Zarkun

Fenixtear - A Fairy Tail RP

Damian Gerard|Outside Crocus

To be fair to Damian, he had never spent quite so much time focusing on simply increasing the amount of the Hercules Blade's elemental control before, but now that he was, as the wind around the blade howled and whipped past him, the implications of the elemental effects of both it and the Ares Blade scared him maybe just a little. Regardless, he started to get a feel for just how powerful this summoned polearm was, but right as he went to unleash the power he'd collected around the blade in an attack he'd just formed in his head, the sound of an explosion echoed in another part of the field, breaking his concentration, which turned out to not be a good thing. Without any real warning, the wind power stored by the Hercules Blade blasted outwards, sending the young mage sailing up and back through the air. "Yikes!" He sailed across the field, past the tree his two furry companions had been lounging under before the wind exercise, and then rolled several dozen meters more before finally coming to a stop. Laying still for a moment, Damian eventually got up with a groan, moving his limbs to make sure nothing was broken.

Jaëger was the first to reach him, the large male sniffing his master with a glint of concern in his eyes before huffing and pushing Damian with his head as Carmilla arrived and did her own sniff check. "Easy guys, I'm fine...mostly. Guess I should learn to maintain control even when I'm not immediately focusing on it too...Now about that explosion..." Picking himself up, Damian looked around for the source until he spotted two mages, whom he presumed were from Fenixtear, sparring with each other. One mage seemed to use a type of water magic while the other was...Is he propelling himself using explosions? Or are the explosions also weapons themselves? Hmmmm... Already his mind was surging with ways to both counter attacks from a magic like that and use that same magic as an effect siege and AOE weapon. Admittedly, thinking that way about his guild mates was hardly the most flattering thing he could do, but often times it was how he processed a magic or encouraged him to have a conversation with the user to get to know them on a more personal level.

A huff from Jaëger that blew against his arm brought him out of such thoughts, however, and he summoned the Hercules Blade as he turned to walk back to where he'd been training before. "I know, I know. I swear, sometimes you're uninvolved and other times its like you're my dad." The walk took a couple of minutes and in that time, the sounds of explosions stopped and quiet fell over the field again. Resuming his stance in the same spot, Damian focused again on gathering the power of the wind and in no time, the hurricane force winds from before had returned. However, where as before Damian simply gathered it to see what happened, he had a purpose this time. "Howling Gale Fang!" Spinning around, Damian pours all the power he'd gathered around the Hercules Blade into a powerful thrust and unintentionally slices through the woods behind him, four trees deep, before the wind power exploded outwards and shredded the trunks and branches of another ten around the point of impact.

Blinking in surprise, Damian looks from the damage to his polearm and back a few times before dismissing the weapon and retrieving the top of his armor and the sleeve shirt that went underneath it. "We'll, uh, pretend we don't know what did that, OK guys?" The two wolves simply flank him as he heads back towards the city, glancing at each other and hoping that he would just stay out of trouble for a little while. Passing the water mage, Damian nods to her as he starts whistling to himself, an old marching toon that he sang in the military that he always enjoyed. Carmilla and Jaëger paused to sniff the young woman, familiarizing themselves with her scent so they could begin to figure out who was in Fenixtear without having to see them right away or their guild mark. Damian, who had kept walking, realized they'd stopped following him and turned around.

"Come on, you two, foods calling! Sorry about that miss, they're just learning their new territory is all."

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

_{Hartford Military Base
New Star, Mars Colony
1113 hrs Local Time}

Damian listened to each person and then proceeded to match the Duelist’s gaze evenly after everyone had finished. He didn’t immediately speak after they’d finished either, instead approaching the holotable and pulling out a modern USB drive. While it would seem that with all the technological advances made, mobile storage would have changed after so many improvements, scientists found that the size of a USB was excellent for easy transport, even decades later.

As he plugged it in and started browsing through the files, he finally spoke, his Irish accent finally coming into full swing. “Well, a pleasure to know all of you better. Now before I give all of you more information about me, let me sum up what I’ve just learned. Private Devries, you joined the UEG military out of either a sense of moral obligation or because you enjoyed the training sims in high school. Likely the latter based on your excellent ability to defeat the Crescent Moon Empire’s emperor so quickly. You, Private Steinboden, likely joined the UEG to find access to metals that you’re not allowed to handle on Earth and see what it was we actually faced in the war. Perhaps also because you like smashing things with your ax.” The video he had been looking for was now queued, but he didn’t play it yet, instead turning to put a flat gaze on Helene.

“And then there’s you, Specialist Helene Weisser, granddaughter of the legendary Psi Op Steven Weisser. Your records called you a prodigy, even at a young age, and the Templar program is keeping an eye on you according to rumors. I can give the other two members of our squad a pass, they don’t have the legacy of a hero to look up to and live up to, but you? You’re here with grandiose ideas of just what this fight will be like, the role you’ll fulfill and where you’ll end up. You’re going to be the one that insists on being the first off the skimmer and the first in the door, throwing some psionic power around with the intent to intimidate and kill as many aliens in one fell swoop as you can.” He shakes his head. “You’re a right idiot. Rancor Squad was formed a few weeks ago, just before we started mobilizing, full of new recruits full of potential and heading off on their first chrysalid hunt to get them some combat experience. Typically these aren’t particularly dangerous and most of both the UEG’s and XCOM’s new bloods cut their teeth on them regularly. But Specialist Ria Blackwell had big dreams and plans concerning her new position as an XCOM prospect. Here’s how that ended for them.”

Hitting play on the holo terminal, the video starts up. From the angle of the camera, it’s clear that this was pulled from someone’s body cam. The video starts out with the usual patrol banter as the squad heads into a tunnel just behind another squad, XCOM patches and a Chimera patch on their backs as they move into the cave. “Chimera squad was to be their leash, their handlers. Get the new blood squad in, and get them out in one piece. Specialist Blackwell was Rancor’s temp NCO until their actual CO recovered and she, unfortunately, had other ideas.” The video had continued playing and as Chimera Squad made a left at a fork, a voice came into the private channel of the soldier’s radio, presumably Specialist Blackwell’s, that ordered them right. In minutes, she’d lead them to a small hatchery, if the grotesque scene before them could be called that as gestating bodies littered the ground. The voice came in again as the group took up positions around the nest on higher ground.

“Alright, we’re going to toss incendiary to rile up the bugs and then deploy the Napalm grenades to deal with the main rush. Clean up should be easy after that. Prep,” the camera shifts around as the person it’s on pulls an incendiary out, “and throw.” There’s the sound of numerous metal things hitting the nest before flames ignite it. There’s an inhuman screeching before chrysalids come out of every faucet that the camera can see, way more than the nest size would indicate. The scene that proceeds to play out is horrifying as the squad of new bloods attempts to fall back towards the tunnel they’d come in at. Plasma shots sear into the darkness, tearing apart the bugs as they surge forwards, but not fast enough and the last person in the group, a youthful looking red head, gets grabbed and pulled back, screaming as she’s ripped apart.

Two more get pulled into unseen side tunnels as they run past, their fates no less grizzly as purple psionic power rips into the tunnels, too late to save anyone. The video cuts as Chimera squads flamethrower armed MEC comes into sight, bounds past the last two survivors and unleashes napalm on the horde behind them. The Corporal pulls the USB and turns back. “Former Specialist Ria Blackwell was the great niece of Colonel James “Rusty” Blackwell, an accomplished assault specialist within XCOM who lead the attack on the underground base that truly turned the tide in the Invasion war. If that name isn’t familiar, Specialist Weisser, then you didn’t pay attention to the men your grandfather served with and under. Because of her Uncle’s stories, she got the idea that she could be the next Colonel Blackwell, especially after she manifested the Psionic powers her great-uncle had lacked. Because of them and his name, she assumed she knew better than Chimera Squad. That nest? That nest has never been cleared because of what happened to Rancor. We called it the Feeding Grounds because while it looks small, there are more chrysalids hiding in it than in the other three major nests on Mars combined.”

He looked over each of the new bloods before continuing. “Blackwell is now serving time in prison, charged with willfully disobeying a superior and getting her three squadmates killed in action unnecessarily. And this was routine and standard for training out here. Now we’re going up against the Ethereals and their armies and I can practically see the delusions of grandeur in your head. For the luck of the Irish, get rid of ‘em before it gets ya killed. I want all of you to be able to tell stories like Stefan Weisser got to.” His grim story delivered and point made, the Irishman lightened up. “As for my hobbies, I build firearms, camp and hunt. I also enjoy the odd bit of gene modding where it’s permitted, making and testing new mods in the simulation programs.”

Unknown to the group, the Captain hadn’t actually gone that far, instead stopping to listen to his Corporal and second in command give his warning and make sure he didn’t go overboard about it. The other survivor of the squad, now Sergeant Ethan Sanders, was still attending therapy after what he saw. The body cam didn’t show it, but Sanders had seen what happened to the squadmate that was pulled into the left tunnel and it had him waking up in screams some nights. His promotion to sergeant had been a reward for surviving his former NCO’s arrogance, but he had yet to be given a new squad due to the PTSD. A chirp in his ear had him rounding the corner, acting like he wasn’t aware of what had happened, but after the others had responded. “Alright everyone, time to get to the skimmer. After that, we’ll need to get comfy.”

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

who says this?
"Sure, we put our lives on the line every mission but most dangerous of all...we risked our humanity to defeat them."
it's in green, but I don't know who's dialogue is in green
@Ithradine

@Lunamaria Hawke

I think the coloration is just do differentiate the line from Helene's normal speech. More of just a general quote if you will.

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

_{Hartford Military Base
New Star, Mars Colony
1110 hrs Local Time}

The captain listened to each question closely, looking at the speaker accordingly and nodding in acknowledgement to each spoken question. “Good batch of questions, for the most part. We leave in ten, our skimmer will take us to the USS Bronzebeard in orbit and we’ll jump to slip space about ten hours after that. There are two other strongholds being attacked simultaneously with our objective, but ours is the closest, so our jump is last. As for the number of tangos, expect numerous, Private Steinboden. This is an enemy stronghold after all, so they won’t slouch on keeping it manned. Private Devries, you’ll be retaking the course on Earth’s interstellar travel when the mission is over, but I have addressed the first question. Your second question’s answer is quite simple, and that’s that there is no particular rhyme or reason. Another squad is Hawk Squad, you’ve got the Vengeful Sharks, a Spec Ops team of mostly Rippers with a couple of Reapers in support. So, no particular reason, just where our lot fell most likely.”

The captain, having given a quick brief of general details and gotten all the new bloods to talk, walked around the table and hit a button on it, bringing the holographic display up on the fortress that they’d be helping to assault. “And since no one asked, I’ll give you guys something more in depth. This is the stronghold Alpha as we’ve labeled it, though intel says the aliens call it Outpost Warden. Regardless, the official plan that the Commander laid out for us is to insert at the top of the stronghold and work our way down to the main hall while also dealing with any defensive emplacements we can.” The gunslinger spoke up at this point.

“But we both know you got a second set of orders from the Commander that weren’t so official, which are?” The captain, chuckling softly, nodded.

“He did and that was that the unofficial plan is to move as we see fit and focus on getting to the enemy leadership and contain or neutralize. Orbital support is being tasked to remove anti-air and anti-infantry emplacements on the outside of the outpost. Seems simple enough right?” Damian nodded and took another bite of his jerky as the image shifted to a layout of the Bronzebeard. “Now, as for our accommodations on the Bronzebeard, XCOM units are considered a branch of special forces, so we’ll have our own armory, barracks and mess hall for our small unit, though it is encouraged that we mix and mingle with the UEG regulars at meal times and during PT.” Snapping his fingers, Captain reached behind him and withdrew three XCOM patches and approached each of the new bloods.

“These are your XCOM patches, signifying that you are members of the unit within the UEG and that if you say your mission is of dire importance, then the regs had better listen to you. However,” the change in the captain’s tone caused the new bloods to jump, “don’t abuse that power. You ever hear of the boy who cried wolf? That’s what’ll happen to your authority.”

Returning to his position at the table, the holographic projection turns off and the Captain starts to walk off. “I’ll be back in five to gather you four for the trip up to the Bronzebeard, but until then, get to know each other. You’ll be working closely for the foreseeable future.” And with that, he and his Gremlin were gone. After a moment of silence, the Irish accent in Damian’s voice won out as he jumped down to converse with his new squad mates.

“Alright then, where’s everyone from? Hobbies, likes, dislikes?”

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

discord.gg/jEmQ59 @Lunamaria Hawke Have a discord link.

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

@Kazemitsu@Ithradine@Lunamaria Hawke discord.gg/vCWQN8

And here's our discord.

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

Ox Squad

Trent Gardner, Advanced Infantry
Drachen Steinboden, Duelist
Marcia Devries, Rifleman
Helene Weisser, Psi Operative
Damian Renser, Gunslinger

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

_{Hartford Military Base
New Star, Mars Colony
1100 hrs Local Time}

Hartford was always busy before, since it was the primary defense point on Mars against another Extraterrestrial incursion of Earth. There were always technicians moving between workstations, fighters patrolling the airspace above the cannon and between the two colonies and soldiers on patrol or out for their daily PT routines and training. There were constant expeditions out into the martian wilderness in search of Chrysalid nests on top of that. It had taken about five years after New Star was established to realize that the Ethereals had allowed the Chrysalids to build nests on the red planet, right after a massive swarm nearly overran the then newly built Harford Base while the defense cannon was under construction. But today, as the newest arrivals from Earth arrived in an APC from the starport on the other side of New Star, there was an air of urgency.

Word had come from high command back on Earth that preparations were being made to launch an attack on an Alien stronghold in the next solar system on a planet that the xenobiologists were calling Arthan-3. The ADVENT Initiative had been identified as the primary guard force there, but shortly before the order to prep for invasion came through, a high value transport was identified arriving at the location and Commander Jervald, the legendary mind that had orchestrated XCOM’s masterful defeat of the Aliens in many early engagements, saw a valuable opportunity to remove an Ethereal from play and establish a foothold in other parts of the Galaxy.

Amongst the new arrivals were three XCOM recruits that showed promise during training, Drachen Steinboden, a Duelist who forewent the typical grace of the fighters for a more brute force approach, but none-the-less had scored high enough in his class to catch the group’s eye. Marcia Devries, a rifleman who did exceptionally well in her medical training, XCOM’s recruiter hoped to make her a combat medic when the time comes. And lastly, though certainly not least, the granddaughter of the legendary psi-op Stefan Weisser, Helene Weisser, who was a powerful Psi-Op herself. The three were quickly separated from the rest of the new arrivals by a large MEC trooper and directed to a separate hangar, where a young man with dual plasmic revolvers sat on a crate chewing on a piece of jerky while an older man with a plasma rifle across his back and a Gremlin floating around him as he reviewed a holographic table with the fortress layout.

However, as the three walked in, the Gremlin beeped and the older man turned to face them, a scar crossing his right eye and a robotic eye glowed green. “Ah, the new blood finally arrived. Take a seat over by your squad mate, who will introduce himself or spend the next week on KP before the operation, and then I’ll get on with the mission briefing.” The young man sighed mid-chew and then finished, swallowing before he gave a lazy wave, the light glinting briefly off his storm-grey eyes.

“Corporal Damian Renser, gunslinger. I round out our squad of five.” The older man nodded as the others took their positions and then spoke again.

“And I’m Captain Trent Gardner, advanced infantry specialist. And I welcome you all to Ox Squad, the newest squad to be formed under XCOM’s direct command alongside the UEG regulars. Now that that’s done, here’s the mission. As you’ve likely heard by now, long range recon has found a stronghold on Arthan-3 in the Utila System that was recently visited by a potential HVT. Normally the Commander would pass it up and look for a better launch point for the invasion, but he recognized the shuttle as one belonging to an Ethereal, which we don’t often see this close to the Sol system after their failed invasion ended thirty years ago. So you’re aware, they want you new bloods to see what the Aliens are actually capable of in person, so while normally you’d be a more reserve role, we’ll be in the Vanguard of the attack and responsible for finding the HVT and eliminating or containing them. As such, we’ll be in this Starskimmer Holy Mackeral, waiting for us in bay 8. Questions, concerns, complaints?”

Damian didn’t speak and instead continued chewing on his jerky while he waited for his new squadmates to speak up.

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

I'll get the opening post finished up and posted here in the next couple of days. Just been busy is all.

XCOM: Humanity's Rise

@Zarkun Here you go! Sorry for the wait.

Helene Weisser (Humanity's Rise)

Basic Info __________________________________________________________ Name: Helene Weisser Age: 25 Birthdate: April 4th, 2045 Sexuality: Straight Nationality: Germany Class: Psi Operative Preferred Adv. Class: Templar

Appearance __________________________________________________________ Eye Color: Amethyst Hair Color: Snow White Weight: 161 lbs / 73 kg Height: 5' 11" / 180.3 cm Complexion: Light, Fair Body Physique: Lean, Muscular Detailed Helene's body is well-toned with lean muscles. Her white hair is always done up in a bun or a pony-tail and never lets it down in public. Every step she takes carries weight and the pride that her heritage affords her and training has afforded her. A fearsome gaze hides the bright, energetic person behind the purple eyes. Extensive training and little time in actual combat has ensured that Helene's body is relatively spotless.

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Social __________________________________________________________ Affliations: Sigmund Weisser- Father and current head of Weisser Armaments. Katrin Weisser- Mother and renowned researcher of xenobiology. Stefan Weisser - Grandfather and Founder of Weisser Armaments. Leon Weisser - Older Brother, Military Service Classified. Alexander Smith - Close Friend from the Academy, stationed on Mars Relationships: Drachen Steinboden TBD Marcia Devries TBD N.A. TBD N.A. TBD

Equipment __________________________________________________________ Plasma Rifle Ion Knife Weisser W45 Pistol (C. 2015) Plasma Grendade Customized Psi-amp Standard-issue Ostryx Body Armor Gene Mods Muscle Fiber Density Bioelectric Skin

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Biography

^{__________________________________________________________}

Helene was born five years after the official end of the Alien's invasion of Earth. Her grandfather, Stefan Weisser, was serving in the German Military when the conflict first started. At the time, he was a potential prospect for Germany's KSK but instead was recruited into XCOM shortly after the devastation of Berlin. Stefan served valiantly and with courage alongside his squad, nicknamed the "Grim Crows". However, Stefan's impact on the war was truly measured when he was one of the first candidates to successful undergo the testing for psionics. While some may call it a gift, Stefan was brought to some of the most brutal and intense fighting of the war in attempt to use his psionics to turn the tide. Helene's father was born on one of XCOM's base in the middle of the war, though due to security concerns he was forced to remain with his mother. The war ended and Stefan Weisser had managed to live through it all, taking over control of the family business after learning his father had passed away.

By the time Helene was born, Stefan had retired placing his son in charge of the business. Weiss Armaments took the brunt of manufacturing Earth's new line of plasma weaponry, using the experience and information from XCOM to produce the weapons on a wider scale. This, of course, afforded the Weiss family a life of luxury that many recovering from the war did not possess. Helene never wanted for anything in her life, though she often found herself enthralled in her grandfather's tales when he would tell them. It didn't matter the distant look he would get sometimes in his eyes, she wanted to be a hero just like him. That was why when Helene starting showing signs for natural psionic ability, she was overjoyed and happier than she had ever been. Her father enrolled her in a special school for other individuals like her. No matter the obstacle Helene fought her way to the top without regard for anyone else. The school was also charged with preparing the students for military service, as the demand for their talents were high. Helene proved to be a fearsome combatant with the image of her grandfather standing atop a pile of dead aliens encouraged her to push herself.

Helene didn't even hesitate going into military service at the end of her education, knowing that she had to do her part to defeat the alien menace once and for all. With top marks and at the top of her class, Helene was admitted into a program exclusive to psionics after completing her basic training. As part of the program, she was outfitted with two genetic modifications throughout her training. Higher density muscles meant she could jump, hit, and run faster than most. Bioelectric skin allowed her to sense when others were present or approaching, even release some of the electricity in short, controlled bursts. After her training was finally completed, she was shipped off to Mars to protect humanity's interests on the red planet. However, it was her first time being part of a squad that didn't possess her abilities. It was clear from over-hearing conversations that some of the regular grunts didn't think too highly of psionic power.

Luckily, her time in the colony of New Star didn't last long as she was transferred into a new unit with a new set of goals. It was time to strike back at the same aliens who had devastated Earth. The same enemies that her grandfather had fought and made him a legend. This time it would be the aliens on the defensive. She was going to uphold the honor of the Weisser name and forge her own legend.

@Ithradine

Looks good. Go ahead and put her into the cs tab.