Legion X51

Mass Effect: Wanted

Voltaire said
Oh good, for second I thought I might be dealing with an alternate reality version of Wets-His-Blade, which would have kind of ironic.

... Not sure if joking or sarcastic. Kinda difficult to tell over internets.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Voltaire said
Fine by me. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to stop us, but there's gonna be a lot of tension between the two. Mark's already revealed what he thinks of Henrik's methods. :pHe'll be none too pleased with the viking throwing bullet riddled monkey wrenches into his perfectly laid plans.

Actually, Henrik's not a 'me thug, me shoot everyone in way'. Sure, he's a heavy hitter, but he's not an idiot. If there's a meticulous plan, Henrik's not going to run in guns blazing, because that just ends badly - he'll follow the plan, because that's the smart thing to do.

Also, hurray for having to reassure people my character isn't going to backstab people just because they're on someone else's payroll. Again.

You'd think I'd learn after the first time.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Hank said
Having read the plan of action again, I think Aran's most useful in keeping the station locked down and the enemy support ships in the dark. He's going to need one or two guns and associated trigger-fingers to get him to the lockdown and comm systems. Volunteers?

If you still need another guy, Henrik's up. Reckon he and Mark would make a pretty no-nonsense team, if Voltaire is down for this as well.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Need someone gunned down in a fusillade of hot lead (or whatever they use in ammo blocks)? Henrik's your man. Need someone to have the enemy shoot at to provide cover for others? Well, actually, ask a biotic, but otherwise, Henrik's your guy. Just don't ask for quiet. He doesn't do quiet. I don't even know if he knows what 'quiet' means. Maybe he knows it as 'that thing I never have to be' or something.

Also, I should have stated who those dossiers were - they're for three of Henrik's contacts that he'll share with the crew. Anyone interested in what they offer is more than welcome to ask.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Dossier: Ilya Kovlov

Name: Ilya Timofeyevich Kovlov, aliases unknown
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 49
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 183 pounds
Appearance:

Occupation: Arms Dealer
Known history:
Crazy, but smart. Very smart. Kovlov is an arms dealer who has connections almost across the galaxy, from Alliance space to the Terminus Systems, and in Citadel space to boot. He is also the 'permanent' employer of Henrik Andersson, also known as The Enforcer. Kovlov has, in the past, supplied guns and other military equipment to almost any corporation willing to buy from the black market - Branwood Inc. in particular. Kovlov and J. S. Branwood (see Dossier: Joseph S. Branwood) are on personal terms, which has enabled Kovlov to ship weapons to and from his bases in the Terminus Systems to clients under the guise of Branwood military shipping, which has enabled Kovlov to deliver right under the noses of even C-Sec, who, although considered the best police force in the galaxy by most, are still overworked and unable to exactly determine which supplies go where - Kovlov's black market dealings go unnoticed as a result. However, despite the anonymity, Kovlov is still wanted in many systems for arms trafficking and money laundering... not that they'll ever find him.
Recently, however, Kovlov has been running afoul of a certain Siame Industries. Despite Branwood's best efforts, some of Kovlov's shipments are being intercepted by SI, and to Kovlov's fury they are confiscating 'illegal contraband'. Kovlov has a business outside arms dealing - hit teams - and he has used his outside business to attack SI outposts and bases, as well as convoys, as retribution for SI attacks on Kovlov's own shipments. However, even though Kovlov is a well-connected man, SI is too big for just one man's enterprise to take down. Hence, he sent the Enforcer to the group, to gain revenge on SI. Though goodness knows how they'll manage it.

"Is not revenge, friends. Consider it... debt collection. The debt SI owes me is in blood."

Dossier: The Lotus

Name: Karmana D'Salya, alias 'The Lotus'
Gender: Mono-gendered
Race: Asari
Age: 232
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 140 pounds
Appearance:

Occupation: Politician on Illium
Known history:
An upright, moralistic politician on the outside; corrupt backstabbing schemer on the inside. The Lotus, or Karmana D'Salya to give her real name, is a consummate politician who used to work for R'myr Security Corporation. Between shooting people and working bars, D'Salya finally gave up on her military career once she saw it was going nowhere, and studied law and politics at a higher education institution, and then went into politics. Working her way up from a lowly representative, she is now a politician on the planet of Illium. Illium is the centre of galactic illicit trade, and as a result, bigwigs such as D'Salya have grown rich from the proceeds of illegal sales taking place upon Illium in exchange for a cut of the profits to turn a blind eye to warrants and the like. However, D'Salya has other connections outside the political world, and she is not above utilising them to see a competitor taken down. For example, a rival to her power was mysteriously found dead at their home, with a gunshot wound to the head. Illium Security ruled the death a suicide.
Though apathetic towards Siame Industries personally, she has seen business go down recently. For example, she used to buy guns and ammunition from a certain arms dealer named Kovlov (see Dossier: Ilya Kovlov), but SI interference has forced D'Salya to return to the criminal underworld of the galaxy to obtain her money and her contacts. Furthermore, D'Salya has also seen SI take over the governorship of several key worlds in the Terminus Systems, further hampering business. To The Lotus, it is time to put these upstarts in their place before the problem gets too out of hand.

"It is purely business, you see. I cannot supply my clients, and they cannot pay me as a result of SI's interference."

Dossier: Joseph S. Branwood

Name: Joseph Simon Branwood
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 44
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 165 lbs
Appearance:

Occupation: Politician and CEO of Branwood Incorporated, a Private Military Company specialising in colony defence
Known history:
PMC CEO and politician, Branwood was born into a life of luxury. His father was a senator on Earth, his mother a wealthy industrial heiress who inherited a vast manufacturing empire. However, Branwood, although a politician like his father, is also not content with talking. He lets his mercenaries, Branwood Incorporated, do the heavy lifting. Be it security in threatened regions to outright supporting the Alliance military in operations, BW mercenaries can be seen in many areas of the Attican Traverse and the border worlds of the Systems Alliance. Branwood is, however, not above the murkier elements of PMC contracting. Branwood Inc. has, in the past, smuggled drugs, illegal artifacts and no small amount of weapons through their seemingly-legal branding. Branwood Inc. sources most of their weapons from an arms dealer named Kovlov (see Dossier: Ilya Kovlov) and allows Kovlov to ship weapons using Branwood branding to avoid detection - for a cut of the profits, of course. Such a lucrative business, however, was bound to attract the attention of outsiders.
Step in SI. Just as Kovlov and The Lotus' operations have been hampered by SI interference, Branwood has seen contracts for defence drop off recently with SI's entry into the market. Branwood is not pleased. Although his political security provides him with ample funding for his lavish lifestyle, he cannot bear to see his pride and joy, his company, collapse into bankruptcy. The gun-runnings are being intercepted (some argue illegally) by SI agents, and Branwood and Kovlov are losing money and clients. They must act fast to save their slipping empires, lest they be torn free of their grasp.

[i]"Ladies. Gentlemen. We have a problem. They are Siame Industries, and they are proving to be no end of an issue. They must go... as soon as possible."[i/]

Mass Effect: Wanted

- Kovlov's House, Undisclosed location within the Terminus Systems -
- Five days ago -

A heavy-set human with a thick accent and a cigar between his lips sat in front of a computer, typing away on some job or another. Behind him were stacked crates upon crates of ammunition, weapons and modifications. The human was Ilya Kovlov, and this was Kovlov's House, the nickname given by associates of Kovlov to his central base of operations. Few knew of its existence, and fewer still its location. However, one of the people who knew of both Kovlov's House and its location within the galaxy was Henrik Andersson. He had been working with Kovlov now for the last 8 or 9 years, running guns beneath the noses of authorities throughout the Terminus region. However, as the years had gone by, it had become harder and harder to sneak through guns and equipment to other mercenaries and criminal gangs. For a long time, Kovlov thought it was just the Citadel finally cracking down on the influx of weapons into its space, but some eight months ago, he found out the truth behind the matter; Siame Industries, a PMC run by an asari matriarch, Rebekah Siame. Kovlov had lost several shipments of weapons in and around the Crescent Nebula, and all to the same company. To put it lightly, Kovlov was not pleased at this turn of events, and violently retaliated with attacks by his men on Siame holdings to try and teach Siame a lesson, but it had failed so far, and the shipment losses were rising slowly but steadily. But Kovlov would not give up without a fight - he already had The Enforcer on his books... why not let Henrik sort them out? And then word reached him of a new band of mercenaries being formed by one Tanya Carson and Kosso Irak... Henrik would find support there, for sure.

"You are sure you are good to go, Henrik?" Ilya took the cigar from between his lips and placed it into an ashtray on the desk, breathing out a cloud of tobacco smoke as he did so. "This can be very dangerous, you know what you getting into?"

Henrik took a swig from his whisky hip-flask. "You think I'm a novice or something, Kovlov? I know this business like the back of my damn hand. Besides, nobody fucks with the Enforcer and expects to fucking live. Not even you." Henrik had his Revenant in one hand and his hip-flask in the other, wearing as he did the standard Colossus heavy armour produced by Kassa Fabrication, and 'requisitioned' by Kovlov as a gift to the Enforcer for successfully hitting a rival's assets in the Omega Cluster along with a group of others.

Kovlov gave a derisive laugh. "As if you have power to back up claim. Heh, never mind... You leave soon, Henrik?"

Andersson nodded. "Three hours time." Kovlov got to his feet and walked over to Henrik, placing a hand on his shoulder as if Henrik were Kovlov's brother, which, to Ilya, he was near as damn it. Kovlov looked up at Henrik and nodded once.
"You enter lion's den now, Henrik. I need Siame to suffer, but first, you must mesh with group, yes? You must learn group and how group operates. Then, I give you contracts, yes?"

"You, the Lotus and the Widowmaker." Henrik shrugged and took another drink. "If I'm lucky, I can probably... ah, what's the word... 'acquire' another contact in case we run out of work."

Kovlov laughed. "Hah! Yes, you will get more in group, I make sure of it, Henrik! In fact, I had message from Widowmaker this morning! Very interesting, especially for you and group, because she mention something about a bank on Ilium, you know?"

Henrik frowned. "Tell me more."

"Widowmaker said something about Titan Bank on Ilium! You know Titan Bank, the one that never been raided right? I have many assets in Titan Bank under other names, and I go to Titan Bank lots of times to get money and make sure nothing is bad with Titan Bank. Vault is very, very big, yes? Big, thick door which is hard to get through, but it has lots and lots of money. But I not sure if Siame has holding there. Widowmaker said she thought so, but I not confirm it yet, so I can't tell you if yes or no. But if yes, could be very useful in taking down Siame, yes? Hit money, no more wages, guards go on strike, company collapses like house of cards! Kovlov has his revenge on Siame, and things back to normal!"

Henrik gave a wry smile and shook his head. "The Titan Bank is impregnable. Not sure anything but an army could get inside the Titan and rob it blind."

"But you are one man army." Kovlov chuckled. "Now, go. Meet group and find out about them. I give you contracts when you ready, yes? You go to Cartagena."

- Cartagena Station-
Henrik arrived on Cartagena in a shuttle Kovlov provided to see a shuttle explode in mid-space just outside the docking bays. Relying on the pilot to dodge the debris of the now-destroyed shuttle, Henrik gathered together his cases of belongings, including a case that held his guns and ammunition, donned his armour and waited until the pilot gave the all-clear to disembark. After the pilot had docked the shuttle, Henrik gave him a credit chit that contained 2,500 credits, and exited the shuttle carrying his cases of his belongings. Walking along the gangway towards the elevators to the arrivals area, he watched the shuttle take off, the pilot waving. Henrik smiled as he waited for the elevator to arrive to take him down to arrivals and checking-in. As he boarded the elevator, he looked about to see who was amongst the 'regulars' at Cartagena - not the usual crowd he mixed with, being a batarian-run station, but he hadn't encountered any issues as of yet.

As he stepped off the elevator, he looked about at the considerably-spacious arrivals lobby. He opened up his omni-tool and got hold of a map of Cartagena Station available on the extranet, before punching in the location of the 'Cartagena Inn', which was where he was to meet the group of mercenaries and criminals that comprised his latest group of comrades. No doubt they were expecting him. He made his way towards the Inn and out of the dock areas, into the residential quarters of Cartagena, whereupon he was confronted by three very angry-looking batarians. The leader cocked his head to the side - Henrik knew enough about batarian customs to know that this particular batarian was looking at him rather... disparagingly, to put it mildly. Henrik snorted derisively and made to push past them, but they blocked his way.

"You're coming with us, human." said the leader menacingly.

"I don't fucking think so, pal." Henrik swung his right fist at the batarian's head, striking him with a full fist on the temple, sending the unlucky batarian sprawling on the floor, whilst his two 'friends' backed away slowly. Henrik looked at the pair of them. "You want some, cocksuckers?" This sent them running for their lives, whilst Henrik walked over to the one on the floor, who was struggling to get to his feet. Henrik kicked him in the side to knock him on his back, before placing a boot on his chest, gradually applying more pressure. "You regretting this now, huh?" The batarian hissed and squirmed underneath Henrik's foot, which prompted him to place even more weight on the batarian's chest, causing him to cough and wheeze with the effort of breathing. After a couple of seconds, Henrik released the struggling man and walked away to the Cartagena Inn.

Inside the Inn, he saw a human woman - evidently Tanya Carson, from the description Kovlov had given him - and a drell male, who appeared to resemble Kosso Irak. This was the group. As such, he took his place at the table without a word and placed his cases beside his chair.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Dervish said
Like NPC characters?

Yeah, those guys.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Can I work on information for some people I had in mind?

Also, as for being ready to cause a whole shit-ton of grief for Siame, you bet.

Realms: The Wars of Providence [Closed/Invite Only]

Kyngdome of Engelond - The Kingdom of England

With God, For Queen and Country



Name:
The Kingdom of England

Major Species:
Humanity
Elves
Dwarves
Eireannach

Species Traits:
It's Humanity. Look in a mirror.

Brief Overview:

The Kingdom of England is arguably one of the most powerful and influential nations in the world today. Commanding a deep and innate understanding of gunpowder technology, and possessing a contender for the largest merchant marine (and armed navy) in the known world, England is a testament to the strength and ingenuity of sentient races to overcome obstacles and use technology to its fullest advantage. English magic is rare and limited in scope, used mostly to assist in the experimentation and advancement of technology for the greater good of the nation.

Shortly after the momentous peace deal that ended the Three Hundred Years War (or the Long War in the Hexarchy), King Richard IV passed away at the age of 51, succeeded by Queen Lucia I, and another new change was brought to the table between the English and the Drow: Queen Lucia, in a meeting with Ilharess Nathyrra Kilath in Renorchu'tgera, suggested what many thought to be unthinkable - political and territorial union. Ilharess Kilath promised to bring the matter to the Council, whereupon a fierce debate was had in the chambers between supporters of the Union, and opponents who wished to remain on cordial alliance terms with the English. For her part, Lucia I asked both the Royal Council and Parliament about their opinions on the matter, and whilst the Council were divided, the Parliament returned an almost unanimous message - Union it would be. With the stage set for the greatest about-turn in political history between the two nations, all that remained was the signing of the Act of Union, which was duly signed on the 18th of March, 1452 EC (English Common (E)ra). With the Act of Union signed, the Hexarchy of the Drow and the Kingdom of England were united into a single realm - The United Kingdom of England and the Subterranean, or simply put, the UK.

---

Government type:
Despotic Bureaucratic Monarchy, with Absolute Cognatic Primogeniture succession laws.

Current Government:
Ruler - Her Supreme Majesty, Queen Lucia I Kavanagh, Queen of England
Consort - His Royal Highness King Raymond Kavanagh
Heir To The Throne - His Royal Highness The Prince Henry Kavanagh
Queen Dowager - Her Royal Highness, the Queen Mother Elizabeth de Brouillon-Kavanagh
Groom of the Stool - Sir Gaston Richmond
Royal Chancellor - Sir Thomas Dryden
Royal Marshal - Sir Edmund Lancaster
Chancellor of the Exchequer - Sir Caleb Kimberley
Master of Her Majesty's Spies - Princess Marianne Kavanagh, Princess of Eastmarch
Primate of Ængland - Archbishop Oliver Walker, Archbishop of Redhill
Master of the Swans - Sir John Wicklow
Seneschal of the Royal Court - Sir James Candler
Cupbearer to the Royal Family - Sir Henry of Stokeham

Important Members of the Nobility:
Duke Andrew II Blunden, Duke of Gainsborough
Duke Stephen Amford, Duke of Lorringdale
Duke Gabriel Morden, Duke of Stamfordshire
Duchess Sophie I Syndale, Duchess of Northwich
Duke John V de Vere, Duke of Tyneshire
Duke Edward III Broke (pronounced 'brook'), Duke of Mornington
Earl William III Marshal, Earl of Camberwick

Generals of the Realm:
General John French, Lord French of Wivenhoe
General Henry Amersham, Lord Amersham of Stoneborough
General James Thorpe, Master of the Royal Artillery
General Sir Thomas Rainhill
General Rebecca Churchill
General Hannah Marshall
General Lucas Stainham
General Robert Hardwick

Admiral Sir Joseph Chattington
Admiral Sir Stuart Stratford
Admiral Sir Alastair Pritchard
Admiral Sir Lucius Turnpike

Military:
The Infantry:
The infantry of the Kingdom of England has always been the strongest of the land-based forces.

The backbone of the Kingdom's heavy infantry force are made up of halberdiers. Trained and equipped to fight with long halberds, these soldiers can fend off cavalry and crush many kinds of enemies depending on what part of the halberd they hit them with. Well trained, these companies specialise in assaults or the close defence of pike squares, and are adept both on the attack and the defence, able to storm fortresses or hold the line against whatever horrors they may face in defence of Queen and Country.

Alongside the halberdiers in the lines of infantry that form the bulk of the Kingdom's armies stand the feared 'fire-spitters', or 'hell-raisers', or whatever the foes of the English may face call them. They are the musketeers of England, and they are armed with the latest and most up-to-date weapons of the age: the percussion musket. By utilising a paper cartridge that contains a quantity of fulminate of mercury powder, which is ignited by a striking mechanism, the percussion musket allows English gunners to fire and reload more quickly than their older wheellock muzzle-loaded muskets. The fulminate of mercury ignites the gunpowder in the paper cartridge which expels the bullet down the barrel. After firing, the barrel is broken open via a lever operated by the trigger guard and the next bullet is inserted, before snapping shut the barrel and re-priming the firing mechanism.

A third, although antiquated, part of the Kingdom's foot armies is that of the 'old guard' - the longbowmen, heavy swordsmen and billmen, all of which have been thought to have been superseded by the New English Army.
In the English Army, longbowmen now sign a contract of indenture with a captain to become part of his retinue or company. The captain then 'hires' out their services to the king in theory, although in practice such men serve for as long as they can in the armed forces, paid for by the treasuries of the Kingdom. Such men are professionalised soldiers, and highly skilled archers. They are well armoured and equipped and confident in their own abilities.
The age of the sword in melee combat is coming to an end for the English Army. Whilst in days gone by, the armoured swordsmen of the Army reigned supreme over other infantry, the age of the musket has brought this dominance crashing down. Nevertheless, for fighting against armies that cannot be stopped by halberd and shot alone, the English Army maintains a small force of skilled swordsmen to this day, at considerable cost to the treasury.
The bill is a typically 'English' weapon. Billmen in days gone by performed the role of spearman and heavy infantry both. Now, however, the billman's days are almost over as a true fighting force - no polearm is deadlier than the halberd, and musket fire renders the billhook powerless to respond. Nevertheless, some generals still swear by the billhook. Considered by those generals to be the pinnacle of English commoner infantry, the billman of today is still equally comfortable in both attack and defence. Wielding the billhook allows the billman to hack, stab and chop if needed and being encased in anything from half to three quarter plate armour means they can shrug off most blows.

The Artillery:
Supporting the foot troops are the cannons of the Queen's Artillery Regiments. Divided between three main types of artillery, the guns of England are the most feared instrument of war short of outright magic. Able to devastate ranks of closing infantry, send walls tumbling to the ground, or even hole ships at sea and secure the waves for His Majesty, the gunners of the Artillery Regiments are veterans of their art, trained and hardened in the fires of war. In addition, the crews of the artillery guns are equipped to a standard that is 'unbecoming of mere artillerymen' according to some old-fashioned generals. However, the 'mere artillerymen' in question have turned the tide of battles with their thundering salvoes, and brought fortresses crashing down.

The main cannon in the Artillery Regiments is the culverin. The Culverin is a fearsome piece of artillery, first used in the Battle of Trenthill during the Second Civil War. It utilises advanced metallurgy techniques, superior construction and better trained crews to outrange and outshoot nearly all preceding bombards. Able to fire solid or burning shots, the culverin is devastating against enemy walls and lethal against enemy soldiers. Many battles have been turned about by the decisive fire these monsters of artillery have provided.
The supporting cannons to the culverins are the sakers. Sakers are medium cannon, slightly smaller than a culverin, developed after the Second Civil War as a supporting gun, as it was found that culverins often fired too slowly. Saker shot is designed to bounce on the ground and plough straight into massed lines of infantry, throwing men's bodies left and right as if they were bloodied ragdolls. Saker fire is a withering hail of cannon fire that often forces the enemy to break and run, lest they be massacred by the English cannon. When sakers and culverins fire as one battery, even the largest castle wall will fall, and all but the most sturdy of infantry will dare to charge into the jaws of musket and cannon fire.
The third cannon type fielded by the English is the mortar. Resembling the iron bowl from which it gains its name, the mortar was created to lob shots over intervening walls. Useful in dealing with companies skulking behind walls for protection, or to whittle away besieging soldiers outside walls, the mortar's capabilities makes it an excellent siege weapon for both attacker and defender. Mortars on the open field are rare, as their trajectory is more suited for siege warfare, nevertheless the sight of iron shot landing amongst your comrades as you march forward is detrimental to an enemy's morale. After all, he might be next...

The Cavalry:
English cavalry has gone through several phases of existence. In the beginning, the English cavalryman was a noble, a knight who ruled over a fief of land granted to him by counts, barons and earls, who in turn were granted their lands by the Dukes and the King. The English knight was at the very heart of feudal England, and as a result the knights were often only committed into battle at the last opportunity - the phrase 'Gone to the Knights' is a term used by the English to describe a battle that has gone to the very end - the battle has lasted so long that the knights have been committed into action to try and win the day for the King. The old English knight was encased in mail and fought with a lance and sword, charging into the enemy ranks like the sledgehammer force they were in the old days. However, with the march of time, the knight has had to change, mould and adapt to the passage of technology. Next came the half-plated knight, or the stereotypical 'feudal knight', who was armoured in partial plate armour, with a lance and longsword. However, even this proved ineffective with the march of time, for cavalry required even more fear factor, even more punch and more power. The result was the Winged Hussar regiments.

After the First Civil War, Hussars began to replace the knight as the main cavalry arm of the English Army. After the Second Civil War (some 40 years later), they adopted plate armour. Professional soldiers, equipped in plate armour, a steel helmet, a war lance and a sabre, these proud and headstrong cavalrymen's usual tactic is an immediate charge. Although their tactics are simple, they are devastatingly effective, and the Winged Hussars have turned the tide of many a battle the English have fought, for the just when the battle seems lost, the Hussars sweep into the fray, crashing headlong into their enemies, sending them fleeing the field, lest they be skewered on a lance, or cut down by their sabres.

The Royal Navy:
"The Royal Navy is our Wooden Wall. It is our first line of defence against those who would threaten our nation. It is our primary method of attack. Our Navy is the most feared fighting force on the seas, and we intend to keep it that way." - Admiral Sir Stuart Stratford

The Royal Navy of England is the most powerful of the arms of the military. Hundreds of oak-framed ships, bristling with cannons, muskets and rifles. Each ship is designed to be a gun-armed fighting machine, with relatively few soldiers on-board in favour of gunners, and trained sailors, as well as marines to repel boarding actions. The gun-decks of the Royal Navy are a frightful place to be in the middle of combat, with cannons firing almost at all times, especially when both sides of the ship are in action, with bloodied crewmen, severed limbs and thick gun-smoke proving too much for all but the hardiest of sailors. Thankfully, the English sailors are truly men of iron, for they will give anything for Queen and Country, no matter the foe.

Economy:
"Strong, stable, and with a focus on bullionism, one would have to look hard to find a rival to the English economy." - Ryndyrra Aleaniryn, in A Treatise on English Economic Practices

Cities:
Carlingford: Population 450,000
Amersham: Population 65,000
Martlesham: Population 25,000
Northwich: Population 22,000
Oldbury: Population 20,000
Kingsfield Heath: Population 19,000

Religion:
The main religion of the English is that of the 'One True Faith', also known as Deism. The English believe in a single god, who created the world and gave rise to all of the world's creations over the course of human history. Deism, however, has been divided over the centuries, with different factions of the Deist faith competing for influence and power in the King's Court. The most important and influential factions are listed below:

Mordenism
Named after Julius Morden, the Bishop of Coldford during the 1190s who developed the faction, Mordenism is a splinter faith of Deism in the Kingdom of England. Mordenists believe that the Deist faith should hold supreme over all others, even to the point that foreign faiths and religions should be destroyed with fire and sword. Mordenist ideology holds that England is the only godly nation in a world of heresy and witchcraft, and that only by defending the world from the black magics of heretics and heathens can Englishmen truly achieve eternal life in paradise after a glorious death. Mordenists are also fierce proponents of crusades, which are seen by others in England as unwanted wastes of time and energy, but to Mordenists they are essential for the salvation of others in the world. In addition to this, Morden argued that the human race was the supreme race in the world, and that its destiny, and the destiny of England, was to rule the world as a humano-centric nation.

Keynesianism
Named after John Keynes, the philosopher and clergyman during the 800s, Keynesianists are the dominant faction of the Deist faith, commanding the loyalty of most of the Kingdom's population. Keynes asserted that Deism was but one aspect of the worship of the One True Faith, and that other religions were different interpretations of the many aspects of God, as should be treated with the respect that was afforded to the Deist religion in England. This conflicts with Mordenism's argument that Deism was superior to all other faiths, and as a result bitter theological debates were had between supporters of Keynes' view of alternative faiths, and Mordenists wishing to purge the world of other religions. Keynesianists as a result see Morden's 'Treatise on the Crusade' as a work of needless fantasy and fiction, not a text to be revered and held as an example of how to interact with other faiths - indeed, Bishop Richard Cunningham wrote a stinging rebuttal of the Crusade in his book 'Interacting with the World'. Furthermore, Morden's assertion that the human race was the one true superior above all is derided and bitterly opposed by Keynes' followers - they see the variety of races as but an example of the limitless possibilities of life and creation, and see half-bloods as the mixing together of two different examples of creation, coming together to create something that not even the Creator could manage. Keynesian Deism is seen by outsiders to the Kingdom as the 'official' religion of England, which is perhaps just as well, considering the negative reactions most have to Morden's views.

Society:

"To brew so-called 'English tea', one brings the tea leaves to boil with water for a good time, and then the brewer should add a considerable amount of cold milk and one or two spoons of cane sugar. This, according to the English, is a most refreshing drink, and it can be found in almost every major English settlement." - Liam O'Callaghan, A Treatise on English Drinking Habits

"Tea and coffee in England is akin to beer to the Dwarves - it is inseparable from the concept of the English nation. Alcohol is frowned upon by Englishmen - it is thought to be uncivilised and mentally unclean, in that it provokes violence in those too inebriated to think." - Hubert Pugh, England and the English

Everyday Life in an English Town:
The average townsman of an English settlement can expect to be woken up by bells ringing at dawn to signify a new day in the Kingdom. Townsfolk, contrary to popular belief, are not self-contained people, who go about their business uncaring for those around them, and it is likely that people will greet their neighbours across the street, or maybe next door. Houses in English towns are built of brick and stone, rather than the wood and plaster of old feudal England or the Vikingr, and as a result, epidemics of disease such as the plague are much less common than in less well-developed settlements. A townsman's day usually begins in the coffeehouse or teahouse - places where the average man or woman off the street can go in, buy a drink and chat with their friends and acquaintances, reading the latest news from other nations and their own, transmitted to the printing presses of the nation by magical telegraph networks that were built by the Crown at great expense to the royal treasury. Unlike in some other nations, you can expect a townsman to be literate and competent with basic numeracy - even the majority of women in the kingdom are literate and take part in local politics and newspapers.

The first thing that most people visit when in a town is the marketplace. Here, all manner of fruits, vegetables, meats and other products are available to buy for a commoner with a bit of coin in his purse. The English currency, the pound sterling, is named so after the sterling silver used to mint the most common English coins - the shilling (worth fivepence), the tenpenny, the fifthpound and the half-pound. The most common large English coin is the gold pound itself, with the guinea worth two pounds. The price of food is relatively stable, give or take a few pence per year. An apple might cost a ha'penny, a loaf of bread a penny, and an orange might be worth tuppence. The average weekly wage of a townsman in an unskilled town job varies from region to region, though it is roughly about 50p a week, more than enough for food and clothes for yourself and maybe a wife. If the wife works as well, you can expect to feed a family fairly well. There have been moves by certain town councils and members of the gentry to introduce a minimum wage for the English nation - in Carlingford, for example, there is a trial scheme that provides a minimum wage to all workers of 35p a week.

The higher up the social ladder you are in England, the better paid you will likely be, with some gentry making truly vast sums of money. However, they do not have to lug around huge sacks of coinage about - since the banking reforms of Henry IV some 50 years prior to the present day, the banks of England are licensed to use 'bank notes', which can be exchanged in lieu of coinage to pay for goods and services. Bank notes are essentially slips of paper that are issued by a bank that can be used as an I.O.U. by the vendor to obtain money from the bank. However, to prevent money laundering, each slip of paper has a magical rune that is unique to that note and cannot be copied - if the rune is copied, both copies of the rune will vanish and the banknote will be worthless. Banknotes have standard issue denominations as of the Second Reforms - these are a pound, five pounds and ten pounds for common folk, printed on paper and assigned a rune.

Ideology:

"With God, For Queen and Country" is the Kingdom's motto. Englishmen and women fight fiercely to defend their crown and homeland from foreign invaders, sometimes enduring terrible hardships as they do so. They are driven by a deep love of their country - some argue an almost-fanatical sense of patriotism is what has made the English the civilisation they are today. English policy is guided by three major concerns: the people, wealth, and power. Wealth and power is self-explanatory, but it is notable that the English government is unlikely to enact a law or act that threatens the happiness, well-being or prosperity of the population - it is this that has allowed the English to avoid revolution time after time, when other nations might have crumbled in the face of popular discontent.

Mass Effect: Wanted

Profile Reconstruction Complete.
Subject: 'The Enforcer'

Name: Henrik Kjell Andersson, known to the criminal world as 'The Enforcer'

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 43

Class: Soldier (Shock Trooper, really)

Appearance:

Backstory

Henrik Kjell Andersson was born on the 18th of May, 2135 CE to Swedish-Norwegian parents, Alfred and Lena Andersson in the city of Oslo on Earth. His father Alfred was a successful arms dealer and gun-runner in the era before the Prothean data cache was unearthed on Mars, whilst his mother ran a drugs cartel known as 'The Firm' in and around Norway - Henrik, as a result, was surrounded by crime and the underworld of the human race from a very early age. When Henrik was but 4 years old, his father was arrested by police after a botched gun-running operation near the port of Narvik, which left 4 police officers dead and Alfred paralysed from the waist-down. Henrik's mother, concerned that the young boy would be targeted by the Norwegian police, sent Henrik to live with his aunt and uncle in Trondheim. Six weeks later, his mother was almost killed by a rival cartel in a hit that was also targeted at Henrik himself. His aunt and uncle hid the truth of his parents' fates from him for years afterwards, trying to keep the young boy from becoming the man his father was, or worse.

Henrik had a fairly normal childhood in Trondheim; though he knew his aunt and uncle had been entrusted with his care because life at home was dangerous, he didn't know what his parents had done for work, nor did he know what had happened to them after he had moved to Trondheim. His formative years were spent largely at home, playing computer games and hanging out around some of the kids he knew from school. He worked hard in his education - though Henrik was no academic, he was good at practical tasks such as art, design & technology and also chemistry, and he was exceptional at sports. Rugby and football were bread and butter to Henrik as he entered secondary school, and he grew to be a strapping young man - some 6' 3" tall and often sporting a full beard and moustache.

At the age of 15, Henrik asked his aunt and uncle to tell him the truth about his parents. Reluctantly, they told him; his father was in prison, serving time for murder, tax evasion, encouraging prostitution and several counts of armed robbery, assault and battery. He was in hospital still after his injuries from the Narvik operation, but there was little to no chance he'd ever be a free man - he was ineligible for parole for 50 years. Henrik's mother was also serving time in prison: a 25-year sentence for murder and for crimes relating to the operation of a drug cartel... Henrik seethed at the authorities. They had taken away his parents from him and made their lives a misery, whilst fatcats in the governments of the world gorged themselves upon the profits of illegal activities with no consequence. Bankers, lawyers, CEOs, all were the same - people who lived off the proceeds of others' misery. The irony was not lost upon the young man.

At 18, Henrik left school for university, where he obtained a degree in creative writing the University of Oslo in 2156 CE. By this time, the data cache on Mars had been discovered, and the First Contact War had already been declared by the new alien race that humanity had encountered. Henrik cared little for the 'turians' or whatever they chose to call themselves, and even less about the war. Several of his school friends had joined the Alliance military, and two had been killed fighting the turians on Shanxi, but again, Henrik didn't care. He had unfinished business to take care of, especially with the Godz, who were the cartel who ordered the hit on Henrik's mother. Arming himself with his father's old weapons and procuring a set of armour from a family friend, Henrik began his foray into the criminal underworld with brutal force. His moniker was 'The Enforcer', and he lived up to his sobriquet. One day in April 2158 CE, the Godz were staging a drugs transfer between them and the Raiders, another gang. The leader of the Godz, Enrique Marmasellas, was present at the deal - exactly the moment Henrik knew he had to strike. Leading a team of some 10 members of his mother's cartel, Henrik gatecrashed the deal and proceeded to kill no fewer than 20 members of both the Godz and the Raiders, before making off with some 750,000 credits worth of drugs and banknotes. The police arrived, but Henrik had already made his getaway - The Enforcer had had his revenge.

Henrik began taking jobs on the black market, but he only just about scraped a living between 2158-2161 CE. Before long, he felt as if his future lay beyond Earth, and in the wider galaxy that humanity had just discovered was out there. All of these alien races had been met, and with them came new opportunities. Henrik left for the station of Omega in 2162, whereupon he discovered that just like on Earth, the wider galaxy had its underworld. And it was an underworld that provided Henrik with lots of work. Henrik's line of work was bloody, dirty money: assassinations, heists, bank robberies, you name it, if it involved killing people, Henrik was good at it. He obtained a set of Titan Heavy Armour from a contact in Rosenkov Materials, and a heavy machine gun, which was an M-76 Revenant modded for an even faster rate of fire which Henrik named 'The Reaper'. He was often employed as heavy muscle on jobs that required it - even those in the bigger mercenary groups came to fear the sight of a heavily-armoured human packing heavier weaponry, spraying hellfire down on whichever poor bastards had been earmarked to stop him. Henrik liked his new position - that was, until he and his squad were set up against R'myr Security Corporation during an arms raid on an RSC depot. Henrik and his 'crew', the Red Devils (named by the leader, Tom Stanway, whose ancestors had been British paratroopers) looked as if they'd met their match in the RSC troopers, with not even Henrik's fearsome firepower able to subdue the slippery RSC squad. One by one, the Red Devils were taken down by accurate fire from the RSC troopers until it was Henrik and Stanway left. Stanway urged Henrik to surrender, hoping at the very least to save some of his crew, but Henrik was having none of it, and hosed down one of the RSC squad who was careless enough to leave their cover. However, at the same time, Stanway was caught full in the chest by a burst from an assault rifle, and fell the ground, dead.
Out of nowhere, Henrik was flattened (an impressive feat in and of itself) by a flying kick from one of the RSC troopers - an asari. Struggling to his feet, Henrik resolved at the very least to not go down without a fight and prepared for hand-to-hand combat. He knew he was on the disadvantage against a biotic, but it was too late to worry about that now as he lunged at the asari trooper. She rolled out of the way before kicking him square in the midsection, but she underestimated The Enforcer's speed, who grabbed the leg and wrenched the asari towards him before giving her a solid right hook to the side of the head and throwing her against a wall. Visibly dazed, the trooper got to her feet and threw a biotic power (which one, Henrik had no idea) that threw him away from her and knocked him to the ground. However, he was surrounded by no fewer than five of them by now.

He reluctantly surrendered, but instead of taking him prisoner, the RSC squad fell back, taking their injured comrades with them, as well as the body of Stanway. It transpired that the depot assault was a set-up: RSC had lured the Red Devils into a trap with the express intention of killing Tom Stanway, and Henrik was of no interest to them. There were no guns. Thoroughly confused, but thanking his lucky stars, Henrik took a moment to gather his wits about him, and made his way back to Omega, whereupon he immediately threw himself back into criminality. It was his first brush with RSC, but it would not be his last - and RSC proved not only to be an enemy, but also a contractor. Private security companies such as RSC and the up-and-coming Siame Industries required mercenaries to do the really dirty work - mercenaries like Henrik. Over the next few years, Henrik picked up contacts in all manner of places. The Lotus, an asari politician. The Widowmaker, a former mercenary and RSC trooper. Ilya Kovlov, a human arms trafficker and all-round 'nutcase'.

The Enforcer works for them all. Though he is no longer the hot-headed young man he once was, Henrik Andersson is still a force to be reckoned with. So when Kovlov asked him to oversee operations in and around Cartagena Station, The Enforcer packed his bags and shipped himself off to the Terminus Systems. There he discovered the cause of Kovlov's issues: Siame Industries.

Siame just got themselves a dangerous new enemy.

Equipment:

Modified M-76 Revenant Light Machine Gun:


M-6 Carnifex Heavy Pistol:


KM Combat Knife:


Heavy Colossus Armour

Powers:
Combat Mastery
Adrenaline Rush

Talents:
Overkill
Assault Training
Assault Rifles (really? The Revenant is an LMG, not an assault rifle...)
Combat Armour
First Aid
Fitness

"I am here. If you do not wish for my services, then I will take myself elsewhere."

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