Smike

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard [Pt. 2 - Open] ~

Howdy ho, I’m here. Just waiting to reply pretty much

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne's Revenge

---

They had expected to have to ask someone, single out the most knowledgeable looking person in the cafeteria and request directions to the captain's bunk. Thankfully fate decided to make Ki'Tlex's life a little easier by bringing the boss to them. The three hands not occupied by Kottle waved back in response before folding themselves back under their robes. "You are correct, Captain Zhang. I am Ki'Tlex or simply Ki if you'd prefer. The infant is Kottle while the machine is-"

"Hi! I'm Queen Anne's Revenge but everyone just calls me Queen Anne."

"-yes, that. Myself and them are indeed here to join your war. I am a skilled mechanic and programmer capable of working with all manner of machinery and code. In combat I and Anne complement each other through neural linkage to serve as assaulters whether on the ground or operating in the void. We are experienced pirates and thus have an innate understanding asymmetrical warfare."

One of their past iterations had served as a mounted skirmisher as well but that was in the past and thus not worth mentioning.

Kottle pulled away from the oh-so-tasty finger to babble incoherently, proving that their vocal cords still worked by making a high pitched whistling screech. No longer interested in dealing with the little brat Ki conveyed all the necessary instructions telepathically, they and Queen Anne moving in perfect unison. Kottle was removed from their guardian's back as the robot's hardened chest plating cracked open to reveal the passenger space inside. With the basket strap placed on a hook Ki had installed for just that purpose Anne closed Kottle inside herself, muffling any more obnoxious noises.

"Our apologies!"

While Ki'Tlex silently filed away the knowledge that Moonstrike struggled against other pirates Anne was busy staring at the other machine. They were another war bot definitely but unarmed and smaller. An earlier model maybe? Or just one designed for combat lighter than full scale void assaults. Nirrti was scanning her which meant that interest had been taken which was nice. Anne simply gave a thumbs up, happy to stand there and get analyzed.

"I imagine I and you all will have to move quickly if we wish to recover these credits. Pirates tend to spend money as quickly as they can so they can get use out of it before their likely violent death. At least that had been how the Razor's Edge treated its group funds. "Although having other vermin flitting about might help cover my and your tracks and killing a whole bunch of them might make their friends mad. How much money did you guys lose?"

The other human female told them to submit to some sort of security procedure once the impromptu war council was finished and there was no reason to question the command. "As you wish. I also request access to the vessel's network as it would make my job easier but that can be done after I have been walked through all the steps required of I and them."

Extracriminal

It wouldn't have been all that surprising if the Senior simply never showed up. Like Vos said, the man had spent huge amounts of time, money and effort to track them all down and arrange for them to meet up in this secret Bond-style supervillain lair. Someone who valued privacy and security that much likely didn't appreciate having to actually show up for a meet-n-greet with his chosen peons.

Johnny could respect that.

So there they were, standing around the proverbial water cooler trying to size each other up and figure out who in the hell they were working with. This was neither a crime family nor a military operation, Grace didn't trust any of the women and didn't expect them to trust her. Not yet anyway. Until they had actually worked together it would be impossible for them to be sure that they were all capable.

The screen's flickering on interrupted Johnny's musings on the nature of earning sisterhood, head turning to look at the man of the hour. Look at was perhaps a strong term what with the classic 'head shrouded in inky black shadow to present a human yet unknowable presence' thing. She was more observing the fact that he did indeed exist.

The mentioned kitchen went unexplored for the time being, Grace more interested in getting details than a drink. "Change everything we know for the better, just like you said on the tape." What positive changes could possibly be made by large scale grand larceny Grace didn't know but she was damn interested in finding out.

The Russian questioned the how before the why and Johnny was silently amused by the fact that at least two of the "most capable criminals this country has never seen" were foreign nationals. "Less girl power and more precisely planned operations, if I had to guess."

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne's Revenge

---

Part of Ki'Tlex wondered if they should perform the rite of Social Death and simply move on. They had spent a good deal of time in their current identity, centuries of searching for wealth in the deserts of Kel and the holds of blasted open spaceships. They had traveled far and experienced much, outlived plenty of friends and enemies and had now reached a point where they could move on to a new life without feeling as if they were missing out. In recent years they had taken a mild interest in acting, toying with the thought of making their name upon the stage or the screen. Ki could already imagine it, a hardscrabble start as a desperate actor before finding some big break then a series of tabloid worthy scandals. Cliché perhaps but it sounded fun!

"Kiiiiiii! You can't go yet, I'd miss you!"

Queen Anne cut into their thoughts with their own, the message as grating as a klaxon call. Curiously even the AI's telepathic speech sounded as if it was being blared at maximum volume with a tone designed to make the enemy shrivel in fear.

"I'm not leaving you little droid, nor am I leaving Kottle. They were simply idle musings."

Saying goodbye to Queen Anne would be cruel considering the nature of their linked minds. Dumping Kottle off at an orphanage or something would be much simpler but didn't sit well with their pride. The infant's parents had called in the favor they had with their dying breaths so Ki was stuck with the little bastard until they could fend for themselves.

"Hmmm..."

The noise slipped through their shared mindspace but whatever came after Ki couldn't catch, the robot closing off their side so that the barely coherent mess of thought wouldn't leak through. Ki 'knocked', pilot curious as to what their mech would want to hide. "Queen Anne? Did you wish to say something?"

"What? Oh no, I'm fine."

Ki'Tlex wanted to pry more, formulating their own storm of consciousness into concrete language before losing the train of thought as the dusty-skinned goblin on their back screamed directly into their ear.

"Oh no! Something's wrong with Kottle!"

Many somethings were in fact wrong with the little shit but sadly none that could be fixed by anything but the passing of time. Every time this happened Queen Anne got all worked up in concern but Kottle's cries were mostly made because the baby couldn comprehend existing in silence. One of the arms folded behind Ki's back reached into their bag to deftly unscrew the little mason jar they had readied for just such an occasion.

The smell of cooking grease filled the air as Ki brought out the leftover fat from the previous night's meal, slathering it over a pair of fingers and putting them in the baby's reach. Kottle took it from there, a mouth full of sharp teeth closing around the digits to gnaw at the treat. Ki was down to three hands for the moment and would probably have bite marks by the end of the feeding but at least the brat had shut up.

What a strange trio they made strolling onboard! A twelve foot tall robot and a hooded figure with a baby carried in a basket on their back, looking like they belonged in the setup for a joke as opposed to being onboard a ship full of would-be freedom fighters. The two adults were at least armed with a giant shotgun and a rifle (not mention the weapons concealed under their robes) respectively but they were still certainly an odd grouping.

They needed to find the captain or a first mate or some sort of authority but didn't know where to begin. They walked without purpose while Queen Anne followed behind, ending up in the cafeteria only by happenstance.

A good enough place to wait. If Zhang didn't show up then they'd just bother one of the crew in order to report in.

There was another robot there as well, smaller than Queen Anne and with a less humanoid appearance but still with the general shape. Ki'Tlex paid it little mind while Queen Anne waved, no doubt feeling some kinship with the thing she had never met due to their shared state of existence.

She was adorably stupid like that.

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Ki'Tlex and their "Family"

Name: Ki'Tlex, Queen Anne's Revenge and Kottle.

Age: Ki'Tlex is 4,647 years old going by the standard calendar, Queen Anne is a comparatively juvenile 16 while Kottle is an infant at 14.

Physical Description:
Ki'Tlex and Kottle are fairly standard examples of their species. Ki stands at seven feet and six inches and has the lean, muscular build common to their kind. They have a total of six limbs although their second pair of arms tends to remain folded behind their back and thus hard to notice under the loose robes they wear. While Ki's skin is naturally a pale red they decorate their face with triangles of yellow powder.

Kottle's skin is a dusty gray in tone, the dull color accented by the same yellow triangles their adoptive guardian wears. As opposed to the light desert clothing Ki wears Kottle is usually swaddled tightly in fabric and carried in a basket on their guardian's back.

Queen Anne's Revenge is the odd one out in their 'family'. Her chassis resembles a massive human warrior in armor, coming in at exactly twelve feet tall with optical sensors designed to glow red for intimidation purposes. Parts of her body have been constructed of perfect electrum to allow for spell casting but most of her is simply hardened alloy designed to withstand extreme temperatures, the void of space, and of course extended combat.

Much of her torso is hollow so that Ki and even Kottle if necessary can sit inside, protecting them from harm or allowing the whole group to spend time outside the safety of a ship provided there is an oxygen supply handy.
-------------------------

Important items:

Gear

Binoculars: Up to x75 zoom and the ability to switch between standard, night and thermal vision. Ki'Tlex uses them to scout locations and mark targets for Queen Anne to take out with a shotgun blast.
Cutter: A plasma cutter for slicing into ships, cells, vaults and anywhere else that holds valuables. Small enough for Ki to manage it on their own while Queen Anne can operate it with a single hand.
Custom Omni-Tool: Lots of parts stripped from stolen decks and formed into a compact but powerful device. Used for reprogramming systems as well as mundane communication and surfing.
Void Suit: Allows Ki'Tlex to be outside the ship without having to hunker down inside Queen Anne. Usually used for making repairs.
Tools: Everything one could need for getting pieces of tech to work. From wrenches to wire strippers to power regulators, all store neatly in a big metal box.
Credits: 102,456 of them.

Weapons:

Ki'Tlex

Avalon C9 Plasma Pistols: Four of them, one for each hand. Fires agitated energy blasts that clock in at temperatures higher than most stars.

"The Long Walk": A coilgun that Ki pulled out of Kel sands and fixed up. Capable of killing from a mile out when the conditions are right, assuming the shooter is capable.

Kel'ta Axes: The monomolecular edged hand ax plays an important role in the Kel'ta culture. Used for chopping firewood, preparing game, finding purchase while climbing and of course self-defense.

Queen Anne

S12 "Super" Shotgun: The standard S11 shotgun upscaled from twelve gauge to two, constructed from spaceship grade materials and oversized to be wielded by a twelve foot tall mech. While perfectly capable of firing "standard" half-pound shells of slug or buckshot it was designed with specialty ammunition in mind. Incendiary and plasma shells can clear hallways with ease while explosive rounds turn the S12 into an effective mortar.

"Legbiter" pattern Bayonet: A three foot vibrosword strapped to the end of a giant shotgun.

Kottle

Being Adorable: It's a baby.

Spell List:

Spells

-Close Circuit (Mind Magic): Queen Anne locks down her and Ki'Tlex's minds so that they form a perfect mental loop. The strengthened bond then boosts her reflexes to an even higher point. The downsides of this spell are that it can only be cast when the pair is in close proximity to one another and that Ki's body becomes entirely unresponsive as their brain is dedicated to serving as additional processing power for Queen Anne. This spell has a disorientating effect on the organic component and extended periods of use can cause intense dizziness and nausea upon waking up

-Error Code (Mind Magic): Queen Anne focuses on a target and blasts their mental defenses with a stream of information. Hitting the victims brain with condensed junk data can cause them to suffer vertigo, burst blood vessels or even suffer a stroke if they are particularly susceptible.

-Firewall (Mind Magic): A two-stage spell that lays dormant. Upon an attempted intrusion through Mind Magic or mundane hacking Queen Anne automatically locks all information behind advanced infohazards. Attempting to push through these locks the intruder into a sustained version of the Error Code spell. The second stage simply identifies the source of the intrusion so that it can be dealt with. Due to the nature of their mental link this spell activated when Ki'Tlex is targeted as well.

-Hover (World Magic): Grants the robot the ability to move in three dimensions irrespective of its weight. Extremely useful when operating in the void.

-Magnetize (World Magic): Not technically an accurate name. Queen Anne simply forms an adhesive contact between a portion of her body (usually her boots) and a surface that can hold her weight (such as a space vessel). This allows her to focus on a task without having to watch her footing.

Ward (High Magic): Queen Anne wards herself from danger, forming a shield that deflects spells and attacks. This is a limited use ability in that using it takes a toll on her. The more damage the shield soaks up the more energy is drained from her system. Overuse can see Anne automatically shut down until some time is given for her to recharge.

Character Traits:

Ki'Tlex

-Longview: Ki is an avid student of history. Their knowledge of galactic affairs and the long life they've lived means that they tend to see most struggles as not being particularly important in the long run. After all, why bother toppling one empire when another will simply take its place and inevitably commit the same sins? This can come off as pessimism but is actually dry amusement at the tendency of shorter lived species to work themselves up over nothing.
-Raider: Sure they have a rifle but Ki is a equipped with claws that were designed to dig into stone, natural speed and endurance for running down prey and four limbs that can bend metal bars. Close-quarters combat is their forte, mixing natural abilities with millennia of experience with their axes, pistols and bare hands.
-Mechanically Minded: If it was working once they can probably make it work again. Ki is a talented mechanic and programmer, repairing and refitting equipment ranging from coffee makers to battle-ready mechs and starships.
-Scavenger: There is nothing wrong with eating the dead of other intelligent species in their eyes. Ki is carnivorous and meat can be hard to come by in space.
Linked: Shared with Queen Anne. The synchronization of their minds allows Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne to see and hear from each other's perspectives and communicate with each other telepathically. This also means that they share bodies. If both parties consent they can trade off who controls the machine and who pilots the living organism.

Queen Anne's Revenge

-Childlike Wonder: A side effect of the modifications to her AI after being stolen by the crew of the Razor's Edge. Queen Anne just wants to explore the universe around her and ask the many different squishy fleshlings all sorts of questions! Sometimes she has to shoot, smash or stab them instead but that's just life.
-Devoted: The bond she has with Ki makes Queen Anne a dedicated protector. She loves her pilot even if they're a little taciturn and does what they tell her without fail.
-Advanced Intelligence: Capable of processing information in an instant and reacting to situations faster than humans can.
Linked: Shared with Ki'Tlex. The synchronization of their minds allows Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne to see and hear from each other's perspectives and communicate with each other telepathically. This also means that they share bodies. If both parties consent they can trade off who controls the machine and who pilots the living organism.

Kottle

-Helpless: Kottle is totally dependent on their guardian for everything. Washing up, keeping warm and moving from one place to another with any semblance of speed is all facilitated by Ki. Even the food Kottle eats is thrown up from Ki's stomach.
-Screamer: Hungry? Scream. Tired? Scream. Just want to let people know that you're still alive? Scream. Kel'ta infants communicate in only one way and it can become very annoying very quickly.

-------------------------

Short Bio: Ki'Tlex does not speak about their previous lives. They happened, there had been great triumphs and devastating losses, but they are no longer relevant in any way. Their current existence began roughly three hundred years ago, before the Galactic Bazaar was even conceived of. A livelihood based on scavenging from the ruins of the Forebears and making what they found functional again. Vehicles, weapons, mechanical curiosities and medical equipment, anything that could be traded for luxuries or access to one of the all important oases, all of it passed through their hands at one point or another.

As one of the minority of Kel'ta who lived alone Ki was always at risk. Plenty of predators lived in the dunes or high up on the crags from the standard bandit to the ferocious Sand Stalker. Any wasteland wanderer had to become adept at avoiding threats but eventually the inevitable happened. Ki was ambushed in their camp by raiders looking for easy wealth. The defenses they had set up were enough to drive the enemy off but by the end of the engagement Ki'Tlex had been badly injured. Far from any of the clans and without adequate medicine Ki'Tlex accepted the fact that they would be permanently dead in a few days time and resolved to pass on peacefully.

But it was not to be. On the third day delirium had begun to set in, the betrayal by their senses causing Ki to believe that the craft they saw landing in the distance to be merely a hallucination. Instead it was a damaged pirate vessel called the Razor's Edge whose crew needed a place to rest and repair. A Kel'ta couple was among the outlaws and had suggested their planet of origin as a safe place to recuperate. It was they who rescued Ki and pressed them into service.

Their mechanical skill was put to work immediately, the damaged engines hammered back into functionality. Having proved useful they were simply made part of the crew. When not struggling to keep the miserable rust bucket flying they took part in raids, their natural speed a valuable assets in boarding actions. They took to the butcher and bolt tactics used by pirates well, sprinting down tight hallways while laying down fire with whatever weapons they could get their four hands on.

The decades passed and the crew took on new members to replace those that died or retired. The couple was friendly enough that Ki spent much of their free time with them, enjoying the chance to communicate in their native. All the while the Razor made a mess in the void of space, attacking anyone that had anything of value. Pirates came and went and eventually a child was born which brought the number of Kel'ta up to four and the crew kept on the move.

It was during a raid on an Ascendancy armory ship that Ki met Queen Anne. Instead of a few rifles to sell on the black market the Razor's Edge pulled out Unit C-104, a prototype mech designed for operations in extreme environments or the void of space. Ki'Tlex took an interest in the bot and worked on making it more suited to piracy before daring to turn it on. This took quite a while. The highly aggressive personality matrix had to be reversed so that it would be friendly upon waking up and imprint to whoever synced with it not to mention the killcodes and contingencies that had to be carefully subverted or simply deleted.

The gamble paid off. Named "Queen Anne's Revenge" by a human crewmate, she ended up syncing with the one responsible for waking her up. Adjusting to the body sharing took time but was manageable, Ki chafing as their independence was intruded upon but simply bearing it because the benefits were obvious. Queen Anne was not just strong and smart but magically capable as well thanks to the Kaisoken dust-infused emitter she was equipped with.

It was another decade and a half before the Razor was nearly put out of commission. An ill-advised fight with an Ascendancy vessel saw the loss of more than half the Razor's crew and little in the way of spoils to pick from the wreckage of their enemy. Too damaged to perform jumps the Razor's Edge limped through realspace in search of safe harbor. The surviving member of the Kel'ta couple was mortally wounded and passed their child off to Ki to take care of.

Unable to refuse due to the life debt they owed Ki took Queen Anne and their new charge and left the diminished band. Raising a child they neither wanted nor really cared for was a difficult prospect but one honor demanded they fulfill. Luckily there was no shortage of work for a pirate-tech genius. When there were no computers to repair there was the ships they were installed in, the immeasurable vastness of space wide open for the plundering.

Moonstrike's ideological goals meant nothing but their methods were familiar. The Ascendancy is a rich target and piracy cloaked in self-righteousness is still piracy.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard [Pt. 2 - Open] ~

There was something strange about dealing with Mehetabel, a weird mix of déjà vu and amusement. Watching the woman explode had been like staring into a funhouse mirror, the reflection distorted yet still holding some recognizable qualities. The chip on her shoulder, the aggression bottled up inside, the disdain for authority and the belief that war should be fought in as brutal a fashion as possible, all traits Victoria possessed but was perhaps a bit better at controlling. For example, Vicky wouldn't be flipping her shit just because someone whistled at her.

"Yep. Figured you could use something after that display."

Her smile was a vicious one, baring teeth and making the scar across her face distort.

"You really went in on the sarge, not that anything you said was wrong. Too many jumped-up NCOs hoping to win a commendation around here."

Alex and Jean were pretty much the same damn person as far as she could tell, the same hand-wringing little bastard unwilling to actually get a little dirty while fighting a war. Just like the corporal had frozen up and gotten Thomas killed so would the sergeant make some sacrifices in his quest for honorable glory or some other rubbish. And that made Mehetabel the same as Victoria, a violent punk who knew the way forward was through a sea of mud and blood.

The Oceanic threw up her hands in mock appeasement, grinding a bit of dirt beneath her boot heel as she glanced back towards the pub. "Nah, I'm not really trying to go back in their until he comes looking. All that moralizing makes me sick." It hardly seemed like the sort of environment fit for a battlefield looter. "You seemed like better company."

'Better' was a strong word. More fitting company certainly but there was very little actually 'better' about either of the pair.


Alex was a Darscen, a Vinland Darscen specifically and damn proud of it too, but his people's practices and philosophies had never really been a source of light for him. He had an interest in all the tales and customs obviously and wore the pattern with pride yet never turned to his heritage when he needed guidance. Yet now he was wishing he had turned out to be more of a spiritual man because having some sort of higher power guiding him would be very useful. The other Alex had somehow survived getting cut down by Imperial machine guns and walked back into his life years later with a lower rank and a new name, seemingly just as surprised to see Schäfer as the other way around.

Valkur sensed his master's discomfort and moved forward to expect the stranger only to find his path blocked. Alex grabbed the dog by the face and pushed backwards, a maneuver that would cost anyone else their hand but with him was simply taken as an order to be followed without question. The hulking brute of a mastiff settled his bulk on the floor with all the weighty lumbering of an ox, leaving the two men alone to figure out what the hell was going on. Still reeling in shock Alex reached out for any sort of mental handrailing, scrambling to keep himself upright. Imperial. He'd switch to Imperial, force his brain to refocus.

"You went down, so did most of the others. I rallied the survivors and we rode away in retreat. The cavalry charge died that day so they reassigned me and here I am."

Easy. Simple, clean-cut and devoid of any mystery. Alex's circumstances could not have been more straightforward. Alexndre's on the other hand, his was a mystery. Now he would have to explain his side of the story.

"Quite the demotion you've been hit with. Care to explain how a son of Roland-Florence ends up as a mere soldier of the line?"

His tone was perhaps overly flippant but it was what Alex needed in the moment. Put up a barricade until everything made sense, keep some distance so that he could grapple with the fact that the boy-lieutenant he had mourned was a living, breathing grown man.

@Nimbus @AdmrlStalfos19

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Approval given on Discord; moved to Characters tab

Ki'Tlex and their "Family"

Name: Ki'Tlex, Queen Anne's Revenge and Kottle.

Age: Ki'Tlex is 4,647 years old going by the standard calendar, Queen Anne is a comparatively juvenile 16 while Kottle is an infant at 14.

Physical Description:
Ki'Tlex and Kottle are fairly standard examples of their species. Ki stands at seven feet and six inches and has the lean, muscular build common to their kind. They have a total of six limbs although their second pair of arms tends to remain folded behind their back and thus hard to notice under loose robes they wear. While Ki's skin is naturally a pale red they decorate their face with triangles of yellow powder.

Kottle's skin is a dusty gray in tone, the dull color accented by the same yellow triangles their adoptive guardian wears. As opposed to the light desert clothing Ki wears Kottle is usually swaddled tightly in fabric and carried in a basket on their guardian's back.

Queen Anne's Revenge is the odd one out in their 'family'. Her chassis resembles a massive human warrior in armor, coming in at exactly twelve feet tall with optical sensors designed to glow red for intimidation purposes. Parts of her body have been constructed of perfect electrum to allow for spell casting but most of her is simply hardened alloys designed to withstands extreme temperatures, the void of space and of course extended combat.

Much of her torso is hollow so that Ki and even Kottle if necessary can sit inside, protecting them from harm or allowing the whole group to spend time outside the safety of a ship provided there is an oxygen supply handy.
-------------------------

Important items:

Gear

Binoculars: Up to x75 zoom and the ability to switch between standard, night and thermal vision. Ki'Tlex uses them to scout locations and mark targets for Queen Anne to take out with a shotgun blast.
Cutter: A plasma cutter for slicing into ships, cells, vaults and anywhere else that holds valuables. Small enough for Ki to manage it on her own while Queen Anne can operate it with a single hand.
Custom Omni-Tool: Lots of parts stripped from stolen decks and formed into a compact but powerful device. Used for reprogramming systems as well as mundane communication and surfing.
Void Suit: Allows Ki'Tlex to be outside the ship without having to hunker down inside Queen Anne. Usually used for making repairs.
Tools: Everything one could need for getting pieces of tech to work. From wrenches to wire strippers to power regulators, all store neatly in a big metal box.
Credits: 102,456 of them.

Weapons:

Ki'Tlex

Avalon C9 Plasma Pistols: Four of them, one for each hand. Fires agitated energy blasts that clock in at temperatures higher than most stars.
"The Long Walk": A coilgun that Ki pulled out of Kel sands and fixed up. Capable of killing from a mile out when the conditions are right, assuming the shooter is capable.
Kel'ta Axes: The monomolecular edged hand ax plays an important role in the Kel'ta culture. Used for chopping firewood, preparing game, finding purchase while climbing and of course self-defense.

Queen Anne

S12 "Super" Shotgun: The standard S11 shotgun upscaled from twelve gauge to two, constructed from spaceship grade materials and oversized to be wielded by a twelve foot tall mech. While perfectly capable of firing "standard" half-pound shells of slug or buckshot it was designed with specialty ammunition in mind. Incendiary and plasma shells can clear hallways with ease while explosive rounds turn the S12 into an effective mortar.

"Legbiter" pattern Bayonet: A three foot vibrosword strapped to the end of a giant shotgun.

Kottle

Being Adorable: It's a baby.

Spell List:

Spells

-Close Circuit (Mind Magic): Queen Anne locks down her and Ki'Tlex's minds so that they form a perfect mental loop. The strengthened bond then boosts her reflexes to an even higher point. The downsides of this spell are that it can only be cast when the pair is in close proximity to one another and that Ki's body becomes entirely unresponsive as her brain is dedicated to serving as additional processing power for Queen Anne. This spell has a disorientating effect on the organic component and extended periods of use can cause intense dizziness and nausea upon waking up

-Error Code (Mind Magic): Queen Anne focuses on a target and blasts their mental defenses with a stream of information. Hitting the victims brain with condensed junk data can cause them to suffer vertigo, burst blood vessels or even suffer a stroke if they are particularly susceptible.

-Firewall (Mind Magic): A two-stage spell that lays dormant. Upon an attempted intrusion through Mind Magic or mundane hacking Queen Anne automatically locks all information behind advanced infohazards. Attempting to push through these locks the intruder into a sustained version of the Error Code spell. The second stage simply identifies the source of the intrusion so that it can be dealt with. Due to the nature of their mental link this spell activated when Ki'Tlex is targeted as well.

-Hover (World Magic): Grants the robot the ability to move in three dimensions irrespective of its weight. Extremely useful when operating in the void.

-Magnetize (World Magic): Not technically an accurate name. Queen Anne simply forms an adhesive contact between a portion of her body (usually her boots) and a surface that can hold her weight (such as a space vessel). This allows her to focus on a task without having to watch her footing.

Ward (High Magic): Queen Anne wards herself from danger, forming a shield that deflects spells and attacks. This is a limited use ability in that using it takes a toll on her. The more damage the shield soaks up the more energy is drained from her system. Overuse can see Anne automatically shut down until some time is given for her to recharge.

Character Traits:

Ki'Tlex

-Longview: Ki is an avid student of history. Their knowledge of galactic affairs and the long life they've lived means that they tend to see most struggles as not being particularly important in the long run. After all, why bother toppling one empire when another will simply take its place and inevitably commit the same sins? This can come off as pessimism but is actually dry amusement at the tendency of shorter lived species to work themselves up over nothing.
-Raider: Sure they have a rifle but Ki is a equipped with claws that were designed to dig into stone, natural speed and endurance for running down prey and four limbs that can bend metal bars. Close-quarters combat is their forte, mixing natural abilities with millennia of experience with their axes, pistols and bare hands.
-Mechanically Minded: If it was working once they can probably make it work again. Ki is a talented mechanic and programmer, repairing and refitting equipment ranging from coffee makers to battle-ready mechs and starships.
-Scavenger: There is nothing wrong with eating the dead of other intelligent species in their eyes. Ki is carnivorous and meat can be hard to come by in space.
Linked: Shared with Queen Anne. The synchronization of their minds allows Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne to see and hear from each other's perspectives and communicate with each other telepathically. This also means that they share bodies. If both parties consent they can trade off who controls the machine and who pilots the living organism.

Queen Anne's Revenge

-Childlike Wonder: A side effect of the modifications to her AI after being stolen by the crew of the Razor's Edge. Queen Anne just wants to explore the universe around her and ask the many different squishy fleshlings all sorts of questions! Sometimes she has to shoot, smash or stab them instead but that's just life.
-Devoted: The bond she has with Ki makes Queen Anne a dedicated protector. She loves her pilot even if they're a little taciturn and does what they tell her without fail.
-Advanced Intelligence: Capable of processing information in an instant and reacting to situations faster than humans can.
Linked: Shared with Ki'Tlex. The synchronization of their minds allows Ki'Tlex and Queen Anne to see and hear from each other's perspectives and communicate with each other telepathically. This also means that they share bodies. If both parties consent they can trade off who controls the machine and who pilots the living organism.

Kottle

-Helpless: Kottle is totally dependent on their guardian for everything. Washing up, keeping warm and moving from one place to another with any semblance of speed is all facilitated by Ki. Even the food Kottle eats is thrown up from Ki's stomach.
-Screamer: Hungry? Scream. Tired? Scream. Just want to let people know that you're still alive? Scream. Kel'ta infants communicate in only one way and it can become very annoying very quickly.

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Short Bio: Ki'Tlex does not speak about their previous lives. They happened, there had great triumphs and devastating losses, but they are no longer relevant in any way. Their current existence began roughly three hundred years ago, before the Galactic Bazaar was even conceived of. A livelihood based on scavenging from the ruins of the Forebears and making what they found functional again. Vehicles, weapons, mechanical curiosities and medical equipment, anything that could be traded for luxuries or access to one of the all important oases, all of it passed through their hands at one point or another.

As one of the minority of Kel'ta who lived alone Ki was always at risk. Plenty of predators lived in the dunes or high up on the crags from the standard bandit to the ferocious Sand Stalker. Any wasteland wanderer had to become adept at avoiding threats but eventually the inevitable happened. Ki was ambushed in their camp by raiders looking for easy wealth. The defenses they had set up were enough to drive the enemy off but by the end of the engagement Ki'Tlex had been badly injured. Far from any of the clans and without adequate medicine Ki'Tlex accepted the fact that they would be permanently dead in a few days time and resolved to pass on peacefully.

But it was not to be. On the third day delirium had begun to set in, the betrayal by their senses causing Ki to believe that the craft they saw landing in the distance to be merely a hallucination. Instead it was a damaged pirate vessel called the Razor's Edge whose crew needed a place to rest and repair. A Kel'ta couple was among the outlaws and had suggested their planet of origin as a safe place to recuperate. It was they who rescued Ki and pressed them into service.

Their mechanical skill was put to work immediately, the damaged engines hammered back into functionality. Having proved useful they were simply made part of the crew. When not struggling to keep the miserable rust bucket flying they took part in raids, their natural speed a valuable assets in boarding actions. They took to the butcher and bolt tactics used by pirates well, sprinting down tight hallways while laying down fire with whatever weapons she could get her four hands on.

The decades passed and the crew took on new members to replace those that died or retired. The couple was friendly enough that Ki spent much of her free time with them, enjoying the chance to communicate in their native. All the while the Razor made a mess in the void of space, attacking anyone that had anything of value. Pirates came and went and eventually a child was born which brought the number of Kel'ta up to four and the crew kept on the move.

It was during a raid on an Ascendancy armory ship that Ki met Queen Anne. Instead of a few rifles to sell on the black market the Razor's Edge pulled out Unit C-104, a prototype mech designed for operations in extreme environments or the void of space. Ki'Tlex took an interest in the bot and worked on making it more suited to piracy before daring to turn it on. This took quite a while. The highly aggressive personality matrix had to be reversed so that it would be friendly upon waking up and imprint to whoever synced with it not to mention the killcodes and contingencies that had to be carefully subverted or simply deleted.

The gamble paid off. Named "Queen Anne's Revenge" by a human crewmate she ended up syncing with the one responsible for waking her up. Adjusting to the body sharing took time but was manageable, Ki chafing as their independence was intruded upon but simply bearing it because the benefits were obvious. Queen Anne was not just strong and smart but magically capable as well thanks to the Kaisoken dust-infused emitter she was equipped with.

It was another decade and a half before the Razor was nearly put out of commission. An ill-advised fight with an Ascendancy vessel saw the loss of more than half the Razor's crew and little in the way of spoils to pick from the wreckage of their enemy. Too damaged to perform jumps the Razor's Edge limped through realspace in search of safe harbor. The surviving member of the Kel'ta couple was mortally wounded and passed their child off to Ki to take care of.

Unable to refuse due to the life debt they owed Ki took Queen Anne and their new charge and left the diminished band. Raising a child they neither wanted nor really cared for was a difficult prospect but one honor demanded they fulfill. Luckily there was no shortage of work for a pirate-tech genius. When there were no computers to repair there was the ships they were installed in, the immeasurable vastness of space wide open for the plundering.

Moonstrike's ideological goals meant nothing but their methods were familiar. The Ascendancy is a rich target and piracy cloaked in self-righteousness is still piracy.

Extracriminal

A mysterious voice who served as mission giver and benefactor, a trip out to New York, New York and then catching a ride to a dingy paint shop based on instructions from a tape recorder. The scenario Grace had found herself in was one out of every spy thriller and heist film she had ever seen. Which wasn't a bad thing, tropes were tropes for reason. All the cloak and dagger skullduggery shit was a welcome change of pace from staring at walls in some dirt cheap apartment.

All those millions she had did nothing but make her nervous, a pile of cash too dirty to spend in any sizable amount without attracting the attention of every Fed in LA looking for a big bust. She had tried to play it smart, keep everything on the down low and live off the fat stacks but couldn't take the waiting. The Senior was one of two things: an overelaborate sting operation or a chance to get back in the game and do what she did best. Either way Grace wouldn't be putting up with the silence.

Stepping inside the color splattered premises of Cheng's Paint was like a blast to the past. Her first few years as an armed robber had been spent taking orders just like she was now, meeting in the back of Family owned premises where she would be told to jump and ask how high. Then just as now there were middle managers who got paid very well to simply shut up, people with bills to pay or fingers to keep attached. And just like she did those ones Grace ignored Cheng, heading straight back then down into the basement.

Slip in through the freezer, skirt around boxes of paint and slap a few numbers into a very old school keypad and then press her hand onto a scanner that somehow had her metrics. That last bit was a little unnerving admittedly but it was far too late to back out now. The door was opening on a new reality, one chock full of sci fi computer geek tech stuff and the crew she'd be working with.

"Well we all showed up, means we're all fucked.

Who were these people? Grace didn't know and didn't care. Presumably they all brought something to the table just like she brought explosives expertise and a history of military-grade violence. She didn't need their life stories, their hopes and fears or any other band of brothers bull. All she needed was a name to call them.

"I'm Johnny." Her bags hit the ground with a thud, a cigarette pinched between her lips as she lit up. "Any sign of the man behind the curtain?"

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Species App

Name: Kel'ta

Status to Humans: The Kel'ta tend to see humans as painfully attached to bloated systems of governments and causes so large that they are far removed from any actual individual impact. This is exacerbated the massive difference in lifespans. Outside of that it is impossible to determine a generalized outlook from so individualistic a species.

Life expectancy: In terms of biology they are functionally immortal as far as anyone can tell but they tend to 'socially' die every two or three hundred years. Generally by the time they've reached five or six thousand years they simply lose interest in living and drop dead.


Genders: Gender is a concept foreign to the Kel' ta.

Full Description:

Physiology
The Kel'ta are a carnivorous humanoid species. Their skin tends to range in color from red to yellow to orange but it is common for them to stain some or all of it in a different hue. Both males and females of the species bear horns and have six limbs: one pair of legs and two pairs of arms, a set of which usually remain folded behind the back and hidden by clothing when not in use. The Kel'ta tend to stand taller than other species with the average height being 7'4" in the Imperial system. A hardy species built for climbing the crags of their homeworld the Kel'ta are capable of feats of strength such as bending metal or crushing rocks in their bare hands.
^{Artist: Phobs}

Culture
Kel'ta culture is highly individualistic in nature, to the point where the rarely used 'we' is usually replaced in conversation with "Myself and them". The Kel'ta put a premium on the ability to go anywhere and do anything. To ensure that this remains possible even after decades of being slowly tied down by habit and bonds with others they practice a tradition known as the Social Death. After a certain amount of time spent living one life (usually three centuries or there about) a Kel'ta will abruptly drop everything and move. Sometimes they say goodbye to acquaintances and sometimes they don't but every Social Death results in the Kel'ta forming a new personality with corresponding likes, dislikes and attitudes while also changing their physical appearance. The physical change can range from simply styling their hair in a new way and adopting a different form of dress to extensive body modification so that there is no trace of the previous version.

There is no word for country in the Kel'ta language, neither is there any for nation, kingdom, empire or state. They lack a unified religion or code of law, rejecting anything that would bind them into one political entity. The closest they get to any sort of overarching structure is their tradition of so-called 'false families.' When not traveling alone the Kel'ta move in groups as small as two and as large as a few hundred, forming temporary clans with a shifting membership. At first they're obviously part of the one they're born into but what often what happens is that a Kel'ta will eventually undergo a social death and leave their current clan wordlessly and wander until they find another to be a part of a for a couple hundred years. This constant shifting of population means that clan feuds, while still existent, wont't last thousands of years.

Since the advent of interstellar travel Kel'ta have been leaving their homeworld to live out new lives among the stars, joining with one of the spacefaring clans or simply setting out on their own. In either case they tend to pick itinerant professions. Mercenary, scout, smuggler, merchant, pirate and performer are all fairly popular trades for roaming Kel'ta. Despite what is often assumed by those with little knowledge of the culture Kel'ta are perfectly capable of working in groups and taking orders from superiors. However they rarely if ever see themselves as being a part of the gang or company that has brought them onboard, preferring to be referred to as auxiliaries.

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Type of society: Clan-based, loosely structured. The Kel'ta do not use money among themselves, trading only in goods and services.

Technological advancement: The planet Kel is a graveyard of some ancient civilization, ruined ships and war machines buried in the sand and imbedded in stone crags. Whether the Kel'ta are descendants of this lost society or entirely unrelated matters little to them when there is valuable tech to be harvested. Due to their nomadic lifestyles homeworld based Kel'ta lack mass production or mass industry but make up for it in mechanical artistry. They refurbish, replicate, repair and retrofit gear dug up from the dead civilization and adapt it to suit their own needs alongside the same ancient methods they've been using for millennia. It isn't uncommon for hunters to use scent-dogs to track large game which they then bring down with plasma weaponry while cybernetically augmented warriors make use of personal railguns and knives carved from the ribs of some creature.

Whether it's a sled pulled by beasts or burden or electrically powered scout bike Kel'ta creations are of high quality.
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Miscellaneous: The Kel'ta are biologically immortal due to their rapid production of the enzyme telomerase. This protects their DNA from denigrating over time which in turn allows the regeneration of cells to continue infinitely. While it's impossible for one to die of old age disease and severe trauma will still kill a Kel'ta as they would any other species.

Didn't fill out part of the system app because it would have been redundant with the species app. If needed I can edit and restate the information.

Planet App

Planet Name: Kel

World Type: Consisting mostly of barren deserts and arid crags with scattered seas breaking up the landmass.

Classification: Class R

Moon: Kel lacks a moon.

The Civilized Populace: The only known people currently living on the planet are the Kel'ta. While there was at one point another population very little is known about them. They were likely a very localized power who had little if any contact with civilizations outside their system and their relation to the Kel'ta, if any existed, is unknown. As such the Kel'ta just refer to them as the Forebears.

Population: Roughly 1 billion Kel'ta live on the planet in loose clans.

Tourism: The only 'tourists' that visit are outlaws looking to hide from the authorities and the occasional archeologist or anthropologist looking to study the Kel'ta and the Forebears. The Kel'ta treat both of these groups as oddities to be met with then ignored.

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System Name: Terval
Star Class: F2 class sun
Planetary Bodies: Counting Kel there are four planets in the system. In theory all of them could be terraformed for large scale colonization but the benefits of doing so would be few. Pockets of natural resources can be found but not enough to warrant the effort.
Location: 42307 lightyears.

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Landmasses: The planet is roughly 80% dry land. There are no broken off landmasses as seen on other planets in the form of continents, simply vast tracts of empty desert and long mountain ranges of red rock. The monotony of the terrain is broken up by the appearance of wrecked space vessels and cities left abandoned by the Forebears, glistening spires of glass and metal containing the leftovers from a long disappeared society.

Waters: While it lacks anything large enough to be called an ocean Kel does support life through the thousands of major oases that dot its surface. Fed from deep wells of groundwater these serve as landmarks for the traveling clans. The larger ones can have rivers leading to or from them.

Notorious Monsters/Creatures: The ultimate monster on Kel is the Tlex'it, known as the Sand Stalker by superstitious children. A quadrupedal lizard standing at nine feet tall and weighing easily six or seven tons equipped with razor sharp teeth and claws that can tear through metal. The Tlex'it is capable of taking down almost anything through brute force by prefers to stalk its prey. An intelligent creature, it'll often wear down its victims in hit and run attacks until the unfortunate animal collapses from exhaustion and is thus helpless.

The Kel'ta make use of explosives and coilguns when hunting them, anything else would be asking for a quick disembowelment.

Extracriminal

Johnny-on-the-Spot

Johnny
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Name:
Grace MacDonald

Nickname:
Johnny Spot, The Right On Time Bandit

Age:
36

Nationality:
Canadian

Appearance:
Standing just above average height at 5'9" Johnny usually does her best to look like a totally boring, normal person who doesn't have decades of experience fighting terrorists and robbing banks. When not working she sticks to t-shirts, jeans and jackets that hide her toned frame. Her work uniform is generally a two-piece suit and tie.

Personality:
Johnny is outwardly laidback and almost carefree, keeping her cool in the roughest of situations. Her generally calm demeanor is in sharp contrast with adrenaline junkie tendencies. While her military career smoothed out some of her rougher edges Johnny is still driven mostly by excitement, seeing her 'job' as a way to thrill seek. Heisting for her is like a sport, she just happens to be a world-class player.

This outlook is really only a method of coping with her reality. Grace gave up everything to support her family only for her mother to die and is now sitting on a pile of cash she can't really spend. Unable to risk returning to the military and essentially self-ostracized from wider society all she has left is perfecting her game.

Bio:
Grace was always lucky growing up. It was never anything life-changing, no bundles of money falling into her lap nor any reveals that she was actually descended from royalty, but enough that it was unmistakable. She never scored below a B on any multiple choice test despite her aversion to studying and filled her closet with prizes from raffles. More seriously, incidents involving homemade cricket bombs, small fires and an encounter with a rabid dog that could have very easily been deadly left her with only relatively minor wounds.

This good fortune was a double-edged sword, protecting Grace from dangers that she caused herself. Her childish belief that she was invincible pushed her into a life of thrill-seeking. This culminated in her making the impulsive decision to skip college to join the Canadian Army to the chagrin of her upper middle class parents with their hopes for a doctor-daughter. Military life took some getting used to but she managed to get herself in order and avoided any punishment more severe than a reprimand. Once she got settled into a regimented lifestyle she took very well to basic training, the fact that she was getting payed to play with guns a major boost to her mood.

After passing basic training Grace joined the Combat Engineer program, learning how to build field defenses and rig explosive charges before getting sent overseas as part of Canada's commitment to the war in Afghanistan. Grace loved the work, getting to blast down the walls of suspected terrorist compounds and getting in gunfights with distant enemies that were resolved by the summoning of artillery support. It was all very exciting for someone like her, even the work out of the line of fire. Grace's work involved the installation of infrastructure for local populations as well as the disarming of IEDs, the sort of undeniably good work that would make a person hold their head a little higher.

The military was clearly the right choice for Grace. She stuck around for six years before applying to the elite Joint Task Force 2. Once accepted she planned on not leaving until forced out by either retirement age or hostile fire. Grace managed to take part in a number of actions before she had to change her plans.

While she had been aware of her father's gambling problem she hadn't realized the extent of it. The elder MacDonald could never end a night on a winning streak, choosing instead to throw money down the drain. Once the family bank account ran dry he turned to the kind of shady figures with plenty of money to loan out and no interest in questioning what it would be used for. Dealing with loan sharks connected to the Bernunzo crime family got him out of a hole but promptly shoved him down a much deeper one, the debts owed much too large to be paid off legitimately.

Grace was disgusted by her father's inability to control himself but felt obligated to do something if only for her mother's sake. So she gave up her career and headed back home to put her military training to use as an armed robber. She worked with the same mob associates who she was collecting the money for, the sharks happy to make use of a gunman with high level military training. Under their guidance Grace hit cash trucks, banks, jewelry stores, collecting enough to cover her father's debts for the month and little else. Her precision is what earned her the moniker of Johnny-on-the-spot, or just Johnny Spot.

After two years of this her mother died of a stress-induced heart attack, making all of Emily's efforts for naught. With the one remaining tie severed she abandoned her father to his fate and left home again. With her military career disrupted and her outlook forever soured she kept robbing, traveling across Canada and down into the United States. She made a name for herself in the underworld, taking up residence in Los Angeles where she continued to live up to her nickname. The FBI dubbed her the Right On Time Bandit as it was obvious that she went into each job with a plan in mind and paid close attention to her timings.

By the age of 36 Grace was sitting on millions of dollars in cash, enough that she could retire quite comfortably save for one thing: she had no way to launder it. Without any business capable of washing her dirty money Grace paid cash for a cheap apartment in Venice Beach and holed up, spending her time wandering the boardwalk and discretely leaving stacks of her ill-gotten gains for others to find. After more than decade of action she was stuck wasting away in silent boredom.

Until the Senior did what law enforcement could not and found her, bringing a job offer with him.

Skillset:
-Tier One: JTF2 is a truly elite unit which means that Grace is a truly elite operative. Trained in reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, how to rappel down buildings and fast-rope from helicopters Johnny is also extremely handy in a fight whether in close-quarters or at long range. The time she spent storming urban hideouts and dealing with hostage situations has given her a good idea of how the enemy thinks now that she's on the other side of the line.
-Demolitions: Her specialty during her time in the army. Grace possesses the technical know-how required to safely operate and disarm explosives of all times, making her very useful when extra oomph is needed on a job.
-Strong Back: Built up from a lifetime of hauling around guns, gear and good old-fashioned greenbacks. If something needs to be moved, be it a safe or a struggling hostage, she can probably move it.
-Languages: Knows a few of them. English and French from growing up in Montreal, Dari and enough Pashto to get by thanks to her service in Afghanistan and a competent if stilted grasp of Spanish from living in Los Angeles.
-The Thinker: What got Johnny her nickname. When planning a job she takes in every detail and scrap of intel she can before piecing together a cohesive battleplan with a number of fallbacks.

Phenomena:
When skill and practice aren't quite enough for Johnny to push through opposition luck comes into play. Fortune tends to smile on her, sprinkling advantages here and there. Sometimes it's as simple as finding a few coins in the car console to pay off an unexpected parking fee, others it might be an enemy with a clear line at her back inexplicably missing.

Personal Equipment:
-Guns: Johnny's picked up a number of them during her criminal career but usually sticks with the C8 carbine and Browning Hi Power. In cases where more is needed she can pull out the Ultimax 100 from storage.
-Armor: Plate carrier with level IV plates loaded. In cases where she really expects things to go wrong Grace can wear a combat helmet which has the added benefit of mounting night vision gear.
-Explosives: All sorts of demolitions equipment sourced from the black market. Blasting caps, plastic explosives, detcord, and thermite galore.
-Miscellaneous Gear: Gerber Mark II fighting knife, Breitling Chronospace watch