I've recently [not that recently actually] played a game by the name of 'Hard West', and I have to say that it left a rather solid impression on me about the possibilities outside of a standard cowboy roleplay. I'll not dive into the details of the video game itself, but the inspirations it has instilled within me are those of madness, horror, and the supernatural in the framework of the old west. A few other small nods to the game might exist, but it will not be a roleplay attempting to recreate the game intentionally. Maybe I won't be able to separate my inspirations enough from the source, but that's not the goal here.
This is a sparse interest check, for sure, however I simply wanted to see if this type of idea would hold water before I did any serious legwork. I tend to be an overachiever and anxious perfectionist, hence the precaution.
Essentially I intend to present a somewhat typical old west setting, likely [just for the sake of ease] planting it in a nameless stretch of Texan/Mexican border desert following the US civil war. Themes of the supernatural, magic, horror, and madness will be the modus operandi of my ideas, meaning you folks would be able to employ all manner of crazy and fun character ideas with relative ease.
Want to be a native shaman who calls upon spirits? Sure thing, go for it. Want to be a revenant of the civil war, a man who should've died but can't seem to bite the bullet for longer than a day at best? Go for it. Want to be a perfectly normal cowboy who gets dragged into the chaos and madness seeping into the world and just wanted to have some peace and quiet? Also fine.
The mystic and wondrous are very much real, if subdued at the start, but the general idea will be that as time goes on insanity and madness spread across the land and more and more queer and odd things will become commonplace. I value character/player driven plots and will tend to craft my 'plot' ideas around character goals and inspirations, so let that weigh in here. I'm not a railroad GM by any stretch, I will react and respond to what the players give out. That doesn't mean I won't storycraft, but that I take into consideration characters/players quite heavily.
I'm looking for a small group, initially, but depending on the attention received and volume I could consider accepting a larger group.
Due to her nanite enhancements, her hair, skin, and eye coloration are subject to change at whim, as well as hair length and facial structure. The above is simply her 'standard' and 'go-to' appearance
Name/Nicknames Saturnina Asseylum Vox Populi - Militia codename; Additionally the name of her talk show on the Warp
The woman's appearance is malleable, though she does favor a few parameters to operate within. She loves hair and exotic styles, and always has some sort of crazy new trend to set for hair. Bright and strange colors are better as well.
Her height fluctuates, but only within four inches of her natural height of five foot four inches. She doesn't seem capable of going beyond this spectrum of heights.
Her 'standard' appearance is shorter than her natural height, at the paltry size of five foot two inches. She weighs a delightful 105 pounds. She is athletically toned, casual exercise and an excellent diet lending to a highly attractive and well maintained figure that is the envy of almost every other woman in Arcadia- especially those in her socialite and political circles. Gracious curves and luxurious hair, coupled with exotic and dazzling skin tones? Truly the lady Asseylum knows how to keep all eyes on her.
Personality
A Machiavellian schemer put into the body of a barely legal debutante, graced with the charisma of a pop idol, the intuition of a woman twice her age, and the intelligence expected of a high end education and stellar breeding to back it all up. This woman is dangerous- but not in a 'Rip you limb from limb' way.
Her plans are long-form, looking for results years down the line rather than in the here-and-now. She is a well known and loved socialite, quite popular amongst the upper class citizenry she associates with on a daily basis, and maintains these connections with the exemplar skill of a social spider. Everything and everyone on her web of communication leads back to her, every tremor and secret at her beck and call.
She is also a vocal philanthropist, currying favor with the masses through frequent charity auctions of artifacts and goods in her possession, as well as vying for legislature to help deal with the crime and poverty in the city. For all intents and purposes, all who know of her name and deeds associate Saturnina Asseylum with Arcadia itself; She lives and breathes the city, and has her teeth buried in its pulse.
Bio
Asseylum.
Old name. Old money. Old power. The Asseylum family traces its lineage back to the first colonies of mars, when the planet was still red and rusty. The Asseylums were a wealthy industrial family, bringing with them the first terraforming projects intended to harvest the raw materials that humanity's new home had to offer. Since that first step, the Asseylum family has done little if not flourish during Mars' infancy, and thrive well into its present adolescence.
that fortune of industrial might carried forward into decadence and luxury, but the family did not sit idly by. The Assylums are a name of politics and social weight, almost nobility upon the red planet. While their original corporate enterprises have long since been sold off, the family maintained a strong economic base through excellent forward planning and thorough exercising of their right to buy and trade stocks along the companies that showed up over the years.
Ultimately, the family has become one of the wealthiest and most well known names on the planet.
In recent years, however, the name has become intertwined with the fate of one city in particular; Arcadia. Arcadia, the original seat of the Asseylum estate- a personal biodome from the original colony, long since adapted into a near fortress-like pleasure dome- and the current seat of the head of the family; Saturnina Asseylum.
Saturnina
Saturnina, oh Saturnina. A shining star in a city of debauchery and death- a woman who breathes in that debauchery, thrives in it, and wields it more expertly than any soldier could dream of wielding a rifle. Fangs firmly embedded in the pulse of the city- social, political, and corporate pulses alike- Saturnina is the face of the future in the city.
And with word on the streets about the Golden Disk...Well, that little relic might just be the thing she needs to finally rise to power over the city- and even the planet- directly.
The Militia
The Asseylums have always had an eye and ear for business and power alike, and these days that keen sense of power has turned to recognize The Militia for the useful entity that it is. Representing the working class of Arcadia, Saturnina has directed a large amount of her philanthropy in their direction and has become quite enamored with their cause, if for her own reasons. Sympathetic to the average joe, Saturnina earnestly seeks to better the lives of those in the city even as she lives her own luxurious life. As The Vox, she strives to tell the people of the city the truth about the goings-on, and endeavors to see the megacorporate claws removed from her city at any cost.
For once their control is crushed, who better to pick up the pieces than 'The voice of the people' herself?
Vox Populi is broadcasted securely out of the Asseylum estate, all of Saturnina's security staff being members of The Militia, and is likely one of the most highly protected and difficult to track signals on the planet.
Saturnina crossed her legs.
"...This quarter's profit margins are..."
She uncrossed her legs, then crossed them the opposing direction as before.
"...Quality control, our product levels have begun to..."
She lifted a hand and brushed the pink strands of hair behind an ear, fully framing her face in the blue/pink halo she seemed to enjoy with her 'standard' appearance. She was listening- really! she was!- but this man wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. And thus, her mind split into two facets. Half of her digested his words mechanically to sort them for unexpected occurrences, the other half delved into her own preparations for later that night.
For on this night, Saturnina Asseylum planned on opening the doors to the Asseylum estate for the first time in several months. Extensive renovations had gone through the building, and many exotic wonders had to be imported from Earth in order to complete her latest fashion trend- '2050's Chic'. She wasn't so retro as to risk a fashion faux-pas and go back another hundred years, but the styles of seventy years ago had caught her attention and she had refit a few rooms in the house to accommodate events of such stylistic vision.
And tonight was a throwback bash- she'd even invited the Du Paraquette family, and she abhorred them!- where she was going to treat all the upper echelon to a taste of the Asseylum life.
She tilted her head as if in thought.
"...The higher ups of..." her brain couldn't be bothered to hear some details of his ramblings, they bored her at the moment. The numbers were exactly as predicted, nothing to be concerned about just yet. "...Such and such corporations have squeezed so-and-so this quarter, meaning that blah blah blah's..."
Hmm...I wonder which dress I'll wear tonight... Oh, bother, I know I'll be going with that adorable little piece of gothica. I'll never understand the women born in the 30's, did their free time manifest itself with nothing but death poetry and kink fiction?...Perhaps the gothic style will make me come off too much like a vampire...but I do enjoy my pale complexion, it makes me feel refined!....Hm, I could go for a more homely sun dress I suppose, but then I'd be going against my own theme! Bah!
As she thought, the individual speaking- one of many at the board- kept droning on about reports and finances and how her portfolio had adapted to meet this quarter's shift in economic climate-- yes! yes! Anyone with two eyes and half a brain could've seen that stack falling, you buffoon!. His impertinence frustrated her, but she needed people like him to keep the paperwork in order. She lifted a hand to silence him after a few moments of his voice rattling through her skull, and put him at ease with a soft smile.
"Please skip to the Osi-corp briefing if you will. I'm quite busy today."
"Of course! of course! Forgive me, mistress Asseylum…"
...Who am I kidding, vampires were all the rage back in the day. I'll get to be refined AND sexy, and it's my party so anyone who thinks otherwise can be damned!
She smiled at the thought as the man flipped through several pages of his notes, the others in the room all amusedly watching him struggle under Saturnina's gaze. she often thought that her aides pulled straws behind her back to dump all the work on one person like this. It'd be amusing enough if they did, so she didn't question why only one person ever seemed to talk at these meetings besides herself. They all did their work well enough individually so she wasn't concerned about who felt like talking.
Perhaps I should change the theme to be a costume party after all-- oooo, and not tell the Du Paraquette's. Yessss, that's just what I'll do! That'll teach them for not greeting me personally at their party last Christmas. Gothic Lolita it is for me!
"Osi-corp has released its quarterly report for the city of Arcadia. Compared to last quarter, their profits have risen by ten percent--"
"Excuse me?" That got her attention. She had anticipated some marginal increase in the profit margins, but a ten percent jump was far outside of her projected mathematics. "Can anyone in this room besides myself see anything wrong with that?"
All of the people shifted uncomfortably and mumbled affirmations to her statement.
"If anything, word of the golden disk should be--" She cut herself off and grinned excitedly. "Oh! Well played, Osi-corp, well played. You're all dismissed."
She waved her crew away and spun in her desk chair while giggling. Any company who's greatest asset- the Osi-grid was an omnipresent force in Arcadia! People got everything from their food to the news on it!- was rumored to have its greatest weakness on the streets would be losing stock prices like there's no tomorrow. Such a strong bluff about increasing profits was necessary to keep shareholders invested and interested. It was a bold move- something she'd have done if she were in charge. In order to have achieved those kinds of numbers, even remotely to excuse a few percentage point errors in calculations to reach 10%, there would have had to have been layoffs and pay cuts across the entire city.
But there wouldn't have been anything quite that obvious, no. It'd manifest as shorter lunch breaks, less time off, a holiday removed from the calendar...
She'd have to keep an ear to the ground to see if her gut feeling was right, that this was all a bluff, but if it was...
It'd mean the disk was real, and that Osi-corp was scared. Saturnina grinned.
"Perfect."
But first, tonight's party. I think I'll 'accidentally' have a new batch of Trance supplied. I wouldn't want the only fun of the evening to be the Du Paraquette's embarrassment...
Darkness. Shadows moving. A silhouette- barely discernible, the shadows too heavy. This is the sight that greets those who first sign onto The Vox Populi late at night on the Warp. This familiar silhouette of a woman.
Then, the voice.
"They call us terrorists because they're afraid. That, my friends, my good people of Arcadia, means we're winning. Conquerors don't envenom their foes with titles and names. Struggling regimes do. They call us terrorists to instill fear in the very citizenry we serve and protect, the very people we fight for. Welcome, dear people of Arcadia, to 'the voice of the people'."
Then lights; a flare of brightness that finally reveals the pleasant scenery of the chamber. The Vox, a young woman with long, flowing, blonde hair and powerful grey-blue eyes sits behind a desk, her WASP breeding apparent through her angular bone structure and height. A beautiful woman, who's smile made everyone her friend.
"We here at the Vox Populi, as I say every night, endeavor to bring the truth to the people. We've proven time and time again that Osi-corp's talons pull the strings of the mass media, of the news we sit down and watch with our families over dinner, of the very networks we use to communicate and use as a public forum on the grid. The truth, dear viewer, has never been more obscured than now."
As she speaks panels begin to appear around her in the video feed, highlighting several topics of interest for the night. The Vox leans back in her chair and swivels to face one of these panels, gesturing towards it with a hand.
"Two nights ago The Militia set out to disrupt a mass import of off-world goods, intending to seize various key resources being shipped directly to Arcadia from Earth. The intended targets included rations, water, medicine, and cybernetic repair parts. If, like myself, you were paying attention to your news feeds yesterday..."
The woman laughs and throws her hands up as if dealing with something ridiculous.
"You were told they'd failed, that the brave security forces of Osi-corp repelled the terrorists who were trying to steal weapons! Well, dear citizen, I'm here to show you that this is yet more propaganda, more lies being strewn to keep you held down."
The woman's modulated voice, the mechanical disruption covering a matronly and stern tone, stopped at that word and the woman rose up. She walked away from the desk, the camera panning to follow her movements- her dress-uniformed [See: Military uniform] body elegantly leading the viewing device's lens. Soon more lights flashed into existence, and The Vox was shown to be standing amongst several large industrial pallets of crates- dozens lined up just behind her.
She lifted a hand and tapped at one of the sealed container's panels, a hiss of a seal being broken sounding through the air before the crate opened. She stuck her hand in and pulled out several bags of rations, and other forms of space-dried goods meant to be shipped across interplanetary lanes.
"These 'weapons' we requisitioned seem to be hidden beneath all this food. How interesting, don't you agree, dear viewer? These goods will be distributed and handled safely, and will trickle into donations and charities for those who can't afford to put food on their own tables. From the hands of the corporate executive, to the mouths of the hungry people, via the Militia. I don't know about all of you, but I'm extremely tired of having to constantly prove Osi-corp's media wrong- so let's move on to some more interesting stories for tonight."
She returned the goods to the crate and dusted her hands off, before returning to her desk. Next she indicated towards one of the other panels, causing it to expand and encompass part of the screen. Within the new video panel's confines was a scene that very few had witnessed; A group of protestors standing in the outskirts of Arcadia, surrounded by armed security forces.
"Osi-corp has a narrative it wants heard, but here at the Vox Populi we believe in a freedom of expression. Since Osi-corp is denying the people we all refer to as 'The Neanderthals' a platform, I'm here to give them one. I know what you're thinking, dear citizen, and I'll ask you all the question you're undoubtedly asking me; 'why should we give bigots a platform? The Neanderthals don't deserve to be heard!'...Well, they do. They do deserve to be heard. Just because we disagree with their point of view doesn't mean that they don't have the right to express it. Osi-corp disagrees with ours, and The Militia will share our platform with anyone who has a message that needs to be heard. Dear viewer, please watch the following video with an open mind and witness the atrocity that is oppression with your own eyes."
As The Vox finished speaking the video began to roll. The video was of an evangelical sort. A preacher-man who had been forced to the edge of the city by way of fines and extraneous clauses in city regulations stood upon the precipice of two crowds; to one side was the wall of law and order of osi-corp's security forces, shields and weapons in hand, and to the other was a mass of human mass, not a speck of chrome in sight. The man stood between the two sides, speaking loudly and clearly, trying to disperse the hostilities brewing without violence, but still clearly speaking out against human augmentations. It was clear that he had very few parishioners amongst his people, and that the Neanderthals themselves had crawled out of the woodwork at the possibility to bash some cyber'd heads, but it created a very clear dichotomy between the Osi-corp forces and the people opposing them nonetheless.
Then chaos erupted with the crack of a grenade launcher, smoke flooding the streets as Neanderthals and security forces alike began a skirmish in the streets. The video feed cuts just as one of the corporate soldiers raises his rifle to the priest, and the screen fades to show The Vox shaking her head.
"This video is from two weeks ago. The time it took us to get it on our show should speak volumes of the money and power that went into covering the scene up. That preacher was found out to be dead, killed in the ensuing riot. All because he tried to speak his mind to like-minded folk. I'll leave you all to stew on it and come to your own conclusions- I'd love to hear from you all tomorrow about how you feel about this story. I'll talk more on it then. I do love our little chats, dear citizens... Speaking of which, the night drags on. Let's go ahead and skip to our Q&A section."
The woman indicated with a hand behind the camera, and suddenly the show's conversational feeds filtered into view alongside The Vox. Hundreds of questions and conversations filtering through, sectioned and grouped, and compiled into questions that the woman would answer directly.
Tonight there was only one question on the minds of the people, however. As The Vox read the question, she smiled a gorgeous smile.
What about the Golden Disk? You haven't talked about the Golden Disk!
"Oh? The Golden Disk?...Well, I suppose I can talk about that...but I'm afraid I don't have much to say."
She leaned forward and laughed at the camera in an absolutely adorable manner.
"We're not going to let it stay in the hands of Arcadia's criminals, that's for sure. You can rest easy, good citizens, knowing that the Militia will do all in their power to seize the Disk, and restore power to the people."
Other
Saturnina's primary augmentations lie within the realm of nanites and nanocyberware modifications. She possesses almost no modifications beyond those that grant the following benefits;
Nanites that assist in the breakdown and management of proteins and nutrients, thusly allowing her to maintain a desired weight and appetite with no effort. Additionally, this allows an immensely efficient energy conservation and transferring system to be in her body, meaning that the typical limits of stamina and exhaustion simply do not apply to the woman. She needs only a few hours a sleep a week, and can easily survive off of one meal in the same time span- though eating and sleeping more definitely does not harm her.
Additionally, this same system of nanites works to advance and assist the regeneration of her cellular structure, making her immune to most diseases that spread through viral and bacterial means, as well as effectively negating her aging process. Money, indeed, does make one effectively immortal these days.
The primary accoutrement of nanomachine enhancements she possesses fall within the realm of social strata, and serve purely social purposes:
She can change her eye, hair, and skin color almost at will due to the machinery lacing her bones and filling her body.
She can modulate and change her voice.
She possesses a tailored pheromone structure; She constantly emanates a scent that tailors itself to the recipient to make her seem as if she smells completely desirable and pleasant to the individual who smells her. A powerful manipulative tool that has served her well.
She can also restructure her bones to a moderate extent; small shifts in height, changing her face, other small things of this caliber.
Finally, pertinent to the enhancement directly above, she is capable of recovering from physical injuries exceptionally quickly thanks to the nanites in her blood. They stitch together wounds, expel foreign objects such as shrapnel and bullets, and her bones knit back together exceptionally quickly. She's not a scrapper or fighter, but she hates the idea of scars being left behind and has long since eliminated that possibility with these regenerative properties. She is by no means unkillable, she'll simply recover quite quickly from injuries that don't put her in the ground.
Worthwhile Mentioning in Skills She is easily understood to be an extremely sociable, intelligent, and capable woman. Her ability to read situations, persuade, connive, manipulate, seduce, and coerce are that of legend, if hyperbole is excusable. Additionally her talents in business and economics, and handling her own personal finances, are exceptional.
However it is to be noted that, while not an expert in any sense, she is basically trained and capable of keeping up with her fellow Militiamen in a combat situation should she be called to one.
These, naturally, are not her only skills, but they are the ones worth particularly distinguishing and making clear. She can also drink most men under a table and is no slouch when it comes to recreational narcotics, but compared to the above such things are barely worth mentioning.
Notable Equipment Notes Saturnina carries a 'sporter' handgun; In short, a small fashionable pistol marketed towards women meant to act as an accessory to most of her outfits. It is coated in a nanite skin that changes to match the pattern and coloration of her outfits, not only helping the handgun blend in and become more difficult to spot, but also allow it to fashionably match her attire should she actually need the weapon to be used. Her handgun in particular is modified to fire Cutter ammunition.
Cutter ammunition - Bullets laden with nanomachines that devour and rip apart what they come into contact with. These bullets leave gaping holes in whatever they hit, and chew through armor to eat through the target beneath. They have an exceedingly short lifespan however, to avoid structural and collateral damage. She's so wealthy she's got the cash to spare to use microscopic robots as ammo. Deal with it.
She has such wealth that her attire is not worth describing in a concrete fashion on a character sheet
---- Business Notes
Rather than running a business of her own, or being a member of a corporate office directly, Saturnina has cleverly shifted her assets and money around to buy up massive amounts of stock amongst the various corporations plaguing dominating Arcadia. She is a prime shareholder of numerous small corporations/subsidiaries as well as an ambitious gambler in regards to megacorporate shares, making her a notable figure of wealth and influence amongst the corporate elite of Arcadia just as she has much social and political clout amongst the upper class of the city more publicly.
---- Militia Notes
Vox Populi - 'The Voice of the People' is a large scale, well known, Warp operation on the grid. Spearheaded and funded primarily by Saturnina- called 'The Vox' by the Militia- the underground news outlet acts as both a means to let freedom of speech thrive, but also a way for the Militia to get word out about the truth of the happenings in the city. Saturnina herself runs the show, under her alias and a disguise of course, and is an extremely charismatic face and voice for the militant group. The people need to know the truth, and hers is the voice that gets it to them.
Her role within the organization is not that of a fighter or soldier, but rather a beneficiary and supplier. All of her personal guards and security teams are picked from amongst the ranks of The Militia, and at times she is indeed required to serve as all other members are. She does not shirk from these moments, but it is by and large not her primary role.
Due to her nanite enhancements, her hair, skin, and eye coloration are subject to change at whim, as well as hair length and facial structure. The above is simply her 'standard' and 'go-to' appearance
Name/Nicknames Saturnina Asseylum Vox Populi - Militia codename; Additionally the name of her talk show on the Warp
The woman's appearance is malleable, though she does favor a few parameters to operate within. She loves hair and exotic styles, and always has some sort of crazy new trend to set for hair. Bright and strange colors are better as well.
Her height fluctuates, but only within four inches of her natural height of five foot four inches. She doesn't seem capable of going beyond this spectrum of heights.
Her 'standard' appearance is shorter than her natural height, at the paltry size of five foot two inches. She weighs a delightful 105 pounds. She is athletically toned, casual exercise and an excellent diet lending to a highly attractive and well maintained figure that is the envy of almost every other woman in Arcadia- especially those in her socialite and political circles. Gracious curves and luxurious hair, coupled with exotic and dazzling skin tones? Truly the lady Asseylum knows how to keep all eyes on her.
Personality
A Machiavellian schemer put into the body of a barely legal debutante, graced with the charisma of a pop idol, the intuition of a woman twice her age, and the intelligence expected of a high end education and stellar breeding to back it all up. This woman is dangerous- but not in a 'Rip you limb from limb' way.
Her plans are long-form, looking for results years down the line rather than in the here-and-now. She is a well known and loved socialite, quite popular amongst the upper class citizenry she associates with on a daily basis, and maintains these connections with the exemplar skill of a social spider. Everything and everyone on her web of communication leads back to her, every tremor and secret at her beck and call.
She is also a vocal philanthropist, currying favor with the masses through frequent charity auctions of artifacts and goods in her possession, as well as vying for legislature to help deal with the crime and poverty in the city. For all intents and purposes, all who know of her name and deeds associate Saturnina Asseylum with Arcadia itself; She lives and breathes the city, and has her teeth buried in its pulse.
Bio
Asseylum.
Old name. Old money. Old power. The Asseylum family traces its lineage back to the first colonies of mars, when the planet was still red and rusty. The Asseylums were a wealthy industrial family, bringing with them the first terraforming projects intended to harvest the raw materials that humanity's new home had to offer. Since that first step, the Asseylum family has done little if not flourish during Mars' infancy, and thrive well into its present adolescence.
that fortune of industrial might carried forward into decadence and luxury, but the family did not sit idly by. The Assylums are a name of politics and social weight, almost nobility upon the red planet. While their original corporate enterprises have long since been sold off, the family maintained a strong economic base through excellent forward planning and thorough exercising of their right to buy and trade stocks along the companies that showed up over the years.
Ultimately, the family has become one of the wealthiest and most well known names on the planet.
In recent years, however, the name has become intertwined with the fate of one city in particular; Arcadia. Arcadia, the original seat of the Asseylum estate- a personal biodome from the original colony, long since adapted into a near fortress-like pleasure dome- and the current seat of the head of the family; Saturnina Asseylum.
Saturnina
Saturnina, oh Saturnina. A shining star in a city of debauchery and death- a woman who breathes in that debauchery, thrives in it, and wields it more expertly than any soldier could dream of wielding a rifle. Fangs firmly embedded in the pulse of the city- social, political, and corporate pulses alike- Saturnina is the face of the future in the city.
And with word on the streets about the Golden Disk...Well, that little relic might just be the thing she needs to finally rise to power over the city- and even the planet- directly.
The Militia
The Asseylums have always had an eye and ear for business and power alike, and these days that keen sense of power has turned to recognize The Militia for the useful entity that it is. Representing the working class of Arcadia, Saturnina has directed a large amount of her philanthropy in their direction and has become quite enamored with their cause, if for her own reasons. Sympathetic to the average joe, Saturnina earnestly seeks to better the lives of those in the city even as she lives her own luxurious life. As The Vox, she strives to tell the people of the city the truth about the goings-on, and endeavors to see the megacorporate claws removed from her city at any cost.
For once their control is crushed, who better to pick up the pieces than 'The voice of the people' herself?
Vox Populi is broadcasted securely out of the Asseylum estate, all of Saturnina's security staff being members of The Militia, and is likely one of the most highly protected and difficult to track signals on the planet.
Saturnina crossed her legs.
"...This quarter's profit margins are..."
She uncrossed her legs, then crossed them the opposing direction as before.
"...Quality control, our product levels have begun to..."
She lifted a hand and brushed the pink strands of hair behind an ear, fully framing her face in the blue/pink halo she seemed to enjoy with her 'standard' appearance. She was listening- really! she was!- but this man wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. And thus, her mind split into two facets. Half of her digested his words mechanically to sort them for unexpected occurrences, the other half delved into her own preparations for later that night.
For on this night, Saturnina Asseylum planned on opening the doors to the Asseylum estate for the first time in several months. Extensive renovations had gone through the building, and many exotic wonders had to be imported from Earth in order to complete her latest fashion trend- '2050's Chic'. She wasn't so retro as to risk a fashion faux-pas and go back another hundred years, but the styles of seventy years ago had caught her attention and she had refit a few rooms in the house to accommodate events of such stylistic vision.
And tonight was a throwback bash- she'd even invited the Du Paraquette family, and she abhorred them!- where she was going to treat all the upper echelon to a taste of the Asseylum life.
She tilted her head as if in thought.
"...The higher ups of..." her brain couldn't be bothered to hear some details of his ramblings, they bored her at the moment. The numbers were exactly as predicted, nothing to be concerned about just yet. "...Such and such corporations have squeezed so-and-so this quarter, meaning that blah blah blah's..."
Hmm...I wonder which dress I'll wear tonight... Oh, bother, I know I'll be going with that adorable little piece of gothica. I'll never understand the women born in the 30's, did their free time manifest itself with nothing but death poetry and kink fiction?...Perhaps the gothic style will make me come off too much like a vampire...but I do enjoy my pale complexion, it makes me feel refined!....Hm, I could go for a more homely sun dress I suppose, but then I'd be going against my own theme! Bah!
As she thought, the individual speaking- one of many at the board- kept droning on about reports and finances and how her portfolio had adapted to meet this quarter's shift in economic climate-- yes! yes! Anyone with two eyes and half a brain could've seen that stack falling, you buffoon!. His impertinence frustrated her, but she needed people like him to keep the paperwork in order. She lifted a hand to silence him after a few moments of his voice rattling through her skull, and put him at ease with a soft smile.
"Please skip to the Osi-corp briefing if you will. I'm quite busy today."
"Of course! of course! Forgive me, mistress Asseylum…"
...Who am I kidding, vampires were all the rage back in the day. I'll get to be refined AND sexy, and it's my party so anyone who thinks otherwise can be damned!
She smiled at the thought as the man flipped through several pages of his notes, the others in the room all amusedly watching him struggle under Saturnina's gaze. she often thought that her aides pulled straws behind her back to dump all the work on one person like this. It'd be amusing enough if they did, so she didn't question why only one person ever seemed to talk at these meetings besides herself. They all did their work well enough individually so she wasn't concerned about who felt like talking.
Perhaps I should change the theme to be a costume party after all-- oooo, and not tell the Du Paraquette's. Yessss, that's just what I'll do! That'll teach them for not greeting me personally at their party last Christmas. Gothic Lolita it is for me!
"Osi-corp has released its quarterly report for the city of Arcadia. Compared to last quarter, their profits have risen by ten percent--"
"Excuse me?" That got her attention. She had anticipated some marginal increase in the profit margins, but a ten percent jump was far outside of her projected mathematics. "Can anyone in this room besides myself see anything wrong with that?"
All of the people shifted uncomfortably and mumbled affirmations to her statement.
"If anything, word of the golden disk should be--" She cut herself off and grinned excitedly. "Oh! Well played, Osi-corp, well played. You're all dismissed."
She waved her crew away and spun in her desk chair while giggling. Any company who's greatest asset- the Osi-grid was an omnipresent force in Arcadia! People got everything from their food to the news on it!- was rumored to have its greatest weakness on the streets would be losing stock prices like there's no tomorrow. Such a strong bluff about increasing profits was necessary to keep shareholders invested and interested. It was a bold move- something she'd have done if she were in charge. In order to have achieved those kinds of numbers, even remotely to excuse a few percentage point errors in calculations to reach 10%, there would have had to have been layoffs and pay cuts across the entire city.
But there wouldn't have been anything quite that obvious, no. It'd manifest as shorter lunch breaks, less time off, a holiday removed from the calendar...
She'd have to keep an ear to the ground to see if her gut feeling was right, that this was all a bluff, but if it was...
It'd mean the disk was real, and that Osi-corp was scared. Saturnina grinned.
"Perfect."
But first, tonight's party. I think I'll 'accidentally' have a new batch of Trance supplied. I wouldn't want the only fun of the evening to be the Du Paraquette's embarrassment...
Darkness. Shadows moving. A silhouette- barely discernible, the shadows too heavy. This is the sight that greets those who first sign onto The Vox Populi late at night on the Warp. This familiar silhouette of a woman.
Then, the voice.
"They call us terrorists because they're afraid. That, my friends, my good people of Arcadia, means we're winning. Conquerors don't envenom their foes with titles and names. Struggling regimes do. They call us terrorists to instill fear in the very citizenry we serve and protect, the very people we fight for. Welcome, dear people of Arcadia, to 'the voice of the people'."
Then lights; a flare of brightness that finally reveals the pleasant scenery of the chamber. The Vox, a young woman with long, flowing, blonde hair and powerful grey-blue eyes sits behind a desk, her WASP breeding apparent through her angular bone structure and height. A beautiful woman, who's smile made everyone her friend.
"We here at the Vox Populi, as I say every night, endeavor to bring the truth to the people. We've proven time and time again that Osi-corp's talons pull the strings of the mass media, of the news we sit down and watch with our families over dinner, of the very networks we use to communicate and use as a public forum on the grid. The truth, dear viewer, has never been more obscured than now."
As she speaks panels begin to appear around her in the video feed, highlighting several topics of interest for the night. The Vox leans back in her chair and swivels to face one of these panels, gesturing towards it with a hand.
"Two nights ago The Militia set out to disrupt a mass import of off-world goods, intending to seize various key resources being shipped directly to Arcadia from Earth. The intended targets included rations, water, medicine, and cybernetic repair parts. If, like myself, you were paying attention to your news feeds yesterday..."
The woman laughs and throws her hands up as if dealing with something ridiculous.
"You were told they'd failed, that the brave security forces of Osi-corp repelled the terrorists who were trying to steal weapons! Well, dear citizen, I'm here to show you that this is yet more propaganda, more lies being strewn to keep you held down."
The woman's modulated voice, the mechanical disruption covering a matronly and stern tone, stopped at that word and the woman rose up. She walked away from the desk, the camera panning to follow her movements- her dress-uniformed [See: Military uniform] body elegantly leading the viewing device's lens. Soon more lights flashed into existence, and The Vox was shown to be standing amongst several large industrial pallets of crates- dozens lined up just behind her.
She lifted a hand and tapped at one of the sealed container's panels, a hiss of a seal being broken sounding through the air before the crate opened. She stuck her hand in and pulled out several bags of rations, and other forms of space-dried goods meant to be shipped across interplanetary lanes.
"These 'weapons' we requisitioned seem to be hidden beneath all this food. How interesting, don't you agree, dear viewer? These goods will be distributed and handled safely, and will trickle into donations and charities for those who can't afford to put food on their own tables. From the hands of the corporate executive, to the mouths of the hungry people, via the Militia. I don't know about all of you, but I'm extremely tired of having to constantly prove Osi-corp's media wrong- so let's move on to some more interesting stories for tonight."
She returned the goods to the crate and dusted her hands off, before returning to her desk. Next she indicated towards one of the other panels, causing it to expand and encompass part of the screen. Within the new video panel's confines was a scene that very few had witnessed; A group of protestors standing in the outskirts of Arcadia, surrounded by armed security forces.
"Osi-corp has a narrative it wants heard, but here at the Vox Populi we believe in a freedom of expression. Since Osi-corp is denying the people we all refer to as 'The Neanderthals' a platform, I'm here to give them one. I know what you're thinking, dear citizen, and I'll ask you all the question you're undoubtedly asking me; 'why should we give bigots a platform? The Neanderthals don't deserve to be heard!'...Well, they do. They do deserve to be heard. Just because we disagree with their point of view doesn't mean that they don't have the right to express it. Osi-corp disagrees with ours, and The Militia will share our platform with anyone who has a message that needs to be heard. Dear viewer, please watch the following video with an open mind and witness the atrocity that is oppression with your own eyes."
As The Vox finished speaking the video began to roll. The video was of an evangelical sort. A preacher-man who had been forced to the edge of the city by way of fines and extraneous clauses in city regulations stood upon the precipice of two crowds; to one side was the wall of law and order of osi-corp's security forces, shields and weapons in hand, and to the other was a mass of human mass, not a speck of chrome in sight. The man stood between the two sides, speaking loudly and clearly, trying to disperse the hostilities brewing without violence, but still clearly speaking out against human augmentations. It was clear that he had very few parishioners amongst his people, and that the Neanderthals themselves had crawled out of the woodwork at the possibility to bash some cyber'd heads, but it created a very clear dichotomy between the Osi-corp forces and the people opposing them nonetheless.
Then chaos erupted with the crack of a grenade launcher, smoke flooding the streets as Neanderthals and security forces alike began a skirmish in the streets. The video feed cuts just as one of the corporate soldiers raises his rifle to the priest, and the screen fades to show The Vox shaking her head.
"This video is from two weeks ago. The time it took us to get it on our show should speak volumes of the money and power that went into covering the scene up. That preacher was found out to be dead, killed in the ensuing riot. All because he tried to speak his mind to like-minded folk. I'll leave you all to stew on it and come to your own conclusions- I'd love to hear from you all tomorrow about how you feel about this story. I'll talk more on it then. I do love our little chats, dear citizens... Speaking of which, the night drags on. Let's go ahead and skip to our Q&A section."
The woman indicated with a hand behind the camera, and suddenly the show's conversational feeds filtered into view alongside The Vox. Hundreds of questions and conversations filtering through, sectioned and grouped, and compiled into questions that the woman would answer directly.
Tonight there was only one question on the minds of the people, however. As The Vox read the question, she smiled a gorgeous smile.
What about the Golden Disk? You haven't talked about the Golden Disk!
"Oh? The Golden Disk?...Well, I suppose I can talk about that...but I'm afraid I don't have much to say."
She leaned forward and laughed at the camera in an absolutely adorable manner.
"We're not going to let it stay in the hands of Arcadia's criminals, that's for sure. You can rest easy, good citizens, knowing that the Militia will do all in their power to seize the Disk, and restore power to the people."
Other
Saturnina's primary augmentations lie within the realm of nanites and nanocyberware modifications. She possesses almost no modifications beyond those that grant the following benefits;
Nanites that assist in the breakdown and management of proteins and nutrients, thusly allowing her to maintain a desired weight and appetite with no effort. Additionally, this allows an immensely efficient energy conservation and transferring system to be in her body, meaning that the typical limits of stamina and exhaustion simply do not apply to the woman. She needs only a few hours a sleep a week, and can easily survive off of one meal in the same time span- though eating and sleeping more definitely does not harm her.
Additionally, this same system of nanites works to advance and assist the regeneration of her cellular structure, making her immune to most diseases that spread through viral and bacterial means, as well as effectively negating her aging process. Money, indeed, does make one effectively immortal these days.
The primary accoutrement of nanomachine enhancements she possesses fall within the realm of social strata, and serve purely social purposes:
She can change her eye, hair, and skin color almost at will due to the machinery lacing her bones and filling her body.
She can modulate and change her voice.
She possesses a tailored pheromone structure; She constantly emanates a scent that tailors itself to the recipient to make her seem as if she smells completely desirable and pleasant to the individual who smells her. A powerful manipulative tool that has served her well.
She can also restructure her bones to a moderate extent; small shifts in height, changing her face, other small things of this caliber.
Finally, pertinent to the enhancement directly above, she is capable of recovering from physical injuries exceptionally quickly thanks to the nanites in her blood. They stitch together wounds, expel foreign objects such as shrapnel and bullets, and her bones knit back together exceptionally quickly. She's not a scrapper or fighter, but she hates the idea of scars being left behind and has long since eliminated that possibility with these regenerative properties. She is by no means unkillable, she'll simply recover quite quickly from injuries that don't put her in the ground.
Worthwhile Mentioning in Skills She is easily understood to be an extremely sociable, intelligent, and capable woman. Her ability to read situations, persuade, connive, manipulate, seduce, and coerce are that of legend, if hyperbole is excusable. Additionally her talents in business and economics, and handling her own personal finances, are exceptional.
However it is to be noted that, while not an expert in any sense, she is basically trained and capable of keeping up with her fellow Militiamen in a combat situation should she be called to one.
These, naturally, are not her only skills, but they are the ones worth particularly distinguishing and making clear. She can also drink most men under a table and is no slouch when it comes to recreational narcotics, but compared to the above such things are barely worth mentioning.
Notable Equipment Notes Saturnina carries a 'sporter' handgun; In short, a small fashionable pistol marketed towards women meant to act as an accessory to most of her outfits. It is coated in a nanite skin that changes to match the pattern and coloration of her outfits, not only helping the handgun blend in and become more difficult to spot, but also allow it to fashionably match her attire should she actually need the weapon to be used. Her handgun in particular is modified to fire Cutter ammunition.
Cutter ammunition - Bullets laden with nanomachines that devour and rip apart what they come into contact with. These bullets leave gaping holes in whatever they hit, and chew through armor to eat through the target beneath. They have an exceedingly short lifespan however, to avoid structural and collateral damage. She's so wealthy she's got the cash to spare to use microscopic robots as ammo. Deal with it.
She has such wealth that her attire is not worth describing in a concrete fashion on a character sheet
---- Business Notes
Rather than running a business of her own, or being a member of a corporate office directly, Saturnina has cleverly shifted her assets and money around to buy up massive amounts of stock amongst the various corporations plaguing dominating Arcadia. She is a prime shareholder of numerous small corporations/subsidiaries as well as an ambitious gambler in regards to megacorporate shares, making her a notable figure of wealth and influence amongst the corporate elite of Arcadia just as she has much social and political clout amongst the upper class of the city more publicly.
---- Militia Notes
Vox Populi - 'The Voice of the People' is a large scale, well known, Warp operation on the grid. Spearheaded and funded primarily by Saturnina- called 'The Vox' by the Militia- the underground news outlet acts as both a means to let freedom of speech thrive, but also a way for the Militia to get word out about the truth of the happenings in the city. Saturnina herself runs the show, under her alias and a disguise of course, and is an extremely charismatic face and voice for the militant group. The people need to know the truth, and hers is the voice that gets it to them.
Her role within the organization is not that of a fighter or soldier, but rather a beneficiary and supplier. All of her personal guards and security teams are picked from amongst the ranks of The Militia, and at times she is indeed required to serve as all other members are. She does not shirk from these moments, but it is by and large not her primary role.
I pride myself on hider nesting skills, but people like you make me wonder why I even try. Such color, very dense, unnecessary details, much cool. 10/10 stylization.
Kuro,
rush99999,
Savo,
Guardian Angel Haruki,
Dark Cloud,
Izurich,
vietmyke,
Tim the Yeti,
Hos,
dodododo
