VitoftheVoid

(Dead) The Gifted World

As soon as she heard the unmistakable sound of a cocking firearm, Kora's weight swiftly shifted onto her back foot, her trained reflexes compelling her back more than any conscious thought. She sprang back as the man flung himself forward, and then, feet skidding in the dust, dived behind the doorframe moments before bullets splintered off the wood. The shots might've missed her head had she stayed. But that was a big might.

The knight pressed her back against the wall of the building, and lifted her hands up. The metal plating of the adapted gloves flared red as heat started to manifest around them. The air rippled and blurred.

"I just want you to keep in mind:" Kora called back through the entrance, still stood parallel to the frame in order to avoid the hidden gunner.

"That you instigated the fight here.
We could have handled this in a civilized way.
I want you to be completely aware of that when everything that's about to happen, happens."

She sprang across the doorway, trailing one hand across the threshold of the wooden door and by the time she'd cleared it a fire had spread all across the dusty wood, blocking the entrance.

She didn't imagine metal guy was going to be too worried about it, but whoever was shooting at her in there was. With any luck she could split them up and deal with them one at a time. Trying to take out the big guy whilst under fire was not a great idea.

She'd learned the hard way about the kind of setup.

(Dead) The Gifted World

@Framing A Moose Sure, if you want to join in on it. When do you think you'll have a post?

(Dead) The Gifted World

Knight Norrevinter was down the bottom of the hill when the noise caught her attention. Glass, pipes, the noise of feet. It was pretty hard to miss. She advanced towards it briskly, but fairly quietly. Beneath the modified gloves she was wearing, the woman's fingers flexed experimentally and modified cells on her palms began to glow with a low heat.

Whay she was hearing could be anything. From a stray raccoon to twenty slavers looking for new merchandise. It paid to be ready.

As she peered round the doorway to see, Kora was almost disappointed to catch sight of one of her shopping list struggling to fill up a water bottle.

"Not really making this hard for me. Bit a of a let down." the woman muttered under her breath, only to prompt a retort from ORIN.

"Just get on with it."

From there the knight stepped in at her full height and shouted through the gap.

"Stop right there and get your hands where I can see them. You are wanted by the authority of the kingdom of Erubesco for the crimes of desertion, sabotage and military espionage and are ordered to return for trial."

With the formal declaration out of the way, Kora smirked.

"Don't put up a fight and I won't have any reason to punch somebody. Any questions?"

(Dead) The Gifted World

"What a dump. Who would trade the citadel for this trash heap?"

"This may come as a great surprise to you, Knight, but often wanted fugitives are limited in their choices."

"You can cut the attitude HAL 9000. I'm out here aren't I?"

"Reassuring to know you are at least doing the bare minimum that your job requires you."

"Tough to get much else done when you're done when you're bitching in my ear."

A figure stepped up onto the brow of the hill that overlooked the ruined settlement, and anyone with a bit of sense would take one look at the chess piece insignia embroidered onto her chest and realise that they had a problem.

You didn't tend to see a knight of Erubesco walking around in the wastes unless someone was in a lot of trouble.

And someone, or rather two people, definitely were.

Knight Kora Norrevinter had been awoken a few hours before first light by a deployment notice that she was going to be playing fetch. A researcher and one of her subjects had taken off somewhere into the wasteland. Rumour was they were planning to sell state secrets to Liberty. Or ashland factions. Or something.

They were bad guys, that was the long and the short of it, and she was to return them to the citadel. In how many pieces they returned was mostly down to them.

--

Many miles away, in a control room somewhere in the depth of the citadel, ORIN sat across a high-backed office chair, her legs hooked over the arm and a cup of coffee resting in her gloves hands. Several cables trailed up from her shoulders up to gaps in the room's ceiling, leading into the citadel's grid.

Whilst she was a long way removed from the female knight out in the wastes, ORIN saw exactly what was going on. She also saw the names and faces of the fugitives that command had sent a retrieval order for. Orion Lazos and Leila Ingram.

Ingram.

ORIN would be lying if she said that she didn't take some satisfaction from this particular.

"Proceed into the ruins, Knight. Sweep and identify."

(Dead) The Gifted World

Full Name: Known by anyone around base simply as 'Commander Green' or just 'Green'.

Nicknames/Aliases:

Age: [NO DATA]

Gender: Male

Gift:

-Manipulation of Biological Matter

Loyalty: Erubesco, Knight Commander in Charge of Medical Research, Pathology and Specimen Acquisition.

Description: Green resembles a tall, slender male of indeterminate age. His skin is smooth and pale, and lacks the lines of age, but his hair is a shocking silvery-white. Possibly most notable are his eyes, which appear a near dayglo green, with slitted pupils and black sclera.
He tends to dress neatly, and is rarely seen without a pair of black gloves on.

Personality: Green is, on the surface at any rate, a very personable individual. He is always polite, amicable, and never loses his temper, even in rather tense situations. Indeed it is a degree of cool and detached that some people might find a little disconcerting. He has shown to be extremely intelligent, and appears to have a great knowledge of gift biology, though where he acquired such knowledge is less than clear.

Skills:

-Green's ability allows him to have a great degree of influence over the biology of samples. This allows him to work on a lot of very novel projects.

-In addition to this Green has proven himself to be extremely organized and competent within his work, and as a result is generally allowed to get on with his work with minimal micro-management from the upper orders. Green is more often than not trusted to deliver on his work, and has historically proven this justified, creating a number of massive medical reforms.

Weaknesses:

-Green's ability comes with a considerable caveat, that he cannot use it to attack another living thing. Anything detrimental applied must be balanced out by an equivalent advantage, and even this must be something that the subject has agreed to.

Brief History: Green has been a member of Erubesco for more or less as long as anyone can remember. Extremely competent, but relatively unambitious, he has continued to diligently serve the Erubesco cause in this research. Many of the faction's biggest medical breakthroughs have come through Green's research, and as a result he has always received a good level of funding.

Several years previously Erubesco approached Green about the prospects of the potential combat usage for his powers, and whether he could impart some version of it upon other subjects, thereby ridding it of the caveat unique to the Commander.

This led first to the OUROBOROS project, which started with 200 subjects, and resulted in most either being killed or warped beyond possible usage. A few of the results were placed in general military circulation, but were mostly eventually 'removed from service' due to the rather volatile nature of the results.

Undeterred, Erubesco came up with another plan, this time, with his own child..

(Dead) The Gifted World

Haha, could see why you might get that idea with the movie about at the moment, though I'm not super familiar with it tbh.
From what I know of it I'd say if anything ORIN is sorta a reversal of that. Her body is mainly biological, mind is mostly computer.

(Dead) The Gifted World

Full Name: Operations Recon and Intelligence Network

Nicknames/Aliases: O.R.I.N

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Gift:

Loyalty: Erubesco

Description: Oren stands at about 5'7, an angular-looking woman with blue-black hair, grey eyes. She has high, noticeable cheekbones and a naturally pale complexion, only enhanced by spending a long time indoors. While not exactly intimidating in stature, she carries herself with an unsettlingly artificial manner, and doesn't seem to blink, something that tends to unnerve people.

Whilst she looks quite human in most respects, there's something really off about ORIN's eyes. They do not look human. Because they aren't. The eyes are entirely synthetic and offer a glimpse into the internal workings. The irises glow white, something that becomes fair more noticeable in the dark, and they have no visible pupil as all the surface under the lens has functional photoactive cells.

Her speech sounds rather synthesized, and isn't especially good at conveying tone.

Possesses some exposed circuitry at the top of her spine.

Personality:

Cold.

‘Friendly’ and ‘helpful’ are not exactly the words you might use to describe ORIN. She is less of an assistant eager to help staff with their problems, and more of a worldweary academic who feels a lot smarter than most of the people she’s around (probably because by design she most likely is).

ORIN is partly designed for direct interaction with staff in order to answer questions, so she doesn’t refuse requests, but she’s not always especially polite or sympathetic regarding the problems of others. She’s perfectly capable of being rude, and has few consequences to worry about for it.

It’s not as if the Citadel can fire her.

ORIN may often come across as emotionally flat, very rarely seeming openly happy or sad about anything (though she can certainly convey irritability from time to time) and it often fools people into assuming that she doesn’t have any personality independent from the system.

This mistake is, of course, quickly resolved when ORIN takes against a person and ‘accidentally’ locks them between two blast doors.


Skills: -Near limitless memory and access to all of the Citadel's database on personnel.

-Extremely intelligent.

-Technological interface mean ORIN is able to accomplish far more in a very short space of time than most people would be able to.

Weaknesses: - ORIN is not permitted to leave the Citadel.

-Her emotional flatness means her ability to talk people into....pretty much anything is pretty limited.


Brief History: ORIN is the result of a project commissioned by weapons development at Erubesco's primary military base, The Citadel, as a means for both powering and defending the HQ from attack.
Taking children and integrating them with the base’s computer system to serve as both the base’s power source, its main data centre, and the controller of many of its functions, the biologicak part of the construct’s mind allowing for the adaptability and flexibility only present within a living thing, and allowing it to actively avoid damage and hazards.

The project produced a number of failed attempts, with many being driven mad by the constant stream of data.

Who ORIN way before she was ORIN is largely unknown, as well as what actually went into the construction of this crime against nature.

What people are a lot more certain of it that she has proved to be quite an asset to Erubesco and its operations.

ORIN can be seen around the HQ fairly frequently, though never leaves it. She hasn’t stepped outside in years, and has little intention of doing so.

Within it however, ORIN has more or less free run, and is provided with most of what she asks for by the top brass. SHe tends to more or less manage herself.

(Dead) The Gifted World

@Dyece Might be easiest to post it in the OOC just to make sure.

(Dead) The Gifted World

@Kidd Kinda post apocalyptic out in the wasteland I believe, with the factions being modern-ish. Some extra technology, but not by a huge degree.

Not to be a backseat GM or anything, I just know Echo and know the plotline well at this point, haha.

(Dead) The Gifted World

Okie, that's Kora up.