KaiserElectric

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

The capital had been well and truly ravaged by the assault. Military vehicles rolled down the battered streets carrying men and supplies, tossing up dust in the faces of the civilians trying to rebuild and the lonely conscripts patrolling the streets. The battle was over, but command was not taking any chances; anyone not counted among the casualties was to recon the area, account for any missing in action, and most importantly sweep the area for any leftover PRC invaders. By midday, three prisoners had already been taken. One had died before medical treatment could be given. Two were caught in the act of setting land mines and were killed in action. One poor soul ran afoul of the locals before he could be captured. Best not to dwell on what happened to him.

Moreso then rubble or blood, anger seemed to run through the ruined streets. Not furious and shouting, but quiet, brooding. Threatening to explode out at any moment. It was the sort of feeling Marlena was far too familiar with, and perhaps why she had eyes for the buildings instead.

Pausing to give her men a break and let the recon look around from atop a nearby roof, Marlena cast her eyes up at the building across the street, her head tilting to one side. The old stone capitol was still intact enough for her to recognize it; the Casa Real, once the seat of power in this region when the Spanish ruled from across two oceans. Even if it was far more modern then what she usually found interest in, it made her heart ache all the same to see such a place reduced to this. Two generations of history, nearly wiped out in a senseless burst of destruction. Where was the glory in this?

The recon grunted as he jumped down from his perch, giving a thumbs up to indicate there was nothing to report. Marlena nodded in approval and gestured onwards with a snap of her fingers, leading the conscripts deeper into the city, where the destruction and the civilian population was denser. Her boots crunching on broken glass, she felt a tap on her shoulder as one of the conscripts gestured ahead of the group. A small mob seemed to have gathered around a storefront, suffering way more damage then would have been expected from the attack, the broken signage translated into spanish and mandarin. Marlena frowned, seeing raised fists even from this distance and more debris flying out at the storefront. The bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach told her this was exactly what it seemed to be.

Stretching out a hand in preparation for a quick summoning of her arm, Marlena shot ahead of her team, getting a better look at the gathering mob, faces contorted in fury. Running ahead of it was a balding Chinese man, ducking as a glass bottle shattered just over his head as he placed himself in front of the door. Marlena didn't even stop to give an order or direction, roughly pushing her way through the mob as a young man rushed forward. She spotted something silver glint in his hand, the sudden look of fear in the shopkeeper's eyes, matched by the small faces visible through the door behind him.

Marlena felt the sting of the cheap shiv as it jabbed her in the side, barely inches from its intended target. The young man turned ghostly pale as he glanced up at her, buckling under Marlena's piercing gaze. She didn't need her weapon. She didn't even need to raise a fist. The message was made perfectly clear as he frantically scrambled away, the bloody knife clattering to the ground haplessly. The other soldiers would shout a few orders to disperse the rest of the mob, if they hadn't already slunk away in shame.

Turning around, she saw the children still standing by the window, looking amazed and excited by what happened, not knowing the cruel truth of what had nearly happened. Marlena gave them a bright smile in response.

A little less hate. And maybe, God willing, just a little more hope.

Age of Marvels - A Marvel Comics Roleplay [CLOSED]

I finished reading through this a bit and I'm also quite interested in playing around with this setting! Expect a lil something from me as well ^^

Edit: As a Sidenote, has anyone done anything involving Ultron? I didn't notice him being brought up at all in the character sheets but I wanted to check.

Mass Effect: Harpocrates

_______________________________________________ Personal Data D A T A Full Name - Avicia Sancrius Designation - Sunder Species - Turian Age - 29 (b. 2154) Origin - Altakiril Classification - Engineer Unique Specialization - Turian Demolitionist - Psyche Analysis P S Y C H E The Mad Scientist Avicia is in possession of an incredibly bright mind, albeit one that probably had something important knocked loose a long time ago. Unquestionably gifted in a variety of fields, her insatiable drive for knowledge and discovery pairs like sodium and water with her penchant to go with whatever off the wall idea pops into her head that moment. She thrives in chaos, especially the chaos she creates herself, and friend and foe alike often have trouble adapting to her sheer unpredictability. Of Course I'm Right! Brimming with perpetual confidence, Avicia Sancrius likes to think she has all the answers, and more often then not, she does. She's not modest in her success and will happily inform you many times over when something turns out in her favor, or a solution she provided worked marvelously. On the other hand, she'll tend to excuse things not quite going according to plan, and while she's capable of admitting when she's made a mistake, it definitely needles her a bit when she has to admit fault. Endlessly Exploring Avicia rarely sits still, rarely leaves a stone unturned, and will always try something at least once. She's friendly to nearly everyone at first glance, and more then friendly to a select few, but overall dislikes leaving people feeling cold towards her, even if they rarely stick around long enough to be more then acquaintances. A bit of an epicurean, she's also well-versed in many forms of pleasure seeking, to put it mildly, and isn't adverse to doing something foolhardy or dangerous, if only for the sheer sake of doing it. Avicia would call herself open-minded, though others would probably see her as restless or anxious. Both would be right, in a sense. Equipment E Q U I P M E N T ERCS Hurricane A reliable turian-made shotgun, meticulously maintained from her days in the service. Good at dealing with foes who get too close for comfort, and light enough to be carried alongside heavier ordinance. Halliet Stiletto A gift from an unusual friend that's gotten her out of more then a few tough spots. Not the best range for weapons like it, but it's pretty good in a scuffle and it punches through armor quite nicely! HC-12 Demo Charges Simple, versatile, and unquestionably effective. Great for breaches and general destructive power, they attach to nearly any surface and can be remotely detonated or set to a timer. M-100 Grenade Launcher A standard among Terminus system mercenaries, Avicia altered hers somewhat to fire a variety of specialty grenades in addition to the normal high explosive variant, such as smoke and stun grenades. Record R E C O R D Special Intervention Unit The Special Intervention Unit is a batarian special forces division infamous for its brutal training program and discipline; Avicia, when enslaved and trained in the same methods by her batarian master, found it quite fun. Nevertheless, despite no official training, Avicia is well versed in the aggressive tactics of the batarian special forces, being well-versed in shock tactics, demolitions, and subterfuge techniques. Destruction of the Shulgen While suffering from severe burns, Avicia Sancrius infiltrated the vessel of the notorious Batarian warlord Khagrum, planting a series of explosive charges that destroyed the engine, killing the warlord and his crew and sparking off a major battle between the remainder of Khagrum's fleet and the turian task force nearby. Managing to escape from the ship before its destruction, she was rescued from the scene of the battle by a fleeing batarian frigate and escaped to Omega. Assault On The Graychain Gang In her first forays with independent contracting, Avicia was hired by mercenaries in the Blue Suns private security firm to assist in an operation to liberate high value targets being held captive by a band of smugglers known as the Graychain Gang. Spearheading a surprise attack that disabled the gang's ships and pinned them so the Blue Suns could move in, the success of the mission put Avicia's unusual talents on the map and led to a working relationship with the Suns going forward. Connections C O N N E C T I O N S Nels Dusron A Volus merchant actively working in the Terminus Sector, and Avicia's first boyfriend. The two drifted apart after Avicia entered national service, but the two remain on good terms and are able to rely on one another if trouble comes their way. Oram Das'saba To anyone looking from the outside, Oram is Avicia's master, a fair if firm hand who's maybe a little too trusting of his turian thrall to let her galivant across the galaxy so frequently. Underneath the surface though the two are partners, conspirators in a desperate attempt to enact real change in batarian society. In both cases, he tends to be gruff, unfriendly, no-nonsense, and kind of an all around bastard, he's nevertheless stoically devoted to his beliefs (whichever one he wants to show you at the time) and his friends. Despite their highly unusual history and circumstance, Avicia considers the gruff batarian the closest thing to a father figure she's ever had, and though he'd sooner be caught dead then admit it, Oram feels the same way. Caelnia Terraka A Turian mechanic working in the Blue Suns that Avicia shared a wild romantic fling with, which prompted Caelnia to offer her the job that got her regular work from the Suns. The two share more of a working relationship then a romantic one nowadays, but it's not odd for them to get together to blow off a little steam once in a while. Cerbon Srenda A roaming, battle-scarred Krogan merc with his own ambiguously criminal gang. Avicia's worked with him and against him on numerous missions depending on who was paying whom, and despite being on the opposite team more times then once the two share a friendly rivalry with one another.

Physical Details ◢ Avicia stands at a wiry 6'6, with simplistic green clan markings adorning her tanned carapace. She wears light armor modified from a set of Hahne-Kedar Mantis armor, and outside of a firefight her wardrobe tends to consist of eclectic mixes from all over, usually favoring some sort of lab gear. She'd sooner be caught dead then without her lucky pair of lab specs, protective goggles that she keeps around her neck when not wearing them in firefights or doing SCIENCE. She also tends to have her two pet space ferrets, Kemerskai and Astler, close on hand. Personal History ◢ Born on the icy garden world of Altakiril, Avicia was made a ward of the state before her first birthday, her mother passing away in childbirth and her father dying in a training accident. Growing up in the unpleasant and ramshackle Altakiril Orphanotroph, one of the state-mandated organizations intended to raise orphans, the little turian proved to have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, paradoxically finding the state-mandated classes dull and boring and instead preferring to get an education first hand by going exploring, sneaking into libraries and wealthy homes to read fancy high-end books, and spying on important people and events to see what they were up to. Suffice it to say the caretakers at the Orphanotroph found the rambunctious Avicia to be quite the handful and were grateful to send her off to state-mandated national service, where the more disciplined Hierarchy would hopefully drill some discipline into her. Recognizing her keen intellect, after the first mandatory year of boot camp her superiors assigned Avicia to the Corps of Engineers, and in a decision that would have probably given her old caretakers a heart attack, assigned her to a demolitions team, tasked with clearing old infrastructure in preparation for new projects. Finding the job quite compelling, it seemed Avicia was on the path to straightening out when her unit was transferred to the colony of Argentos, tasked with reinforcing the garrisons with new defensive structures. Her job was quickly rendered moot when the colony was set upon by the vicious batarian warlord, Khagrum the Amber. The warlord announced his intentions by launching an orbital strike on the fuel refinery Avicia was stationed at, detonating the volatile fuel reserves and immolating dozens of soldiers and civilians alike in a single blow. As the survivors were entrenching for a fight, the navy task force pursuing the warlord caught up to the fleet and surrounded him, forcing a standoff. Realizing that attacking the warlord would be a costly victory, the admiral in charge of the task force instead offered terms, and over tense negotiations, Khagrum agreed to stand down and put a permanent end into his raids on turian space in exchange for safe passage home for his own fleet. A peaceful retirement without consequences for Khagrum, and a bloodless victory and the removal of a powerful threat to Hierarchy interests in the region. Everyone wins. Avicia was oddly quiet about it. She'd been oddly quiet ever since she got back from the refinery, half-dead and severely burnt like the other survivors. So quiet in fact, that no one noticed she was suspiciously absent from the infirmary when Khagrum's shuttle returned to his flagship, her commander assuming she was still indisposed when she didn't arrive for departure with the rest of her unit. Avicia's whereabouts were quickly forgotten though when the batarian warlord's flagship suddenly exploded, sparking off the bloody fight that both sides sought to avoid. The Battle of Argentos would go on to be one of the many hostilities between the batarians and the citadel races in the leadup to the Skyllian Blitz, only notable because it started over a tragic misunderstanding and a horrific accident. Though that's only because no one thought to follow up on the missing explosives that Avicia attached to the engine of Khagrum's ship. Underhanded perhaps, but if anyone objected, they could take it up with the charred remains of his victims, Avicia thought. Slipping onto an escape pod as her trap was set to go off, she planned to head back to Argentos when the bomb went off slightly too early, shaking the escape pod violently enough to knock her out combined with her burn wounds. As the battle drew to a close and the Batarians went into retreat, the Hensa-class cruiser Aankhen spotted the escape pod and, assuming it was a friendly, picked it up as it made its escape deeper into the Terminus system. When she was discovered and it became clear exactly what she had done, Avicia was all but marked for death by her batarian captors and yet was spared by an unlikely savior. Oram Das'saba, a commander in the Special Intervention Unit, saw potential in someone with the skills to pull off such an act of subterfuge and asserted his authority to take the prisoner for himself, enslaving Avicia to save her life. Spirited away to her new master's home in Camala, Avicia's natural talents and minimal training were honed further by the brutal training of the SIU given by her new master until she was experienced enough to be brought along on missions with her master, acting as his agent and enforcer. Such duties were atypical of a society where most enslaved prisoners were worked to death in the mines, but as she later learned, Oram was rather atypical of his species himself. Despite nominally being an agent of the Hegemony, Oram was a reformist, one of many hidden opponents to the government who believed that batarian society needed to change drastically, and that the Hegemony needed to liberalize and rejoin the galactic community, lest it face imminent collapse. With open rebellion being practically suicide, Oram and his allies had worked in the shadows to gather support and cripple their enemies in the hopes of one day toppling the Hegemony, a task which Avicia's talents would serve well, and having witnessed the Hegemony's brutality firsthand, Avicia was only too happy to help. As a result, Oram official granted her permission to collect a share of his payment for mercenary work (which he was already giving to her anyway under the table), enough to buy her way into a higher caste in batarian society. Thus she went into mercenary work semi-independently, on paper still a slave of her master acting on his orders, but in truth largely independent, and a reliable ally in Oram's brewing resistance. Higher status in batarian society brought better contracts and better paychecks, and money and independence in Avicia's hands is a dangerous thing. Resuming her old curiosities in earnest, the turian gained a reputation as a reliable if volatile scientist and mercenary, her experiments and antics proving almost as destructive and chaotic as her work in the field. Things are largely going well for her, with plans to move to a brand new lab on Illium, but in the shadows something much bigger is brewing. A shakeup in the Hegemony's government had left several prominent positions opened, positions which Oram is rapidly working to fill with his own agents, including a member of the Technocratic Board. An agent in such a high position on Khar'shan itself could be the lynchpin for an eventual uprising, and despite such a move being unprecedented, Oram wants that agent to be Avicia, citing her scientific prowess and her unquestioning loyalty to stave off any misgivings about her race. Indeed, the biggest obstacle to such a goal is not her race but her caste, something she'd need one hell of a paycheck to make work. Combat Analysis ◢ Shock in awe in the bluntest sense possible. While Avicia has the hardcore training of the SIU and the experience and quick-thinking of a hired gun, her expertise lies her clever use of high explosives, staggering and knocking back enemies with a well-timed grenade, turning the environment against a foe with a perfectly placed demolition pack, and in general hitting as hard as possible so a hostile doesn't get the chance to react. Reason for Vacating Previous Situation ◢ The money from this job with ExoGeni would be enough to help her move to a higher social standing in the Hegemony as well as continue her research. Why, if she's lucky, she could even score a high-ranking government position if she gets her rank up in time.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

"Schieße, is that a volcano?"

"Verdamnt vornehmwaffen, kann es nicht einfach machen, oder?"

The soldiers packed into the battered AW139 laughed, gripping their lifelines as the chopper suddenly dipped beneath the ash cloud, the sky between them and the war-torn beach mercifully clear. Shouldering past his men, a silver-haired captain with his eyes hidden behind tactical goggles leaned into the cockpit, thick with the pungent scent of tobacco and gun oil.

"Didn't think zis death trap would make it," the captain remarked, looking disapprovingly at the warning lights flitting across the console.

"You want a first class flight, go beg the virtues for a private jet," the pilot shot back, stubbing out his cigarette on the dash. "We're a minute from touchdown, you and your Laelaps boys better get yer boots on."

"Ja, ja..." The captain smacked a hand against the empty co-pilot's chair and ducked back into the body. "Achtung, we are coming in at high speed, drop and move up the beach to cover the retreat!"

The soldiers immediately straightened out, going over last minute checks before entering the fray. One soldier casually leaned out to catch a glimpse of the rock golem wreaking havoc before making sure his rifle was loaded with armor piercing, reminding the gunner of the team to do the same. Any other soldier would have been terrified going up against a beachhead like this, but the hardened veterans of Wachturm were of a different cut. The transfers had a reputation among the Laelaps Units for being few in number but punching well above their weight, armed with the best weapons and gear and facing every obstacle with cool heads and confidence. Hell, one of them hadn't even looked up from her book the entire trip.

Sitting on the metal floor, her legs folded to make space for the others in the team, a blonde-haired girl in a combat beret quietly flipped through a pocket-sized book, lips moving slightly as her blue eyes darted back and forth, translating phrases in her head from Quechua to German and back again. Seemingly unaware of the tummult, she was stuck on a troublesome stress when she felt a tap on her knee. Glancing up, a private trying to fasten his helmet with his free hand flailed around a moment before roughly signing.

<We're hitting the beach, ready?>

<Already?> Marlena Dorn signed, tucking the book into a tactical pouch. <Short flight.>

"Gott verdammt, is she even ready?" the seargant called out, pointing a finger at Marlena as she got to her feet, stretching out her neck. Pushing her tactical shades up the bridge of her nose, she reached out and grabbed the air, producing a sound like thunder and bringing back a glistening blue-handled halberd. The cool mist of the ocean seemed to brush her face as the chopper crossed from the ocean over the retreating soldiers to the sand.

The soldiers followed her lead as Marlena bounded from the chopper, landing a few feet below with a flourish of her polearm, the familiar rain starting to drip down her glasses. Spotting a medic trying to lift a wounded patient onto his shoulders, she broke into a run as a boulder tumbled toward them, and a sillhouette of water shot forward, slicing the stone in half and breaking as it deflected the deadly projectile. The medic looked frightened as he looked up at his savior's towering figure, Marlena giving him a smile and a wave as strode past, moving up to cover more of the retreating soldiers.

Mass Effect: Harpocrates

Love how all but two characters submitted so far have at least one instance of beating the tar out of batarians somewhere in their backstory. Nothing like shared hobbies to truly bind the group together.

@Starlance

Well at least for me Sunder is cool working with Batarians. :P

Mass Effect: Harpocrates

Sunder

_______________________________________________ Personal Data D A T A Full Name - Avicia Sancrius Designation - Sunder Species - Turian Age - 29 (b. 2154) Origin - Altakiril Classification - Engineer Unique Specialization - Turian Demolitionist - Psyche Analysis P S Y C H E The Mad Scientist Avicia is in possession of an incredibly bright mind, albeit one that probably had something important knocked loose a long time ago. Unquestionably gifted in a variety of fields, her insatiable drive for knowledge and discovery pairs like sodium and water with her penchant to go with whatever off the wall idea pops into her head that moment. She thrives in chaos, especially the chaos she creates herself, and friend and foe alike often have trouble adapting to her sheer unpredictability. Of Course I'm Right! Brimming with perpetual confidence, Avicia Sancrius likes to think she has all the answers, and more often then not, she does. She's not modest in her success and will happily inform you many times over when something turns out in her favor, or a solution she provided worked marvelously. On the other hand, she'll tend to excuse things not quite going according to plan, and while she's capable of admitting when she's made a mistake, it definitely needles her a bit when she has to admit fault. Endlessly Exploring Avicia rarely sits still, rarely leaves a stone unturned, and will always try something at least once. She's friendly to nearly everyone at first glance, and more then friendly to a select few, but overall dislikes leaving people feeling cold towards her, even if they rarely stick around long enough to be more then acquaintances. A bit of an epicurean, she's also well-versed in many forms of pleasure seeking, to put it mildly, and isn't adverse to doing something foolhardy or dangerous, if only for the sheer sake of doing it. Avicia would call herself open-minded, though others would probably see her as restless or anxious. Both would be right, in a sense. Equipment E Q U I P M E N T ERCS Hurricane A reliable turian-made shotgun, meticulously maintained from her days in the service. Good at dealing with foes who get too close for comfort, and light enough to be carried alongside heavier ordinance. Halliet Stiletto A gift from an unusual friend that's gotten her out of more then a few tough spots. Not the best range for weapons like it, but it's pretty good in a scuffle and it punches through armor quite nicely! HC-12 Demo Charges Simple, versatile, and unquestionably effective. Great for breaches and general destructive power, they attach to nearly any surface and can be remotely detonated or set to a timer. M-100 Grenade Launcher A standard among Terminus system mercenaries, Avicia altered hers somewhat to fire a variety of specialty grenades in addition to the normal high explosive variant, such as smoke and stun grenades. Record R E C O R D Special Intervention Unit The Special Intervention Unit is a batarian special forces division infamous for its brutal training program and discipline; Avicia, when enslaved and trained in the same methods by her batarian master, found it quite fun. Nevertheless, despite no official training, Avicia is well versed in the aggressive tactics of the batarian special forces, being well-versed in shock tactics, demolitions, and subterfuge techniques. Destruction of the Shulgen While suffering from severe burns, Avicia Sancrius infiltrated the vessel of the notorious Batarian warlord Khagrum, planting a series of explosive charges that destroyed the engine, killing the warlord and his crew and sparking off a major battle between the remainder of Khagrum's fleet and the turian task force nearby. Managing to escape from the ship before its destruction, she was rescued from the scene of the battle by a fleeing batarian frigate and escaped to Omega. Assault On The Graychain Gang In her first forays with independent contracting, Avicia was hired by mercenaries in the Blue Suns private security firm to assist in an operation to liberate high value targets being held captive by a band of smugglers known as the Graychain Gang. Spearheading a surprise attack that disabled the gang's ships and pinned them so the Blue Suns could move in, the success of the mission put Avicia's unusual talents on the map and led to a working relationship with the Suns going forward. Connections C O N N E C T I O N S Nels Dusron A Volus merchant actively working in the Terminus Sector, and Avicia's first boyfriend. The two drifted apart after Avicia entered national service, but the two remain on good terms and are able to rely on one another if trouble comes their way. Oram Das'saba To anyone looking from the outside, Oram is Avicia's master, a fair if firm hand who's maybe a little too trusting of his turian thrall to let her galivant across the galaxy so frequently. Underneath the surface though the two are partners, conspirators in a desperate attempt to enact real change in batarian society. In both cases, he tends to be gruff, unfriendly, no-nonsense, and kind of an all around bastard, he's nevertheless stoically devoted to his beliefs (whichever one he wants to show you at the time) and his friends. Despite their highly unusual history and circumstance, Avicia considers the gruff batarian the closest thing to a father figure she's ever had, and though he'd sooner be caught dead then admit it, Oram feels the same way. Caelnia Terraka A Turian mechanic working in the Blue Suns that Avicia shared a wild romantic fling with, which prompted Caelnia to offer her the job that got her regular work from the Suns. The two share more of a working relationship then a romantic one nowadays, but it's not odd for them to get together to blow off a little steam once in a while. Cerbon Srenda A roaming, battle-scarred Krogan merc with his own ambiguously criminal gang. Avicia's worked with him and against him on numerous missions depending on who was paying whom, and despite being on the opposite team more times then once the two share a friendly rivalry with one another.

Physical Details ◢ Avicia stands at a wiry 6'6, with simplistic green clan markings adorning her tanned carapace. She wears light armor modified from a set of Hahne-Kedar Mantis armor, and outside of a firefight her wardrobe tends to consist of eclectic mixes from all over, usually favoring some sort of lab gear. She'd sooner be caught dead then without her lucky pair of lab specs, protective goggles that she keeps around her neck when not wearing them in firefights or doing SCIENCE. She also tends to have her two pet space ferrets, Kemerskai and Astler, close on hand. Personal History ◢ Born on the icy garden world of Altakiril, Avicia was made a ward of the state before her first birthday, her mother passing away in childbirth and her father dying in a training accident. Growing up in the unpleasant and ramshackle Altakiril Orphanotroph, one of the state-mandated organizations intended to raise orphans, the little turian proved to have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, paradoxically finding the state-mandated classes dull and boring and instead preferring to get an education first hand by going exploring, sneaking into libraries and wealthy homes to read fancy high-end books, and spying on important people and events to see what they were up to. Suffice it to say the caretakers at the Orphanotroph found the rambunctious Avicia to be quite the handful and were grateful to send her off to state-mandated national service, where the more disciplined Hierarchy would hopefully drill some discipline into her. Recognizing her keen intellect, after the first mandatory year of boot camp her superiors assigned Avicia to the Corps of Engineers, and in a decision that would have probably given her old caretakers a heart attack, assigned her to a demolitions team, tasked with clearing old infrastructure in preparation for new projects. Finding the job quite compelling, it seemed Avicia was on the path to straightening out when her unit was transferred to the colony of Argentos, tasked with reinforcing the garrisons with new defensive structures. Her job was quickly rendered moot when the colony was set upon by the vicious batarian warlord, Khagrum the Amber. The warlord announced his intentions by launching an orbital strike on the fuel refinery Avicia was stationed at, detonating the volatile fuel reserves and immolating dozens of soldiers and civilians alike in a single blow. As the survivors were entrenching for a fight, the navy task force pursuing the warlord caught up to the fleet and surrounded him, forcing a standoff. Realizing that attacking the warlord would be a costly victory, the admiral in charge of the task force instead offered terms, and over tense negotiations, Khagrum agreed to stand down and put a permanent end into his raids on turian space in exchange for safe passage home for his own fleet. A peaceful retirement without consequences for Khagrum, and a bloodless victory and the removal of a powerful threat to Hierarchy interests in the region. Everyone wins. Avicia was oddly quiet about it. She'd been oddly quiet ever since she got back from the refinery, half-dead and severely burnt like the other survivors. So quiet in fact, that no one noticed she was suspiciously absent from the infirmary when Khagrum's shuttle returned to his flagship, her commander assuming she was still indisposed when she didn't arrive for departure with the rest of her unit. Avicia's whereabouts were quickly forgotten though when the batarian warlord's flagship suddenly exploded, sparking off the bloody fight that both sides sought to avoid. The Battle of Argentos would go on to be one of the many hostilities between the batarians and the citadel races in the leadup to the Skyllian Blitz, only notable because it started over a tragic misunderstanding and a horrific accident. Though that's only because no one thought to follow up on the missing explosives that Avicia attached to the engine of Khagrum's ship. Underhanded perhaps, but if anyone objected, they could take it up with the charred remains of his victims, Avicia thought. Slipping onto an escape pod as her trap was set to go off, she planned to head back to Argentos when the bomb went off slightly too early, shaking the escape pod violently enough to knock her out combined with her burn wounds. As the battle drew to a close and the Batarians went into retreat, the Hensa-class cruiser Aankhen spotted the escape pod and, assuming it was a friendly, picked it up as it made its escape deeper into the Terminus system. When she was discovered and it became clear exactly what she had done, Avicia was all but marked for death by her batarian captors and yet was spared by an unlikely savior. Oram Das'saba, a commander in the Special Intervention Unit, saw potential in someone with the skills to pull off such an act of subterfuge and asserted his authority to take the prisoner for himself, enslaving Avicia to save her life. Spirited away to her new master's home in Camala, Avicia's natural talents and minimal training were honed further by the brutal training of the SIU given by her new master until she was experienced enough to be brought along on missions with her master, acting as his agent and enforcer. Such duties were atypical of a society where most enslaved prisoners were worked to death in the mines, but as she later learned, Oram was rather atypical of his species himself. Despite nominally being an agent of the Hegemony, Oram was a reformist, one of many hidden opponents to the government who believed that batarian society needed to change drastically, and that the Hegemony needed to liberalize and rejoin the galactic community, lest it face imminent collapse. With open rebellion being practically suicide, Oram and his allies had worked in the shadows to gather support and cripple their enemies in the hopes of one day toppling the Hegemony, a task which Avicia's talents would serve well, and having witnessed the Hegemony's brutality firsthand, Avicia was only too happy to help. As a result, Oram official granted her permission to collect a share of his payment for mercenary work (which he was already giving to her anyway under the table), enough to buy her way into a higher caste in batarian society. Thus she went into mercenary work semi-independently, on paper still a slave of her master acting on his orders, but in truth largely independent, and a reliable ally in Oram's brewing resistance. Higher status in batarian society brought better contracts and better paychecks, and money and independence in Avicia's hands is a dangerous thing. Resuming her old curiosities in earnest, the turian gained a reputation as a reliable if volatile scientist and mercenary, her experiments and antics proving almost as destructive and chaotic as her work in the field. Things are largely going well for her, with plans to move to a brand new lab on Illium, but in the shadows something much bigger is brewing. A shakeup in the Hegemony's government had left several prominent positions opened, positions which Oram is rapidly working to fill with his own agents, including a member of the Technocratic Board. An agent in such a high position on Khar'shan itself could be the lynchpin for an eventual uprising, and despite such a move being unprecedented, Oram wants that agent to be Avicia, citing her scientific prowess and her unquestioning loyalty to stave off any misgivings about her race. Indeed, the biggest obstacle to such a goal is not her race but her caste, something she'd need one hell of a paycheck to make work. Combat Analysis ◢ Shock in awe in the bluntest sense possible. While Avicia has the hardcore training of the SIU and the experience and quick-thinking of a hired gun, her expertise lies her clever use of high explosives, staggering and knocking back enemies with a well-timed grenade, turning the environment against a foe with a perfectly placed demolition pack, and in general hitting as hard as possible so a hostile doesn't get the chance to react. Reason for Vacating Previous Situation ◢ The money from this job with ExoGeni would be enough to help her move to a higher social standing in the Hegemony as well as continue her research. Why, if she's lucky, she could even score a high-ranking government position if she gets her rank up in time.

Mass Effect: Harpocrates

I'll take a crack at something before the weekend rolls around.

We seem to be lacking an asari or a turian...hmmmm....

Mass Effect: Harpocrates

Omg its me I'm the interest!

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

Marlena Dorn

Appearance:

Especially tall and muscular, standing just a hair under six and a half feet tall. Her cap sports a badge with the Canis Major symbol of the Laelaps-unit. She also has elaborate tattoos of the Aztec gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc on her left and right shoulders, respectively.

Name: Marlena Dorn

Age: 22

Nationality: Austrian

Noble Arm Name & Appearance:

Tlāloc's Tempest

Noble Arm Rank:

B

Power: B
Speed: B
Range: C
Persistence: B
Precision: C
Potential: B

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee/Support, Storm, Close to Medium Range

Noble Arm Abilities:

Gray Skies: Marlena is able to passively manifest rain in her vicinity, approximately the size of a city block, when wielding Tlāloc's Tempest, up to a steady rainfall by default, and when focused up to a steady downpour with winds. The weather has all the effects normal rain would have on combatants (reduced visibility, less traction on items and surfaces, etc.). Marlena is herself immune to the detrimental effects of strong rain and winds, natural or generated, and can temporarily gift this ability to allies via physical contact for a few minutes.

Legion From the Torrent: Marlena's most notable ability is to create temporary clones of herself, emerging from her position as bodies made of water wielding a water-copy of her noble arm. She can manifest such copies at will or while moving, instilling them with a simple command (attack the enemy, defend me, protect this person) in the process. The clones are equivalent in strength to Marlena but temporary, only able to absorb a lethal attack or last fifteen seconds before dissolving into normal water. She is only able to manifest up to about five or six at a time with some effort; more are possible but at the risk of severely exhausting her. The clones also demanifest when moved beyond the distance of a city block.

Flash Flood: Marlena channels a torrent of water from a suitably sized source, powerful enough to knock enemies off their feet and tip over some vehicles. She has decent control over the shape and use of the water, but can't use fine manipulation on it. She requires a body of water or at least a suitable amount of water-based liquid to accomplish this, though her own water clones can be used for this purpose. She also can't pull water out of something that contains it like an animal or another human being.

Call Down the Thunder: With access to an unobstructed sky, Marlena summons a bolt of lightning that strikes her with the approximate force of a grenade, leaving her unharmed as she absorbs the electrical energy. The stored energy doubles her agility and reaction time, and will last for a few minutes before naturally dissipating, unless she discharges the lightning through an attack, with a strike powerful enough to launch a car across the street while discharging the lightning strike. She can theoretically call it down as much as she wants, but if she doesn't wait at least a few minutes before discharging she risks exhausting herself to maintain it or even unsummoning her own weapon. Notably, this strike can be channeled to dismiss an enemy's Noble Arm, but the effort would notably exhaust her. Marlena's water clones do not benefit from Call Down the Thunder's charge.

Fury of the Lord of Water: Marlena channels her powers for a moment or two to unleash her full power, enhancing Gray Skies to be able to produce storm force winds and rain equivalent to a Category 3 Hurricane with an area equivalent to a few buildings in width, as well as directly channeling lightning through herself and her weapons to direct at enemies, equivalent to normal lightning strikes in terms of damage and action. This ability can last up to fifteen minutes, and beyond that mark she risks exhausting her abilities or even losing consciousness. If cancelled earlier, she can still maintain use of her Noble Arm powers to a lesser degree until rested.

Misc Abilities:

Close Combat Expert: Exceptionally strong, and trained in a mixture of armed and unarmed combat. Especially skilled with the use of polearms, given her Noble Arm.

Scholar of Myth: Very well-read, especially with mythological and archeological studies. Fluent in German, English, Spanish, and Nahuatl.

Deaf: Born with congenital hearing loss and tends to have difficulty speaking, though she's very good at reading lips and can communicate with sign language.

Wealthy: She may not flaunt it, but Marlena has a sizeable multi-million dollar fortune to her name, thanks to what can be politely described as family drama.

Personality:
Marlena embodies the cliché of a gentle giant almost to a fault. Cool and collected in nearly every situation, she always has a smile on her face when times get tough and rarely gets rattled by unwanted surprises or situations. Sometimes she's a bit of a klutz, sometimes she gets lost in a fascinating book or her own thoughts, but she's always guaranteed to have your back, whether you want her to or not.

Her easygoing nature nevertheless hides a bundle of nerves and anxieties, driven by a determination to do better then the rotten stock that she came from. Easygoing as she is, she won't stand by what she thinks is wrong, and if the gloves come off and you push her just a bit too far, you might even get her angry.

That is a storm you'd be lucky to survive.

*Likes: Lazy rainy days, reading, lifting, seeing new places, food, Mesoamerican mythology (I know, so hard to tell right?)

*Dislikes: Driving, condescending dicks who talk to her like a five year old when they find out she's deaf, cherries, shoelaces, Guns, Germs, and Steel

Fears: Her family, agoraphobia.

Bio: Marlena Dorn was an accident. That's what her father would say if you asked him, anyway.

Born in Graz, Austria, the youngest daughter of successful construction mogul Lucas Dorn, Marlena appeared to live the life of a spoiled upper class girl, complete with an expensive education and standard of living. In truth though she was often neglected and emotionally isolated; born with congenital hearing loss, her father often dismissed her as 'inferior stock', an opinion which was sadly all too common among her family, and as a result she found herself in the company of books and stories of fantastic far off cultures to get away from her dismal home life, her bullying brothers, and most especially her sadistic grandfather, Reiner Dorn.

Reiner had been a young teen on track to join the SS before the Second World War ended when he manifested one of the first known Noble Arms in history. Naming it the Staff of Freyr, he participated in guerilla style brawls with the then victorious Allies before joining up with Die Spinne to help fellow Nazis escape justice. Becoming a close associate of Otto Skorzeny, Reiner would later found the paramilitary fascist organization Gespenst, working to spread its influence in political and financial circles while supporting far right causes throughout the world. While publicly the Dorn family has strongly condemned the actions of Reiner, in truth the entire family served as agents of Gespenst, spreading their influence via the family's political and business connections.

With a mighty Noble Arm in hand, Reiner Dorn saw his weapon as proof of his superiority, a living testament to his dominance over the subhuman. And it needled him to know end that the sniveling weasel he called a son could never get one of his own. Determined not to make the same "mistake" again, Reiner founded his own Spartan Training Program and put his loyal grandsons through brutal, often abusive training to try and summon one, if only to prove that Noble Arms were the purview of the master race. Anger grew with each and every failure, and soon that anger fell on the family's neglected and ignored granddaughter.

Marlena was never quite sure why it happened. Maybe her oldest brother thought she was a taint on the family bloodline stopping them from getting a Noble Arm. Maybe he was just taking out his anger on her and finally went to far. Or maybe he just snapped. Either way, it ended with her brother's hands clenched tightly around her throat, trying to strangle her, and in what could only be ascribed to the universal law of karma, her powers manifested, a violent rainstorm bursting from her and bringing down the Dorn family mansion on their heads. As the police came to investigate, they would find only one survivor of the freak storm; Marlena Dorn, soaked to the bone and clutching a strange polearm, its blade plunged through the chest of the brother who tried to kill her. Quickly removed from the scene, an officer recognizing the Noble Arm brought Marlena to the attention of the government and she was transferred to the agency Wachturm, a post-cold war agency in Central Europe that managed and protected Noble Arms users in the region.

Against all odds, Marlena's life seemed to turn around. Under the protection and care of her handler Agent Daria Gaster, a much kinder parental figure then she'd ever had before, Marlena was able to move past her traumas, growing into a better person while learning the ins and outs of controlling her new Noble Arm, which she gave a mesoamerican name to distance herself from the similar weapon her Grandfather wielded. More surprises came when the Austrian government finally finished untangling the web of influence that Marlena's father had built, a web that came crashing down with his mansion and brought Gespenst with it. With much of her family presumed dead or missing and their assets left in the open, Lucas Dorn's remaining millions would go to his closest living relative with an untarnished record, the daughter he considered inferior.

Coming back from the brink and living her best life, Marlena's confidence and ability led her to be a favorite for transfer to a new task force, the Laelaps Unit, where she would get the chance to bring the fight directly to her family's old allies, whom had been folded into the Dark Descent when Gespenst fell apart. En route to assist the ASEAN forces in their struggle against invasion, Marlena is not ready to face the oncoming storm.

She is the oncoming storm.

*Current Goal: Bring the fight to the Downward Descent, disappoint her shitty Nazi family a little more, and maybe make some friends along the way.

Military or Civilian Rank:
Seargent

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War [Moved to New Thread]

At long last, here she is...

Marlena Dorn

Appearance:

Especially tall and muscular, standing just a hair under six and a half feet tall. Her cap sports a badge with the Canis Major symbol of the Laelaps-unit. She also has elaborate tattoos of the Aztec gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc on her left and right shoulders, respectively.

Name: Marlena Dorn

Age: 22

Nationality: Austrian

Noble Arm Name & Appearance:

Tlāloc's Tempest

Noble Arm Rank:

B

Power: B
Speed: B
Range: C
Persistence: B
Precision: C
Potential: B

Noble Arm Type, Element, and Range: Melee/Support, Storm, Close to Medium Range

Noble Arm Abilities:

Gray Skies: Marlena is able to passively manifest rain in her vicinity, approximately the size of a city block, when wielding Tlāloc's Tempest, up to a steady rainfall by default, and when focused up to a steady downpour with winds. The weather has all the effects normal rain would have on combatants (reduced visibility, less traction on items and surfaces, etc.). Marlena is herself immune to the detrimental effects of strong rain and winds, natural or generated, and can temporarily gift this ability to allies via physical contact for a few minutes.

Legion From the Torrent: Marlena's most notable ability is to create temporary clones of herself, emerging from her position as bodies made of water wielding a water-copy of her noble arm. She can manifest such copies at will or while moving, instilling them with a simple command (attack the enemy, defend me, protect this person) in the process. The clones are equivalent in strength to Marlena but temporary, only able to absorb a lethal attack or last fifteen seconds before dissolving into normal water. She is only able to manifest up to about five or six at a time with some effort; more are possible but at the risk of severely exhausting her. The clones also demanifest when moved beyond the distance of a city block.

Flash Flood: Marlena channels a torrent of water from a suitably sized source, powerful enough to knock enemies off their feet and tip over some vehicles. She has decent control over the shape and use of the water, but can't use fine manipulation on it. She requires a body of water or at least a suitable amount of water-based liquid to accomplish this, though her own water clones can be used for this purpose. She also can't pull water out of something that contains it like an animal or another human being.

Call Down the Thunder: With access to an unobstructed sky, Marlena summons a bolt of lightning that strikes her with the approximate force of a grenade, leaving her unharmed as she absorbs the electrical energy. The stored energy doubles her agility and reaction time, and will last for a few minutes before naturally dissipating, unless she discharges the lightning through an attack, with a strike powerful enough to launch a car across the street while discharging the lightning strike. She can theoretically call it down as much as she wants, but if she doesn't wait at least a few minutes before discharging she risks exhausting herself to maintain it or even unsummoning her own weapon. Notably, this strike can be channeled to dismiss an enemy's Noble Arm, but the effort would notably exhaust her. Marlena's water clones do not benefit from Call Down the Thunder's charge.

Fury of the Lord of Water: Marlena channels her powers for a moment or two to unleash her full power, enhancing Gray Skies to be able to produce storm force winds and rain equivalent to a Category 3 Hurricane with an area equivalent to a few buildings in width, as well as directly channeling lightning through herself and her weapons to direct at enemies, equivalent to normal lightning strikes in terms of damage and action. This ability can last up to fifteen minutes, and beyond that mark she risks exhausting her abilities or even losing consciousness. If cancelled earlier, she can still maintain use of her Noble Arm powers to a lesser degree until rested.

Misc Abilities:

Close Combat Expert: Exceptionally strong, and trained in a mixture of armed and unarmed combat. Especially skilled with the use of polearms, given her Noble Arm.

Scholar of Myth: Very well-read, especially with mythological and archeological studies. Fluent in German, English, and French.

Deaf: Born with congenital hearing loss and tends to have difficulty speaking, though she's very good at reading lips and can communicate with sign language.

Wealthy: She may not flaunt it, but Marlena has a sizeable multi-million dollar fortune to her name, thanks to what can be politely described as family drama.

Personality:
Marlena embodies the cliché of a gentle giant almost to a fault. Cool and collected in nearly every situation, she always has a smile on her face when times get tough and rarely gets rattled by unwanted surprises or situations. Sometimes she's a bit of a klutz, sometimes she gets lost in a fascinating book or her own thoughts, but she's always guaranteed to have your back, whether you want her to or not.

Her easygoing nature nevertheless hides a bundle of nerves and anxieties, driven by a determination to do better then the rotten stock that she came from. Easygoing as she is, she won't stand by what she thinks is wrong, and if the gloves come off and you push her just a bit too far, you might even get her angry.

That is a storm you'd be lucky to survive.

*Likes: Lazy rainy days, reading, lifting, seeing new places, food, Mesoamerican mythology (I know, so hard to tell right?)

*Dislikes: Driving, condescending dicks who talk to her like a five year old when they find out she's deaf, cherries, shoelaces, Guns, Germs, and Steel

Fears: Her family, agoraphobia.

Bio: Marlena Dorn was an accident. That's what her father would say if you asked him, anyway.

Born in Graz, Austria, the youngest daughter of successful construction mogul Lucas Dorn, Marlena appeared to live the life of a spoiled upper class girl, complete with an expensive education and standard of living. In truth though she was often neglected and emotionally isolated; born with congenital hearing loss, her father often dismissed her as 'inferior stock', an opinion which was sadly all too common among her family, and as a result she found herself in the company of books and stories of fantastic far off cultures to get away from her dismal home life, her bullying brothers, and most especially her sadistic grandfather, Reiner Dorn.

Reiner had been a young teen on track to join the SS before the Second World War ended when he manifested one of the first known Noble Arms in history. Naming it the Staff of Freyr, he participated in guerilla style brawls with the then victorious Allies before joining up with Die Spinne to help fellow Nazis escape justice. Becoming a close associate of Otto Skorzeny, Reiner would later found the paramilitary fascist organization Gespenst, working to spread its influence in political and financial circles while supporting far right causes throughout the world. While publicly the Dorn family has strongly condemned the actions of Reiner, in truth the entire family served as agents of Gespenst, spreading their influence via the family's political and business connections.

With a mighty Noble Arm in hand, Reiner Dorn saw his weapon as proof of his superiority, a living testament to his dominance over the subhuman. And it needled him to know end that the sniveling weasel he called a son could never get one of his own. Determined not to make the same "mistake" again, Reiner founded his own Spartan Training Program and put his loyal grandsons through brutal, often abusive training to try and summon one, if only to prove that Noble Arms were the purview of the master race. Anger grew with each and every failure, and soon that anger fell on the family's neglected and ignored granddaughter.

Marlena was never quite sure why it happened. Maybe her oldest brother thought she was a taint on the family bloodline stopping them from getting a Noble Arm. Maybe he was just taking out his anger on her and finally went to far. Or maybe he just snapped. Either way, it ended with her brother's hands clenched tightly around her throat, trying to strangle her, and in what could only be ascribed to the universal law of karma, her powers manifested, a violent rainstorm bursting from her and bringing down the Dorn family mansion on their heads. As the police came to investigate, they would find only one survivor of the freak storm; Marlena Dorn, soaked to the bone and clutching a strange polearm, its blade plunged through the chest of the brother who tried to kill her. Quickly removed from the scene, an officer recognizing the Noble Arm brought Marlena to the attention of the government and she was transferred to the agency Wachturm, a post-cold war agency in Central Europe that managed and protected Noble Arms users in the region.

Against all odds, Marlena's life seemed to turn around. Under the protection and care of her handler Agent Daria Gaster, a much kinder parental figure then she'd ever had before, Marlena was able to move past her traumas, growing into a better person while learning the ins and outs of controlling her new Noble Arm, which she gave a mesoamerican name to distance herself from the similar weapon her Grandfather wielded. More surprises came when the Austrian government finally finished untangling the web of influence that Marlena's father had built, a web that came crashing down with his mansion and brought Gespenst with it. With much of her family presumed dead or missing and their assets left in the open, Lucas Dorn's remaining millions would go to his closest living relative with an untarnished record, the daughter he considered inferior.

Coming back from the brink and living her best life, Marlena's confidence and ability led her to be a favorite for transfer to a new task force, the Laelaps Unit, where she would get the chance to bring the fight directly to her family's old allies, whom had been folded into the Dark Descent when Gespenst fell apart. En route to assist the ASEAN forces in their struggle against invasion, Marlena is not ready to face the oncoming storm.

She is the oncoming storm.

*Current Goal: Bring the fight to the Downward Descent, disappoint her shitty Nazi family a little more, and maybe make some friends along the way.

Military or Civilian Rank:
Seargent