AWACS

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @13org @BigPapaBelial @Eviledd1984

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"Five more minutes!" was Amanda's reply to Scarlet's earlier question. "Shit." Was Scarlet's only reaction. Another black SUV approached the BMW from behind, to which Scarlet responded with some more automatic fire. Those ten rounds only wounded the vehicle a bit, but it continued charging forward towards the car. The vehicle got closer, and the moment its window rolled down, gunfire sprayed from it in Scarlet's direction. Scarlet said nothing as she immediately took cover, getting back inside as the bullets flew past them. Holes popped up all around the interior of the car as it was doused in automatic gunfire. In the break, Scarlet popped out and returned fire, getting a glimpse of the orc responsible. A small burst was all it took, the orc slumping over back into his seat after several bloody holes manifested in his neck and chest. The driver of the SUV pulled out his pistol and started firing, but like his passenger, his shots went wide. Scarlet had enough time to take aim, and with one shot, the driver's forehead exploded and the SUV soon left the road to disappear into the brush. "Scratch one Land Rover!" Scarlet called out.

"Red? how are you doing?" She heard Michael ask. "Surprisingly enough, I think I'm fine!" Scarlet replied as another vehicle approached them. "Why are they so persistent?! Who are these people?!" Scarlet heard Faye shout as the enemy vehicle fired at them. "Fuck if I know, but they're well armed and very skilled. Whoever's pulling their strings must have a lot of resources at their disposal." Scarlet replied after the gunfire stopped. Michael threw some runes at the pursuing vehicle, making it swerve to evade, buying Scarlet some time to take aim. In the break, she popped back out and returned fire. She emptied the rest of her magazine into the engine block of the pursuing Land Rover, causing it to fail. The SUV fell behind and pulled over to the side. "Hostile vehicle down!" She turned to Mike, who seemed to suffer some backlash from his runes. "Shit, stay with us, buddy. Don't want you to end up like Faye did." She looked around. She saw a long break in pursuing vehicles, and was about to sieze the opportunity to tend to Michael's wounds, but his god buddies seemed to have him covered. She instead decided to share some info that may or may not be important to the rest of the group. "I managed to get a good look of the gear they got when they approached us in the woods. The shit they have ain't cheap. You'd think they'd go with the NATO stuff if they had that kind of money." She looked at her AUG. Lord knows I did. She reloaded her AUG, pulling back the charging handle and pushing a fresh magazine in. "But the paramilitaries are all carrying heavily modified Soviet stuff instead. I'm talking AK-74s with optics and synthetic furniture. They spoke Russian too. I don't know if any of that matters, but I figured y'all should know." *CHACK!* She slapped the charging handle in classic Hollywood fashion and took aim outside again. Scarlet sighed, seeing more hostile vehicles approach from the distance.

Before the vehicles could get into range, Scarlet heard gunfire coming from in front of them. It only took a split second for Scarlet to notice that they were heading straight into a compound of some sort, where its guards were already firing at them. "Sweet mother of-" Scarlet barely had the chance to curse when she threw herself back into the vehicle to cover herself from friendly fire. She felt the impact of the BMW against the gate as the vehicle slid into the office grounds. Scarlet grunted as she was pressed up against the front seat, her body almost crushed from the force of the crash. She groaned as she sat back up, only getting a glimpse of the uniformed OMR officers that surrounded the vehicle. Amanda was quick to defuse the situation, buying Scarlet time to regain her bearings. "A little bit of a heads up would've been nice, ugh..." Scarlet cradled her head for a bit.

It wasn't long before Amanda's orders came to Scarlet again. "Alright, we've got aggressors down there! Kill them! Scarlett, Mikey. If you can help, then help!" What, they were still pursuing them? How much are these operatives getting paid!? No amount of money would convince Scarlet to assault an OMR office, but now wasn't the time to question the enemy's motives. Now was the time to fight. Scarlet climbed out of the car towards the office, catching a glimpse of Faye as she took cover away from the fight. She looked to Mike. "Mike, I'm gonna need you to get to cover. I gotta go start shooting people again. Can you do that for me, big guy?" Scarlet asked quietly, patting Mike on the shoulder. She heard OMR agents shout things like "Hostile contacts at the gate!", signifying to Scarlet that the enemy has already arrived in force. Scarlet got up and got a read on the situation. The walls, gates, fences and vehicles provided enough ample cover for Scarlet and her OMR allies, while the hostile paramilitaries would have to funnel in through the gate in the front. Even with all of their new gear, the enemy was facing off against an equally skilled and equally equipped foe, who has a much bigger advantage in terms of terrain, cover and numbers. And if Scarlet was going to be honest with herself, it felt good.

Scarlet immediately took cover behind the wrecked BMW, using the engine block to protect her from incoming fire. Scarlet brought her rifle to bear, seeing the enemy arrive in multiple black Land Rover SUVs. More operatives equipped with the latest Soviet-bloc gear, already opening fire upon the officers. The officers returned fire with their handguns and rifles, making the operatives scatter. Scarlet used this opportunity to gun down one of the hostile paramilitaries, a quick burst of five bringing him down onto the asphalt below. Thirty-five rounds left. "Moving!" An OMR guard shouted. "Covering!" Scarlet replied, switching to semi-auto mode and firing in the general direction of the operatives, suppressing them and buying the OMR guard some time to move to cover.

*FFTTCH!!* One of the OMR took a hit straight to the chest, making the half-elf fall to the ground. "Man down!" Scarlet called out. In the cacophony of battle, Scarlet reached into her tactical bag of holding, pulling out a flashbang. "Throwing flashbang!" Scarlet shouted, pulling the pin and throwing it right beyond the gate. She turned around, and after a BANG!, she stood up and fired wildly towards the gate. "Moving!" Scarlet cried out as she sprinted to the wounded OMR officer. "Covering!" She heard a friendly shout as she made her sprint. "C'mon buddy, stay with me." She said to the officer as she grabbed him by his armpits. She dragged him away from the fight as quickly as she could, bringing him back behind a wall. Once she confirmed that the wounded officer was safe, she called out to the friendlies in the back. "Medic!" She stood up and fired towards the gate. Given that most of the enemy was also in cover, she wasn't really hitting anything, but the bullets she was sending should be enough to buy her allies some time to do what they need to do. However, there was one small problem.

*Click.* Son of a shit-eating-

*FFTT!!* After what felt like having a bowling ball getting throwing at her chest by an orc, Scarlet was forced onto the ground behind the BMW. She was aware of this feeling, taking a rifle round straight into one of her ballistic plates. It hurt like hell, but at least nothing got through this time. She had a wound in her shoulder that needed addressing, but the adrenaline rush that she has been experiencing for the last ten minutes had pretty much made her forget about it, despite the blood that was all over it. She groaned as she crawled behind the engine block, laying up against the tire. "Guh... fucker!" She groaned, slowly trying to get herself back into the fight.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @13org @BigPapaBelial

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Scarlet was used to being pinned down. Several deployments across the world gave her the experience of having her back against a wall surrounded by enemy fire. She was also used to being shot. Taking multiple bullets to her limbs and one to her gut was enough to give her an aversion to experiencing that feeling again. Healing magic has come a long way. Thanks to it, wounds that would've been fatal took only hours to fully recover from. The very next day, she was out in the field with her coworkers, on the clock again as none of it ever happened. Five times out of ten, she'd end up finding the bastard responsible before the next weekend. In all of her last deployments, she was in larger and more combat-capable groups. They had access to armored vehicles and stronger firepower. They were often part of an encrypted communications network that also allowed access to medevacs and air support. The threats she faced were various, but whatever they were, she and her coworkers reasonably dealt with them.

This was different.

Scarlet was hit in the shoulder and pinned down by two assailants, both of them experienced paramilitaries. She was the most combat capable in her team. The 5.56 bullpup in her right hand was the strongest firepower her team had access to. Thanks to the threat of a potential mole tapping the OMR communications network, Scarlet and her team had no access to any form of support, nor could they communicate with their commanding officer. In between the suppressed shots of AKs, she heard and understood the voices that were shouting. They were regrouping, moving and flanking. Despite the four she neutralized, there seemed to be more that were arriving from elsewhere. Scarlet gulped as her heart beat from her chest, her breaths quick, blood oozing out from the hole in her shoulder. It was starting to sink into her mind that she was going to die here. She's had several close calls before in her last deployments, but there was always a chance, and always a way out. Not this time. This was different. She had no chance, and she had no escape. Scarlet swallowed and closed her eyes, her mind tuning out the battle around her. Her mind ran through thousands of thoughts, but she couldn't find real attachment to any of them. No recollection of family or loved ones to anchor her. This is where her story was going to end, to be executed in the woods with nothing but a whimper. A failure.

"Scarlet!" Aside from hearing her name, she also heard the distinct *THUMP* of a standing humanoid body falling to the ground. She looked to the source, and just beyond the rock, the woman who shot Scarlet earlier lay there dead on the ground. Scarlet gulped, her brain processing the rest of the familiar voice that shouted in her direction. "Get going! I've got the car parked near the gas station. Don't you dare leave Faye behind too!" Holy shit, that was Amanda! Scarlet turned back to Amanda, who was busy plugging their foes left and right. Before she could think to stand up, Mike ran straight towards her with Faye over his shoulders. He grabbed her by her healthy shoulder and easily lifted the homunculus to her feet. "Come on Hot Stuff! Get up and get moving!" Holy shit. Color returned to Scarlet's face as she got up on her feet. AUG still clutched in her right hand, energy returned to her legs as she started running. It took a few moments, but her mind came out of that dark place and back into the land of the living. She still had a job to do, a contract to fulfill. Teammates to protect. She continued to run, hopping over a few branches. The part of her that thought clearly and tactically finally booted back up, and Scarlet immediately knew what to do.

Scarlet stopped and turned around. The adrenaline that pumped from her heart numbed the pain in her left shoulder a little bit, allowing her to hold her rifle properly again. She fired a few quiet bursts into the forest beyond in an attempt to suppress some of the shooters out there. A lot of them revealed themselves to Scarlet by shooting at Amanda, making themselves easy targets. However, in the strange cacophony of battle, Scarlet didn't know how many she downed, all she knew was that she made a few of them stop shooting, and it was enough to allow Mike and his friends to safely get to the car. It wasn't long before she fell back to the car herself, getting in from the other side. Once she got in the back, she put her rifle down and held her arms out to help Michael set Faye down in the middle seat. "Over here." Scarlet said softly, and once Faye was seated, she wrapped the seat belt around her and fastened it. "I'm filing a complaint with OMR HQ. Team building needs to be better thought out." As Michael climbed in, Scarlet removed the suppressor from her rifle and put it away. "Yeah, no kidding." She panted and winced in pain, her wound still bleeding. As Amanda climbed in the car and took off, Scarlet turned to Michael, still panting. "What a few days, huh?" Scarlet quipped with a weak smile.

Just seconds later, she hears orders from her commanding officer. "Scarlet, I need you to watch our backsides for a little bit ok. It's very likely these guys have other cars that'll chase after us. Pump lead on their asses alright?" Scarlet smiled a little. "Aye-aye. Give me just a second." With her right hand, she reached into her tactical bag of holding and pulled out a syringe of some kind. After popping off the cap, she stuck it right into her wounded shoulder and groaned. "Motherfuck..." Scarlet groaned in pain as the sting of the needle spread throughout her wound. The bleeding slowed and then stopped, and the sharp pain dulled to a minor soreness. The healing solution she just injected wasn't enough to completely heal her wound in the slightest, but stopping the pain and the bleeding was enough to bring Scarlet back into the game. Scarlet grunted as she pulled the empty syringe out, put the cap back on it and shoved it away. "Alright, should be good to go now. Ow." She moved her blood-soaked shoulder around. "Good thing that bullet went clean through, shit."

After giving herself a rough checkup, Scarlet picked up her AUG and removed the magazine from it. After putting the subsonic ammo away, she took out a full 40-round magazine complete with standard cheap ball ammunition. She figured that if she was going to firing at moving vehicles, she'd be missing most of the shots anyway, so she may as well use the rounds that wouldn't cut too hard into her checkbook. She loaded her rifle and gave the magazine a good tap on the bottom. She checked behind them, and so far the coast was clear. She sighed a little as she searched for hostile vehicles, thinking about what Mike called her earlier. If she heard him right, he called her Hot Stuff. Thinking about it made her blush a little. As flattering as it was, she decided not to bring it up just yet. Moments later, she heard another familiar voice. Scarlet turned to Faye and her eyes lit up. "Holy shit, Faye!" She almost laughed in relief, gently grabbing Faye's shoulder and shaking her a little bit excitedly. "Welcome back-Oooh, oh shit my bad, sorry." Once Faye cried out in pain, Scarlet immediately removed her hand and winced a little. "I... don't think I can move myself that well yet... Let alone use my magic..." Scarlet winced. "Ah, yeah, didn't think about that. My bad. Still, glad to have you back with us."

Scarlet took another look around. Not sign of hostiles yet. "How long was I sleep for? Are we still being hunted? I'm sorry for not being able to help that much..." Scarlet turned to Faye, seeing her forced smile. Scarlet returned with a small, weak smile of her own. "Uh... yeah... it's a bit of a long story, but I think it's been a few hours, maybe more. Sure as shit felt much longer than that, though." Scarlet said. "And we're still on the run. No tails just yet, though, but we barely made it out of the woods with our lives." Scarlet sighed before turning to Amanda. "Speaking of, thanks for saving our asses. A few more seconds and I would've been fucking gone." Scarlet said before turning back to Faye. "And don't sweat it. Things got hairy and you got us out of a really bad situation. That alone is commendable."

Scarlet checked once more. "Oh no." Scarlet blinked, getting a good look at the trio of black SUVs that approached them. "Alright, I'm gonna need you guys to do me a favor. We've got three black SUVs that are about to tailgate us. If you can, try to keep your heads down. And Faye? If you can't use magic right now, that's fine, don't feel the need to do so." Scarlet turned to Mike. "Same goes for you. But any help would be much appreciated." She cranked down the window and unbuckled her seat belt. She leaned out the window to get a good look at the SUVs. No shooters yet, but they were definitely being driven by hostile forces.

"Yep, they're bad guys. Cover your ears, kids!" Scarlet shouted before leaning completely out of the window with her rifle out, taking aim at the SUVs behind them. However, she wasn't aiming for the driver. They didn't start shooting yet, so the best course of action was to prevent them from being able to do so. So she aimed for the tires. POPOPOPOW! A short, loud four round burst was squeezed from the trigger, sending hot lead towards the lead SUV. PPFFT The front driver's side tire exploded and got tossed to the side of the road, and the SUV swerved to the side, cutting off the second one trailing behind it. After evading the two that fell behind, the third SUV quickly caught up. "Step on up, fuckers!" Scarlet shouted before firing another burst at the approaching SUV, taking out the driver's side tire on that one too. However, the swerve that it experienced caused it to run off the road and fall straight into a ditch. That's one down. "How long 'till we're there, boss? Any minute now, they're gonna start getting some ideas!"

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @13org @BigPapaBelial

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Even with the wind rushing through the trees, and the soft chirps and cries of the local wildlife, the quieter noises still made themselves present. Twigs snapping, bushes rustling, the like. The noises she was hearing now didn't alert Scarlet in the slightest, they simply gave her a mental image as to where her companions were at. The quiet footsteps of their commanding officer who went off to find a vehicle, the soft shuffling from Mike as he set Faye down, the subtle rustling and crunching from the steps Mike's friends took, and the uncomfortable swallow Mike made when taking his pill dry. However, Scarlet herself was still and quiet. Her breaths were slow and controlled, and her muscles all relaxed to rest comfortably still. With her rifle braced against the roots, its movements were also deliberate. Slowly moving from side to side, Scarlet had to act as a one-woman sniper/spotter team. Not an easy feat, but these aren't easy times.

Her focus almost required her to ignore what Mike said to her, but seeing as there were no threats, she figured she can lend an ear for a moment. "Hm?" Her eyes remained glued to the scope. Her brain took a minute to dial-up and process the words that were just spoken to her, but in a few moments she comprehended them. Alright. Now to wait for the cavalry. What a few days huh? "Oh, yeah." Scarlet almost whispered, a small smile creeping into her focused expression. "No kidding. Normally it would take a week or two for me to see this much action." She swayed her rifle slowly back in one direction, sweeping the area. "How are you holding-"

Scarlet stopped herself midsentence as her heart skipped a beat. Out from the sides of the gas station appeared to be gunmen of some kind. Scratch that, five gunmen and one gunwoman. Shit. Scarlet held up a hand to silence everyone present, looking through the scope to confirm what she is currently seeing. "Contact twelve o' clock." Scarlet said quietly, looking through the scope. She turned an additional nob on it, turning the assault rifle sight into a long-ranged scope to get a better look at them. As they slowly got closer, she could see more details of them, and get an accurate number of them. The operators dressed in a very similar fashion to how Scarlet did when she was on-duty. Tactical vests, ballcaps, aviators, practical clothing and heavily modified rifles. They also appear to share the same playbook as Scarlet herself, and the people she worked with. Scarlet's heartbeat raised with fear as she got a look at their rifles. Definitely those Soviet weapons the OMR have been talking about, except that they're kitted out with sights, suppressors and synthetic furniture. "Six infantry with AK-74 rifles and plate carriers. Paramilitaries." Scarlet noted quietly, gulping. "They're fanning out in pairs. Two to approaching our ten-o-clock, and two approaching our two-o-clock. They know what they're doing."

They can't know we're actually here right? Just running some kinda search right? Scarlet heard Mike ask, to which Scarlet replied with a slightly shaky breath. "They know that we're here in a general sense, but not our exact location. That's a six-man search-and-destroy pattern." Ignoring the uncanny feeling of looking at her operations method right in the mirror, Scarlet racked her brain for ideas. If she started firing now, even with her enchanted suppressor, the others would eventually figure out where the shots are coming from and return fire. With the two pairs flanking their position, the OMR agents would quickly get caught in a killzone and get lit up. In Bosnia, she managed to evade Serbian death squads with her coworkers and clients in situations like this, but back then, she had the advantage of time and camouflage. With what she was wearing now, they'll spot her in notime and send her packing to the afterlife. The best option she could think of was to toss a few smoke grenades, pick off a few of them, and repeat until all hostiles are down. But even that's too risky, and judging by how the operators carry themselves, they'll probably figure out what she's doing, adapt, and kill her. Scarlet gulped again, feeling her heart pound through her chest. Is this how it will end? With a quiet whimper in the woods, near some nowhere gas station, a failure to her squad?

Then Michael brought something up. Distractions. Scarlet blinked, and listened intently. He said that while he wasn't necessarily combat capable, he was pretty good with illusions and hard ritual forms. Scarlet nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, please. I'll do what I can." She said, before bringing her sights back down upon the operators. "They're still far away. You got time." Scarlet said. She thought of some more ways to take them down, now that illusions and rituals were added to the equation. Looks like Mikey will save the day again. The thought of it brings a small grin to Scarlet's lips. As Michael speaks and performs his rituals, Scarlet keeps an eye on the hostiles. Their movements were still slow and methodical. Aawos, you are not welcome here. She slowly zoomed her scope back out, turning it back into the illusory red-dot the AUG came with. Aawos, or face the fears, that all men feel. Scarlet swallowed, remaining as still as she could.

Even if the sounds came from friendlies, they still brought a tinge of fear into Scarlet's heart. As Michael's companions, shrouded in the terrifying visages of their homeland horrors, approached the operatives, Scarlet did exactly as Michael asked and thought of ways to take down the enemy. With their attention turned away, Scarlet would have a chance to move and fire from a more advantageous angle. Once she thought of a plan, Scarlet spoke quickly and quietly. "Okay..." She gulped as she reached into her bag of holding, pulling out the Glock she was using earlier today. "Whatever you do, don't look at the twelve-o-clocks until after you hear a bang. I'm gonna toss a flash at them to buy me some time to take down the 10-o-clocks." She unloaded the Glock's magazine and pulled back the slide, emptying the chamber. "I'm gonna have to run over to that rock over there before I start firing. It'll provide some decent cover and draw fire away from you guys." After putting the magazine and ejected round away, she produced two new magazines, the bullets themselves having a sharper and meaner appearance. She loaded one of them into her Glock, released the slide, and handed the gun and extra magazine to Mike. "The .45 has a bit of a kick to it, and I'm gonna want it back after this is all over. Gave you the expensive armor-piercing rounds too, so don't use 'em if you don't have to." She whispered. She looked solemnly down her scope and after taking a few deep breaths, she swallows. "If I go down, don't rescue me. Keep yourself and Faye hidden." She pats Mike on the shoulder and nods to him. "Until next time."

Scarlet immediately stood up. She got a good look at the operatives, who were still focused on the horrors. The horrors seemed to be herding them a little closer together, bringing them into an easier killzone. She moved as quietly as she could to the rock she noted earlier. It being to her right, and thus closer to the 2-o-clocks, it should draw the soon-to-be firefight away from her friends. She got behind the rock, and once there, she pulled out a stun grenade from her bag of holding. With a pull of the pin, she threw the grenade right at the feet of the two 12-o-clocks. The homunculus ducked away, and after one of them shouted "Granata!", there was a loud BANG!!! The 10-o-clocks and 2-o-clocks scattered, attempting to retreat from both the horrors and the explosion they heard. CLICK! went the AUG's safety from SAFE to SEMI. From behind the rock, Scarlet stood up, and brought the red dot ahead the two 10-o-clocks, who were trying to run to cover and away from Whitiko. She squeezed the trigger. FWIP-FWIP! One 10-o-clock went down, taking one shot to his armor and one to his head. FWIP-FWIP! Another double-tap brought the second one down, taking a bullet to one of his armor plates and to his right bicep. He fell down and screamed in pain.

Scarlet immediately rotated to face the two 12-o-clocks, who were still dazed and stunned from the flashbang she threw at them. She took aim at the easy prey. One of the 12-o-clocks, an orc, managed to shake off the effects a little easier than his human compatriot. She squeezed the trigger once. FWIP! Mundane suppressors still had a loud sound profile, only making guns hearing safe at best. But thanks to the expensive enchantments on this suppressor and the subsonic ammo she loaded, the suppressor here functioned just like the ones in Hollywood did in making her rifle very quiet. The only sound the other 12-o-clock heard was the sickening noise of his partner's forehead exploding. The large bearded man beside the orc looked between the skinwalker that approached him and the direction the gunshot came from. He shouted to the others, running and taking cover behind a tree to put some distance between himself and the skinwalker. "Blyat!" He shouted before returning fire to Scarlet's position in a vain attempt to suppress her. The shots went wide, hitting nothing but dirt and trees. The suppressors on the AKs were quite good too, but their noise profile was a little louder, allowing Scarlet and her OMR friends to get a decent idea of where they're firing from. Scarlet flipped her safety to AUTO, and took aim at the crouched human. Six rounds of hot lead soared at him, peppering his body and his armor in hollow-point 5.56s. He shouted in pain, falling onto his back with large crimson holes in his legs.

Due to Scarlet's position, as well as the flashbang and gunshots that happened earlier, it didn't take long for the 2-o-clocks to find her. "<I've got visual!>" One of the 2-o-clocks shouted, the only woman of the group bringing her Kalashnikov to shoulder and taking a few shots at Scarlet. As Scarlet turned to return fire, two rounds hit the rock and one went straight through Scarlet's left shoulder. Blood splattered all over the tree behind her as Scarlet fell down onto her back. "Gah! Motherfucker!" Scarlet shouted, clutching the painful, bleeding wound on her shoulder. "<You whore!>" Scarlet shouted back in Russian. Portions of the rock exploded as the two continued firing sporadically at her with precise semi-automatic shots, moving about to stay clear of the scary Wendigo that approached them. Portions of the tree exploded in front of her as Scarlet pressed her back against the rock, holding her rifle with one hand, her left arm limp. "Fuck me..." She groaned in pain, her heart racing again. She looked over to where Michael and Faye were, and seeing that they were still far away from the fight, she smiled weakly and clutched her AUG.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @13org @BigPapaBelial

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Scarlet spoke her mind to Amanda, and then promptly listened to her response. Scarlet's heartrate didn't even have enough time to raise before Amanda quickly replied with "Yeah. Scarlet, let’s go to the gas station." She sighed a little in relief now that her chances of walking straight into a hail of gunfire dropped significantly. However, Amanda's order modified Scarlet's plan a bit. There will be no calls made to the OMR on phone or on radio, and Amanda herself will be searching for a vehicle to commandeer so they can do the evac themselves. The android had a point, the mole could be tipped off to their exact location and the bad guys could probably muster a kill squad faster than the OMR could rescue them. Scarlet took a moment to look at the wooded area behind the gas station once more. Even with a lot of concealment and some cover offered by the trees, they won't be able to withstand a full-scale assault. She turned back to Amanda and nodded solemnly.

"Aye aye." Scarlet said as she brought her gun back to shoulder. "I'll take point."

- - -

It was pretty much a straight shot to the gas station. Crossing the street and getting there wasn't difficult, as there was hardly much traffic in this part of town. Whoever planned this assassination attempt was at least smart enough to keep their witnesses to a minimum by driving through here. The gas station itself was almost entirely unoccupied, save for its outdated equipment and a bored, inattentive cashier that had his eyes glued to a women's fashion magazine. It also had security cameras, but not too many. Scarlet was able to spot them on their approach, and adjusted their path so they wouldn't be in their field of vision. After all, their destination was the forest behind it.

The woods themselves were as dense as it appeared from a distance. The grass, ferns and other plants that separated the gas station from the treeline was waist high, and even higher in some parts. Most of the foliage got smaller past the tree line, as the trees themselves allowed for little sun to reach the ground. There were plenty of ferns and other plants on the ground, but they were knee-high at best. Plenty of birds and other woodland animals made themselves at home here, including a few of the magical variety. The forest itself was pretty generic and unassuming, though a few things that couldn't be spotted from the distance, like fallen trees and large rocks, made for good places to rest.

As Scarlet quietly marched through the woods, she spotted a large uprooted tree, one that wasn't too far away from a large rock. She walked over to both, standing up next to the tree. She examined the tree, pressing against it, and knocking her rifle on it. Scarlet nodded to herself, and kicked some twigs and rocks away to clear some space for her friends, leaving behind a patch of soft dirt and leaves. She pointed over to the space she cleared. "Set Faye down over here." She then gestured to the tree with her rifle. "The tree's solid, and thick enough to act as concealment and cover. Should stop most Soviet rounds. As long as we all stay low, we should be alright." She unzipped her tactical bag of holding, pulled out some repellent and sprayed herself down. Once she was finished, she set the can down next to the uprooted tree. "This stuff should keep most bugs and animals away. The odor itself only lasts about ten minutes, but it's good for three hours."

Once everyone started setting up camp, Scarlet brought over a few large branches with leaves to help make that space more concealable. Most of the camouflage she set up faced in the direction of the gas station and the road passing it. After covering up their tracks, she placed herself prone behind the bottom end of the tree. "We should be fine here. The tree's shadows and the tall grass ahead of us should make us invisible to any passing vehicle." Scarlet said as she unloaded her rifle, pulling the bolt back. From her bag of holding, she pulls out a smaller 30-round magazine and an enchanted suppressor. "Anyone approaching this place on foot would have to look really hard to find us." With a CLICK!, the suppressor was firmly attached at the end of the barrel. The magazine, full of subsonic ammo, was loaded. "I'll make sure that they won't." She slaps the bolt, chambering a round. Scarlet brought her rifle back to shoulder, bringing the barrel of her AUG between the roots. Her scope aimed squarely at the spaces surrounding the gas station ahead. Her finger danced along the trigger guard.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @13org @BigPapaBelial

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"Hey Mikey, you alright?" The homunculus asked. Mike had a hard time standing up, but he was at least able to answer her. His strained voice only confirmed her suspicion that while he had a rough landing, he was still able to make it. Once the shaman asked about Scarlet and the others, Scarlet glanced to the surrounding areas. "I'm a bit sore, but I'm alright otherwise." Scarlet stretched a little, feeling the dull sore pain spread across her right knee and left shoulder, eliciting a strained groan. "Ow, yep. I can definitely feel it." She got in another good look of their surroundings as Amanda tended to Faye. Scarlet glanced over her shoulder to Faye, worry creeping into her focused expression. Please be okay...

Scarlet's worried gaze only lasted for a moment, as her duties required her to be vigilant for additional threats. She could hear some noises behind her, and from that she could only assume that Michael was working his magic. Michael instructed his god friends to keep a lookout for other hostile vehicles, which Scarlet personally thought was a good idea. Michael then asked what the hell was going on and who could these guys be, questions Scarlet still had herself. "I don't know. They sure as shit don't fit the profile of that biker gang we encountered." Scarlet replied. "Any of you are free to call bullshit, but I think someone on the inside must've tipped the bad guys off. I can't think of any other explanation as to how these assholes knew where we'd be going and when." Scarlet aimed her rifle down a quiet alleyway. "A trap like that, complete with convincing uniforms and similar fleet vehicles, must've taken some time and money to set up." She turned to Mike with a serious expression on her face. "I don't think we're dealing with average thugs anymore."

Michael asked another important question, which pertained to Faye's well-being. It seemed that the question was aimed towards Amanda, as Scarlet didn't have enough information to give a good answer. A mass teleport? That's what that felt like. Scarlet kind of had a feeling that was what happened, it made the most sense to her. A quick glance revealed that Amanda was in the process of putting an ice pack on Faye's head. Judging by Amanda's calm attitude, and the fact that Faye was still breathing, it looked like Faye might pull through. Scarlet sighed just a little in relief. Her peripheral vision was occupied by Mike, who slowly approached her and checked in on her. Scarlet looked up to Mike, meeting his eyes. She saw his smile, to which she returned with a soft nervous smirk of her own. "As okay as I can be, really. I survived worse." She rolled her shoulders a little. "Ow, shit. Yeah. Still sore." Once Whiskeyjack returned to Mike with a report, Scarlet kept her attention to where he came from. Scarlet tuned the two out, hoping to hear or at least see any incoming hostiles, but so far, no luck. Think the OMR will pay for our laundry after this? Michael asked, to which Scarlet answered with a chortle. "They better."

"Truth be told, I'm honestly a little scared." Scarlet said softly, her eyes still ahead. "With what just happened and the implications it carries... it makes me wonder what we're really up against, and what my chances really are. I'm just hoping that I won't meet God too soon. I still haven't figured out what I'd say to them yet." Her somber frown cracked a small smile. "Nowhere in my contract did it say that I was supposed to experience a spy-action flick." She chortled. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Don't worry, I'll get over it."

Scarlet immediately turned to Amanda the moment she called out to them. She listened carefully, and Amanda confirmed what she had figured out. It seems that Faye will pull through, it was just that the feat she just pulled was taxing to the point that it knocked her out. Once Amanda called her by name, Scarlet stood up and snapped to attention. Scarlet listened, and her face betrayed the fear that she mentioned. 10 klicks? On foot!? Scarlet thought to herself. A 10 kilometer march west would take about an hour at the very least, which is more than enough time for a hostile response force to find them. The two areas that Amanda proposed, the alleyway and the underpass, would leave them exposed to any number of ambushes. The powerful android might be able to make that kind of journey, and so might Mike's companions, but Scarlet, Mike and Faye would be shredded meat that point.

Scarlet looked to Amanda after she gave her orders to Mike. "Boss, uh, how do I say this... hm... I don't really think that's a good idea." Scarlet cleared her throat. "As of now, we know absolutely nothing about the hostile force we just tangled with, especially what they are capable of. We don't know what areas they would have control over, and what kind of assets they have at their disposal." Scarlet lowered her rifle, using her left hand to point to the areas Amanda mentioned earlier. "Those two areas are practically killzones. The underpass over there would make it easy for a hostile QRF to fire upon us from two vantage points with automatics and snipers, all while making ourselves easy targets on the open road. That alleyway would provide hostiles enough places to set up ambush points behind walls, vehicles and windows. Back in Germany, we came out on top because we had cover and terrain, and the bikers stood out in the open. Now the situation is reversed, and there are seven of us, with me being the only one with capable firepower. We will not survive contact with the enemy like this."

Scarlet sighed and looked around. She takes a few seconds, before spotting a gas station off to the side of the road that's surrounded by a lot of wooded wilderness. The vegetation there was quite thick, and while there weren't many hills or other sources of good cover, there was plenty of concealment to be had. "Over there. I have a radio and a cell phone that we can use to call the OMR for support and an evac, and that gas station over there would make it easier for them to come find us. We can hide in the wooded areas behind it, using the tall vegetation to conceal ourselves. The trees there should provide enough cover in the unlikely event that a firefight breaks out. The bad guys would literally have to step on us in order to find us there." Scarlet said. "Managed to evade Serbian death squads that way in my last deployment." Scarlet gulped and turned to Amanda. "Just a suggestion, boss. I'm not keen on dying just yet, but my contract states that I gotta follow your orders."

Mass Effect: Intervention

and

in

"Payout in Blood Soaked Creds"

Interactions

@AngelofOctober

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There is always a fucking catch.

Just a few days ago, Lokea had accepted a job offer that came in the form of a mechanical bird that landed on her balcony. While sketchy, the job being offered was quite easy for someone with skills like hers. It paid out a lot of credits upon completion, and it came with a sign-on bonus too. She knew it, her boss knew it and her best friend knew it. But the money she was currently making wouldn’t clear her debts out fast enough, and she couldn’t wait for the day in which she could finally afford things for herself. So she took on the job.

The job was simple. Infiltrate the facility on Ebos, find the terminal with the least amount of personnel nearby, plant the worm, get the data and get out. And that is exactly what Lokea did. She and a dozen other halfwits who signed on infiltrated the building together, and all the asari had to do was just activate her tactical cloak and walk quietly. Her entirety shimmered in the light before she almost completely disappeared, leaving behind only some traces of light refraction in the air. She quietly walked up to a terminal, activated her omni-tool and slipped the virus in. However, the clone’s confidence immediately vanished the moment the terminal booted up. The splash screen’s logo is something she’s seen before, one that belonged to a rather vile splinter faction that hampered the Alliance’s efforts to bring the galaxy together against the reapers.

Cerberus.

Despite that, Lokea still managed to get the data and slip out undetected. She was on her way back to the rally point when all of the sudden, an alarm blared. Someone, she didn’t know who, tripped something and now the whole base was on combat alert. At this point, Lokea was far enough away from anyone or anything to be pinned for this, but that soon became the least of her concerns when the klaxon was accompanied by gunfire and explosions. She hurried over to the rally point, and by then her tactical cloak had deactivated. Kaiser, Lance and several of her other teammates were there, gathering up and taking defensive positions. She was just about to talk to them before a large explosion separated her from them. Her armor and its kinetic barriers shielded her from the shrapnel, but the blast still knocked her on her ass. In the hail of gunfire that came after, the asari only got a glimpse of the Atlas mech that was bearing down on her and her teammates. Not even taking the time to see if there was any infantry supporting it, Lokea let her instincts take over and bolted down the hall.

It didn’t take long for Lokea to get lost within the vast Cerberus facility. While the room she infiltrated earlier wasn’t that far from the shuttle docks, she doesn’t really know where she ended up in the grand scheme of things. She just ran to where the gunfire and explosions weren’t at, and try to figure things out from there. Her sprint slowed to a jog, and eventually she stopped to catch her breath. The moment she looked back up, two Cerberus assault troopers came down the hall and stopped in front of her. An announcement came up on the intercom, and the three of them listened.

”Please evacuate to the nearest emergency exit. The building is set to detonate in ten minutes.”

Lokea groaned and rolled her eyes. ”Easy credits my ass.” She muttered to herself, her voice a little muffled from her mask. Her green eyes fell to the two assault troopers. “So, would you two be kind enough to show me to the shuttle bay?”

The two assault troopers raised their firearms in response.

Lokea sighed. “Alright then, forget I asked.” She quickly raised a biotic aegis with her left arm, and the two troopers opened fire. The automatic gunfire produced a lot of dimples in the near invisible biotic shield, the asari calmly and slowly walking towards them as they shot at her. The aegis stood firm as she approached them, and before long, both of their Hornet SMGs overheated.

In a blink of an eye, Lokea’s biotic shield morphed into a powerful force surrounding her left fist, which was then sent towards the lead trooper. A biotic left hook made contact with his head, followed by a right hook with Lokea’s electrified omni-blade. The first blow was already fatal to the trooper, the second one making contact before his limp body crumbled to the ground. Before the second trooper could bring his weapon to bear on Lokea, she rushed him, and delivered a powerful biotic tornado kick straight to his head. The trooper was knocked straight to the side as if he were a ragdoll, and with a CRUNCH! his body crumpled up against the wall and fell down in a heap.

Lokea checked her surroundings one more time. As she did, she drew her Carnifex pistol, hoping to be ready for any other encounter that came to her. One of the nearby signs down the hall pointed towards the shuttle bay. Following the signs, she activated her radio and spoke to the rest of her team. Assuming any of them were left alive, that is. ”Venom Rose to anyone alive on this frequency. The objective has been secured but the whole operation has been compromised. In nine minutes this facility will be wiped off the map, so I suggest that the rest of you get your asses moving. I’m heading to the shuttle bay, and I’ll see if I can get us a ride out of here. Venom Rose out.”

-

Someone got to the data before him. Glad they weren’t entirely incompetent in the matter, however, it was unfortunate it had come to this. If it had simply been these Cerberus dogs he would have trusted things to the mercs, but now the Citadel was involved. He didn’t trust them enough to keep the data. In some ways, those aligned with the five-armed space station can be just as savage and ruthless as this three headed dog. They’ll likely wipe out the mercs, or cut a deal with them if they were feeling nice.

The data was likely more secure with him. Once he learned of what Cerberus was working on, he’d be the one best equipped to get in, and destroy it.

By the way things sounded, it was a complete mess. The mercenary team was locked in an intense fight with Cerberus mechs and security personnel, and the fighting raged on around him while he searched the facility. It didn’t phase him, he simply passed through all of it, invisible and unnoticed. The most capable of the crew-

-an explosion off somewhere. Hm. This was getting dangerous and cockiness wasn’t going to return the data to him right now.

The Surveyor returned, checking his datapad. So a ship flying Citadel colors arrived and Cerberus was tearing their base apart before it could explode. It seems as if their little clone friend had found the data. Best for him to go pay her a visit.

-

“You made short work of them.” Proxy declared through a digitally distorted voice.

Lokea twisted around to the source of the voice, aiming her gun at him. Seeing that he didn’t look like any of the Cerberus personnel she saw here at this base, her finger inched away from the trigger. He also didn’t look like any of the mercs she worked with either. She looked him up and down, keeping her gun trained on him. ”Who are you?” The asari calmly asked, her left hand joining her right to stabilize her aim.

“You know who I am.” He responded.

It took a few seconds, but Lokea made the connection. She knew the voice that gave her this job. This ‘easy’ job. Her eyes widened, and she lowered her gun immediately. “You!? Wha…” She looked around for a moment before her eyes returned to Proxy. “What in the name of all things holy are you doing here?”

“The situation is a bit more complicated now. Citadel-aligned forces have arrived, and I’d like to assure that what is mine gets to me.” He stated as he extended his hand. “I’d like to point out that I haven’t drawn out my weapon. My gesture is in good faith. I’ll still forward the payment to you and your surviving teammates.”

In regards to the situation getting complicated, Lokea simply glared at him. Brilliant observation, genius. She thought to herself as he spoke. Once he held out his hand, Lokea’s glare remained. “Nowhere in the job description did you say that we’d be facing off against a Cerberus remnant.” Lokea said, tightening her grip on her pistol. There was a moment of silence that was then interrupted by a distant explosion. Lokea turned to the source, before she turned back to Proxy. “You’ll get the data once you hand me the credits you promised. But for now I think we have more important things to worry about.”

Proxy turned his attention to yet another explosion. Did security not have a modicum of understanding to blow up your base after you get out of dodge, not before? Yes, he tripped the alarm, but he didn’t think their helmets restricted their brain cells to the point where they’d have mechs tearing through steel like paper.

If Proxy was honest with himself, he didn’t care whether the mercs, Cerberus or those with the Citadel got out of here alive. It wouldn’t matter to him if they all died, that was the point after all. What was more beneficial to him at this moment? Her trust, so he could get the data without her cutting a deal with those Citadel cronies, or forcefully taking the data from her and running?

“Very well.” He stated. “Before you go to the shuttle bay, there is something that you should know. A vessel flying Citadel colors is currently landing there, and it’s likely that your surviving teammates will participate in the bloodbath that will happen there. If you care about their lives, you should direct them elsewhere.” The man looked down a hall adjacent to them. “I landed somewhere less conspicuous. Follow me.”

Lokea listened to him, and bounced his words around in her head. Every bone in her body, as well as the voices of her friends, were telling her not to trust him. But considering the current situation the both of them were in, sticking with him was probably her best bet. She was sure that even if she surrendered to the Citadel-aligned forces, she would get nothing for her efforts other than a short stay at one of their ‘premium’ jail cells. She sighed, nodded and spoke into the radio once again.

“Venom Rose to ALCON, Citadel-aligned vehicles have arrived at the shuttle bay, and are likely arriving in force. I’d suggest exfiltrating through the same way we got in, and get the fuck out through there. Venom Rose out.” While reusing their infiltration route wasn’t the quickest, it might just be the safest. Lokea holstered her pistol, switching it out for her Avenger assault rifle, which she pulled from her back and shouldered once it was ready. She sighed and looked straight to Proxy. “Alright boss. Lead the way.”

Proxy nodded to the asari, and the two began their exfiltration.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @13org @BigPapaBelial

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There was a reason why Scarlet kept all of her travel stuff in her tactical bag of holding, and why she kept it close to her at all times. The bag always remained strapped to her clothing, and when she slept she kept it underneath her pillow. Not only did it contain her weapons, armor and other tactical gear, it also contained her clothes, documents and travel goods. Passports, weapon licenses, toothpaste, sanitizer, bug spray, Game Boy, and just about everything else she needed to go wherever she needed to go. All of her stuff was carried in that one bag, for the very simple reason that she would have to be on the move at any given moment. War zones shifted, and so did her duties. One minute, Scarlet could be chilling out at a hotel room enjoying a nice evening with the TV tuned to Skinemax. The very next, she would have to be in full gear, mission-ready and on high alert. Scarlet got herself one of the good bags too, one that was resistant to most types of damage and had a warranty rune that would transfer its contents to another bag if this one was destroyed. Scarlet did spent a lot of money on it, but the investment has paid itself off in many instances.

The moment Amanda said that they were Oscar Mike was the latest of them.

The trip to Belarus was thankfully quite short. Being with the OMR had its perks. Scarlet mainly passed the time by reading books and playing on her Game Boy, listening to her mix tapes on her own while she entertained herself. She would've enjoyed some quiet conversation with Amanda, Michael or Faye, but for the most part nothing of substance was said and the homunculus mostly kept to herself. Every now and then she would think about how short her time would be with this group, and how she should enjoy their company while she could. Even if she did join the OMR, once the investigation was over, they'd all have to go their separate ways. Such was the life of a contractor.

The plane landed, and Scarlet walked with the others through the airport. She was able to understand what everyone was saying thanks to the translation device she wore, but she still couldn't read most of the signs. Regardless, she stayed close to the group while they made their way to their car. As per usual, Scarlet was in 'work mode' as she moved through the airport, keeping an eye out for threats and other suspicious activity. She did notice a few sketchy individuals, the kind with dark clothes that stared at the group and talked on mobile phones. But they didn't stare for long. It was likely that their group just stood out to some people here.

In regards to the 'agents' that took them to their car, Scarlet didn't pay them much mind. The black sedan parked ahead of them was very similar to the official OMR vehicles she rode in before, and she figured that the OMR's fleet of black sedans was just slightly different in this part of Europe. It wasn't that long ago that the Soviet Union just crumbled to dust, after all. Scarlet thanked the polite 'agents' as she got in the car, taking up the right side of the backseat and relaxing with the others. Scarlet continued to look for any signs of trouble. A few minutes into the journey, two other black sedans approached them. The moment she saw them, Scarlet got a little nervous. The windows to all three vehicles rolled down, and Scarlet managed to get a good view of the Kalashnikov that was aimed straight at them.

"Get down!" Scarlet shouted, pulling herself and whoever was next to her down below the windows.

All Scarlet could hear was gunfire, screeching tires and the driver shouting in pain as the vehicle swerved about. She felt the impact of the crash when the left vehicle was shunted, and heard the impact of Amanda's fists against the driver's face. Amanda ordered Scarlet to get her weapon out, to which Scarlet obeyed and immediately went to work. She put her hand into the bag's void, and in an instant, she pulled out her custom Glock 21. She peered over the window to get a good view of the shooter from her side, and once she saw them, she brought her handgun up and began firing. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! While the screeching of the tires was loud, her .45 was louder. She continued firing at the vehicle to their right, hoping to either nail the driver or the shooter. The vehicle kept chugging along, but it seems that she managed to either hit or suppress the shooter. Either way, the shooter stopped firing at them.

Amanda shouted something to Faye, and in the chaos, Scarlet barely comprehended it. She turned to see what was going on, and only got a flash of the struggle before the car disappeared. Scarlet yelped once she made contact with the ground, the momentum dragging her down the sidewalk and forcing her into a painful tumble. "Ow, fuck!" Scarlet groaned once her body came to rest. After a few seconds, Scarlet groaned in pain and attempted to stand up. The homunculus sustained a few scrapes and bruises in the process of phasing out of a moving vehicle, but thanks to the jeans she wore, the damage to her legs was minimized. She let go of her pistol earlier when she fell, but thankfully it landed a few feet away from her. Michael and Faye weren't far behind it.

It took a few moments, but Scarlet managed to stand up. As she walked over to retrieve her gun, she looked to both of her partners. Michael was on his feet too, but Faye was flat on the ground. Scarlet's heart raced, and so did her mind. "Oh no..." Before she could say anything else, she heard a loud crash behind her, and immediately turned around to aim her gun at the source. In the distance, a black sedan smashed itself hard against a building. Standing next to the wreck was Amanda, and upon seeing her, Scarlet lowered her gun. Amanda then made her way towards the group, and Scarlet immediately stood aside so the android could tend to Faye. Scarlet's look of intense focus only gave a slight hint to her worry.

Amanda took quick control of the situation, and once Amanda ordered Scarlet to provide overwatch, Scarlet nodded somberly to her. "Aye aye." Scarlet took a moment to put her armor on, donning the tactical vest she wore to the biker hideout, as well as the kneepads. She then changed out her pistol for her AUG assault rifle. After checking to see that the magazine was full, Scarlet performed her usual 'HK slap' to chamber a round and brought her rifle to shoulder. She walked to the position that would give the others the most protection she could offer, interposing herself in between the OMR and the road. She crouched, taking a knee to give herself a better defensive firing position, as well as a moment to rest. As she surveyed the area, Scarlet thought about what happened, and what led up to these events. Who the hell were these people? This whole setup didn't fit the profile of the biker gang they encountered in Germany. How did the enemy know where they were headed, and prepare this well ahead of time? The only people who would know about their sudden move to Minsk would be the OMR, and those with decent security clearance at that. Someone on the inside must've leaked this. Scarlet thought to herself. She looked over her shoulder towards Amanda for a moment, but considering that there were more pressing matters at hand, she decided to save that thought for another time.

Scarlet's gaze shifted to Michael. He looked as bad as she felt at the moment, but at least he was standing. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check in on him. "Hey Mikey, you alright?" Scarlet asked quietly. She got in another good look of their surroundings as Amanda tended to Faye. Scarlet glanced over her shoulder to Faye, worry creeping into her focused expression.

Please be okay...

Mass Effect: Intervention

Lokea Zhu

_{"I don't want to be another sad story."}

_______________________________________________ Lokea Zhu [Low-key-uh Zoo] Codename // Venom Rose _______________________________________________ Asari Clone | Private Mercenary | Combat Lifesaver _______________________________________________ Ex-Staff Sergeant of the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion Profile Name | Lokea Zhu Codename | "Venom Rose" Race | Asari Age | 8 years old (born 2183) Gender | Feminine Sexuality | Bisexual (Female Leaning) Height | 5'9" (175 cm) Weight | 175 lbs (79.5 kg) Eye Color | Green Occupation | Mercenary, Combat Lifesaver Portrait Art | Made by Bearly Dressed

Appearance | Lokea bears an uncanny resemblance to the asari commando Shiala, green skin and all. She maintains a fit physicality, her feminine curves noticeable and prominent, but not hindering. Surrounding her green eyes are a warm orange and red fade, as well as a variety of darker markings that surround her eyes. In combat missions, she wears a worn set of Ajax Armor, as well as a black breather mask with a painted skull on it. Outside of combat missions, she sticks with a simple grey hoodie and black slacks. Personality | Like her clone sisters, she didn't really have much of a personality when she first emerged. Well, she did have hundreds of personalities, but they all came in the form of thoughts and memories planted into her from the Thorian that created her. It took a lot of time and experiences for her to figure out which of the memories and personalities she should rely on, and over time she found the ones she liked and came into her own being. As time went on, she became more of an expressive individual who enjoys the company of friendly creatures. From her planted memories and experiences at Zhu's Hope, she uses them in her attempts to be a kinder and friendlier person. She once struggled with the idea of being a clone, but thanks to her close friends, she was able to find security and grace within herself. Her expressive attitude compels her to create beauty, often in the form of drawings and paintings. Thanks to having the implanted memories of one asari and many humans, she's adopted expressions and body languages of both. As for the many values that have been planted, she stuck with the ones that she's liked the best (being kind, standing up for the weak, etc). On the other hand, she is a rather hedonistic individual who lives for the present. Thanks to the Reaper War, she doesn't really plan too far ahead. Despite being secure in herself, the Reaper War made her feel small again, and the loss of many of her friends gives her quite a bit of survivor's guilt. Regardless, she maintains a wanderlust that compels her to go see the stars for herself. (Will edit and develop through play)

Backstory | Long story short, Lokea Zhu is an Asari Clone born from the Thorian who made a name for herself in Illium. She spent some time on Feros helping out its residents, finding out who she was and who she wanted to be. She travelled the stars for a short period of time, eventually ending up on Korlus and working with a friendly krogan named Urdnot Stax. Their work on Korlus earned them residence on Illium, where they worked for an eccentric volus who went by Eppo Cal. When the Reapers arrived, she joined the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion, saved the lives of many with her abilities, and served with distinction. After the war ended, Lokea continued to serve with the NAFB for a bit, and after it disbanded, she was rehired by Eppo Cal and continued to work for him. It was only recently that she was poached for a rather high-paying job on Ebos.

Background Part 1 - Feros

Born from the genetic stock of the Asari Commando Shiala in 2183, Lokea was created under strange circumstances by the Thorian, an ancient sentient plant found on the planet of Feros. While the Thorian exerted its influence and control of the populace of the nearby colony of Zhu's Hope, it created strange green-skinned clones of Shiala in order to speak for it and defend it. While quite a few were deployed when Commander Shepard arrived in search of the conduit, some were stored in sacks as a quick response measure. Some were deployed in order to quickly stop Shepard as the Thorian resisted Shepard's attempts to dispose of it. However, Shepard's squad was able to quickly dispatch the clones, the creepers and the nodes that held the Thorian in the building. The Thorian was killed, Shiala and the Zhu's Hope colonists were freed, and Shepard was able to use the conduit as planned, getting closer to Saren.

However, not all of the sacs were destroyed, and not all of the clones were killed. Hours after the incident, Lokea surfaced from one of these sacs, free from the grasp of the Thorian. While she had a mixture of memories given to her by the Thorian when she was created, these memories were all scrambled, all from different minds and different bodies. She struggled to figure out who she was, what her name was, and who to speak for. As she walked amongst the corpses of the creepers and clones that had fallen in the battle earlier, two more clones like her emerged as well. They met and got acquainted, and knowing that they were all in the same boat, they worked together to get out of the ruins they were in. Once they got hungry, they worked together to hunt some varren that wandered around the ruins. The three clones wandered the ruins for three days, all while trying to figure out who they were and what they should do next. It wasn't long before they stumbled into some of the colonists at Zhu's Hope. The colonists immediately tended to their needs and sent them back to their colony, where all three of them met Shiala.

Shiala proved herself to be more than helpful to both the colony and the clones. As they were fed and sheltered at the colony, Shiala explained to them who they were and why their minds were so clouded with memories and thoughts from others. After some impromptu counseling from Shiala and Lizbeth Baynham, the three eventually picked their names. The two other clones came to be named Kielo and Numeka, taking on the last name of 'Zhu' from Lizbeth's suggestion. Lokea followed suit with her last name, chosing her first name from the word 'Hope' from an ancient asari language, her name roughly translating to that of The Hope of Zhu. All three of them were known in the colony as the Zhu Sisters. Over the period of a year, the sisters ingratiated themselves into the colony and functioned quite well. While Kielo and Numeka assisted Shiala in her efforts in rebuilding and healing the colony, Lokea carved a path of her own, often going out on hunts and scouting missions with Davin Reynolds. In that time, the biotics of Shiala and the Zhu Sisters degraded thanks to the effects of the Thorian, and the four of them had to adapt to that. As Lokea's planted memories gave her visions of different places, her wanderlust grew, especially after hearing about Shepard's galactic exploits from the news.

In 2184, Lokea made the difficult decision to move away from Zhu's Hope to go see the galaxy for herself. While she had grown very close to many of the members of the colony, she felt that she would find her true calling elsewhere, as there wasn't much left for her to do at the colony. Ledra gave Lokea a free ride to Eden Prime during one of his supply runs, and from then, she wandered across the Milky Way.

Background Part 2 - Korlus

In her several months of travels, Lokea's been to Eden Prime, the Citadel, Bekenstein and Korlus, doing odd jobs and light mercenary work to put food on the table and pay for other expenses. Her planted memories gave her quite a unique advantage in most job markets, as she had the combined skills of most of the affected colonists from Zhu's Hope. In Eden Prime, she mostly did contract work in the construction of homes and small buildings to pay for her ticket to the Citadel, all while visiting the sites of where the first shots of the Eden Prime War took place. She quickly made her way to the Citadel, where she spent a month doing maintenance and security work. She got into a few light scuffles with petty criminals, but she was able to end them quickly without causing serious harm. It slowly became clear to her that she couldn't afford to live on the Citadel, so she kept moving. She spent a week at Bekenstein sightseeing before saddling up for Korlus.

The moment Lokea made landfall on Korlus, she knew already that she hated it. A hot, noxious scrapyard world almost uninhabitable, the asari spent most of her time there in a rather dilapidated climate-controlled motel room. Thanks to the rather cheap rates of almost everything here, Lokea was actually able to turn a profit this time around from the odd jobs she did here. When she wasn't doing security work, she was also performing maintenance and deliveries for a few tidy sums. After about two weeks, Lokea got her first taste of blood when she killed six batarian gangsters and wounded four more when they attempted to murder her and one of her clients. Despite the rather terrifying incident, Lokea's implanted combat experience helped her during the fight and after it. At that point, she knew that in order to stay safe, she would have to use a codename. It took her some time, but she came up with one that had a nice ring to it. Since that incident, she was known as Venom Rose, and has gone by that codename since. Over time, Lokea got more jobs and earned some notoriety from some of the local gangs under that new name. On a particular anti-gang job, she was hired by a friendly krogan named Urdnot Stax, whom she later befriended and nicknamed 'Fat Stax'. She did a few jobs with him, and thanks to how crazy effective they were as a team, both of them agreed to a partnership. The neighborhood they lived in noticeably improved with their presence, and inspired some of the residents to stand up to some of the gangs that ravaged it.

After a month of doing anti-gang and bodyguard jobs, work died down a bit, as their neighborhood became arguably one of the safest on the planet. More people came to the neighboorhood, and the cost of living started to climb there. Both Lokea and Stax knew that the positive direction the neighborhood was meant that they would have to move somewhere else to keep making money, and while they considered their options, a new job came in. A wealthy volus merchant named Eppo Cal contacted them, and told them that his brother Niftu Cal had been kidnapped and held for ransom by a group of slavers, who also kidnapped a number of Eppo's staff. Eppo tracked the slavers down to a large building in Korlus, and he is paying good money for the recovery of both his brother Niftu and his staff. They took the job, and were soon greeted by a small group of mercenaries from Illium. The team worked on a proper plan and executed it the next morning. While Lokea and some lighter members of the team came in from the roof by rappelling down along the wall, Stax and the heavier team members stormed the building from the ground floor. Lokea's team quickly found Niftu, and shot the slavers through the windows before bursting through. Stax's team located the missing staff, who were in the process of being auctioned off, and promptly rescued them after gunning down all hostiles in the room. The rest of the building was cleared out within minutes, and all hostages were safely rescued.

It wasn't long before Eppo recieved the good news on Illium. Due to their resounding success, he paid all involved what they were owed, along with a bonus. As a further token of gratitude, he offered Lokea and Stax a ride to Illium, as well as a free two-week stay at one of his resorts in Nos Astra. Lokea saw a means of leaving the planet, and Stax saw a business opportunity, and both immediately accepted.

Background Part 3 - Illium (Pre-War)

It was clear to both Stax and Lokea that their free resort stay was to sweeten an upcoming deal Eppo had for them, so when it came, they kept their heads clear about it. Eppo offered both Stax and Lokea jobs as high ranking members of CalCorp's security team, and after some calm negotiation, both Stax and Lokea agreed to it and signed on. The next day, they got acquainted with the rest of Eppo's team, a good portion of them being the same mercenaries that participated in the Korlus rescue mission. Eppo made sure to give both Stax and Lokea new weapons, and both continued to use their new toys well into the present. Since mid 2184, Stax and Lokea worked as CalCorp security agents. Most of the work itself was rather boring, but it did pay well and the duo took every chance they got to live like monarchs, even if it was for a few days out of the month. While Lokea and Stax performed rather dull duties throughout their new career, the few oddball assignments they did get broke up the monotony. Some missions they performed involved hostage rescue, others involved a little bit of corporate espionage, and sometimes Eppo just liked going to dangerous places and forced both Lokea and Stax to tag along.

Both Stax and Lokea knew that Eppo was a biotic since they signed on with him, but they never knew the full extent of his powers until the beginning of 2185. During a "business trip" to Omega, Eppo and his security team were ambushed by some Blood Pack mercenaries, but the volus didn't fret in the slightest. The three krogan and five vorcha that came for them couldn't stand back up for hours after Eppo thrashed them with his biotic powers, and the duo couldn't help themselves but be incredibly impressed by Eppo's biotic ability. Lokea herself was only slightly jealous of his ability to perform a biotic charge, but she managed to keep these feelings to herself. They later found out that those Blood Pack mercenaries were sent by one of Eppo's rivals, and while Stax suggested reprisal, Eppo declined on the basis of principle.

Both Stax and Lokea continued working for Eppo, taking on assignments and completing them with ease. Their effectiveness earned them a little bit of notoriety, where the duo started getting job offers from other businessfolk with promises of higher payouts. The duo considered them, but a little research often revealed the would-be poachers to be rather shady and untrustworthy individuals at best. It took some time for the duo to start trusting Eppo, but they've grown to be rather fond of the eccentric volus. While the rest of CalCorp's security team were at first cautious about the duo, they've also bonded well with Lokea and Stax. On days off, the whole security team threw parties at Eppo's Nos Astra resort (where he lets them live free of charge), parties that soon became the source of many of Lokea's positive memories.

When Lokea didn't feel like partying, she dabbled a bit in her artistic side, often painting and drawing digital art with the help of her omni-tool. Her artistic skills left much to be desired, but using implanted skills from some of the colonists, she got a small head start on some of the basics. At the time, her art hasn't really impressed anyone, but Stax and Eppo liked seeing this side to her.

Background Part 4 - Illium (War)

The year of 2186 was one that was burned into the memory of the rest of the galaxy. The Reaper Invasion began with little warning, and the devastation was staggering. Thanks to the quick actions from most of the companies on Illium, the planetary fleet managed to keep most of Reapers from landing on the planet's surface by targeting the troop transports. For a while, the planetary fleet remained engaged with the Reaper capital ships, buying those on the surface enough time to evacuate to safer locations. However, while most of the Reaper's transport ships were destroyed by Illium's flotilla, a few made it through and landed on Nos Astra. The chaos of the evacuation and the battle in space made it rather difficult to really coordinate a ground defense, and Illium's authority had their hands full managing the situation.

At the first signs of the Reaper invasion, Eppo immediately liquidated all of his assets and went to work on purchasing weapons, armor and survival gear. He rallied all of his staff and immediately assigned them different jobs. All of his non-combat personnel were to build and maintain public shelters while his security teams were to form a militia. Eppo's quick actions garnered attention from other groups, and within a week, a tight alliance of various assembled militias became chartered as the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion. Consisting of mercenaries, law enforcement personnel and combat veterans, the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion became a well-regulated paramilitary force in its own right, and immediately began operations throughout the capital of Illium. Thanks to their experience, both Stax and Lokea were signed on as sergeants, and had their armor colored to match the battalion's uniform.

During the Reaper War, Lokea served with distinction. Her defensive biotics and her new cloaking ability allowed her to save the lives of countless civilians and combatants alike, often pulling them away from the line of fire to allow them to be evacuated to safer places. Most of the operations she participated in was in the evacuation of citizens, often attempting to bring them away from combat zones so the rest of Illium's forces could better fight the invading Reapers. The asari clone had a few close calls herself, having nearly been torn apart by the Banshees that the Reapers deployed on Illium's surface. Slowly but surely, Lokea and the rest of the NAFB were able to build up a proper resistance and keep the Reapers off the planet for the most part. Lokea's guerilla tactics proved to be quite effective, with Stax acting as the vanguard and Eppo providing shield support and aggressive biotic attacks. The three of them, along with most of the former security team they worked with, were able to cut through enemy resistance like hot knife through butter, allowing other elements of the NAFB to quickly complete their objectives. Reaper ground troops were only able to come in small numbers, and the NAFB made quick work of them anytime they landed in the city. Thanks to the NAFB, civilian losses were very limited, and the Reapers still had a hard time getting their troops onto the surface.

Despite the low casualty rate the NAFB suffered, the battalion still suffered losses that were almost crippling. Despite the Reaper's heavy disadvantage on the ground, their troops still didn't need to be fed, supplied or rested. Their relentless attacks wore down the NAFB and its allies, with some finding it difficult to keep fighting day in and day out. Some of the almost impervious Reaper capital ships made it onto the planets surface and laid waste to many of the settlements, and while civilian losses were still low thanks to the NAFB's efforts, many combatants lost their lives thanks to the capital ship's attacks. Lokea watched as many of her friends burned away in the death beams the Reapers fired, nearly avoiding the ship's gaze by sticking to the buildings. The NAFB had to maneuver around the capital ships to continue their operations, though they were able to neutralize at least two Reaper destroyers with what little heavy weapons they could get their hands on. And because of their actions, they continued to be a nuisance to the Reapers who tried to take Nos Astra.

As the months went on, normal life became a distant memory. Lokea could barely keep herself motivated anymore as the fight continued. Nos Astra was almost in ruins, and the life the city had once had was long gone. The only people that remained here at this point where just the soldiers who were doing their best to keep the Reapers away from the planet. Despite the presence of the capital ships and destroyers, the NAFB still did a good job at keeping the ground troops away. The only thing left on Lokea's mind was war. It felt like that was all her life at this point, and she felt a bit empty for it. The company of Eppo and Stax did keep her in moderate spirits, but when she was all alone, all she could do was draw and paint the pain away.

And then the Reapers fell. A massive wave of red static energy washed over the planet, and encased in red lightning, the Reapers ceased to function and all of them fell. The wave blown all Reaper ground forces to ashes. After the Reaper ships fell to the ground, there was an almost deafening silence. A cease of explosions, death beams and gunfire. A cease of blood-chilling screams, hostile or friendly. After three minutes of complete silence, a human member of the NAFB raised his rifle in victory and shouted at the top of his lungs. Lokea, Stax, Eppo and the rest of the NAFB followed suit in the celebration of galactic victory. They won.

And they were free.

Background Part 5 - Illium (Post-War)

After the Reapers were defeated, everyone had time to finally grieve. Many of Lokea's friends died during the war, but thankfully, many of those closest to her survived. Almost all of Zhu's Hope made it through the war unscathed, and both Stax and Eppo survived the war with her. Those that maintained the shelters went to the surface to help rebuild the city, and Lokea assisted in the NAFB's post-war peacekeeping efforts. Despite the grief and emptiness the whole galaxy felt after the war was over, there was still some celebration and partying happening. Eppo's element of the NAFB returned to his (now ruined) resort to party like old times, and despite the festivities, everyone knew in their hearts that nothing will be the same again.

Lokea did her best to apply her non-combat skills to the rebuilding efforts anytime she wasn't on peacekeeping duty. For the next year, she and the rest of Nos Astra's survivors helped rebuild the city, as well as some of its culture. A lot of things changed since then. As the economy slowly recovered, a greater emphasis was placed on the preservation of life, and the planet saw lots of reform. As Illium was rebuilding, Lokea and the NAFB continued in their peacekeeping duties, often fighting gangs and slavers that forgot the main lesson that the Reaper Invasion taught the galaxy. The NAFB's combined experience made them a feared fighting force, and it didn't take long for most of the local criminal elements to back off. Off-world criminal elements got the message too, but two years too late. Lokea herself was involved in many of the anti-gang and anti-slaver operations that the NAFB completed, many of them completed with the help of Stax. Eppo, however, had long since quit the NAFB and went to work on rebuilding his financial empire. While it would take years, Eppo promised all of his former staff that he would rehire them once he regained his wealth and assets, and that they were free to come visit him anytime they were on leave. Lokea, Stax and most of Eppo's surviving staff obliged him any chance they got.

As time went on, the NAFB's activities died down. By 2190, Illium had rebuilt most of its law enforcement and military, and the government made the rather controversial decision to disband the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion. Officially, they said that such a paramilitary organization was no longer necessary since most societal functions were now restored, but a popular conspiracy says that Illium's corporate elite pressured the government into disbanding the NAFB, as the group often hurt the profits of companies that relied on less ethical means. However, most members of the NAFB were reintegrated into Illium's military and law enforcement, and the rest were rehired by the companies they used to work for. Lokea and Stax found their way back to Eppo, who rehired them and a few other members of his security staff.

The next year was rather quiet. Since Eppo wasn't the tycoon he used to be, he had to hire all of his staff at a lower wage as he couldn't afford to pay them their old rate. He still housed them for free at his hotel, though it wasn't as good as his old resort was. Work was slow and dull, and while they still managed to salvage some good days, things still didn't feel the same. Lokea, like a good portion of the galaxy, had to battle with a lot of demons that the Reaper War gave her. She coped with it by painting and drawing, and Eppo offered to buy her art to fill up the space in his properties. Lokea agreed, and she created more pieces and tried new ways to breathe life into the places Eppo ran. Eppo ran friendly competitions with all of his staff to see who would make the best hotel room, and the results of the competitions brought more people to his hotels. Eppo slowly regained his wealth, and he slowly regained his old staff and his old resort. He slowly raised their wages to their old rates as he could afford them, and soon enough, CalCorp was back in business, and things were kind of like old times again. Joy came back to the parties Eppo's staff threw, and Lokea found the warmth of new and familiar friends. It took years, but now Lokea felt like she was living again.

Life was good in late 2191. Almost all of Nos Astra had been rebuilt, and its economy was starting to boom again. Things were almost like they were before the war, with some downsides and some improvements. Every month, Eppo's staff would party in the memory of the friends they lost in the war, as that's what the dead would've wanted. Lokea and Stax went on their fun little adventures again, and Lokea herself continued to paint for Eppo. One day, while Lokea was hanging out with Eppo and Stax, a mechanical crow came to them at their resort room to offer Lokea a job. At the time, all three of them found it a little suspicious, but Lokea considered the idea. Depsite the mystery behind the job, it seemed like a lot of easy credits for a short excursion into Argus Rho. Lokea was originally going to turn the job down, but with the money being offered and its sign-on bonus, she couldn't pass it up, especially when half of that money can clear the remaining debts that she's been struggling to pay off. Both Eppo Cal and Urdnot Stax warned her about the job and the dangers of working with people who have a lot to hide. Lokea reassured them that she was well aware of those dangers, and while she could handle herself, if things start getting really fishy, she'll bail out and get to back Nos Astra as fast as possible. If it made them feel any better, she would remain in frequent contact with them during her travels. So, after lots of hugs and goodbyes, Lokea took a few flights over to meet up with Proxy's group.

What seemed like an easy job soon turned into something far bigger...

Powers/Skills | Lokea herself is a rather skilled individual, who's capabilities can be best summed up as a healthy mix of Asari Commando and Alliance Marine. Thanks to the memories that were planted in her since creation, Lokea has access to a wide variety of skills acquired from Shiala and many of the colonists of Zhu's Hope. Despite her natural biotic potential, her thorian-based biology forces an instability in most of her biotic projection, limiting her mostly to using her biotics in a defensive kinetic capacity. Despite that, her planted memories and years of combat experience have allowed her to excel in the use of firearms and martial arts, among many other things.

Aegis Barrier - While it was Lokea's first and most basic biotic abilities, it is also the only stable one she could maintain control over. It acts in the same way kinetic shields would, but with only light focus, it can greatly reduce the effects of any incoming kinetic attacks. This barrier can be broken with enough force, or sustained force. However, Lokea has the ability to focus a lot of that protection into the form of a near-unbreakable aegis shield, not unlike that of the Backlash skill. The aegis barrier can withstand more damage than the standard one, as most of the energy is focused in a specific direction.
Biotic Focus - If Lokea focused her biotics into herself, she could greatly increase her physical strength and speed, as well as greatly reduce the damage of melee attacks. The physical kinetic strength granted to her from this ability would allow her to stand up to even krogans.
Tactical Cloak - Ever since Lokea joined the NAFB, she used concealment and cover to her advantage to surprise and ambush enemies. It wasn't long before she took it to the next step by the use of a tactical cloak. Using the energy from her shields, the cloak manipulates light in a way in which Lokea herself would nearly be invisible. She'd still have to be very quiet to completely evade detection, though.
Overload - A function Lokea adopted onto her Omni-Tool to compliment her arc grenades, which was to deliver an electric shock with an adjustable level of power. It is often used in a similar fashion to a stun baton or a taser, augmenting her omni-weapons and biotic punches with electricity. Other times, Lokea deploys it as a small flash of lightning that could fry shields and electronics. Lokea's been using this function on her omni-tool since she started working security, and it has served her quite well.

Equipment | Most of Lokea's equipment came from both her security work under Eppo, as well as her service in the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion. She used to privately own her own equipment, but she sold all of it once Eppo issued her some new toys. She does her best to maintain all of her gear herself, but every now and then she might purchase a few new parts and upgrades.

M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle - This tough, reliable firearm has been a design success, and thanks to its cheap and reliable nature, it was fielded to militaries and militia groups the galaxy over during the Reaper War. Issued to Lokea when she joined the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion, she used this weapon well, and upgraded it to her liking, installing a power condenser and rate of fire selector to give it comparable performance to that of a Mattock in single fire mode. Accurate and deadly in single fire mode and devastating in full auto, this weapon has only failed unskilled users.
M-6 Carnifex Handgun - Issued to her when she started working for Eppo Cal, this powerful handgun served with distinction as Lokea's sidearm. With some slight modifications, this weapon found the perfect balance between fire rate, power, range and heat capacity. She has also kitted it out with a green laser sight, which she can activate with a switch. Since Illium, this gun has always been at Lokea's side.
Omni-forge - While the standard configuration of such weapon is usually an omni-blade, Lokea often uses the omni-knuckles configuration to augment her biotic punches as well. Sometimes, she uses both in conjuction with her Overload modifier, adding an electrical shock.
Disruptor Ammo - When activated, Lokea's weapon is empowered by an electric field that causes additional damage to shields. The ammo also deals increased damage to synthetic enemies and adds a chance to temporarily disable them. In addition, the ammo has a chance to overheat enemy weapons thereby disabling them.
Arc Grenade - Depending on what setting she uses, Lokea could either uses these grenades as a way to non-lethally stun targets, or absolutely fry and destroy everything within a large radius via electric shock.
Ajax-class Kinetic Barrier - Thanks to the Ajax-class armor that Lokea's wearing, her kinetic barriers can withstand quite a bit of a beating, and can regenerate in a reasonable amount of time. However, like all kinetic barriers, while they can absorb damage from most ranged weapons and explosions, they do not protect from melee strikes. While the kinetic barrier is small enough to be worn on normal clothing, without the armor conduits the shield loses some of its capacity. Combined with the Ajax armor's shield conduits and ceramic plating, the shield provides a decent amount of defense.
Thermal Clips - Lokea's thermal clips are only used in emergencies. In extended periods of fire, when Lokea is often using single-shot fire modes, she doesn't use thermal clips, and instead waits for the weapons to cool. However, in the event when the weapon is needed in that moment, she uses the thermal clip to change out the heat sinks and keep firing.
Rangefinder - This rangefinder is a smart scope that allows Lokea to see very far distances, and she has employed it when acting as a spotter for the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion sniper groups.
Omni-Tool Modules

Medigel/Healing Module - This omni-tool module allows her to perform basic first aid easily on any wounded victims. While it doesn't cure them, it can buy wounded victims enough time to get proper help. Uses this module primarily in her combat lifesaving duties.
'Swiss Army Knife' Module - Using the omni-gel converter that comes with the omni-tool, it can forge small tools that can be used for any basic need. Knives, screwdrivers, powersaws, corkscrews, nails... there's nothing the Omni-tool can't do! Almost.
Digital Art Module - Lokea often likes to paint and draw with this digital interface, her Omni-tool projecting a canvas on any flat surface for her to use. In the absence of one, one is created on the omni-tool interface itself.

Affiliations | Lokea still maintains frequent contact with most of those on this list, as she has them to thank for her growth and development, as well as her survival. She has made more friends than listed below, but these are the more prominent figures in her life.

Nos Astra Freedom Battalion - A tight alliance of militias that formed in the capital of Illium during the Reaper War. Was crazy effective at guerilla tactics and anti-gang operations until they were forcibly shut down by the reformist Illium government. Lokea was once a proud member, came in as a Sergeant and left as a Staff Sergeant once the whole group got demobilized.

Eppo Cal - Alive. A wealthy and eccentric business tycoon, and a powerful biotic volus. Was a bit of a 'crazy cool uncle' for Lokea, if she had the closest human description for him. Was her boss before, during and after their tour in the NAFB, but he treated her and her friends quite well and the two became close friends.
Urdnot Stax - Alive. Nicknamed "Fat Stax", this friendly krogan is the closest friend Lokea ever had. The two of them kicked ass together before, during and after the Reaper War, and hope to do so long after Lokea's tour in the Intervention. To Lokea, he's more akin to a big brother than just a business partner, despite starting as such on Korlus. The two of them often joke that their adventures would both make for a good buddy-merc vid series.

Zhu's Hope - A colony from Feros that experienced some of the opening shots of the Eden Prime War in 2183. Lokea came from here, or rather the Thorian that lived here, and spent the first year of her life on this little colony.

Shiala - Alive. An asari commando that provided the basis for the clones the Thorian created. She was there to help Lokea get her mind back on track, and work through her problems.
Kielo Zhu - Alive. One of the other clones that emerged with her. Lokea owes her survival to her, as they were able to get through the first three days together. Ended up being one of the colony's doctors.
Numeka Zhu - Deceased. Another clone that emerged with her, who also helped Lokea out in the first three days. She helped out with the colony's defense, but perished in the Reaper War.
Davin Reynolds - Alive. Hunting partner and drinking buddy, Lokea and Davin were decent friends who hunted animals together on Feros. With Davin's help, Lokea was able to keep her skills sharp.

Relationships |

To Be Written During Play

CHARNAME - Status. "Lokea's thoughts."

Theme Song | WE ARE FURY feat. Heather Sommer - Sad Story (ARYZE Remix)

Lyrics

(Verse 1)
Feels like I've been drifting
Away from home
Another night of wishin'
I had control
My thoughts drown me like a river
Oh-oh-oh
Always stuck in the middle

(Pre-Chorus)
Wish I wasn't falling slowly
Never thought it'd be so lonely
Walls are closing in
Don't wanna be another sad story

(Chorus)
When it's all over
I want you to know
It was all worth it, oh
Promise I won't be, I won't be another sad story

(Drop)
I won't be another sad story
Oh, I will never be
Oh, I won't be another sad story

(Verse 2)
I don't wanna watch myself fall apart
'Cause I've seen all of the pieces of myself
I didn't know I had
My thoughts drown me like a river
Woah-oh-oh
Always stuck in the middle

(Pre-Chorus)
Wish I wasn't falling slowly
Never thought it'd be so lonely
Walls are closing in
Don't wanna be another sad story

(Chorus)
When it's all over
I want you to know
It was all worth it, oh
Promise I won't be, I won't be another sad story

(Drop)
I won't be another sad story
Oh, I will never be
Don't wanna be another sad story

When it's all over
I want you to know
It was all worth it, oh
Promise I won't be, I won't be another sad story

Picture Gallery | Just Lokea's character art. All are hidden below here to make the character sheet neater and easier to read.

Full Mugshot (Art by Bearly Dressed)

Casual Clothes (4K)

Ajax Armor Standing (4K)

Ajax Armor Crouched (4K)

OOC Notes and Changelog

This character sheet format was poached from someone eons ago, while Lokea herself was an older character concept that I had for another Mass Effect RP 3 years back. However, she's a bit different this time around. I would consider this the best CS I ever wrote in my 6 year tenure on this site. Despite that, I wrote most of this while being super tired and braindead thanks to my job, so if there's any questions or suggestions for improvement, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thank you!

_Changelog
^{_______________________________________________}
12/12/2021 - Created character sheet.
12/16/2021 - Added name pronunciation.
12/17/2021 - Added some character art that I created with the help of Source Filmmaker and Photoshop to better illustrate what Lokea and her gear looks like. Changed sidearm to Carnifex to better match aesthetic. Updated apparel descriptions to suit new images. Added some references to Eppo Cal's company, CalCorp.
2/14/2022 A - Revised character sheet for new RP. Fixed broken image links, and changed the backstory a bit (mostly the last paragraph) to reflect new RP. Gave her the codename 'Venom Rose', as well as the Overload power.
2/14/2022 B - Changed a few details in Lokea's backstory to better reflect Proxy's hiring process.
2/26/2022 - Forgot to credit the original artist for drawing Shiala's original portrait, added it.

Mass Effect: Intervention

@TheRedWatcher, I present to you... Venom Rose. If you're already familiar with the character sheet, I'd suggest reading the changelog. :)

Lokea Zhu

_{"I don't want to be another sad story."}

_______________________________________________ Lokea Zhu [Low-key-uh Zoo] Codename // Venom Rose _______________________________________________ Asari Clone | Private Mercenary | Combat Lifesaver _______________________________________________ Ex-Staff Sergeant of the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion Profile Name | Lokea Zhu Codename | "Venom Rose" Race | Asari Age | 8 years old (born 2183) Gender | Feminine Sexuality | Bisexual (Female Leaning) Height | 5'9" (175 cm) Weight | 175 lbs (79.5 kg) Eye Color | Green Occupation | Mercenary, Combat Lifesaver

Appearance | Lokea bears an uncanny resemblance to the asari commando Shiala, green skin and all. She maintains a fit physicality, her feminine curves noticeable and prominent, but not hindering. Surrounding her green eyes are a warm orange and red fade, as well as a variety of darker markings that surround her eyes. In combat missions, she wears a worn set of Ajax Armor, as well as a black breather mask with a painted skull on it. Outside of combat missions, she sticks with a simple grey hoodie and black slacks. Personality | Like her clone sisters, she didn't really have much of a personality when she first emerged. Well, she did have hundreds of personalities, but they all came in the form of thoughts and memories planted into her from the Thorian that created her. It took a lot of time and experiences for her to figure out which of the memories and personalities she should rely on, and over time she found the ones she liked and came into her own being. As time went on, she became more of an expressive individual who enjoys the company of friendly creatures. From her planted memories and experiences at Zhu's Hope, she uses them in her attempts to be a kinder and friendlier person. She once struggled with the idea of being a clone, but thanks to her close friends, she was able to find security and grace within herself. Her expressive attitude compels her to create beauty, often in the form of drawings and paintings. Thanks to having the implanted memories of one asari and many humans, she's adopted expressions and body languages of both. As for the many values that have been planted, she stuck with the ones that she's liked the best (being kind, standing up for the weak, etc). On the other hand, she is a rather hedonistic individual who lives for the present. Thanks to the Reaper War, she doesn't really plan too far ahead. Despite being secure in herself, the Reaper War made her feel small again, and the loss of many of her friends gives her quite a bit of survivor's guilt. Regardless, she maintains a wanderlust that compels her to go see the stars for herself. (Will edit and develop through play)

Backstory | Long story short, Lokea Zhu is an Asari Clone born from the Thorian who made a name for herself in Illium. She spent some time on Feros helping out its residents, finding out who she was and who she wanted to be. She travelled the stars for a short period of time, eventually ending up on Korlus and working with a friendly krogan named Urdnot Stax. Their work on Korlus earned them residence on Illium, where they worked for an eccentric volus who went by Eppo Cal. When the Reapers arrived, she joined the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion, saved the lives of many with her abilities, and served with distinction. After the war ended, Lokea continued to serve with the NAFB for a bit, and after it disbanded, she was rehired by Eppo Cal and continued to work for him. It was only recently that she was poached for a rather high-paying job on Ebos.

Background Part 1 - Feros

Born from the genetic stock of the Asari Commando Shiala in 2183, Lokea was created under strange circumstances by the Thorian, an ancient sentient plant found on the planet of Feros. While the Thorian exerted its influence and control of the populace of the nearby colony of Zhu's Hope, it created strange green-skinned clones of Shiala in order to speak for it and defend it. While quite a few were deployed when Commander Shepard arrived in search of the conduit, some were stored in sacks as a quick response measure. Some were deployed in order to quickly stop Shepard as the Thorian resisted Shepard's attempts to dispose of it. However, Shepard's squad was able to quickly dispatch the clones, the creepers and the nodes that held the Thorian in the building. The Thorian was killed, Shiala and the Zhu's Hope colonists were freed, and Shepard was able to use the conduit as planned, getting closer to Saren.

However, not all of the sacs were destroyed, and not all of the clones were killed. Hours after the incident, Lokea surfaced from one of these sacs, free from the grasp of the Thorian. While she had a mixture of memories given to her by the Thorian when she was created, these memories were all scrambled, all from different minds and different bodies. She struggled to figure out who she was, what her name was, and who to speak for. As she walked amongst the corpses of the creepers and clones that had fallen in the battle earlier, two more clones like her emerged as well. They met and got acquainted, and knowing that they were all in the same boat, they worked together to get out of the ruins they were in. Once they got hungry, they worked together to hunt some varren that wandered around the ruins. The three clones wandered the ruins for three days, all while trying to figure out who they were and what they should do next. It wasn't long before they stumbled into some of the colonists at Zhu's Hope. The colonists immediately tended to their needs and sent them back to their colony, where all three of them met Shiala.

Shiala proved herself to be more than helpful to both the colony and the clones. As they were fed and sheltered at the colony, Shiala explained to them who they were and why their minds were so clouded with memories and thoughts from others. After some impromptu counseling from Shiala and Lizbeth Baynham, the three eventually picked their names. The two other clones came to be named Kielo and Numeka, taking on the last name of 'Zhu' from Lizbeth's suggestion. Lokea followed suit with her last name, chosing her first name from the word 'Hope' from an ancient asari language, her name roughly translating to that of The Hope of Zhu. All three of them were known in the colony as the Zhu Sisters. Over the period of a year, the sisters ingratiated themselves into the colony and functioned quite well. While Kielo and Numeka assisted Shiala in her efforts in rebuilding and healing the colony, Lokea carved a path of her own, often going out on hunts and scouting missions with Davin Reynolds. In that time, the biotics of Shiala and the Zhu Sisters degraded thanks to the effects of the Thorian, and the four of them had to adapt to that. As Lokea's planted memories gave her visions of different places, her wanderlust grew, especially after hearing about Shepard's galactic exploits from the news.

In 2184, Lokea made the difficult decision to move away from Zhu's Hope to go see the galaxy for herself. While she had grown very close to many of the members of the colony, she felt that she would find her true calling elsewhere, as there wasn't much left for her to do at the colony. Ledra gave Lokea a free ride to Eden Prime during one of his supply runs, and from then, she wandered across the Milky Way.

Background Part 2 - Korlus

In her several months of travels, Lokea's been to Eden Prime, the Citadel, Bekenstein and Korlus, doing odd jobs and light mercenary work to put food on the table and pay for other expenses. Her planted memories gave her quite a unique advantage in most job markets, as she had the combined skills of most of the affected colonists from Zhu's Hope. In Eden Prime, she mostly did contract work in the construction of homes and small buildings to pay for her ticket to the Citadel, all while visiting the sites of where the first shots of the Eden Prime War took place. She quickly made her way to the Citadel, where she spent a month doing maintenance and security work. She got into a few light scuffles with petty criminals, but she was able to end them quickly without causing serious harm. It slowly became clear to her that she couldn't afford to live on the Citadel, so she kept moving. She spent a week at Bekenstein sightseeing before saddling up for Korlus.

The moment Lokea made landfall on Korlus, she knew already that she hated it. A hot, noxious scrapyard world almost uninhabitable, the asari spent most of her time there in a rather dilapidated climate-controlled motel room. Thanks to the rather cheap rates of almost everything here, Lokea was actually able to turn a profit this time around from the odd jobs she did here. When she wasn't doing security work, she was also performing maintenance and deliveries for a few tidy sums. After about two weeks, Lokea got her first taste of blood when she killed six batarian gangsters and wounded four more when they attempted to murder her and one of her clients. Despite the rather terrifying incident, Lokea's implanted combat experience helped her during the fight and after it. At that point, she knew that in order to stay safe, she would have to use a codename. It took her some time, but she came up with one that had a nice ring to it. Since that incident, she was known as Venom Rose, and has gone by that codename since. Over time, Lokea got more jobs and earned some notoriety from some of the local gangs under that new name. On a particular anti-gang job, she was hired by a friendly krogan named Urdnot Stax, whom she later befriended and nicknamed 'Fat Stax'. She did a few jobs with him, and thanks to how crazy effective they were as a team, both of them agreed to a partnership. The neighborhood they lived in noticeably improved with their presence, and inspired some of the residents to stand up to some of the gangs that ravaged it.

After a month of doing anti-gang and bodyguard jobs, work died down a bit, as their neighborhood became arguably one of the safest on the planet. More people came to the neighboorhood, and the cost of living started to climb there. Both Lokea and Stax knew that the positive direction the neighborhood was meant that they would have to move somewhere else to keep making money, and while they considered their options, a new job came in. A wealthy volus merchant named Eppo Cal contacted them, and told them that his brother Niftu Cal had been kidnapped and held for ransom by a group of slavers, who also kidnapped a number of Eppo's staff. Eppo tracked the slavers down to a large building in Korlus, and he is paying good money for the recovery of both his brother Niftu and his staff. They took the job, and were soon greeted by a small group of mercenaries from Illium. The team worked on a proper plan and executed it the next morning. While Lokea and some lighter members of the team came in from the roof by rappelling down along the wall, Stax and the heavier team members stormed the building from the ground floor. Lokea's team quickly found Niftu, and shot the slavers through the windows before bursting through. Stax's team located the missing staff, who were in the process of being auctioned off, and promptly rescued them after gunning down all hostiles in the room. The rest of the building was cleared out within minutes, and all hostages were safely rescued.

It wasn't long before Eppo recieved the good news on Illium. Due to their resounding success, he paid all involved what they were owed, along with a bonus. As a further token of gratitude, he offered Lokea and Stax a ride to Illium, as well as a free two-week stay at one of his resorts in Nos Astra. Lokea saw a means of leaving the planet, and Stax saw a business opportunity, and both immediately accepted.

Background Part 3 - Illium (Pre-War)

It was clear to both Stax and Lokea that their free resort stay was to sweeten an upcoming deal Eppo had for them, so when it came, they kept their heads clear about it. Eppo offered both Stax and Lokea jobs as high ranking members of CalCorp's security team, and after some calm negotiation, both Stax and Lokea agreed to it and signed on. The next day, they got acquainted with the rest of Eppo's team, a good portion of them being the same mercenaries that participated in the Korlus rescue mission. Eppo made sure to give both Stax and Lokea new weapons, and both continued to use their new toys well into the present. Since mid 2184, Stax and Lokea worked as CalCorp security agents. Most of the work itself was rather boring, but it did pay well and the duo took every chance they got to live like monarchs, even if it was for a few days out of the month. While Lokea and Stax performed rather dull duties throughout their new career, the few oddball assignments they did get broke up the monotony. Some missions they performed involved hostage rescue, others involved a little bit of corporate espionage, and sometimes Eppo just liked going to dangerous places and forced both Lokea and Stax to tag along.

Both Stax and Lokea knew that Eppo was a biotic since they signed on with him, but they never knew the full extent of his powers until the beginning of 2185. During a "business trip" to Omega, Eppo and his security team were ambushed by some Blood Pack mercenaries, but the volus didn't fret in the slightest. The three krogan and five vorcha that came for them couldn't stand back up for hours after Eppo thrashed them with his biotic powers, and the duo couldn't help themselves but be incredibly impressed by Eppo's biotic ability. Lokea herself was only slightly jealous of his ability to perform a biotic charge, but she managed to keep these feelings to herself. They later found out that those Blood Pack mercenaries were sent by one of Eppo's rivals, and while Stax suggested reprisal, Eppo declined on the basis of principle.

Both Stax and Lokea continued working for Eppo, taking on assignments and completing them with ease. Their effectiveness earned them a little bit of notoriety, where the duo started getting job offers from other businessfolk with promises of higher payouts. The duo considered them, but a little research often revealed the would-be poachers to be rather shady and untrustworthy individuals at best. It took some time for the duo to start trusting Eppo, but they've grown to be rather fond of the eccentric volus. While the rest of CalCorp's security team were at first cautious about the duo, they've also bonded well with Lokea and Stax. On days off, the whole security team threw parties at Eppo's Nos Astra resort (where he lets them live free of charge), parties that soon became the source of many of Lokea's positive memories.

When Lokea didn't feel like partying, she dabbled a bit in her artistic side, often painting and drawing digital art with the help of her omni-tool. Her artistic skills left much to be desired, but using implanted skills from some of the colonists, she got a small head start on some of the basics. At the time, her art hasn't really impressed anyone, but Stax and Eppo liked seeing this side to her.

Background Part 4 - Illium (War)

The year of 2186 was one that was burned into the memory of the rest of the galaxy. The Reaper Invasion began with little warning, and the devastation was staggering. Thanks to the quick actions from most of the companies on Illium, the planetary fleet managed to keep most of Reapers from landing on the planet's surface by targeting the troop transports. For a while, the planetary fleet remained engaged with the Reaper capital ships, buying those on the surface enough time to evacuate to safer locations. However, while most of the Reaper's transport ships were destroyed by Illium's flotilla, a few made it through and landed on Nos Astra. The chaos of the evacuation and the battle in space made it rather difficult to really coordinate a ground defense, and Illium's authority had their hands full managing the situation.

At the first signs of the Reaper invasion, Eppo immediately liquidated all of his assets and went to work on purchasing weapons, armor and survival gear. He rallied all of his staff and immediately assigned them different jobs. All of his non-combat personnel were to build and maintain public shelters while his security teams were to form a militia. Eppo's quick actions garnered attention from other groups, and within a week, a tight alliance of various assembled militias became chartered as the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion. Consisting of mercenaries, law enforcement personnel and combat veterans, the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion became a well-regulated paramilitary force in its own right, and immediately began operations throughout the capital of Illium. Thanks to their experience, both Stax and Lokea were signed on as sergeants, and had their armor colored to match the battalion's uniform.

During the Reaper War, Lokea served with distinction. Her defensive biotics and her new cloaking ability allowed her to save the lives of countless civilians and combatants alike, often pulling them away from the line of fire to allow them to be evacuated to safer places. Most of the operations she participated in was in the evacuation of citizens, often attempting to bring them away from combat zones so the rest of Illium's forces could better fight the invading Reapers. The asari clone had a few close calls herself, having nearly been torn apart by the Banshees that the Reapers deployed on Illium's surface. Slowly but surely, Lokea and the rest of the NAFB were able to build up a proper resistance and keep the Reapers off the planet for the most part. Lokea's guerilla tactics proved to be quite effective, with Stax acting as the vanguard and Eppo providing shield support and aggressive biotic attacks. The three of them, along with most of the former security team they worked with, were able to cut through enemy resistance like hot knife through butter, allowing other elements of the NAFB to quickly complete their objectives. Reaper ground troops were only able to come in small numbers, and the NAFB made quick work of them anytime they landed in the city. Thanks to the NAFB, civilian losses were very limited, and the Reapers still had a hard time getting their troops onto the surface.

Despite the low casualty rate the NAFB suffered, the battalion still suffered losses that were almost crippling. Despite the Reaper's heavy disadvantage on the ground, their troops still didn't need to be fed, supplied or rested. Their relentless attacks wore down the NAFB and its allies, with some finding it difficult to keep fighting day in and day out. Some of the almost impervious Reaper capital ships made it onto the planets surface and laid waste to many of the settlements, and while civilian losses were still low thanks to the NAFB's efforts, many combatants lost their lives thanks to the capital ship's attacks. Lokea watched as many of her friends burned away in the death beams the Reapers fired, nearly avoiding the ship's gaze by sticking to the buildings. The NAFB had to maneuver around the capital ships to continue their operations, though they were able to neutralize at least two Reaper destroyers with what little heavy weapons they could get their hands on. And because of their actions, they continued to be a nuisance to the Reapers who tried to take Nos Astra.

As the months went on, normal life became a distant memory. Lokea could barely keep herself motivated anymore as the fight continued. Nos Astra was almost in ruins, and the life the city had once had was long gone. The only people that remained here at this point where just the soldiers who were doing their best to keep the Reapers away from the planet. Despite the presence of the capital ships and destroyers, the NAFB still did a good job at keeping the ground troops away. The only thing left on Lokea's mind was war. It felt like that was all her life at this point, and she felt a bit empty for it. The company of Eppo and Stax did keep her in moderate spirits, but when she was all alone, all she could do was draw and paint the pain away.

And then the Reapers fell. A massive wave of red static energy washed over the planet, and encased in red lightning, the Reapers ceased to function and all of them fell. The wave blown all Reaper ground forces to ashes. After the Reaper ships fell to the ground, there was an almost deafening silence. A cease of explosions, death beams and gunfire. A cease of blood-chilling screams, hostile or friendly. After three minutes of complete silence, a human member of the NAFB raised his rifle in victory and shouted at the top of his lungs. Lokea, Stax, Eppo and the rest of the NAFB followed suit in the celebration of galactic victory. They won.

And they were free.

Background Part 5 - Illium (Post-War)

After the Reapers were defeated, everyone had time to finally grieve. Many of Lokea's friends died during the war, but thankfully, many of those closest to her survived. Almost all of Zhu's Hope made it through the war unscathed, and both Stax and Eppo survived the war with her. Those that maintained the shelters went to the surface to help rebuild the city, and Lokea assisted in the NAFB's post-war peacekeeping efforts. Despite the grief and emptiness the whole galaxy felt after the war was over, there was still some celebration and partying happening. Eppo's element of the NAFB returned to his (now ruined) resort to party like old times, and despite the festivities, everyone knew in their hearts that nothing will be the same again.

Lokea did her best to apply her non-combat skills to the rebuilding efforts anytime she wasn't on peacekeeping duty. For the next year, she and the rest of Nos Astra's survivors helped rebuild the city, as well as some of its culture. A lot of things changed since then. As the economy slowly recovered, a greater emphasis was placed on the preservation of life, and the planet saw lots of reform. As Illium was rebuilding, Lokea and the NAFB continued in their peacekeeping duties, often fighting gangs and slavers that forgot the main lesson that the Reaper Invasion taught the galaxy. The NAFB's combined experience made them a feared fighting force, and it didn't take long for most of the local criminal elements to back off. Off-world criminal elements got the message too, but two years too late. Lokea herself was involved in many of the anti-gang and anti-slaver operations that the NAFB completed, many of them completed with the help of Stax. Eppo, however, had long since quit the NAFB and went to work on rebuilding his financial empire. While it would take years, Eppo promised all of his former staff that he would rehire them once he regained his wealth and assets, and that they were free to come visit him anytime they were on leave. Lokea, Stax and most of Eppo's surviving staff obliged him any chance they got.

As time went on, the NAFB's activities died down. By 2190, Illium had rebuilt most of its law enforcement and military, and the government made the rather controversial decision to disband the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion. Officially, they said that such a paramilitary organization was no longer necessary since most societal functions were now restored, but a popular conspiracy says that Illium's corporate elite pressured the government into disbanding the NAFB, as the group often hurt the profits of companies that relied on less ethical means. However, most members of the NAFB were reintegrated into Illium's military and law enforcement, and the rest were rehired by the companies they used to work for. Lokea and Stax found their way back to Eppo, who rehired them and a few other members of his security staff.

The next year was rather quiet. Since Eppo wasn't the tycoon he used to be, he had to hire all of his staff at a lower wage as he couldn't afford to pay them their old rate. He still housed them for free at his hotel, though it wasn't as good as his old resort was. Work was slow and dull, and while they still managed to salvage some good days, things still didn't feel the same. Lokea, like a good portion of the galaxy, had to battle with a lot of demons that the Reaper War gave her. She coped with it by painting and drawing, and Eppo offered to buy her art to fill up the space in his properties. Lokea agreed, and she created more pieces and tried new ways to breathe life into the places Eppo ran. Eppo ran friendly competitions with all of his staff to see who would make the best hotel room, and the results of the competitions brought more people to his hotels. Eppo slowly regained his wealth, and he slowly regained his old staff and his old resort. He slowly raised their wages to their old rates as he could afford them, and soon enough, CalCorp was back in business, and things were kind of like old times again. Joy came back to the parties Eppo's staff threw, and Lokea found the warmth of new and familiar friends. It took years, but now Lokea felt like she was living again.

Life was good in late 2191. Almost all of Nos Astra had been rebuilt, and its economy was starting to boom again. Things were almost like they were before the war, with some downsides and some improvements. Every month, Eppo's staff would party in the memory of the friends they lost in the war, as that's what the dead would've wanted. Lokea and Stax went on their fun little adventures again, and Lokea herself continued to paint for Eppo. One day, Lokea got a letter in her virtual inbox, one from a somewhat shifty individual. A brief investigation as to how this message got to her quickly led to Lokea's old job posting that she made before she got hired by Eppo, but that aside, neither Lokea or any of her friends could find anything on this "Proxy" guy. Depsite the mystery behind the job, it seemed like a lot of easy credits for a short excursion into Argus Rho. Lokea was originally going to turn the job down, but with the money being offered and its sign-on bonus, she couldn't pass it up, especially when half of that money can clear the remaining debts that she's been struggling to pay off. Both Eppo Cal and Urdnot Stax warned her about the job and the dangers of working with people who have a lot to hide. Lokea reassured them that she was well aware of those dangers, and while she could handle herself, if things start getting really fishy, she'll bail out and get to back Nos Astra as fast as possible. If it made them feel any better, she would remain in frequent contact with them during her travels. So, after lots of hugs and goodbyes, Lokea took a few flights over to meet up with Proxy's group.

What seemed like an easy job soon turned into something far bigger...

Powers/Skills | Lokea herself is a rather skilled individual, who's capabilities can be best summed up as a healthy mix of Asari Commando and Alliance Marine. Thanks to the memories that were planted in her since creation, Lokea has access to a wide variety of skills acquired from Shiala and many of the colonists of Zhu's Hope. Despite her natural biotic potential, her thorian-based biology forces an instability in most of her biotic projection, limiting her mostly to using her biotics in a defensive kinetic capacity. Despite that, her planted memories and years of combat experience have allowed her to excel in the use of firearms and martial arts, among many other things.

Aegis Barrier - While it was Lokea's first and most basic biotic abilities, it is also the only stable one she could maintain control over. It acts in the same way kinetic shields would, but with only light focus, it can greatly reduce the effects of any incoming kinetic attacks. This barrier can be broken with enough force, or sustained force. However, Lokea has the ability to focus a lot of that protection into the form of a near-unbreakable aegis shield, not unlike that of the Backlash skill. The aegis barrier can withstand more damage than the standard one, as most of the energy is focused in a specific direction.
Biotic Focus - If Lokea focused her biotics into herself, she could greatly increase her physical strength and speed, as well as greatly reduce the damage of melee attacks. The physical kinetic strength granted to her from this ability would allow her to stand up to even krogans.
Tactical Cloak - Ever since Lokea joined the NAFB, she used concealment and cover to her advantage to surprise and ambush enemies. It wasn't long before she took it to the next step by the use of a tactical cloak. Using the energy from her shields, the cloak manipulates light in a way in which Lokea herself would nearly be invisible. She'd still have to be very quiet to completely evade detection, though.
Overload - A function Lokea adopted onto her Omni-Tool to compliment her arc grenades, which was to deliver an electric shock with an adjustable level of power. It is often used in a similar fashion to a stun baton or a taser, augmenting her omni-weapons and biotic punches with electricity. Other times, Lokea deploys it as a small flash of lightning that could fry shields and electronics. Lokea's been using this function on her omni-tool since she started working security, and it has served her quite well.

Equipment | Most of Lokea's equipment came from both her security work under Eppo, as well as her service in the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion. She used to privately own her own equipment, but she sold all of it once Eppo issued her some new toys. She does her best to maintain all of her gear herself, but every now and then she might purchase a few new parts and upgrades.

M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle - This tough, reliable firearm has been a design success, and thanks to its cheap and reliable nature, it was fielded to militaries and militia groups the galaxy over during the Reaper War. Issued to Lokea when she joined the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion, she used this weapon well, and upgraded it to her liking, installing a power condenser and rate of fire selector to give it comparable performance to that of a Mattock in single fire mode. Accurate and deadly in single fire mode and devastating in full auto, this weapon has only failed unskilled users.
M-6 Carnifex Handgun - Issued to her when she started working for Eppo Cal, this powerful handgun served with distinction as Lokea's sidearm. With some slight modifications, this weapon found the perfect balance between fire rate, power, range and heat capacity. She has also kitted it out with a green laser sight, which she can activate with a switch. Since Illium, this gun has always been at Lokea's side.
Omni-forge - While the standard configuration of such weapon is usually an omni-blade, Lokea often uses the omni-knuckles configuration to augment her biotic punches as well. Sometimes, she uses both in conjuction with her Overload modifier, adding an electrical shock.
Disruptor Ammo - When activated, Lokea's weapon is empowered by an electric field that causes additional damage to shields. The ammo also deals increased damage to synthetic enemies and adds a chance to temporarily disable them. In addition, the ammo has a chance to overheat enemy weapons thereby disabling them.
Arc Grenade - Depending on what setting she uses, Lokea could either uses these grenades as a way to non-lethally stun targets, or absolutely fry and destroy everything within a large radius via electric shock.
Ajax-class Kinetic Barrier - Thanks to the Ajax-class armor that Lokea's wearing, her kinetic barriers can withstand quite a bit of a beating, and can regenerate in a reasonable amount of time. However, like all kinetic barriers, while they can absorb damage from most ranged weapons and explosions, they do not protect from melee strikes. While the kinetic barrier is small enough to be worn on normal clothing, without the armor conduits the shield loses some of its capacity. Combined with the Ajax armor's shield conduits and ceramic plating, the shield provides a decent amount of defense.
Thermal Clips - Lokea's thermal clips are only used in emergencies. In extended periods of fire, when Lokea is often using single-shot fire modes, she doesn't use thermal clips, and instead waits for the weapons to cool. However, in the event when the weapon is needed in that moment, she uses the thermal clip to change out the heat sinks and keep firing.
Rangefinder - This rangefinder is a smart scope that allows Lokea to see very far distances, and she has employed it when acting as a spotter for the Nos Astra Freedom Battalion sniper groups.
Omni-Tool Modules

Medigel/Healing Module - This omni-tool module allows her to perform basic first aid easily on any wounded victims. While it doesn't cure them, it can buy wounded victims enough time to get proper help. Uses this module primarily in her combat lifesaving duties.
'Swiss Army Knife' Module - Using the omni-gel converter that comes with the omni-tool, it can forge small tools that can be used for any basic need. Knives, screwdrivers, powersaws, corkscrews, nails... there's nothing the Omni-tool can't do! Almost.
Digital Art Module - Lokea often likes to paint and draw with this digital interface, her Omni-tool projecting a canvas on any flat surface for her to use. In the absence of one, one is created on the omni-tool interface itself.

Affiliations | Lokea still maintains frequent contact with most of those on this list, as she has them to thank for her growth and development, as well as her survival. She has made more friends than listed below, but these are the more prominent figures in her life.

Nos Astra Freedom Battalion - A tight alliance of militias that formed in the capital of Illium during the Reaper War. Was crazy effective at guerilla tactics and anti-gang operations until they were forcibly shut down by the reformist Illium government. Lokea was once a proud member, came in as a Sergeant and left as a Staff Sergeant once the whole group got demobilized.

Eppo Cal - Alive. A wealthy and eccentric business tycoon, and a powerful biotic volus. Was a bit of a 'crazy cool uncle' for Lokea, if she had the closest human description for him. Was her boss before, during and after their tour in the NAFB, but he treated her and her friends quite well and the two became close friends.
Urdnot Stax - Alive. Nicknamed "Fat Stax", this friendly krogan is the closest friend Lokea ever had. The two of them kicked ass together before, during and after the Reaper War, and hope to do so long after Lokea's tour in the Intervention. To Lokea, he's more akin to a big brother than just a business partner, despite starting as such on Korlus. The two of them often joke that their adventures would both make for a good buddy-merc vid series.

Zhu's Hope - A colony from Feros that experienced some of the opening shots of the Eden Prime War in 2183. Lokea came from here, or rather the Thorian that lived here, and spent the first year of her life on this little colony.

Shiala - Alive. An asari commando that provided the basis for the clones the Thorian created. She was there to help Lokea get her mind back on track, and work through her problems.
Kielo Zhu - Alive. One of the other clones that emerged with her. Lokea owes her survival to her, as they were able to get through the first three days together. Ended up being one of the colony's doctors.
Numeka Zhu - Deceased. Another clone that emerged with her, who also helped Lokea out in the first three days. She helped out with the colony's defense, but perished in the Reaper War.
Davin Reynolds - Alive. Hunting partner and drinking buddy, Lokea and Davin were decent friends who hunted animals together on Feros. With Davin's help, Lokea was able to keep her skills sharp.

Relationships |

To Be Written During Play

CHARNAME - Status. "Lokea's thoughts."

Theme Song | WE ARE FURY feat. Heather Sommer - Sad Story (ARYZE Remix)

Lyrics

(Verse 1)
Feels like I've been drifting
Away from home
Another night of wishin'
I had control
My thoughts drown me like a river
Oh-oh-oh
Always stuck in the middle

(Pre-Chorus)
Wish I wasn't falling slowly
Never thought it'd be so lonely
Walls are closing in
Don't wanna be another sad story

(Chorus)
When it's all over
I want you to know
It was all worth it, oh
Promise I won't be, I won't be another sad story

(Drop)
I won't be another sad story
Oh, I will never be
Oh, I won't be another sad story

(Verse 2)
I don't wanna watch myself fall apart
'Cause I've seen all of the pieces of myself
I didn't know I had
My thoughts drown me like a river
Woah-oh-oh
Always stuck in the middle

(Pre-Chorus)
Wish I wasn't falling slowly
Never thought it'd be so lonely
Walls are closing in
Don't wanna be another sad story

(Chorus)
When it's all over
I want you to know
It was all worth it, oh
Promise I won't be, I won't be another sad story

(Drop)
I won't be another sad story
Oh, I will never be
Don't wanna be another sad story

When it's all over
I want you to know
It was all worth it, oh
Promise I won't be, I won't be another sad story

Picture Gallery | Just Lokea's character art. All are hidden below here to make the character sheet neater and easier to read.

Full Mugshot

Casual Clothes (4K)

Ajax Armor Standing (4K)

Ajax Armor Crouched (4K)

OOC Notes and Changelog

This character sheet format was poached from someone eons ago, while Lokea herself was an older character concept that I had for another Mass Effect RP 3 years back. However, she's a bit different this time around. I would consider this the best CS I ever wrote in my 6 year tenure on this site. Despite that, I wrote most of this while being super tired and braindead thanks to my job, so if there's any questions or suggestions for improvement, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thank you!

_Changelog
^{_______________________________________________}
12/12/2021 - Created character sheet.
12/16/2021 - Added name pronunciation.
12/17/2021 - Added some character art that I created with the help of Source Filmmaker and Photoshop to better illustrate what Lokea and her gear looks like. Changed sidearm to Carnifex to better match aesthetic. Updated apparel descriptions to suit new images. Added some references to Eppo Cal's company, CalCorp.
2/14/2022 - Revised character sheet for new RP. Fixed broken image links, and changed the backstory a bit (mostly the last paragraph) to reflect new RP. Gave her the codename 'Venom Rose', as well as the Overload power.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

_Starring...

Scarlet Rubashka as Punished "Venom Bean"

Interactions

@Kumbaris @BigPapaBelial @13org @King Cosmos

^{_______________________________________________}

Needless to say, the group's time spent at the restaurant felt quite short. Or it actually was, Scarlet couldn't tell. Just about everything that was in front of the homunculus was ravenously devoured, almost erased from reality within minutes. She spent some time with the other agents making minor jokes and quips, commenting every now and then when she had some of her own experiences to offer. But for the most part, she didn't say much. Despite what happened today, she still felt a little out of place among the 'actual' agents. This wasn't new to her, she often found herself embedded with more established groups wherever she went. While it was nice to befriend and hang with these people, she's never there for long. She knew that. They knew that.

So once the night was actually over, and everyone went home, Scarlet did what she usually did. She spent her night at a cheap hotel, alone, with nothing but her Nokia and a boxy CRT television to keep her company. She lied in bed, stuffing her face with pretzels and candy while she watched whatever softcore stuff that Skinemax had on that night. She did this for at least a few hours until she felt the realm of dreams call her name. She turned off the TV, cleaned up whatever messes she made, took a shower and went straight to bed. She fell asleep minutes later.

- - -

Ever since she started doing contracts for more organized groups, Scarlet made a point to keep a special pouch in her holding bag just for keeping receipts. She did just that with just about every purchase she made while on the job, even when she knew that not all of them would be reimbursed. Even if none of it was, she'd still be making a tidy profit. Regardless, Scarlet was typically careful with how she spent her money, as a little honesty and integrity goes a long way. Organizations will recognize that you aren't taking advantage of them, and that you did your job as they asked. Next thing you know, half of the many jobs you get are from referrals alone.

Scarlet placed the receipt she got from her taxi ride into her receipt pouch, along with the receipts for the hotels she's been staying at, the meals and snacks she's been purchasing, as well as that Honda that she rented. She thanked the driver and made her way to OMR's Frankfurt HQ, marking her third visit. The last two times she was here, she almost got lost. She was able to reunite with the rest of the group within minutes, entering their office and forming up with the others.

Just as soon as she arrived, she noticed the stacks of paper that filled the surfaces in the office, enough to create a city with lots of paper skyscrapers. She then turned to Amanda and an agent that Scarlet may have seen once or twice. Scarlet gave the demon a quiet and awkward wave hello while she stood there, waiting quietly. Soon Morgana arrived, followed by Michael and his posse, who quietly walked in through the door. Scarlet turned to Morgana as she asked if there was anyone better qualified to handle all of this paperwork. Scarlet thought that too, and even wondered if most of it can be processed by a computer. She also noticed how groggy Michael and his companions looked. However, there seemed to be someone missing from the group.

"Where's Faye?" Scarlet asked quietly.

As if on cue, Faye's voice came through the ether in the form of an apology. "Oh, uh-" Scarlet turned her head to the source of the voice. Just then, Faye blinked right into the room, almost colliding into Scarlet herself, who quickly stepped out of the way with a quiet yelp of her own. The wobbly stack of papers proved to be a rather formidable obstacle to the agent as she tripped over it and comically fell into the path of its collapse. Scarlet only had enough time to wince once it made impact with Faye and the ground. Faye didn't seem too happy about that. The mercenary thought about asking if the agent was okay, but she didn't seem any worse for wear.

Once everyone was present, Amanda spoke. The demon was introduced to the group as Madeleine. It seems as if their current group will be split into two teams, with Amanda taking a task force over to Minsk and Madeleine supervising the investigation here in this office. Thankfully, Amanda offered the group a choice in the matter, if in an amusing way.

A few moments of silence passed. Morgana eventually relented, volunteering to stay in Frankfurt to take one for the team. Scarlet smiled a little bit in relief and appreciation. As she will reveal in a few moments, Scarlet might lack the many job requirements to handle a task like that. Michael echoed her thoughts with his answer, citing that he didn't really have the skill set necessary to deal with what was here.

"I'm with Mike on that." Scarlet added, gesturing to him. "My contract says that I'm only here to shoot guns, defuse bombs, act tough and save lives." Scarlet pointed to the mountains of paperwork behind her. "I don't think I have the college education or agency training needed to make that go away." She could list many other reasons why she'd go to Minsk, like the fact that her contract is still legally binding and she'd still have to fulfill her duties of armed security and crisis response, or the fact that she'd need Amanda's written approval to stay here with Madeleine and that's even more paperwork to handle. Regardless, the choice was obvious, and her answer was clear.

"So uh, yeah. Minsk will be my final answer. I hope y'all don't mind."