FalloutJack

NEOTOKYO: State of Disarray [Open]

ASAGI

Breathe in...
Breathe out...
Breathe in...
Breathe out...

Heart-rate normal, nerve activity minimal. She lay in bed, sound asleep in her bedroom, head tilted off to one side. Never snores, no bad habits while asleep...except one. It's what the sensor was for. Karine Asagi did not live on the base. She preferred her own private life, in a secure apartment of her own design and furnishings. The asthetic was a mix of modern and classical, what with the wood-panel walls and a holographic fireplace, the old-style furniture and the flat-screen display on the wall. And that was just the sitting room. Her bedroom was a bit more normal, though there was kind of a mix of tool chests along with the dresser and nightstand, which in of itself was next to the vital sensor that she'd connected to her alarm clock. Asagi was asleep right now, but sadly that would not remain.

Breathe in...
Breathe out...
Breathe in...
Flinch.

Heart-rate and nervous activity increasing. It happened sometimes, and she hated it. Her breathing sped up, and her arm or her leg would twitch. Or, on a bad night, they would all do it. Karine was physically-suited to the NSF, and even if she had kept all of her flesh limbs, she would've been perfectly fine to continue even after everything that had changed there, but the fact of the matter is that she didn't... Her arms and legs had been robbed from her, as well as her eyes, and both the physical and mental trauma from that time - and indeed, even the instinctive reaction nowadays - led to moments of certain cognitive dissonance, the instinctual and the intellectual clashing hard. Her body was reaching out to flesh limbs, but these weird instruments were what kept answering, and that was sometimes jarring.

Breath quickened, nervous actions spiked.

The alarm went off, and her eyes - somewhat human-looking, but with the red iris of machine optics - snapped open. She said up, calming herself, forcing her limbs to stop twitching as her breathing settled once more. Another bad dream. Therapy had allowed her to get over the worst of it, but even still, you don't just shrug off the notion of some large industrial spider picking off and eating your prosthetics, then leaving you for dead as you flail around with ragged, useless stumps. If she didn't engage the safeties on her arms and legs every night, Karine would probably tear apart her own bed.

Won't bore you with the details of getting up. It boils down to coffee, food, news (nothing good), getting dressed in her preferred riding clothes - also acceptable as uniform, minus the logo'd materials - and heading outside. The home office hadn't called lately. Maybe they thought she was overworked, maybe they were still processing the job she did last time. She didn't know. When stuff like this happened with her, Asagi liked two things: One was biking, the other was getting a little more work in, and her current aim was to do both. So, she was going to go out for a drive...and check up on the folks indoors. In the garage was the locked-down Kawasaki Mirage, a fast-as-hell hybrid motorcycle that compacted and locked the wheels - while preparing to send an electric shock through anyone who touched it without the key to disable it - until the driver came to drive it. It was a storm-gray bike, like her longcoat, and as she revved that semi-electronic motor, Asagi felt alive again.

She headed off, already moving at high speed. Asagi was an excellent driver, even better with the coordination of cyberlimbs and eyes. She didn't want them, but she had them and she was gonna use them. So, even at speeds that were inner-city illegal, she was getting around with improbably-tight moves that only a character like Lupin the 3rd could pull off with his ridiculous skills. Make no mistake, she was a military operative, several years of experience coupled with technical knowledge and understanding, making her great NSF material, but she was going to indulge herself, and no one on this Earth was going to stop her. She drifted in and out of traffic, seemingly lost to the flow of it all, looking as though she were half-inclined to just take off, launch herself into the stratosphere. Sometimes she wondered...should she do it? Let herself fly? Never did, but there were just little moments like that where she felt inclined...

In any case, Asagi was checking up on the base and her current superiors.

~ Phantom Thieves of London: The Calling ~

Strangely enough, the guards did not notice a thing, or they didn't care. They weren't even in the room with the cells or the next room with all the dangerous implements of pursuasion, most of the time, unless they were working on some moaning someone-or-other. So, he had pretty much the time to himself to inspect his cell - nothing in it but a bunch - his weapons - they looked functional, at least - and of course the general surroundings. Honestly, there wasn't much to 'em. They were meant for unarmed people, and MAYBE he could do something with his weapons to get out of this cell, but what? Even if the bars were so-so in design, the door out of here was a proper door with a lock, and the door out of the torture room was similar to it. (He'd have noticed all that on the way in.) The guards had the frigging keys, and they didn't look like the type to be easily intimidated. Realistically, he might...he might...

He might have to wait to be tortured to make any sort of break for it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bullets were annoying to the slimes, and Hakuro's slamming actions - while helpful - were not exactly doing much better. A harder recovery, but not by much. And worst of all, the bastards were multiplying on them, to the point where even as Alex shouted to the bird, Raven actively dove into the face of a slime, cawing and clawing at it, which was distracting as hell to it. Romani and Laurence pitched in, as well, but their progress was being hampered THAT FUCKING CLOSE to the finishing line as they were soon surrounded. And you'd think they'd be alright to go on, but a couple of the slimes flattened, and then launched up with fists on their heads to gut-check Hakuro and Laurence.

"Get out of our way!"

A bolt of energy actually shot out from the black bird, bursting the face of a slime, but another two moved in to take its place. In the meantime, Ava had been trying to calm herself to think about what Hakuro said, about the desperation of their need to defend themselves, but...but this wasn't working! It wasn't enough! There had to be something, somehow, some way! She couldn't stand this anymore! And then, a burst of energy released from her, one that was a little chaotic in nature. Hakuro and Alexander would hear voices in their heads. For Alex, it was "No, it's too soon...", and Hakuro heard "She isn't ready yet.". Something arose from her, crying out. It was a feathery woman, a deity of some sort, and it was manifesting a terrible whirlwing!

"I've had enough of this! Stop attacking us! Stop chasing us! Just cut it out!!"

Ava cried out, both revealing the power they could all have and...showing that when one is not ready for it, one my suffer for it. She was grasping her head in pain as the whirlwind became stronger and stronger! Slimes flew everywhere, people were knocked towards the subway with force, and debris was just everywhere! In the confusion, Romani was knocked out when he hit a wall and Raven was blown clear into the subway area, Laurence almost falling down the stairs to try and catch her if he wasn't pulled back by Hakuro. However, both of them STILL fell over and were sprawled down a couple of them as Ava herself had been flung by the vortex.

Whatever the case, Alex was the first to see what happened next. They were safe-ish, and then...they kind of weren't.

Through the dust and the debris, a black hand rimmed in red grabbed the arm of the mythical being who hung in the air where Ava had been. On contact, Ava herself grunted in pain. The wind subsided...and they could see the large spherical creature standing there in all its hellish glory. It was black-and-red, its many eyes wide open as more arms came out of the mass and grabbed the Persona, which resisted in futility against overwhelming strength. Ava let out a choked scream, reacting as though SHE were the one being throttled by the thing...and pulled into its dense expanding mass.

"What the- It's killing her! How do we stop it!"

From the bottom of the stairs, Raven called out.

"Get everyone down here, NOW! The train is here! HURRY!!"

They couldn't do anything to that large mass of evil. Not a damn thing. It swallowed up the Persona, and Ava went limp, unconscious. They had to carry her AND pull Romani out of there, heading for the train. The...Velvet Train?! It was here?! The doors opened on cue and all of them would get in, where they would see...

"All aboard! Next stop- Oh, this is bad. Move aside!"

-Amari, who had started out in their usual chipper mood, but immediately got more serious as Ava was laid out before them. Heading to her side, the Velvet Room Attendant looked her over with both caution and determination, at once. Finally, Amari sighed in relief.

"She's okay. Or...she will be. Looks like you got her in here quick enough, saved her life."

"I think she just saved our lives. What happened?"

At this, Hakuro looked down.

"I told her that she had to concentrate, to think of something to help defend herself against these creatures. Alex has a gun, you're holding a machete, and I'm pretty sure I saw something in umm...Romani's? Yeah, that's Romani."

Romani was out-cold and had dropped his things, so he couldn't exactly confirm it right now, but he had been, yes.

"I mean, it made sense. Once I knew it could be done, once I pieced together what we'd heard up until now. I thought she'd bring a weapon to the table and help out. Instead, she called upon a creature or a spirit or something."

"She called her Persona, but it was too soon. She wasn't ready for it."

Those exact words. Those exact fucking words were in their heads...

"Wait, what's a Persona? Also, who are you?"

"That's... Well, that's Amari, but we met hiii...heruummm...them in...kind of a dream. I guess it wasn't really a dream. It's a long story."

"Yeah, a very long story. You're the ones who sent me, weren't you? You sent me to help people."

Amari nodded, but then said...

"I beg all your pardons, but I must attend to these two here. Master Igor can answer all of your questions, including about Shadows and the power you all witnessed."

The Attendant indicated further down the hall, which would be very familiar to Alex and Hakuro, less so but still somewhat to Raven, and not-at-all to Laurence. That, of course, led to that big-nosed bastard himself, Igor...and hopefully answers. Lots of answers.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

It's worth mentioning that it's not as though the two Gunners had professed anny sort of binding declaration of affection. What they had was something, but as stated in the White Hart, all they knew was that it was something. Whether it was out of love or just a feeling of lonelyness and isolation, a void to be filled in a war where both their lives were in doubt, had yet to be determined.

This is a fairly-important distinction, as it was a heavy contributor to the fact that Lucia just blew them out of the water.

The initial strike caused the two of them to stop, with Isaac thinking 'What, what?' and Britta likewise going 'WHAT did she say?' in her head, while her face was starting to go red. This carried on further as Lucia kept talking rather casually about their impending marriage, causing Isaac to stare in shock and for Britta to choke as she was swallowing, which brought about a sudden coughing fit. Here they are, all going off to some serious combat and being mentally prepared for it, and just out of the blue she starts talking like...

I know we're fairly obvious at times, but DID YOU HAVE TO?!

NOW, he understood why Britta reacted the way she did to some of the things he said! And Jean? Not helping. Well, not entirely. His mouth disapproved, but his smile said otherwise. Well, at least he wasn't feeling terribly depressed. Lord knows the guy needed a break. Didn't realize his gun support was to be sacrificed to that. Oh well. The two of them recovered and managed to chuckle at this in the age-old practice of having a decent sense of humor. Though the whole thing caught them off-guard, it had to be admitted that they were awfully close and not partcularly cagey about it. There just wasn't anything committed officially to the whole thing. They DID share a glance and a brief smile. I mean, if the 'children' of this squad don't disapprove...can it be all that bad? Moving along, though, Jean asked them if they were ready for the day's work on this scummy morning misery.

"We are locked and loaded, Jean. Just another day in Edinburgh, for me."

"I'll bet you never had to stand in it for as long before being in the army."

"You would probably be right. The work doesn't exactly do well in the rain."

It was after this that Jean reminded them of what was coming, how tough it would be. They knew. That's why they prepared letters to their families ahead of time, and had Rikes send them to dispatch. They'd keep him a while and he would be out of immediate trouble, at least until he did something like break away. Might happen, but Isaac didn't know for sure. The Gunners both nodded.

"I know. We're prepared for this to get bad."

"We'll do our best to keep everyone alive, I promise."

That was when they all heard it. Not so much about Diana's declaration upon finding the group, but rather what followed after from Lucia. Good god, was everybody gonna get it from her?! Isaac was holding his mouth shut. Britta's expression was that of barely-held-in silent laughter. After the initial surprise bomb that Lucia had hit them with, they were having trouble keeping that one to themselves. The walking, talking morale booster was on a roll! Anyway, Jean took time now to check his rifle and such. Isaac and Britta had done that, so they had little more to do than stand around before things got started. They simply fell in line nearby when it seemed right, though not before. The rain was, after all, miserable, and they'd had to walk through it to get here.

Beholden to them now, looking upon their ranks, was a man they all knew and hated - Captain Grumpus - and another who was...not so well-known. He was older, moustached, and smiling. This, to Isaac, meant that he was an officer of some high rank who would not be joining them on the battlefield, where they would all get shot at in this heavy offensive to about the same degree as the enemy itself could expect. To wit, ALOT of gunfire. This was confirmed by his rousing speech about how this position was REALLY hard to take and that they should feel happy to go and take it. Some people cheered, but those who were under Middleton's thumb in the 15th were not so enthused. This was followed by Middleton stating that they had information on probably locations of the enemies forthcoming, only it could as much as not, so that basically made it useless. And then, he said that they were to try and capture any Imperial officers that they found - Good luck on that one. - and to kill them of they wouldn't cooperate.

And of course, he won't be leading because he gets the luxury of staying behind with this Major, and not have to deal with ANY of this. God dammit on a silver platter...

Soon, they would be charging into a town and...well, it wasn't going to be the same as open land, but it was still gonna be brutal. The only real advantage that they seemed to have here was that they now had experience in the field, where before they did not. But then, the Imperials had their damn machine gun cars and other things, for sure. They still didn't even know WHAT caused that explosion. This wasn't going to be easy... Middleton prepared to let off a whistle. Soldiers were preparing to let off some noise. It suddenly occurred to Isaac, 'Why the hell are we letting them know that we're about to charge?'. They could hear this, right? The Imperials had men with scoped rifles and binoculars, people who could see and hear them? Why were they helping the bastards with all this noise?

Still, the whistle was blown. The charge was sounded.

They began to move like a tide, each of those who shouted not realizing that the noise they made ALSO drowned out when they were getting shot at, or when someone could warn them about such things. Morale is one thing, but survival is another. The wolf does not bark. It only howls to reach the ears of another, farther off. This was a signal, but it was to the wrong recipient. Isaac and Britta got out there, moving with the rest of the charge, and once covers had been found, the two of them nodded at each other, and spread out. They were Gunners, supportive fire. They worked together, but they were suppose to be spread out to be more effective in their coverage of the troops. They too were making their way to the Cathedral, but they were going to make sure that nobody could just take them both out with a grenade or something. They checked for anybody poking their heads out of windows or rooftops, plinked 'em with a burst of gunfire if there was anyone, and moved on.

The Cathedral lay ahead, effectively a fortress and inappropriately used as such. Granted, it was built as a sanctuary to those in need, but this wasn't the same thing. And they were no less guilty of that act, as they would demonstrate as soon as they took it for themselves. There was, in fact, little chance to marvel at the wonderous human creation...before someone fired at them. Actually, it was several someones, which is why Isaac suddenly had to backpeddle so quickly into cover as he felt the presence of bullets lance into the ground near him, Britta immediately slamming her back against a wall, as she'd been more cautious. Isaac was on the ground, quickly inspecting his leg. He'd felt something zing across his leg. He'd been near some men, some who DID get hit, and he found that what actually got him was not from a bullet, but from a piece of the road chipping off and striking him. Then, he inspected another spot on his side that he'd felt something give and...that was a piece of his armor vest damaged, right there. It was on the edge, where it would soon meet flesh. That's why it stung as well, but not as badly as being gunshot. There was just a little blood from a graze is all.

Okay, Isaac. That was your first and last warning. Don't let that happen again.

Once that was sorted, though, Jean called out and Isaac brought out his machine gun and opened fire! He did what he often did with Britta, trading times to spray their bullets at the enemy, and on this occasion it was coming from different angles, so initially the riflemen at the church were probably taken off guard! If it had a gun or a head poking out, they were going to fire in, and they were gonna take that Cathedral!

NEOTOKYO: State of Disarray [Open]

Karine Asagi

NAME>>>>>

Karine Asagi

NATIONALITY>>>>>

Japanese

AGE>>>>>

27

SEXUALITY>>>>>

Heterosexual

BIRTH>>>>>

10/1/2007 - Saitama

APPEARANCE>>>>>

The first thing to be noted is that, technically, the photograph is outdated. Asagi use to have a pair of blue eyes, but now her eyes are red and digital-looking, with a faint glow at times. She has short black hair and light skin, with the body of a well-maintained athlete. That is to say, before the change, she had had a well-maintained athletic body made for running, jumping, tumbling, and even squeezing into places, where possible. She's also a bit curved and well-formed, as well, but...she hasn't exactly been advertising that lately.

You see, Karine Asagi is a cyborg, but more importantly she is a cyborg not be choice, but rather as a necessary response to an incident that left her otherwise broken, physically and mentally. So, her eyes are cybertech implants, and so are her arms and legs. They tried to make them fit the shape of her body as much as possible, and therefore make them designed for speed and agility, but they still hit like a a length of rebar to the face if you're made of flesh. Unfortunately, they don't mimic the look of humanity, and therefore this woman's limbs are as black as the night, and they appear to be made double-jointed, and thus can bend both ways at will.

Asagi's work attire generally starts with a full-body combat suit that focuses on protecting the core while leaving the arms and legs able to flex and mmove properly. If it's gotta be a thing with the NFS sign on it, it's going to be dark and thus easy to sneak around in. The other thing about her work attire is that after that ensemble, she tends to have on a nice storm-gray longcoat for reasons of personal taste and storing stuff. She will, of course, employ stronger armor and a helmet as need-be, but in most cases, they won't be used.

As for casual, at no point will you see her in anything fancy. All her nights on the town are not going to be like that. If she's not directly offf work in the above attire, she's in a shirt and pants, preferrably jeans, and doesn't really vary. Always wears the best hiking/climbing boots. People who SEE Karine will notice that she lives more in her work, and not so much when she has extra time to think on her own. At that point, she's either waiting for something to interrupt her thoughts or going down a dark path, and that is often written on her face.

HEIGHT>>>>>

5'10"

PERSONALITY>>>>>

Aye, there's the rub. She's a nice gal, honestly, but things have gone wrong for her. Let's start from the top.

She began as a realist with a bit of optimism in her life as she entered the Japanese military at the minimum age (20), and by now has changed her views to something more cynical. In the beginning, Karine use to take pride in her work, yet remain in touch with family more. She performed with due diligence and has often been a morally-grounded person. That much has not changed, per se, but her attitude has. Her current self looks back upon her past self as a bit naive and too optimistic, believing that things will work out with just the right amount of footwork to a situation and perseverence.

The current Asagi believes that if the footwork isn't kicking ass with little mercy for the dangerous scum that cause no end of trouble, it really shouldn't be knee-deep in the shit that is this conflict. The incident that damaged her did more than physical damage. It crushed her, made her feel like she was no longer a human being, and that was BEFORE the prosthetics were installed. The incident, plus the dissonant feeling she sometimes gets from cybertechnology installed in her causes a Cyber-Psychosis, or a form of Phantom Limb Syndrome that applies strictly to the body freaking out when confronted with the foreign input of cyber-replacements. These incidents are mostly when she's feeling emotionally vulnerable or a trauma related to the incident is put to mind.

Because of this, Asagi really doesn't like free time, that much. She's thrown alot of herself into her work, believing that she isn't a proper human, but a rather ambulatory torso. She's also on a fairly-strict diet and exercise routine of sit-ups because a body that can't exercise and eats too much will bloat up while the cyber-limbs remain the same and do nothing for the burning of excess fat. This allows her to keep her figure, though...she's not giving much thought to that. Generally, any happiness Asagi feels is short-term because she doesn't believe she can be anything more than useful to those around her. Her moral fiber has remained fairly intact, as she will fight to prevent people from becoming like her, but she also has a darker side...like having no mercy towards the irredeemable, or torturing for information. In situations like that, she has ceased to care what people think.

The only good thing about all this is that if you have managed to get her respect, she's keeping it, and she still treats those in need and those who are fair to others fairly themselves. And...it's not like she can't crack a joke or smile. It's just that she has less to be happy about in her life.

PREVIOUS CAREERS>>>>>

Main Japanese Military

CURRENT ROLE>>>>>

Infiltration and Surgical Strike - NSF

EQUIPMENT>>>>>

NOTE: This is STANDARD equipment. Anything can be added or replaced.

Cyber-Eyes - Advanced tracking and targeting eyes with Head-Up Display (HUD), designed to see in normal and low-light, as well as switch to infrared. The HUD is mainly for pulling in other interactions, such as with cameras, recordings of actions, and especially targeting vectors for movement and gunplay.

Cyber-Limbs - Both arms and both legs. As stated, they are made more for better movement and flexibility (via the reverse-jointing and slender design) than strength, though a flesh target getting hit with one will STILL feel it. They are reinforced into the bones they attached to on Asagi's body and in fact link arm to arm and leg to leg across the body (under the skin and across the bone) in order to grant full use of what strength their is without risking the limb breaking off of the bone. (Fans of Ghost in the Shell will know what that's all about.)

Supa 7 Tactical Shotgun - A tactical shotgun, compact and powerful, chambered with standard 12-guage, and a side holder four 4 Slug shells. Developed as the only product of the Murata Corporation before being absorbed by Gensai, it's main official users are the NSF, using it in urban and close quarters combat.

Glock-17S (x2) - Sure-grip semi-automatic pistol (12 round magazine) built as a slender and more light-weight competitor to the Tachi ammo-dumping pistol, still solid enough to whip into people's heads hard enough to knock them out.

Kawasaki Mirage - 'The bike so fast it's not there anymore'. Karine's well-balanced high-speed motorcycle, built to be fast and quiet, and gray like fog or smoke. It's made for work AND fun.

BIOGRAPHY>>>>

Does SHE have a militarized background?! Why yes, yes she does.

Karine Asagi was born and raised in Saitama by a pair of talented CyberTechnicians. It was kind of like being raised by Buckaroo Banzai's parents, if both of them were Japanese and excelled at one particular field instead of alot of them. The two scientists were meticulous and dedicated designers, and perhaps their daughter would've followed in their footsteps...but something rather-importantly impacted her life: The Tokyo Nuclear Bombing. She was able to bear witness from a relatively-safe distance, and that put a fire in her that wouldn't go out. Karine's background and education was so-engrained in technical data that she actually had decent aptitude in technical fields. She could even do it now, if she tried. All of it was due to the exposure her parents gave her early on in life, thus giving her an academic headstart.

However, it was not this that she wanted to pursue. Ever the willful and dedicated sort, she decided that saving lives before they needed parts of them replaced was the nobler action than just supplying replacements when a situation arose. Her parents didn't stand in her way. After all, it's not like she couldn't take up the job later...provided she lived. And so, after enough academic study and personal physical training, Karine Asagi enlisted into the Japanese military, where she became essentially regular army, at the government's disposal for all major problems, foreign and domestic. She joined when at age 20 and was assigned to missions until the age of 24...where things went bad.

It wasn't her fault. She was professional, only reckless insofar as a calculated risk that could get her an injury and a reprimand at worst. She didn't know the kind of nest that she walked into. What she found, at the time, a piece of the organization known as Jinrai, and in a moment of surprise on both ends, Karine opened fire with everything she had on those found, since she had been scouting around and found at least ten men. This was merely an act of a hasty retreat while calling in reinforcements. How could SHE know it was an arms deal and that the dealer was selling shitty product? No, it wasn't that the explosives were crappy and unusable. No no...they were unstable, as in going through the process that creates Nitro Glycerin. It didn't ALL go up. Otherwise, she'd be dead and the building would be too...but it did collapse a significant portion on her.

Her colleagues would later report that the only reason they knew that she was still alive in that was from the screams... Karine had been lucky to be alive...but she'd taken irreparable damage to the eyes and her limbs...on top of rib damage. The ribs would heal. Not so much the arms and legs, though. And so, she lay broken in a hospital, until her parents and a doctor convinced her to get prosthetics, ones that her mother and father would make certain were up to a proper standard. Several months of recovery and a number of cyber-operations later, Karine was back on her feet, artificial feet...albeit with alot of baggage on board. Because her post-repaired state tested well, though, she had a job lined up for her...

AFFILIATIONS>>>>>

Toshiro Asagi - Father, CyberTechnician
Ari Asagi - Mother, CyberTechnician
Arsene Lupin The 3rd - Fictional Character, Inspiration

RELATIONSHIPS>>>>>

Unknown

CHARACTER THEMES>>>>>

NEOTOKYO: State of Disarray [Open]

Karine Asagi

NAME>>>>>

Karine Asagi

NATIONALITY>>>>>

Japanese

AGE>>>>>

27

SEXUALITY>>>>>

Heterosexual

BIRTH>>>>>

10/1/2007 - Saitama

APPEARANCE>>>>>

The first thing to be noted is that, technically, the photograph is outdated. Asagi use to have a pair of blue eyes, but now her eyes are red and digital-looking, with a faint glow at times. She has short black hair and light skin, with the body of a well-maintained athlete. That is to say, before the change, she had had a well-maintained athletic body made for running, jumping, tumbling, and even squeezing into places, where possible. She's also a bit curved and well-formed, as well, but...she hasn't exactly been advertising that lately.

You see, Karine Asagi is a cyborg, but more importantly she is a cyborg not be choice, but rather as a necessary response to an incident that left her otherwise broken, physically and mentally. So, her eyes are cybertech implants, and so are her arms and legs. They tried to make them fit the shape of her body as much as possible, and therefore make them designed for speed and agility, but they still hit like a a length of rebar to the face if you're made of flesh. Unfortunately, they don't mimic the look of humanity, and therefore this woman's limbs are as black as the night, and they appear to be made double-jointed, and thus can bend both ways at will.

Asagi's work attire generally starts with a full-body combat suit that focuses on protecting the core while leaving the arms and legs able to flex and mmove properly. If it's gotta be a thing with the NFS sign on it, it's going to be dark and thus easy to sneak around in. The other thing about her work attire is that after that ensemble, she tends to have on a nice storm-gray longcoat for reasons of personal taste and storing stuff. She will, of course, employ stronger armor and a helmet as need-be, but in most cases, they won't be used.

As for casual, at no point will you see her in anything fancy. All her nights on the town are not going to be like that. If she's not directly offf work in the above attire, she's in a shirt and pants, preferrably jeans, and doesn't really vary. Always wears the best hiking/climbing boots. People who SEE Karine will notice that she lives more in her work, and not so much when she has extra time to think on her own. At that point, she's either waiting for something to interrupt her thoughts or going down a dark path, and that is often written on her face.

HEIGHT>>>>>

5'10"

PERSONALITY>>>>>

Aye, there's the rub. She's a nice gal, honestly, but things have gone wrong for her. Let's start from the top.

She began as a realist with a bit of optimism in her life as she entered the Japanese military at the minimum age (20), and by now has changed her views to something more cynical. In the beginning, Karine use to take pride in her work, yet remain in touch with family more. She performed with due diligence and has often been a morally-grounded person. That much has not changed, per se, but her attitude has. Her current self looks back upon her past self as a bit naive and too optimistic, believing that things will work out with just the right amount of footwork to a situation and perseverence.

The current Asagi believes that if the footwork isn't kicking ass with little mercy for the dangerous scum that cause no end of trouble, it really shouldn't be knee-deep in the shit that is this conflict. The incident that damaged her did more than physical damage. It crushed her, made her feel like she was no longer a human being, and that was BEFORE the prosthetics were installed. The incident, plus the dissonant feeling she sometimes gets from cybertechnology installed in her causes a Cyber-Psychosis, or a form of Phantom Limb Syndrome that applies strictly to the body freaking out when confronted with the foreign input of cyber-replacements. These incidents are mostly when she's feeling emotionally vulnerable or a trauma related to the incident is put to mind.

Because of this, Asagi really doesn't like free time, that much. She's thrown alot of herself into her work, believing that she isn't a proper human, but a rather ambulatory torso. She's also on a fairly-strict diet and exercise routine of sit-ups because a body that can't exercise and eats too much will bloat up while the cyber-limbs remain the same and do nothing for the burning of excess fat. This allows her to keep her figure, though...she's not giving much thought to that. Generally, any happiness Asagi feels is short-term because she doesn't believe she can be anything more than useful to those around her. Her moral fiber has remained fairly intact, as she will fight to prevent people from becoming like her, but she also has a darker side...like having no mercy towards the irredeemable, or torturing for information. In situations like that, she has ceased to care what people think.

The only good thing about all this is that if you have managed to get her respect, she's keeping it, and she still treats those in need and those who are fair to others fairly themselves. And...it's not like she can't crack a joke or smile. It's just that she has less to be happy about in her life.

PREVIOUS CAREERS>>>>>

Main Japanese Military

CURRENT ROLE>>>>>

Infiltration and Surgical Strike - NSF

EQUIPMENT>>>>>

NOTE: This is STANDARD equipment. Anything can be added or replaced.

Cyber-Eyes - Advanced tracking and targeting eyes with Head-Up Display (HUD), designed to see in normal and low-light, as well as switch to infrared. The HUD is mainly for pulling in other interactions, such as with cameras, recordings of actions, and especially targeting vectors for movement and gunplay.

Cyber-Limbs - Both arms and both legs. As stated, they are made more for better movement and flexibility (via the reverse-jointing and slender design) than strength, though a flesh target getting hit with one will STILL feel it. They are reinforced into the bones they attached to on Asagi's body and in fact link arm to arm and leg to leg across the body (under the skin and across the bone) in order to grant full use of what strength their is without risking the limb breaking off of the bone. (Fans of Ghost in the Shell will know what that's about.)

Supa 7 Tactical Shotgun - A tactical shotgun, compact and powerful, chambered with standard 12-guage, and a side holder four 4 Slug shells. Developed as the only product of the Murata Corporation before being absorbed by Gensai, it's main official users are the NSF, using it in urban and close quarters combat.

Glock-17S (x2) - Sure-grip semi-automatic pistol (12 round magazine) built as a slender and more light-weight competitor to the Tachi ammo-dumping pistol, still solid enough to whip into people's heads hard enough to knock them out.

Kawasaki Mirage - 'The bike so fast it's not there anymore'. Karine's well-balanced high-speed motorcycle, built to be fast and quiet, and gray like fog or smoke. It's made for work AND fun.

BIOGRAPHY>>>>

Does SHE have a militarized background?! Why yes, yes she does.

Karine Asagi was born and raised in Saitama by a pair of talented CyberTechnicians. It was kind of like being raised by Buckaroo Banzai's parents, if both of them were Japanese and excelled at one particular field instead of alot of them. The two scientists were meticulous and dedicated designers, and perhaps their daughter would've followed in their footsteps...but something rather-importantly impacted her life: The Tokyo Nuclear Bombing. Karine's background and education was so-engrained in technical data that she actually had decent aptitude in technical fields. She could even do it now, if she tried. All of it was due to the exposure her parents gave her early on in life, thus giving her an academic headstart.

However, it was not this that she wanted to pursue. Ever the willful and dedicated sort, she decided that saving lives before they needed parts of them replaced was the nobler action than just supplying replacements when a situation arose. Her parents didn't stand in her way. After all, it's not like she couldn't take up the job later...provided she lived. And so, after enough academic study and personal physical training, Karine Asagi enlisted into the Japanese military, where she became essentially regular army, at the government's disposal for all major problems, foreign and domestic. She joined when at age 20 and was assigned to missions until the age of 24...where things went bad.

It wasn't her fault. She was professional, only reckless insofar as a calculated risk that could get her an injury and a reprimand at worst. She didn't know the kind of nest that she walked into. What she found, at the time, a piece of the organization known as Jinrai, and in a moment of surprise on both ends, Karine opened fire with everything she had on those found, since she had been scouting around and found at least ten men. This was merely an act of a hasty retreat while calling in reinforcements. How could SHE know it was an arms deal and that the dealer was selling shitty product? No, it wasn't that the explosives were crappy and unusable. No no...they were unstable, as in going through the process that creates Nitro Glycerin. It didn't ALL go up. Otherwise, she'd be dead and the building would be too...but it did collapse a significant portion on her.

Her colleagues would later report that the only reason they knew that she was still alive in that was from the screams... Karine had been lucky to be alive...but she'd taken irreparable damage to the eyes and her limbs...on top of rib damage. The ribs would heal. Not so much the arms and legs, though. And so, she lay broken in a hospital, until her parents and a doctor convinced her to get prosthetics, ones that her mother and father would make certain were up to a proper standard. Several months of recovery and a number of cyber-operations later, Karine was back on her feet, artificial feet...albeit with alot of baggage on board. Because her post-repaired state tested well, though, she had a job lined up for her...

AFFILIATIONS>>>>>

Toshiro Asagi - Father, CyberTechnician
Ari Toshiro - Mother, CyberTechnician
Arsene Lupin The 3rd - Fictional Character, Inspiration

RELATIONSHIPS>>>>>

Unknown

CHARACTER THEMES>>>>>

NEO-TOKYO: State of Disarray - Cyberpunk RP

As you know, Stuff, the character I have in mind starts from military as one of their operatives, so NFS it is.

NEO-TOKYO: State of Disarray - Cyberpunk RP

Stuff already knows, but yeah, I am interested.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

A pair of soldiers were taking a bit long to prepare for the mission today...but it isn't what you think.

With the ever-looming mission and all that could happen lying in front of them, Isaac and Britta had decided to do something constructive to put their anxious feelings about it aside. It wasn't anything intimate. That might make them even more worried about their future. When dealing in uncertainties - things like 'How many troops will we be facing?' or 'Will there be more gas?' or 'What caused that explosion, last night?' - it's best to deal with something in front of you that will leave you with less regrets. The two Gunners had no regrets about each other. Really, they were more afraid to pursue things further because of their mission, but they still acknowledged that they were close

That was why they decided to compose letters together.

The two of them sat at a table, with Rikes either lying nearby or padding around somewhere, and were writing to their folks, respectively. They were kinda' left alone, or at least given a bit of distance, because this lupine bastard kept giving people The Stare. That's that quiet glare a wolf can give where you don't know what they're thinking. Of course, Isaac had told a couple of soldiers never to maintain eye contact with a wolf for too long. They don't like it. It could be taken as a challenge. Rikes wasn't likely to lash out at random, but while he'd had discipline engrained into his being, so too had he had training to attack, as well. If a man looked suspicious, even in the right uniform, he could strike, thinking it was someone with the wrong smell or body language. But mostly, everything was quiet at the table, as they put pen to paper, each with a shitty cup of coffee that Rikes wouldn't drink.

"So, do you have any other family other than your parents and Hans?"

"Some relatives, but nobody as close. We don't see them that often. I see that you do."

She could read the top line upside-down well enough.

"The Black family is a bit of a clan that stems a bit further west. Sometimes, we go off to get together and have a party. I'll probably have missed one by now. Alex and Emeri are just good hard-working siblings."

"Don't you work hard too?"

"Yeah, but that's what defines them more. Alex is an optimist, very supporting and looking for answers to everyone's problems. Emeri's inciteful, caring, funny at times. You'd like them."

"Well, maybe I'll meet them when we pull off this plan of yours to corner the farmer's market."

They laughed. They based their possible future plans around the idea of their families partnering up to make a killing in produce and livestock, supporting each other in an alliance that would rule the farm world for all time! It was a funny idea, and it was kind of what they were saying instead of 'I don't want to leave you'. Both of them might've known it on some level, but they were keeping it low-key to prevent it getting all up in their heads in a distracting way. Soon, they had to get a move on, because they would be running late, sending off their letters with Rikes to the dispatchers as they headed off. After all, it was his other job and main line of training.

Isaac's Letter

Dear Mom, Dad, Alex, and Emeri,

I'm writing this a bit fast because of the mission coming up. We got hit hard last night, emotionally and in reality. We lost a man from the Oceanic allies. He was killed by a very dangerous sniper. It makes me sick to think they might've saved him if the sniper had simply been retreated from instead of attacking him, but a couple of the people in my friend Jean's command went ahead anyway. They got the sniper, and I guess that helps, but now I'm more worried about the thing that blasted our camp that night. It was like a mortar shelling, only worse. We have no idea what could cause it, and I've been having nightmares about that charge up the hill to those gun nests where they bombed us. I have a feeling we'll be finding out what's going on out here in the next few hours. Wish me luck. All of it.

Yours,
Isaac

PS: I found Rikes out here. It looks like his previous handlers might've died on their mission. I'm bringing him home.

Britta's Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for telling me about Hans. I've done what I can to get in contact with him. Hopefully, my little brother takes after me well enough to keep himself from getting hurt, and that he doesn't have quite so anxious a commanding officer as my own. I'm doing fine, myself. I'm writing this alongside Isaac. (Yes, the one with the wolves.) He actually found one of his wolves out here, or rather it found us as I was serving dinner! It was honestly shocking, but he had an absolute bond over it. Some days, he doesn't seem altogether human, but other days he's nothing BUT human, mistakes included. I hope nothing happens to him like it did another from our squad, Thomas Carter. He was just a transfer from the Oceanics, apparently well-known down there, and now he's died far from his own country. I can't think of anything worse than that. We have a mission coming up. Hopefully, we'll all get through it alright.

Love,
Britta

The last thoughts of those who go off to face death with dignity...

Truth be told, of course, they'd rather not face death at all, but rather fight for life. Still, you can't know what's coming for you. All they knew for sure was that today, they would be heading towards the Amone Cathedral, birthplace of religion in this area and fortified position in battle. If anyone was in it, they were taking it from them, and if anybody wanted it after that, they were to prevent them from doing so. With that grim thought in mind, the Gunners would find their days suddenly brightened up by-

"Lucia! How are you?"

"You look well. I hope Middleton isn't working you too hard."

-a definite morale boost on two legs. Isaac wondered how she'll react once the morale boost on four legs gets back...

~ Phantom Thieves of London: The Calling ~

ROMANI...

He'd gone and found it, an enemy stronghold. He'd done so, strangely enough, by letting go and allowing his mind to wander into the familiar and the routine. He felt like he was getting back to the school, and so it almost seemed like he was going there by pure instinct, despite his surroundings. Of course, once he HAD found it...he didn't wanna be there anymore. It was a motherfucking fortress with a bunch of strangely-clad figures wandering around on patrol. Furthermore, he had spotted what looked like Vice-Principal Ashcroft...but if it was him, he must've been insane. And if he was, so were his cohorts, because they all saluted his passing.

This...was where Romani would beat feet to try and find an exit, some way out of all of this, and here...he began to have some luck, both good and bad. After some twists and turns, he heard shouting, someone calling to that guy, Laurence, and then talking. All of this was rather urgent, and as he came closer, he found the light-haired student talking to, of all things, a bird. And the weird thing? The black-feathered avian creature perched on his arm was talking back. It had a girl's voice and was looking rather frantic. What Romani heard as he was coming across them was...

"...have to hurry! The way out is back the other way! I've sent the others ahead!"

"You're sure? What others?"

"The ones from Evergreen! There's not much time!"

"I know, it's getting closer."

All of this seemed to take away from the fact that Laurence had, in his hand, a machete. That was the most mundane thing about this picture, and yet it was about as incongruous as everything else. Laurence had already had a bit of a shock, having discovered a shapeless horror wandering this labyrinth, and he was only regaining a bit of mental traction from someone calling out to him and it turning out to be his feathery guide from before, actually capable of speech. For the moment, he was willing to accept anything as possible, including the fact that she seemed to know the way out of here. That was where Romani came in, and they both seemed surprised.

"Another? How many are in here? Nevermind, just follow us! It must be near the intersection by now! Hurry!"

Raven flew off of her arm perch and Laurence gave Romani a 'Yeah, it IS serious' look and a gesture to follow as he ran off, back the way he'd come. The scene of the intersection was... There had been shadowy creatures around, but right now what Laurence, the bird, and now Romani could see was this advancing sphere of doom, red eyes blazing as it hovered closer and moans quite audibly loud, even in their heads! As it drew closer to the intersection itself, it seemed to be sprouting red-and-black hands. Every single instinct would tell them all: Do NOT let it grab you. Down one street, they could just about see some kind of a confrontation with some amorphous shapes, like slimes. The ones dealing with that were...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

ALEX, AVA, and HAKURO...

Hakuro's mind was abuzz with all the possibilities he could work with, what he could do in this situation. He was just coming up with an idea to parkour around these slimy bastards, and then to get them to chase him around a bit so the others could basically follow after them, when Alex shoved past, saying he was going to make a path himself.

"Wait, that's not-"

A good idea? No. It didn't work. It did not work. And that left him open to attack by the creatures. Well, sort of... They all focused on him, and as he was attacked, Alex tried to swat them and...and...where did that gun come from? He'd whacked it with an old-style gangster machine gun! And then, he opened fire, leaving the boy with the hat and coat who LOOKED like he should be holding one of those just staring now. As Ava went over to help, Hakuro recalled Alex shouting something about needing a weapon. He'd been sarcastic, but he clearly meant it. Was...was that all they needed to do?

Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of pure imagination...

He closed his eyes, and he thought, and he muttered to himself, that he needed a weapon. He needed a weapon... He needed... Hakuro thought of the creature coming up behind them and the path blocked ahead, of the necessity to move forwards, else they probably die. When Ava kicked back one of the blobs, shouting at Alex to keep firing, two bladed devices suddenly hooked into the mouth of the thing.

The blob was suddenly pulled on hard and the hooked swords yanked it HARD into a wall, plastering it there for the time being. Hakuro stood holding a pair of Shuang Gou, or Tiger Claws. This was weird not only for the fact that he'd manifested weapons out of nowhere like Alex, but that they were Chinese weapons, of all things. Why that? Well...why not? They worked.

"Ava, concentrate! You're in danger and you need a weapon. This place runs on the mind. You can do what Alex did."

So saying, as as the lot of them were hearing footsteps from the direction they came rushing this way - Laurence, Romani, and Raven - Hakuro swung his weapons like a pair of scissors and began to kick a slime below its mouth...which was stretched out like a freaky grin for now, the way it was hooked. And that just leaves us with...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MIKHAIL...

It's funny, because Mikhail hit upon the big screaming detail of the Ashcroft before him that said everything about the man. He was not what he seemed. He was all pomp and circumstance and 'In my day', wishing for simpler times to be brought back, but really...he was a massive hypocrite. He was the sort of man who would consort with the devil to fight with the devil. He was not holier than thou. He was darker by far, and cared not for your tongue. He didn't care, really, about 'back then', except for when he was important, recognized, and in charge. Not that any of this was vocalized, but it was a very important point. This Shadow of the true Ashcroft was a broken mirror that showed the true self, especially as it spoke in open contempt at Mikhail's words.

"See how it condemns itself with its own words. The worm crawls and squirms for release from its fate, but the righteous shall not hear it, for it is unclean and fit only for the dirt from which it was born."

Good fucking god, he liked to hear himself talk... Then again, so did the REAL Ashcroft. This one, though... He was far more cunning. You may be wondering why he simply allowed Mikhail to talk his head off. That was because he was telling him oh-so-much when he did. Mikhail had spoken alloud his true intentions, not what he had spoken to the others, a confession of the wrath he felt in his heart. Every anxiety and concern seemed to come out. Finally, when he'd found the boy's weakest moment, the Shadow smiled, which was something the Russian boy had NEVER seen Ashcroft do!

"My intent is not for the likes of thee, fell creature. Mayhaps some of those things, I will do, but you shall not know the hour, nor shall you escape to tell any soul of thy misfortunes. For now, if the tongue of thy neighbor offends thee, pray remove it, lest the evil spread."

He raised his spear and a strange light - gray and purple = shown from it. A wave of it passed over Mikhail, and all his utterences were silent. No word or noise could be produced. He had literally been hit with a spell of silence! The Witchfinger General turned and walked away, laughing. Once outside, he called for guards to appear at the door that he'd entered. Mikhail was in for a rough time here. The only good news is that the spell would only last a few minutes.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Aw hell...

It was bad enough that Luke was going on the way he did, that the man with no tact was either trying to boost morale with Marathon- No, Thomas' death, or that he was trying to become the unsung and desperately underappreciated hero to take down Green Fox. It was a completely other thing for this to start devolving into a fight, but devolve it did. Let's be clear: As soon as Isaac heard Ines talking, he was definitely thinking 'Oh shit...', but there was also a part of him that said the dressing-down that was taking place was also necessary. Luke's behavior was wrong, and so was his attitude towards the Darcsens or most anybody that pissed him off. He was a loudmouthed pain in the ass whom you would never admit that he was right about anything without the word 'Unfortunately' or 'Sadly' or 'begrudgedly'. Isaac really wanted to let this go, but he couldn't. He knew trouble when he saw it. Hell, the wolf was flattening his ears back now! The Gunner looked over his partner, who was watching this with a little concern, and indicated with his head that they'd better deal with this.

They arrived to see Luke flipping out. Seems like Ines touched a nerve. Maybe 'stabbed it' was the better term. So, the two Gunners happened to be part of the group that held the guy back from just completely losing it, with Rikes growling at the guy's flank, swinging at the Darcsen for being completely justified in chewing him out. The way she did it wasn't exactly right either, but you'll notice Isaac did NOT keep her from delivering the tongue-lashing that she did. Luke eventually petered out in his yelling and he could be safely released, having let out in front of god and everybody over his fears, and things he thought were right. And then, they heard from Diana, who couldn't keep her thoughts bottled in either. Diana was always good for an emotional speech. Her emphasis on family pretty much underlined what was wrong with this situation, right here. Isaac now got in the middle of all this, between Luke and Ines and everyone else packed in here.

"Somehow, I don't think Luke has the patience to get married, Diana, but I take your point. This needs to stop."

He looked around those who were gathered.

"This squad IS like a family. It bickers and argues, but it also cares, or at least that's the way it should go. We're not a bunch of super-tough soldiers who can take on the world. We're just human."

He caught a tilted head look from Rikes.

"Mostly. The point is that we have to look out for one another. Because, Luke, we don't want to end up shot to hell, alone and afraid-"

"Isaac, don't."

"-with no one there to pull us out, stop the bleeding, or just anything that might save them from the cold embrace of death...or not face it without knowing that someone is there or cares that it might happen. We are not leaving people like that, dammit."

Now, Isaac looked directly at Luke.

"That's how Middleton works, and I'm not doing it that way. Thomas deserved better."

He looked over at Ines, then.

"I'd kind of appreciate it if we don't talk about Jean being a coward like that. We all know that he gets put under alot of pressure that he's forced to deal with and he has about as much experience as the rest of us being in charge, which is to say none, so the fact that he hasn't abandoned us in a fit of madness - considering what he has to deal with, at times - is pretty impressive. Now, how about we break this up, huh?"

That would be the end of Isaac's involvement with this, as he soon walked off to try and get some rest if this was all he had to look forward to until the time of the big assault. Chances are, he and Britta were going to be pushed towards assaulting their base out there, since alot of the rest around here were gonna sapping the tunnels. Britta soon caught up with him, though, starting in his path.

"That was going a little too far, don't you think?"

'What, comparing him to Middleton?"

"No, the other part..."

Isaac sighed.

"Sorry, I couldn't... I couldn't stop from saying that. He left Thomas back there, and did he even keep watch for the sake of those whom the world-class sniper hadn't shot yet? No. He left them all, and he came back here to yell about it when his actions about as appealing as a pile of shit. Some people are too much. I'm sorry. I know they don't need reminders of what could happen to any of us. I just don't want this sentiment of leaving people in the lurch to pass. I want to keep us in one piece, Britta."

"I know you do. Just try and keep being yourself, okay?"

"I will."

She was going off to make the rounds, see if anybody needed anything at the moment. Isaac was heading off to sleep again, leaving Britta alone for the time being. She knew, of course. It wasn't just Luke, or Jean, or Ines, or Diana, or anyone. They were all afraid of something, even herself. Even Isaac. She knew what he feared, as well. He had had his moments of flinching in his sleep, and only after that explosion before did she know that what he feared...was to vanished without a trace, engulfed in destruction and rendered no more.