An updated CS calls for a new post, I think.

[hider=Nora, Not Your Average Nun]
[color=bc8dbf][b]Name:[/b][/color] Eleanor "Nora" Kanno, often called Sister Nora by others in her order.

[color=bc8dbf][b]Age:[/b][/color] 25

[color=bc8dbf][b]Appearance:[/b][/color]

[img]http://i63.tinypic.com/1hw3td.jpg[/img]

[hider=Physical Appearance]

Nora has short black hair, that almost never falls past her shoulders, a fair complexion, and dark almond-shaped eyes, that calmly observe the world around her. Of average height, the young woman has a lithe, athletic build, the product of years of rigorous physical training and a lifetime spent as a shinobi, traveling across the known galaxy and making a name for herself in the shadowy world of black-ops operations.

Years spent as a monk have not softened her, but merely afforded her greater degrees of martial training, and Nora still moves with the grace of a predatory creature, every one of her movements swift, effortless, efficient and silent in the inhuman ways that only a true Koga or Iga shinobi can seem to manage.
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[hider=Manner of Dress]
Dressing in the traditional manner of her order, Nora appears to be no different from any of the other mendicant Buddhist monks that travel across the galaxy. She wears a woven rice-straw hat, a takuhatsugasa, a large hat in the shape of a mushroom that covers the upper half of her face, helping to mask her identity and allowing her to travel without being distracted by the sights around her. She wears a light-brown rakusu, the mark of a teacher, over her black robes and a simple white kimono, tailored in the five-crested mon-tsuki style.

To protect her limbs, more from weather, insects, and underbrush than from weapons, Nora wears cloth leggings [i](Kyahan)[/i] and hand-and-forearm covers [i](Tekou)[/i]. Despite living in the future, Nora favors white tabi, ankle-high socks with a separation between the big toe and other toes, that dates back to 15th Century Japan. Although she keeps her hair short, Nora wears a stylized white headband bearing a Buddhist slogan from her beloved order around her head.

Wrapped around her waist, Nora has a length of rope ending in an elaborate fusa tassel, a talisman, gifted to her by the abbess of her monastery, in the hopes that it would offer Nora protection in her travels.

[hider=Reference][img]http://i67.tinypic.com/2rfbtec.jpg[/img][/hider]

Instead of the swords of a samurai, Nora carries two shakuhachi or bamboo-flutes on her hip. Strapped to her back she has a Gebako, nominally a box for collecting alms and holding documents, but the secret compartment expertly built into her particular container hints at other more covert uses.

She can frequently be found holding a set of handcrafted prayer beads, beautiful crystals shaped into perfect spheres that sparkle with a deep jade light.
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[color=bc8dbf][b]Origin:[/b][/color] [color=f7941d]Koga Incorporated Shinobi[/color]

[color=bc8dbf][b]Former Faction:[/b][/color] [color=f7941d]Koga Incorporated[/color]

[color=bc8dbf][b]Current Faction:[/b][/color] Nora belongs to [color=ed1c24]The True Essence of the Eternal Self[/color], a notable group of Space Buddhists prevalent across the galaxy. Famed for the skilled warrior monks they produce, the order is rumored to be building close ties with a coalition of religious fundamentalists, chiefly peasants, who have begun to fight against samurai rule, calling themselves the "[i]Devoted League[/i]".

[color=bc8dbf][b]Skills:[/b][/color]

[i]Primary:[/i] Kusarigama, Whips, Chains, and other similar exotic weapons

[i]Secondary:[/i] Stealth and Acrobatics

[color=bc8dbf][b]Fighting Style:[/b][/color] 

No samurai bound by honor and constrained by years of rigid training, Nora fights in a highly unorthodox manner, free from the limitations of any formalized system of combat. When asked, Nora describes fighting as merely a very particular, if often deadly, form of dancing and she approaches it accordingly, emphasizing agility and movement over brute strength.

Nora fights in a graceful, flowing manner, dancing in and out of range in sudden waves of motion, delivering crippling strikes and deadly blows from strange, unexpected angles, binding the limbs and weapons of her enemies, deftly retreating when pressed and relying on her lightening quick reflexes to dodge blows that she has no business avoiding. Fond of subterfuge, she utilizes deceptive movements and occasional flourishes to create openings in the defense of her opponents.

[color=bc8dbf][b]Weapons:[/b][/color] 

[i]Monoblade Kusarigama:[/i] Nora wields a spectacular weapon, an advanced and heavily modified chain-sickle kusarigama with an incredibly long reach. Disguised as a simple bamboo-flute, the weapon appears to be nothing more than an instrument, even when closely examined, but contains a a hidden sickle (kama) monoblade and a chain (kusari) with a heavy weight at one end. A fearsome, highly destructive weapon, it is ideal for entangling the limbs or weapon of an opponent so that Nora can attack at a full advantage with the monoblade sickle. Unlike more traditional kusarigama, the chain of Nora's kusarigama is located within the shaft of her weapon and can be launched with great force across an impressive distance and retracted by a complex helix mechanism.

[i]Monofilament Wire:[/i] Tucked within the sleeve of her left arm, Nora keeps a carefully spooled length of monofilament wire. Composed of a small weight and a simple handle, the atomically sharp monofialment extends up to two meters when fully unraveled. An exotic melee weapon, most often used by shinobi, it strikes fear into even the bravest of samurai due to the horrific injuries it inflicts. When wielded by a skilled combatant, the monofilimanet wire can cut through bone and armor like hot butter (ideally without also cutting off the fingers, hands, limbs, or head of the wielder).

[i]Fukiya:[/i] Disinterested in the notion of Space Bushido, Nora carries a blowgun disguised as yet another bamboo-flute. A capable weapon at moderate distances, Nora uses it to covertly launch poison-tipped darts at her foes. Favoring a wide variety of rapid acting neurotoxins, with a mere pinprick from one of her poison-tipped darts Nora can easily slow, weaken, paralyze, render unconscious or even kill a foe.

[color=bc8dbf][b]Modifications:[/b][/color] Courtesy of her former Koga overlords, Nora sports an array of subtle biological modifications that are undetectable by scanners.

[i]Synaptic Booster:[/i] A favorite among the Koga shinobi, with the implantation of a synaptic booster, the neural cells, which make up the spinal cord and other main nerve trunks, are encouraged to replicate and broaden, allowing for more neural bandwidth. Despite a high degree of danger, the end result is a much faster reaction time those lucky enough to survive the procedure.

[i]Muscle Toner:[/i] Pioneered by Tenki-Ikki a mere decade ago, this treatment incorporates vat-grown elastic muscle fibers into existing muscle tissue, increasing muscle tension and flexibility. Users of this augmentation are quicker and more limber than unmodified individuals.

[color=bc8dbf][b]Motivation:[/b][/color]

Nora seeks [b][u]atonement[/u][/b], traveling from system to system, planet to planet, city to city, in order to right wrongs, protect the weak, and to bring about a more enlightened society, a galaxy free from inequality, unnecessary suffering, and the pointless wars of the current corpocratic overlords.

[color=bc8dbf][b]Backstory:[/b][/color]

Once a loyal Koga retainer, Nora was a talented shinobi who spread terror among the ranks of any samurai and ashigaru that stood against her clan or those that had paid for the bloody services of Koga Incorporated. Presumed dead following the botched assassination of a leading Nobunaga-Zaibatsu general, Nora found solace in the ancient teachings of Shin Buddhism, joined a monastic order on Mars, and has spent the last several years as a traveling nun.

[hider=IC History]
"Sister Nora."

[color=bc8dbf]"Abbess Iwasaki,"[/color] Nora offered, bowing deeply as she slowly rose to her feet, her muscles stiff from the unmoving and unyielding rock on which she had perched for the better part of the day, lost in her own thoughts and meditations. [color=bc8dbf]"To what do I owe this unexpected honor?"[/color]

"Relax, child, you needn't be so formal with me."

[color=bc8dbf]"Old habits die hard, Ma'am."[/color]

"Mmm, change is never easy," the old woman agreed with a sympathetic nod, "But sit, sit, let us speak for a moment."

[color=bc8dbf]"As you wish, Abbess,"[/color] Nora conceded, resuming her cross legged pose on the rock. Though, she did not speak often or for very long with the ancient abbess of the monastery, she knew her to be a kind woman. Approaching some eighty five years of age, the old nun was a legendary religious figure, a true believer who had spread Buddhism across most of the known galaxy and a wizened old woman who commanded the attention and respect if not true affection, of powerful [i]daiymo[/i] even in the lengthy twilight of her life. 

"Master Ōta speaks very highly of you, he sees great potential in you," the abbess began taking a seat alarmingly close to Nora.

[color=bc8dbf]"I'm glad to hear it."[/color]

"Still, in all the five years you have been here, we have learned very little about your past, child," the abbess said with a wry smile and a lengthy glance, that sent a familiar pang of emotion and adrenaline racing through the young nun. "You possess training and skills that one rarely finds in the usual commoners and wandering samurai or ronin that seem to find their way to the doorstep of our order."

Drawing a deep breath, Nora scarcely had time to reply before the Abbess interrupted her with a gentle wave of a hand, "Do not worry, child, your past matters little to us, nor do we begrudge you past loyalties, distasteful as they may have been. Only your faith and only your desire to bring salvation to the galaxy matters now."

[color=bc8dbf]"My faith does not waver, Abbess,"[/color] Nora desperately answered, feeling a blush of emotion overwhelm the skin of her cheeks. [color=bc8dbf]"And concerning my past-"[/color]

"Sister Nora, you are not the first nun to find her way here through a different, perhaps bloody path," The abbess again interrupted, chuckling to herself, and smiling kindly as she took a hold of Nora's hand, surprising her with the strength and warmth of her grip. "You do not need to explain yourself to me."

Moving closer to Nora, the old woman spoke barely above a whisper, "As it so happens, I have a job for someone of your...[i]particular[/i] talents."

[color=bc8dbf]"Oh?"[/color]

"I need you to meet with a group of faithful," the Abbess continued.

[color=bc8dbf]"I see. Who are they?"[/color]

"A group of peasants, low-ranking samurai, and all manner of cut-throats. They call themselves the "Devoted League", they are lead by a former priest, Susumu Yokota, and they have asked for our aid through mutual friends."

[color=bc8dbf]"I am at your service, Abbess, what would you have me do?"[/color]

"Make contact with them, find out if they can be trusted, see if they can successfully carry the heavy burden of true faith, and then report back to me through the usual channels."

[color=bc8dbf]"As you wish, Ma'am."[/color]

Fishing into the sleeve of her robe, the Abbess handed Nora a her a carefully tied scroll of rice paper,"We have procured the appropriate documents for you, as well as a digital copy, of course. There is a small temple located in Okani Fortress Station, Brother Tanaka, the ranking monk, has been told to expect you, he will provide you with anything that you require."

"Oh, and Nora..."

[color=bc8dbf]"Yes, Abbess."[/color]

"If the good Brother Tanaka or anyone else should inquire, it would be best if you avoided mentioning anything about shinobi, warrior monks, and peasant uprisings."

[color=bc8dbf]"Of course,"[/color] Nora replied with the faint ghost of a smile dancing across her lips. [color=bc8dbf]"I am but a humble pilgrim, searching for the Pure Land, and the salvation of all."[/color]

"Quite so," the Abbess replied, patting Nora gently on the shoulder as she rose to her feet, and offering the most conspiratorial of winks as she began to shuffle away with a brief wave.

"The captain of the [i]Merciful Path[/i] has generously offered to provide you with transportation, it is a venerable ship humbled by time, so expect no great comforts, but I have been told it is surprisingly fast for a ship of its [i]impressive[/i] age."
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