caught wind of New Anchorage and their recruitment drive for new NC pilots, and decided to make the journey there. It seemed crazy for him to think that someone as unexceptional as him could possibly become a pilot, but he figured it was worth a try. He was one of the few capable of piloting an NC, so he felt that he had a duty to see how far he could go. He could stop wandering like he had been his entire life, especially during the last several months, and finally have a purpose: to protect the lives of good people, at the inconsequential risk of his own.

He keeps that to himself though, instead letting people believe that he simply came to New Anchorage on an adventurous whim.

Since arriving in New Anchorage, Orry's kept mostly to himself during the month of Graham's testing, for several reasons. It let him focus fully on bettering himself, something that absolutely had to be done to even have a hope in passing everything. Despite the effort he had been putting in, Orry didn't really believe he'd be able to make it through and actually become one of New Anchorage's official pilots, so keeping away from everyone also served the purpose of not getting anyone too attached to him (if that was even possible), so no one would be too sad to see him go if he failed.

After recently surprising even himself by passing everything (and feeling the incredibly foreign feeling of pride), Orry's already started to become more social with his fellow pilots, acting more like his genuine self.

_{[ ⛨ ] T H E M E C H}

---

Appearance

Red Rover is a bit of a junker, assigned to Orry so that if he screws up and gets it blown up, it won't be too much of a loss to New Anchorage. More than that, though, the style of combat needed to do any damage with it lines up perfectly with Orry's strengths, so it's as close to a perfect match as the boy could have hoped for. The mecha is average-sized, and has very little in the way of on-board weapons and equipment, allowing it to have impressively heavy armor while still being surprisingly mobile. It's built to mirror the way a human body moves to nearly a tee, allowing the pilot to fist-fight as effectively as they could with their own feet on the ground. The heavy armor gives some weight to Red Rover's punches and kicks, making them quite devastating. While it's quick for the defenses granted by its armor, the mech is still slow for one that does most of its damage at point-blank range. As such, the most effective way to use Red Rover is to read and predict an enemy's actions, moving before they even do anything to get in close while avoiding heavy damage. If necessary, the armor can take a few solid hits, allowing the pilot to purposefully bait the enemy into attacking and opening themselves up, or to just forcefully push through an assault.

Armaments

• Retractable Claws:
  Super-heated claws for when punching something really hard isn't enough, these can melt through most metals and tear into the insides of another mech. When retracted, the holes they leave can fire high-caliber armor-shredding rounds. These are most often used to cover approaches, and more importantly, ruin the insides of another mech once its been opened up by the claws.

• Remote Drones:
  Eight drones are housed within both of Red Rover's shoulders, each one carrying four. These are deployed and controlled remotely by Orry, requiring excellent concentration to keep track of while also piloting the mech, and collectively grant him a near-perfect view of the battlefield with their mounted thermal-cameras. Can be equipped with various other things, though Orry usually goes with a gun-mount with limited explosive ammunition, or a few powerful homing-missiles. Other common attachments include EMP, concussion, and smoke bombs.

• Balancing System:
  A system that makes knocking over Red Rover extremely difficult, and allows the mech to balance on one leg as it swings the rest of its body weight, leading to powerful right hooks and roundhouse kicks. Can also be used to take a strong blunt hit that will cause the enemy to fully believe Red Rover will topple over, and immediately swing back with a surprise counter-attack.

• Propulsion System:
  A very simple propulsion system, created to help Red Rover get into optimal range and give its strikes a little something extra, while not slowing it down too much or throwing off its balance. The mech has eight thrusters: two on the back of its shoulders, two just above its elbows, two just above the back of its knees, and two on its heels. These can only rotate and angle in a small 360-degree circle, meaning they will only ever propel Red Rover forward, with slight deviations in exact trajectory. With proper angling of the thrusters and the body of Red Rover itself, these can be used to avoid assaults while still advancing. Finally, when punching or kicking, the thrusters can be activated to make the strikes faster and stronger.

_{[ ⛨ ] R E L A T I O N S}

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Pilots

Alan Fouren:
Being one of the more openly sociable pilots, Orry's taken a liking to Alan that goes beyond the usual respect he feels for those like Stein and Commander Graham. It helps that Alan is more laid-back and the male pilot closest to Orry's own age, instantly bringing some degree of kinship.

Anastasia Kalfox:
Orry finds Stein... impressive, in a word. She always seems knows what to do and how to do it, and it didn't take very long at all for Orry to figure out why she's considered New Anchorage's best pilot. He looks up to her, and has actually tried to mimic her during training and the like, like a kid copying a superhero on a TV show. He figures she's the best example to follow if he's looking to not be a colossal screw-up that gets people killed. She seems to treat him the same as she treats everyone else, too, which is nice.

Elizabeth Jackspar:
Eli is kind of unapproachable to Orry -- as though no matter what he could possibly say to her, he'd just be being a bother, which of course he doesn't want at all. Like Stein though, she seems like someone he could learn a lot from, especially seeing as they both pilot melee-focused mechs. He's considering manning up and asking for her help -- his logic running along the lines that he'd rather be a bit of a bother now than be the reason someone winds up dead later. Probably pretty sound.

John Strange:
Another approachable individual like Alan, once Orry got past the face (which he made no mention of, but definitely stared a bit at during their first encounter). Jingo helped him out during the month of testing, and he never felt like he was even a slight burden for the man, which was most definitely welcome.

Kathryn Dradht:
With as much experience, confidence, and fire as she has at her age, Orry simply finds Ryn amazing. He can understand where her personality comes from, almost a necessity for her considering the line of work she's in. She's definitely a little confrontational and has pretty openly looked down on Orry, but he genuinely feels she has every right to. It helps that she seems to be like that to everyone, so the boy can rest assured he hasn't actually pissed her off so far.

Madison Cole:
Madison's the only pilot that Orry has had basically zero interaction with, seeing as she was stuck in a hospital bed during most of the month that Orry's been in New Anchorage. He's heard about what happened to her, of course, and how her personality's taken a drastic turn. Despite not knowing her, he feels terrible whenever he thinks about it, and would like to do something to help, but has no idea what he could possibly do, if anything.

Percy Moore:
Percy's pretty nice, and Orry can relate to the man due the fact that he can barely believe either of them are actually pilots. Seeing the man running around after his daughter reminds him of his own father. Orry feels bad for kind of ignoring him and pushing him away during the testing, understanding that the man was probably worried about him. Taking comfort in the fact that he wasn't rude about it though, Orry figures he still has the opportunity to make friends with Percy now.

Tahlia Styles:
At first, Orry thought Tahlia was pretty intimidating, but has come to think that she's a nice person, just with an edge to her personality -- something he can respect. She's up there with Stein in the 'people who look like they know what they're doing' department.

Vera Voloshyna:
Vera's a fun person to be around, Orry's mood brightening just from being in the same room as her. Even with Ryn around and hearing about how young Stein was when she became a pilot, seeing someone as young as Vera in the middle of that very process was a bit of a shock, but Orry could tell quickly enough that it was what she wanted. He can relate to her desire to be a pilot, his own burning strong -- even if they may be for completely different reasons -- as well as the recent pain she's had to go through for that desire, Orry himself still feeling it.

Other

Foster Callaway:
Not someone Orry likes to talk or think about, the boy has mixed feelings on his brother. He'll always have love for Foster, but most recently he's been coming to feel anger and hatred for him. Orry feels Foster's failed as an older brother, taking out his frustrations on Orry instead of helping and protecting his younger sibling as he should. Though, at the end of the day, Orry recognizes that his brother went through nearly the exact same thing he did, and that it's unrealistic to expect him to take it well -- something the younger boy understands as well as anyone.

Michael Graham:
Orry definitely likes his commander, though that's not really unusual for him. He respects the man greatly for giving him a chance to prove himself, which he took full advantage of in the time leading up to the NC test, to not disappoint the Commander.

Digimon World Chronicles

@Holy Soldier
That sounds good! They could easily be in the same grade at the same school. I'd imagine Shoko wouldn't really associate with Kaguya, but would definitely know his name and face, and dislike him a bit due to him being a bully. Could make for an early source of conflict leading to the two could becoming rivals of some sort, friendly or otherwise depending on how they develop.

@alexfangtalon @Rin
Yeah, there's definitely a good chance that they've both heard of Shoko, especially if they all live in the same city (I was thinking the obvious choice of Tokyo for Shoko), since the volleyball team would travel around to other schools to play. They would definitely know her name if they go to the same school, and Shoko would probably recognize their faces as well in that case, if not be acquainted with them.

Digimon World Chronicles

Shoko Iseki

DIGIDESTINED

Name:
Shoko Iseki

Age:
18

Gender
Female

Extra Pictures

Personality:
Shoko has a bit of a tomboyish streak to her, which mainly manifests itself through hyper-competitiveness, and a sense of curiosity that drags her around by the nose. The girl is a something of a low-key show-off, wanting others to be impressed with her and the things she can do. It's validation, for her, to have people look up to her and praise her -- a side effect of this is that she's very willing to help out with most anything, to gain the admiration of those she helps. All this tends to lead to her being on the reckless side of things, acting first and asking questions later (Was it really a good idea to cannonball off that bridge with a dozen people watching? Did that girl actually deserve such a hard punch to the nose?) in an attempt to be the first to do things and to not be shown up.

She's not particularly outgoing or loud-mouthed, and is actually more on the awkward side when dealing with people -- while she does genuinely enjoy interacting with others, she can't help but feel shy, though she pushes through it, sometimes coming off as a bit of a bumbling dork as a result (to her dismay). When she feels strongly about something, she can ignore this softer-spoken side of hers and make her point heard. The confidence and self-assuredness she gives off is something of a front, made to deal with her insecurities -- the last thing she wants is to fail, especially in front of others. While she can avoid thinking about such things normally, after the fact -- when she realizes that she's failed and made a fool of herself -- it hits her hard. She worries far more about what people think of her than is healthy, and can't stand even the thought that others may see her as weak and incapable. When push comes to shove, she'll fight until she can no longer move, if only to avoid the stinging shame of failure.

All-in-all, Shoko's a genuine and hard-working person, who tries to make friends with everyone (at first, at least -- she isn't too afraid with making an enemy out of someone who's pissed her off, but she does try to avoid it), which helps save her from coming off as obnoxious and self-absorbed when she otherwise might. She's also surprisingly level-headed, for how she acts -- she usually knows what she's doing might be a bad idea, but she goes through with it anyways.

Additional Information:
- Shoko is 5'7" (170.2 cm) tall, and weighs 127 lbs.
- She has younger twin siblings, one a boy and the other a girl.
- She's played volleyball for several years, and is currently the star of her school's team. She is also a strong enough player that she was a part of Japan's national Youth (U18) women's volleyball team last year, and has a good chance at making the Junior (U20) team this year.
- Between volleyball and her adventurous whims, she doesn't leave much time for schoolwork, only just barely squeaking by as is required of her to be allowed to continue playing on her school's team.
- She has a weakness for 'cute' things, though she does her best not to let it show.
- Another thing she makes sure to keep on the down-low is her fear of darkness. It makes her more than a little uncomfortable.
- She likes skirts because she finds them cute, but always wears compression shorts or tights under them.
- She's broken her bones surprisingly few times, considering the risks and tumbles she's taken in her life.
- Finally, she's going through something of a late-teen crisis, one that many final-year high school students experience -- the realization that she has to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, made an even more difficult question thanks to her sub-par grades. Currently, she's avoiding thinking about it by just living her life as she has been, but deep down she knows she can't just play volleyball forever. The idea of growing up seems so consuming and inevitable, and it kind of scares her.

DIGIMON

Attribute:
Vaccine

Type:
Wind

Digivolutions:

In-Training / Baby

Gummymon

• Double Bubble - Spits out lots of adhesive bubbles, used to impair a target's movement.

Rookie / Child

Terriermon

• Bunny Blast - Shoots a small blast of green energy from his mouth.
• Terrier Tornado - Fires a little turbulence by using his ears to spin himself rapidly
• Bunny Pummel - Catch-all name for whenever Terriermon physically smacks something (which he has quite a fondness for doing), usually with his ears.

Champion / Adult

Gargomon

• Gargo Pellets - Fires bullets from both of his arms.
• Gargo Gale - A more powerful version of Terrier Tornado
• Dumdum Pummel - A more powerful version of Bunny Pummel, though Gargomon now prefers mostly using the vulcans on his arms (the things that are supposed to be used for shooting).

Ultimate / Perfect

Rapidmon

• Rapid Fire - Lets loose by firing a storm of energy blasts from his arm-cannons and bullets from the revolver on his back.
• Miracle Missile - Shoots devastating homing missiles from his arm-cannons
• Tri Barrier - Creates a green triangular barrier that deflects attacks.
• Rapid Wallop - Even as Rapidmon, with all of his long-range weaponry, he still enjoys getting up close and personal and hitting things.

Mega / Ultimate

Fujinmon

• Critical Cut - Uses the powerful blade of energy given off by his cutter-type arms to slash at his target. Can be used even at a distance, the damage in this case coming from the blast of wind created by the swing.
• Critical Pierce - The cutter-arm's energy extends in a blink of an eye up to a hundred feet, skewering anything in its path.
• Golden Barrier - A more powerful version of Rapidmon's Tri Barrier, it quickly disassembles the data of any attack that comes into contact with it rather than deflecting it, feeding into and empowering Fujinmon's own next attack.
• Malt Cyclone - His signature and strongest attack, Fujinmon summons a colossal blast of wind that can be used as both a targeted attack, or an AOE at the cost of power.
• Storm Smite - Some things never change. Fujinmon uses his extreme speed and mastery over the wind to deliver lightning fast, devastating physical blows.

DIGIVICE

Physical Description:

Image

Fully controlled through its touchscreen save for the power button and the home screen button. It's colored a deep red with white and black accents, and its screen has a strong green tint.

Special Characteristics:
- Shoko's digivice's most obviously useful feature is its mapping capability -- everywhere that Shoko walks, within a small sphere (~20m radius) around her, is mapped in detail.
- It can 'anchor' itself to one other digivice at a time, allowing Shoko to know where the holder of the connected digivice is at all times in relation to herself (and vice-versa, at least as far as the other digivice's capabilities can allow).
- The screen has a brightness setting, which can be turned way up to act as a flashlight.
- Being her old MP3 player, it can record sound and play it back. It also has all the music files that Shoko had on it, but they are all corrupted beyond recognition, the names being gibberish symbols and the music itself being nothing more than screeches, beeps, and other noises.

NCQ — Polaris

Probably would've gone catatonic for a few months, but I have faith he would've persevered and built an okay life for himself, provided, you know, he could still move his limbs after everything.

Oh, by the way, should I wait for another GM to review the sheet before posting it in the Character tab? I noticed that's what seemed to happen with DruSM157's character, which I think is the only other new character that's been accepted so far.

NCQ — Polaris

@Gowi
Haha, yeah, that's the idea I was going for -- a kid that's never dealt with anything truly difficult in his life, who suddenly goes through a special kind of hell and comes out on the other side a little more grown up (among other, less desirable side-effects, like having a couple mental illnesses cropping up).

Nuclear family just means the part of a family that includes the father, the mother, and their kids, so I was just saying that's who he grew up with. Though I may have used it wrong, now that I'm looking at it. Huh. I'll go look it up and probably change it for clarity's sake.

NCQ — Polaris

Here we go, CS ready for a first look-at!

Orry Callaway

Ordent "Orry" Callaway

“Look at it this way: if I surprise you, great, I can be of some use.
And if I don't, whatever; I get myself killed and no one's any worse off. Uh, other than me, I guess.”

_{[ ⛨ ] C A L L S I G N}

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Red Rover

_{[ ⛨ ] N C O R I G I N}

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Volkov

_{[ ⛨ ] D - O - B}

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October 10th, 2657 (19)

_{[ ⛨ ] G E N D E R}

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Male

_{[ ⛨ ] A P P E A R A N C E}

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Orry stands at 6'2", and is extremely lean thanks to his hyper-active teenage metabolism. For most of his life, he's been skinny as a toothpick, only avoiding being nothing but skin and bones thanks to playing sports. Over the last year, though, he's begun to fill out, especially so in the last month or so since he's arrived in New Anchorage and sought out help with following a more structured, militaristic work-out routine. Even with that progress, he still very much looks more like a boy than a military man, with thin features and distinct, messy deep-red hair that goes well with his russet-colored eyes.

He nearly always has a kind of lazy expression on his face, matching perfectly with his generally disheveled appearance -- he much prefers loose, comfy clothes, and will always forego zipping or tying anything up if he can avoid it. He especially has a fondness for track jackets. In the care-free, civilian world, his appearance makes him very approachable, though perhaps less so around hardened veterans. It's hard to ever find a time where he doesn't have multiple bandages somewhere on his body, brought on by the things he puts himself through.

_{[ ⛨ ] P E R S O N A L I T Y}

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Orry is nothing if not stoic and personable. His displays of emotion are extremely subdued and subtle, most often coming through as nothing more than an easy but genuine smile. He loves spending time with others (even those that have traits generally viewed as unfavorable), and is always willing to talk and help out with anything. It may come off as odd to some, but any suspicions of ulterior motives on his part are usually washed away quickly.

The other defining trait of his is an unbelievable work-ethic, often coming as a surprise after the laid-back first impression he gives off. Since arriving in New Anchorage and hearing about the NC test that was less than a month a way, he hasn't once laid down in a bed and actually slept. Instead, he's caught quick, short naps whenever he could, working on trying to bring himself up to par with all the others that took the test. He sought out help from peers constantly, studying and learning and implementing. While he's still nowhere near as skilled as a trained soldier, he's improved rapidly enough to get some positive attention from Commander Graham and a few peers, and managed to just barely pass the test, throwing up in exhaustion more than a few times along the way.

All of this stems from deeper, psychological problems -- namely, an inferiority complex and, to a lesser extent, a guilt complex. Orry puts little value in himself, and puts everyone around him on pedestals. He always sees the good in them first, and easily understands the bad, making him a pretty good ego-booster. His self-sacrificial nature comes from this -- it only makes sense to him that he should take the fall for people who are more talented and amazing than he is, so that they can more easily better themselves. The last thing he wants is to be a burden or to slow another down, and so he works as hard as he can to avoid that. This also comes out in the form of his subdued nature, as he acts as such to not ever push his problems or own emotions onto anyone else, so they can keep their focus on themselves and not have to worry about him as well.

His issues have their benefits, though -- like turning him into a somewhat competent soldier within a month.

Altogether, Orry is of the likable sort, easily making friends with even the most disagreeable of people quickly enough. Being so genuine and hard-working endears him to others, only helped by his warm, composed disposition and the enjoyment he gets from social interactions. Despite that, it's not too difficult to tell that there's something off with him, especially after seeing the lengths he'll go to for what are essentially strangers.

_{[ ⛨ ] S K I L L S E T}

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Quick Learner:
Orry picks things up quickly -- show him how to do something once, and he can get it done on his own. This helps him when he's helping out others with whatever they need to get done. In terms of use for when he's piloting, he can pick up on enemy habits immediately, and use them in his favor -- especially useful for his specific assigned mech, and is the biggest reason why it was the one he was given.

Reliable and Determined:
Due to his nature, if Orry says he'll get something done, he will. Whether that means spending money out of his own pocket to cheer a friend up, or spending his day fixing something, or getting himself into trouble to cover someone else, he'll do it without hesitation. This extends to the battlefield, and though he's prone to nerves, he embraces them and does all he can to not let the get the best of him, for fear of letting down his squad-mates. He will take a hit to create an opening to eliminate a target -- again, something all but necessary when piloting his mech.

Stamina:
Orry can fully function on nothing more than cat-naps, and both his mental and physical stamina hardly take a hit for it either. He can remain laser-focused for hours on end, as well as physically exert himself for just as long -- helped by his determination, which makes it possible for him to push himself far past the point where most anyone else would stop. This isn't always healthy, obviously.

_{[ ⛨ ] B A C K S T O R Y}

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Orry lived a comfy life as part of a happy family. His mother was a mechanic, and his father a researcher, both with Volkov's Calgary-branch -- jobs that paid well and kept them in the upper-middle class. Rounding out his immediate family was his brother Foster, older than him by three years. Foster was the more outgoing and confident of the two siblings, and with good reason -- he was a gifted child. Intelligent, resourceful, and capable of piloting an NC, he knew from an early age what he wanted to do, and he worked for it.

Orry looked up to his brother greatly, doing what he could to keep up but always watching his brother accomplish things from the stands. The older boy was a bit of a power-maniac, and often showed that by controlling Orry in underhanded and physical ways. It was never anything truly terrible, but it would definitely be classified as abuse, as it was near constant, Orry himself willingly subjecting himself to it in hopes of helping his brother.

Beyond that, Orry's life was a simple and privileged one. He attended good schools, was able to play any sport he wished, always had the latest video games on the day of release, and was never too hungry or cold or hot. An easy life, where the most difficult thing he had to deal with was schoolwork and worrying about his latest crush. While his brother continued to be extraordinary and became an NC pilot, Orry was content with coasting through his years uneventfully, planning to follow his father and become a researcher of some sort with Volkov.

Of course, he wouldn't have ended up in New Anchorage if nothing had gone wrong. Nothing's classified, and anyone with any authority and the necessary curiosity can easily find out that about a year ago, Orry's mother died in a freak accident while she was on the job. It was determined that she hadn't followed the safety protocols that were established and well-taught, and so no compensation was given to the Callaway family. A few months later, Orry's father committed suicide, presumably brought on by his wife's death. That left a guilt-ridden and angry Orry to deal with Foster, who's old habits of abuse came back with a vengeance due to the tragedy.

With nothing left for him but a brother broken beyond repair that he was growing to despise, Orry set off on his own, leaving the city he'd been born and raised in behind. He caught wind of New Anchorage and their recruitment drive for new NC pilots, and decided to make the journey there. It seemed crazy for him to think that someone as unexceptional as him could possibly become a pilot, but he figured it was worth a try -- his brother had the ability, so he might too. If he was one of the few capable of piloting an NC, he felt that he would have a duty to do so. He could stop wandering like he had been his entire life, especially during the last several months, and finally have a purpose: to protect the lives of good people, at the inconsequential risk of his own. And if it wasn't to be, he could find a simpler life in a smaller city, finally scrape his knees a bit, and go from there.

He keeps that to himself though, instead letting people believe that he simply came to New Anchorage on an adventurous whim.

_{[ ⛨ ] T H E M E C H}

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Appearance

Red Rover is a bit of a junker, assigned to Orry so that if screws up and gets it blown up, it won't be too much of a loss to New Anchorage. More than that, though, the style of combat needed to do any damage with it lines up perfectly with Orry's strengths, so it's as close to a perfect match as the boy could have hoped for. The mecha is average-sized, and has very little in the way of on-board weapons and equipment, allowing it to have impressively heavy armor while still being surprisingly mobile. It's built to mirror the way a human body moves to nearly a tee, allowing the pilot to fist-fight as effectively as they could with their own feet on the ground. The heavy armor gives some weight to Red Rover's punches and kicks, making them quite devastating. While it's quick for the defenses granted by its armor, the mech is still slow for one that does most of its damage at point-blank range. As such, the most effective way to use Red Rover is to read and predict an enemy's actions, moving before they even do anything to get in close while avoiding heavy damage. If necessary, the armor can take a few solid hits, allowing the pilot to purposefully bait the enemy into attacking and opening themselves up, or to just forcefully push through an assault.

• Retractable Claws:
  Super-heated claws for when punching something really hard isn't enough, these can melt through most metals and tear into the insides of another mech. When retracted, the holes they leave can fire high-caliber armor-shredding rounds. These are most often used to cover approaches, and more importantly, ruin the insides of another mech once its been opened up by the claws.

• Remote Drones:
  Eight drones are housed within both of Red Rover's shoulders, each one carrying four. These are deployed and controlled remotely by Orry, requiring excellent concentration to keep track of while also piloting the mech, and grant him a near-perfect view of the battlefield with their mounted thermal-cameras. Can be equipped with various other things, though Orry usually goes with a gun-mount with limited explosive ammunition, or a few powerful homing-missiles. Other common attachments include EMP, concussion, and smoke bombs.

• Balancing System:
  A system that makes knocking over Red Rover extremely difficult, and allows the mech to balance on one leg as it swings the rest of its body weight, leading to powerful right hooks and roundhouse kicks. Can also be used to take a strong blunt hit that will cause the enemy to fully believe Red Rover will topple over, and immediately swing back with a surprise counter-attack.

• Propulsion System:
  A very simple propulsion system, created to help Red Rover get into optimal range and give its strikes a little something extra, while not slowing it down too much or throwing off its balance. The mech has eight thrusters: two on the back of its shoulders, two just above its elbows, two just above the back of its knees, and two on its heels. These can only rotate and angle in a small 360-degree circle, meaning they will only ever propel Red Rover forward, with slight deviations in exact trajectory. With proper angling of the thrusters and the body of Red Rover itself, these can be used to avoid assaults while still advancing. Finally, when punching or kicking, the thrusters can be activated to make the strikes faster and stronger.

_{[ ⛨ ] R E L A T I O N S}

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Michael Graham:
Orry definitely likes his commander, though that's not really unusual for him. He respects the man greatly for giving him a chance to prove himself, which he took full advantage of in the month leading to the NC test to not disappoint the Commander.

Foster Callaway:
Not someone Orry likes to talk or think about, the boy has mixed feelings on his brother. He'll always have love for Foster, but most recently he's been coming to feel anger and hatred for him. Orry feels Foster's failed as an older brother, taking out his frustrations on Orry instead of helping and protecting his younger sibling as he should. Though, at the end of the day, Orry recognizes that his brother went through nearly the exact same thing he did, and that it's unrealistic to expect him to take it well -- something the younger boy understands as well as anyone.

NCQ — Polaris

Okay, here are a couple questions of mine: I think so, but to clarify, is New Anchorage located in modern day Alaska? Also, are all the neo-metropolises in the world already determined and set in stone, or would I be able to make one up for my character's backstory? (Currently thinking either Vancouver or Calgary if New Anchorage is indeed in Alaska, but now that I'm thinking about it some more, the already established Seattle would probably work just as well)