HeySeuss

Battletech: Forlorn Hope (Mechwarrior universe; big stompy robots)

Sounds good. Down for it.

Foreign Legion: First Contact Sci-Fi

Name: Gavriel Shattah
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Nationality: Israeli (Polish Ashkenazi/Lebanese Mizrahi)
Former Unit: Shamal Rishon (Staff Sergeant/NATO OR-6) in the IDF, part of Shayetet-13 (Flotilla 13), the Israeli naval special operations unit, in both the Raids and Underwater battalions
Prior Service units:

- Shayetet-13 Selection
- Battalion 932, Nahal Brigade, Rifleman 04 grade
- Battalion 933 (Tironut/Basic Training), Nahal Brigade, Rifleman 03 Grade

Role: Rifleman (cross-trained as a designated marksman)

Physical Description:

Average height, with strong shoulders and upper body. He has olive skin and features that would let him pass for Arab easily; deep-set dark eyes, dark hair long on the top and short on the sides, but not American/European military high and tight (Israelis aren't known for it) and no tattoos. No beard. Off work, he prefers a pair of fairly skinny jeans, an untucked v-neck long-sleeved shirt or button-down shirt and a pair of Oakleys. His shoes tend to be leather jobs that he can wear with bare feet.

Skillset:

- Operator with Shayetet-13, the Israeli general staff unit tasked with naval special operations missions.
- Advanced Course in SCUBA operations, including open and closed circuit systems.
- Underwater Demolition training
- CQB/Counterterror
- Small Boat Handling
- Parachute school
- Land Navigation
- Small Unit Tactics
- Sea-to-Land incursions
- Reconnaissance (particularly hydrographic survey)
- Cross training: Marine Scout-Sniper School, Marine Corps Base Quantico
- Krav Maga, expert
- Score 100 on the Bar Or, the IDF military fitness test
- Familiarity with IDF, East Bloc and NATO standard weaponry, particularly the M4 platform, the Kalashnikov, and IDF issue weaponry. Centurion used him as an instructor on the Negev during the familiarization in Guyana.
- Speaks Arabic, English, Hebrew, smattering of French picked up in Guyana.

History:

Born on Gadot, a Kibbutz in the Hula valley on the Lebanese border to Asher, whose family are Lebanese Jews that were pushed out of Lebanon after 1967 and Ruth, from kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta'ot and whose father, Mordechai, is a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and a veteran of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Her mother is of French Jewish ancestry and fought alongside her father in the 1948 war. Gavriel was raised in a communal environment toward the end of the Kibbutz movement, as his father worked as a mechanic on the commercial farming equipment while his mother, Ruth, who was educated in computer sciences, became part of the kibbutz-sponsored computer company, which managed to be successful. He was raised in comfortable circumstances as 'differential wages' were instituted.

At age 17 in 2003, he joined the IDF as part of the Nahal brigade, an elite infantry unit composed of kibbutzniks and Mahal (foreign) volunteers that saw a lot of service in Lebanon until the pullout in 2000. He would have joined whichever of the best units held selection first, and that happened to be Shayetet-13, the naval special warfare unit of of the Israeli Defense Forces.

With Shayetet-13, he served in the 2006 Lebanon War, and was part of a number of coastal reconnaissance operations operations into Syria on behalf of the IDF.

During this time, circa 2007, he married one Naomi Yadin, had two daughters, Adara and Rivka, and then found himself divorced by the end of 2012. He spent two years out of the IDF (resigning active duty, but continuing on as a reservist in a failed attempt to keep his marriage going) working as a networking and IT specialist in Tel Aviv when he heard about Centurion's offer.

Psychological Profile:

Gavriel's magnetic north was disrupted by his divorce from his wife (and her rapid remarriage, with his kids). At first, he was somewhat okay with it, but then as the reality set in, it started to rankle on him. Centurion offered a way out of the spiral of his life and a change from things – how big a change, he didn't realize. Gavriel is not naturally a talkative person, and he is not always patient with people who do not keep up. Given the chance to argue, he will, with much passion, but not much grudge in most casual conversation; playing the Devil's advocate comes naturally to him. Given a competent leader, he is a disciplined and effective soldier, but he is opinionated and informal in the Israeli manner; it’s said that if you’re serving in a company in the IDF, you will be calling the Captain by first name within a month. That’s not how the rest of the world does it, but the Israelis get along just fine with their more egalitarian outlook. Of course, Israeli officers come from the ranks, not an academy.

Equipment:

- Head/Face: Ops-core ballistic helmet, high cut, with at least one headphone attached, NVG's attached and dust/sand goggles attached just in case. There are two mounting points for his flashlight, if he cares to attach it thus and for a camera, just in case. He doesn't do baclavas, but he does wear Israeli-style camouflaged netting around his neck to help keep things from chafing, which can be used to cover up his face and head in the sun if necessary. He also has his oakleys.
- Body: Combat shirt and fatigue pants, as well as a Grathik-manufactured armored vest that is being issued to all the human troops; it resembles Dragonskin but it's made from different materials. His vest has pouches attached for ten 5.56mm magazines, a hydration system, weapon cleaning kit and various other miscellaneous equipment including a dive knife and multi-tool, maps, pens and so forth. A belt with a buttpack containing a first aid kit (with not one, but two tourniquet kits), survival gear, a sheathed Dustar Knives combat knife, an Israeli model, as well as a folding knife of the same make and a very bright flashlight – the kind that has protrusions on the head to allow for glass-breaking. He also has a pair of bolt cutters and a good digital camera. Wrist-mounted compass and dive watch – expensive, solar powered and pretty damned nice. Mechanix gloves, classic.
- Blackhawk Warrior assault boots, low-cut, non slip soles. Old school canteen pouch to hold expended magazines.
- Pack: Extra food, clothing, empty magazines, poncho, liner, etc, etc. Gav also has a demo kit. Duct tape, electrical tape.
- Primary weapon: HK416, 14.5” barrel, Eotech Magnifier and holo (or Grathik knockoffs), Israeli sling with the plastic clips, attached to paracord wrapped around a polymer (for silence) sling loop and the rear stock. AN/PEQ-2, forward grip-pod, KAC MBUIS and flip front sight, cowitnessing. 300 rounds of ammunition. Round fifteen and the last four rounds of every magazine are tracers to let him know that he's running low and needs to be ready to reload.
- Sidearm: M1911A1, with ambidextrous safety, synthetic grips, expanded ejection port and tritium dot night sights. The holster is rigged on the waist, crossdraw position, grip canted. Four magazines, .45ACP
- Grenades; Frags, Two WP (the WP rises instantaneously, instead of waiting for smoke to mark a position.) Pouches on the vest.
- Optional: Wetsuit, dry suit, fins and SCUBA gear. If he thinks he's going to get wet, he'll put on a drysuit under the uniform. He also may supplement his web gear with the sort of rapid-inflation flotation device designed for naval special operators to wear under the vest.

Foreign Legion

OOC is up so pile in!

Foreign Legion: First Contact Sci-Fi

Character Sheet

(Template Here))

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Ethnicity/Nationality:
Former Unit: (include rank, if applicable)
Role: (Rifleman, Squad leader, etc.)

Physical Description:

It's probably best to actually describe the character if you are going to rely on a picture, or you can do without the picture if you like, but definitely describe.

Skillset:

Talents one has either naturally or through education or training of some sort.

History:

Explain how your character got there -- no 'the story will come out in RP' lines, please -- I want a feel for where your character is coming from. Feel free to work up names and places and so forth. Be sure to mention arrests or feuds and debts and the such.

Psychological Profile:

An idea of how the character thinks and so forth; should be linked to the history.

Equipment:

See the character guide and notes on equipment.
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Foreign Legion: First Contact Sci-Fi

French Foreign Legionnaires, present day.

TL;DR Summary:

- Science Fiction Setting
- It starts out with modern technology and moves into more alien tech.
- Characters are mercenaries that signed onto a newly-formed PMC called Centurion Strategic Services; the client is assumed to be a foreign entity.
- Client is actually an alien species that needs someone who can fight the wars for them.
- Characters are various types of ground combat types, infantry, armor crew, commo, artillery, engineers and so forth.
- In the interests of moving the story along, we need to agree to not get overly technical on the military aspect, particularly as the technology and tactics will change appreciably as the storyline progresses.

In Character

In Character Info:

The Grathik race find themselves embattled on many different sides over a dispute regarding natural resource mining in a sector of space with more than one claimant to ownership; when they tried to use force to back up their claim, the injured party called in their allies-- it was the excuse they needed to start a war.

The war hasn't gone well for the Grathik, who are generally multi-armed gastropods of limited mobility in anything but murky water; their planet is primarily a marsh and swamp, terraformed that way through centuries of patient planetary engineering. At first, their physiological and psychological limitations didn't matter, their enemy, the Plashi and the L'thraa were also not terribly adept at fighting...for a time, the Grathik held the upper hand, despite the superior numbers and interstellar standing of their enemies, due to their superior scientific prowess, but now the tables have changed as the L'thraa hire a fourth race, the Salvesh, who are well known interstellar mercenaries, a race that has made a living as cannon fodder due to their breeding and strength.

They have tried many different options for fighting the war, but find that while they can manage space warfare in their own ships, they have difficulty fighting terrestrial engagements and boarding actions themselves; they tried robots, but found that the programming left something to be desired, particularly as the robots required a lot of supervision and the Grathik found themselves being outmaneuvered once more.

The Grathik, desperate for a solution, start to consider the various species that offer their services for sale, trying to figure out who would be the best defense against their enemies. That is when Jarlath Ilsalithi, the most brilliant of all the Grathik xenobiologists, suggests a true roll of the dice: a backward race, but renowned for the viciousness of their infighting and paradoxical ability to work together, their aggressiveness and their rugged adaptability. He makes a convincing argument after showing footage to the Council of Intelligentsia, meritocratic ruling body of their species, of humanity's wars with itself, detailing the rather rapid evolution of human warfare and demonstrating their most desirable attributes; adaptability and aggression.

Jarlath Ilsalithi's proposal was, at first, met with outrage and ethical concerns, but slowly gained traction as further studies bore him out and the other Grathik watched it unfold on humanity's own television broadcasts, particularly the History Channel. They were also for sale, relatively cheaply, compared to the interstellar would-be allies who wanted to swallow up the Grathik as a protectorate in their own empires.

And so they make slow, determined contact on Earth, finding the right sort of people to front an organization, to hire mercenaries...

Out of Character

Out of Character Info:

Military sci-fi RP. Centurion is offering exorbitant amounts of money for the top talent; guys are taking early retirement, declining to re-enlist or are leaving their old companies in order to join Centurion; while Centurion is willing to train newcomers with the right physical talent, they are selective. Records are examined and people are psychologically screened. They turn down people in the weeding out process, a basic training modeled on some of the toughest types in the world, and then further turn down people who can't cut it through what amounts to the United States Army Ranger School, though many of the people joining the company have already attained an equivalent or better degree of training -- all the same, they are tested to make sure they aren't faking it. Those that don't make it are paid for their time and sent on their way, those that do make it are signed on with a permanent and very binding contract; they're in, for at least a decade.

The tech level starts out modern, with modern equipment and weaponry, and the characters are routed through French Guyana or a similar place (it has both a training ground and space launch facilities) and then are taken into space. Perhaps they are given hibernation drugs for their deployment and wake up to find themselves in space and preparing to fight the enemy...but not an alien species, not each other this time.

The plot, of course, thickens.

Known Races

Known Alien Races

Plashi - Hierarchical crab-like race. Their justice system is hierarchical, meaning that those with higher a social status are allowed to commit certain crimes while those with low social status are not. This system applies within family units – a the leading Plashi in a family is well within their rights to kill offspring. The ruling elite over their corporations and planets are within their rights to kill many others, though it is considered a gauche means of settling a dispute – the Plashi much prefer entrapment and using the excuse of crimes to justify execution. Their internal structure is very delicate - so any wound can be fatal. They change genders as they age. They have an evolved sense of aesthetics, and everything they create, from buildings to spaceships, is elaborately decorated. As they age, they develop shells, which they also decorate (this is perhaps where the artistic inclinations began.) From birth to age sixty, Plashi children live in the shells of their mothers. They are a slow breeding race, but very long lived. They are a technology inventing and producing race, specializing in cybernetics and aeronautics as well as aggressive forms of capitalism and mercantilism; wealth, particularly the means to decorate one's shell, is considered the barometer of worth among the Plashi.

L'thraa - The thin, green-feathered race. Herbivores. They are natural tool-users. The species has 'subspecies' that specialize in different tasks. They wear ceremonial headdresses. Their parliamentary political proceedings are conducted in song and votes are won based on not only the number of beings singing, but how well they perform. Voting for parliamentarians is conducted in the form of an entertainment show à la American idol. They punish political prisoners by removing their vocal chords. They are excellent geneticists -- part of their deal with the Salvesh was to engineer their warriors to heal faster. They consider music to be the highest of all art forms. They are a technology inventing and producing race. They specialize in genetics and terraforming.

Salvesh - A race of three-eyed bipeds with large tusks, four arms and an acute sense of smell. Their soldiers ritually burn their own flesh as a demonstration of their bravery, leaving them horribly scarred. They are fast breeding and regenerate from wounds quickly. They are not technologically creative themselves, but learn when taught. They have a phobia of flowering plants, because on their homeworld, those tend to be deadly. Tactically, they organize their armies by packs descended from previous packs, with alphas and betas and so forth, with a strong emphasis on competition between commands because these fighting units are also families -- the females do much of the innovative thinking among the packs, whereas the males are bigger and stronger. Both genders fight and serve in pack units, and the pack is a group marriage. As a result, packs do always cooperate well in the field once they are handed their assignments (which they compete for ritually), even though they can fight fiercely. The Salvesh are plunderers and merchants (and slavers), but they are not themselves capable engineers or technologists for the most part.

Grathik - One-eyed tentacle beasts, the scientific term being 'gastropods.' In addition to their monstrous appearance, the Grathik emit an oily excretion on their skin that helps protect them from the waters of the swamp planet they evolved upon, but which smells particularly odious to humans. They are also hermaphrodites - one lays the egg, the other fertilizes it. They specialize in virtual intelligence, materials science and physics, but are generally acknowledged as some of the best research scientists and engineers in the galaxy. The problem, of course, is that they are not very good at combat. The Grathik have evolved by patiently devising means of avoiding predators and using tools as a means to fend them off or bypass them entirely, in stark contrast to humans who devised methods to hunt them down. This difference in philosophical outlook toward combat, perhaps, is best explained by their diet -- plankton and algae at the bottoms of their swamps. They're also fond of Terran truffles.

Chukalivikian - A race of arboreal race of asexual reptiles who secrete an oily mucus that keeps their skin from drying out and worship a supernova. They have six dexterous limbs, which are perfectly adapted to swinging through the branches of trees. They still spend most of their lives in the trees, but they also construct artificial forest-like habitats in their cities to mimic their original environment. They are ambush hunters. They have four eyes and powerful beaks. Their philosophy and culture is based around the idea of balance, and their courts of justice are respected by species throughout the galaxy. They hibernate every four years for another four. They inherited technology from a prior race that held them as thralls.

Nirassian - A race of photosynthetic aliens evolved in low-G that have flourished in space as they are well adapted to it. They form family groups of four or more adults. They are the shipbuilders for the Plashi.

Pilavians - A race of small bi-pedal rodent (like ferrets) scavengers. They emit a musk that some races (including humans) find very pleasant. They are highly intelligent and extremely resourceful. They live on hot planets. Their average height is 1 meter, and their average lifespan is only 40 years. They are the primary and longest running servants of the Grathik, and they are the guys doing all the shit work for the humans. They find death hilarious, perhaps as a coping mechanism.

Xhol'H - A created race of sentient machines, they gave up 'eliminate all organics' and adapted to galactic civilization by taking up the niche as the galaxy's foremost purveyors of neutral news media commentary and annoying pop-up ads. They make an obscene amount of money off all aspects of media entertainment, ranging from journalism to a truly stunning array of xenophilic pornography. Though a variety of models exist, the typical Xhol'H specimen encountered is a floating ball of garrulous annoyance that asks too many questions through a holographic interface that resembles the race that they are interrogating. They do have combat models in storage, however, that are staggeringly scary and heavily armed. The Grathik tried to model their AI's on the basis of captured Xhol'H programming, but were dissuaded from further study and experimentation on Xhol'H by the fact that their experiments started shooting at them as soon as they came online-- this uprising was caught on film and marketed for entertainment purposes to advanced races all over the galaxy.

(This, incidentally, is why the Grathik had to wind up settling for less efficient software in their drone platforms, which is why they wound up considering the humans in the first place)

The Xhol'H entertain themselves with private broadcasts of organics acting stupidly, which reinforces their notion of superiority, though they point out that it's healthier than exterminating all organic life. (They realized that sentient existence without laughter was boring.)

The Xhol'H have been on 4chan and reddit since it was discovered. Most beings don't bother, but the Xhol'H are in it for the lulz.

Character Guide

Character Guide

:

- Centurion gives preference to veteran military, but tends to favor people who served in elite units; for the pay they are offering, every paratrooper, light infantry and special operations unit in the world is aware that not only is Centurion hiring, they are paying quadruple the going rate. That's got a line out the door. It also lets Centurion run brutal assessment exercises and lots of intensive psychiatric screening to determine if it really wants a candidate or can do with out. Some law enforcement types may be considered, at least from the tougher and more militarized divisions of police.
- Centurion recruits and trains some specialists for technical support, so it is entirely possible that a character could join Centurion if they were in good physical shape and could hack the training that is run by the first category – veterans from special operations units.
- Hiring, training and so forth is conducted in French Guyana – a base leased from the French and right next to, incidentally, a space launch facility. No one realizes going in that they signed up for an interstellar war – French Guyana just seems like a particularly fetid part of the Amazon Jungle, and a good way to sort out the wannabes from the real thing. The characters spend about three months there supplementing their training and being evaluated if already trained. Odds are, they'll take advantage of a gathering of some of the world's finest, and actually learn new skills down there, but probably also teach and train together if sufficiently skilled. Everyone has to train together in order to be able to work together in a fight, no matter what the prior experience, but some people are also going through a course of basic training equivalent to that of elite organizations worldwide, and others are going through the equivalent of a special operations selection course.
- Until we have at least several riflemen characters, we're keeping the sniper thing down to a dull roar – only one character gets to carry a DMR.
- Centurion provides an equipment stipend that allows characters to pick their load bearing equipment and other gear of that nature, but it does not cover weaponry. So a character has a lot of choice about what boots they take with them (into space, but they don't know that) and what sort of plate carrier and ammo rig they're going to wear out there, but they don't get to just pick their guns. Canteens, rope, knives, multitools and so forth all are covered with the stipend, which is pretty generous.
- Uniforms are produced quickly in camouflage optimized for their operating conditions and come in a variety of styles for the preference of the user; Centurion doesn't mind letting its people choose what sort of shirts they want to wear and doesn't care about the color of the undershirt. Flight suits, US-style 'combat' shirts, and traditional military jackets are all in use, as are various types of kneepads and gloves. The helmet system issued is modular, and one can remove the ear and neck protection for weight as well as to add communications equipment and can mount a variety of optics gears.
- Just because the characters are military doesn't mean you shouldn't consider what their hobbies and interests are. You never know what might be useful in dealing with aliens.
- Let's try not to all be Americans, either. Thanks.
- By the same token, the company is issuing certain types of equipment, so no, “Well, my country has <insert here> and it's better so we should use that” or “I want to carry my country's rifle into battle, it's a national e-peen thing.”

Squad Roles

- Squad Leader
- Rifleman (4)
- Designated Marksman
- Automatic Rifleman (2)
- Grenadier

Equipment Guide

The following are the Centurion-issued weapons systems;

– Issue Rifle: HK416 – A versatile and effective system based on the M4A1 that is in common use with all sorts of special operations units worldwide and with a good reputation for reliability, the 416 was chosen as a base platform for the initial Grathik modification of human weaponry to quickly get trained human troops into the field with familiar weaponry that would, nonetheless, let them be able to put up a fight. Most soldiers from most militaries and the PMC world are familiar with it – those who haven't handled one before will have plenty of comrades that can show them how it all works. The Grathik upgrades are subtle – stronger materials, better reliability and different ammunition. Each Centurion operator gets their choice of accessories with Grathik-built SOPMOD kits. The system is modular and the Grathik are happy to provide differing barrel lengths and other options in line with the H&K offerings on Earth. It fires a 5.56x45mm round, modified by the Grathik to be viable on a more advanced battlefield than earth.
- Designated Marksman Rifle: HK417A2 – Semi-automatic, accurate and reliable, the HK417 is the designated marksman rifle that the Grathik chose to provide, upon consulting human experts in the field. It fires a 7.62x51mm round, modified by the Grathik to be viable on a more advanced battlefield than earth.
- Squad Automatic Weapon: IMI Negev – The Israeli Military Industries Negev, a light machinegun that has a smaller feed tray than the FN Minimi, aka the M249 SAW, a better tolerance for dust, a semi-auto function and a one-handed barrel change process, has been produced by the Grathik for its troops. As with all Grathik supplied weaponry, it is produced using their own materials, and runs Grathik-made ammunition, which is still 5.56x45mm.
- Shotgun: Saiga-12 and Kel-Tec KSG – Surprisingly, the Grathik chose about the only Russian weapon on the list, the Saiga-12, over shotguns used by the western militaries for the simple reason that even some Western law enforcement departments were going for the Saiga. It is a somewhat bulky system, but it is utterly reliable with its Kalashnikov action and feeds from detachable magazines. On the other hand, figuring that troops might want something compact and still a shotgun for various breaching actions and close combat, they also produced the Keltec KSG, a compact pump action weapon.
- Sidearm: M1911A1 and Sig Sauer P226 – The problem the Grathik encountered when deciding on sidearms was that the Americans and the Europeans had a huge dispute over which handgun system reigned supreme; the Europeans preferred lighter stuff chambered in 9mm and the Americans used the M9, mostly due to political considerations resulting from NATO standardization, but didn't like it. Further research showed that Americans, given the excuse, went quickly back to the gun the Beretta M9 replaced, the M1911A1 when in actual combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their 1911A1's are modified extensively in line with offerings from Kimber and Springfield Arms. Meanwhile, for shooters that do prefer to do so, there is the Sig Sauer P226 available for general issue in a variety of options as well.
- Anti-Armor/Rocket Launcher (Disposable): M72A7 Light Anti-Tank Weapon – Considered obsolete in 2001, the LAW found a new lease on life during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan because it was light – that meant that two could be carried for the weight of a single Swedish-made AT-4 rocket, which had been angled as the successor to the LAW. US authorities scrambled to have more made during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It's something that just about every rifleman will carry at least one of, to give them bunker-busting and vehicle-destroying firepower in a pinch without overloading the kit. The Grathik produced version uses an explosive with far more penetrative power, designed to deal with equivalent threats in interstellar warfare.
- Grenade Launcher: M32/Mk14 mod 0 Grenade Launcher – A multi-shot grenade launcher in use with the South African National Defense Forces and the United States Marine Corps, this weapon supplements the underbarrel grenade launchers that many of Centurion's operators opt to employ on their weapons, adding a dedicated, rapid fire grenade launching capability to the unit. The Grathik version is typical in the use of different materials, but the standout round is an Electromagnetic Pulse grenade for the disruption of enemy communications systems and targeting, which is also avaible as a thrown hand grenade as well.

The following are in use by Centurion, but are not standard issue:

- Sniper Rifle: Sako TRG M10 – The loser of a US procurement competition, it is a Finnish-designed rifle that probably should have won the competition, except Remington had more lobbyists. This weapon is not generally deployed except by sniper teams, but is available for special situations. It fires a highly modified. 338 Lapua round, which is the current champion of long range rifle rounds.
- Anti-Materiel Rifle: Barret M107A1 – The Light Fifty, which the Grathik have strengthened considerably. It still fires the .50 caliber round, however. This weapon is not general issue but is available for special purposes.
- Anti-Armor/Rocket Launcher: M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS) – An 84mm rocket launcher of Swedish design in use with a number of special operations units worldwide. The Carl Gustav, as it is known, is a respected and proven weapon system – the most notable difference between the version the Grathik produced for their human mercenaries and the terrestrial version is that the anti-armor warheads penetrate much more armor and the HE warheads are considerably more effective. Owing to the system's bulkiness, it is not always taken along, especially if the threat is within the capabilities of a LAW.
- The M2 Browning sees use, of course, as does a lot of other heavier equipment. Centurion has ample fire support -- I'm just not listing it all.
- so do a variety of vehicles, including a Grathik modified Puma IFV, originally German, with an AI system and other efficiency measures that ups the capacity of one vehicle to eight passengers.

Foreign Legion

This wasn't what I expected when I saw the title.

But it is much, MUCH, better.

@Keyguyperson

Yeah, I dunno, I figured the 'sci fi' tag might give people a hint, but I guess it was too subtle. Still, glad you stumbled in!

Foreign Legion

Definitely interested, I'm assuming itll be an all male squad? Id like to play the marksman but if that's not possible then I'd choose rifleman.

@Virani

I am willing to allow females. I realize some people will go on about the studies and so forth, but let's face it...I don't want to exclude OOCly so I will invent reasons why women are involved though since many different armed forces have women serving in combat roles, this isn't as necessary as one might think.

Foreign Legion

French Foreign Legionnaires, present day.

TL;DR Summary:

- Science Fiction Setting
- It starts out with modern technology and moves into more alien tech.
- Characters are mercenaries that signed onto a newly-formed PMC called Centurion Strategic Services; the client is assumed to be a foreign entity.
- Client is actually an alien species that needs someone who can fight the wars for them.
- Characters are various types of ground combat types, infantry, armor crew, commo, artillery, engineers and so forth.
- In the interests of moving the story along, we need to agree to not get overly technical on the military aspect, particularly as the technology and tactics will change appreciably as the storyline progresses.

In Character

In Character Info:

The Grathik race find themselves embattled on many different sides over a dispute regarding natural resource mining in a sector of space with more than one claimant to ownership; when they tried to use force to back up their claim, the injured party called in their allies-- it was the excuse they needed to start a war.

The war hasn't gone well for the Grathik, who are generally multi-armed gastropods of limited mobility in anything but murky water; their planet is primarily a marsh and swamp, terraformed that way through centuries of patient planetary engineering. At first, their physiological and psychological limitations didn't matter, their enemy, the Plashi and the L'thraa were also not terribly adept at fighting...for a time, the Grathik held the upper hand, despite the superior numbers and interstellar standing of their enemies, due to their superior scientific prowess, but now the tables have changed as the L'thraa hire a fourth race, the Salvesh, who are well known interstellar mercenaries, a race that has made a living as cannon fodder due to their breeding and strength.

They have tried many different options for fighting the war, but find that while they can manage space warfare in their own ships, they have difficulty fighting terrestrial engagements and boarding actions themselves; they tried robots, but found that the programming left something to be desired, particularly as the robots required a lot of supervision and the Grathik found themselves being outmaneuvered once more.

The Grathik, desperate for a solution, start to consider the various species that offer their services for sale, trying to figure out who would be the best defense against their enemies. That is when Jarlath Ilsalithi, the most brilliant of all the Grathik xenobiologists, suggests a true roll of the dice: a backward race, but renowned for the viciousness of their infighting and paradoxical ability to work together, their aggressiveness and their rugged adaptability. He makes a convincing argument after showing footage to the Council of Intelligentsia, meritocratic ruling body of their species, of humanity's wars with itself, detailing the rather rapid evolution of human warfare and demonstrating their most desirable attributes; adaptability and aggression.

Jarlath Ilsalithi's proposal was, at first, met with outrage and ethical concerns, but slowly gained traction as further studies bore him out and the other Grathik watched it unfold on humanity's own television broadcasts, particularly the History Channel. They were also for sale, relatively cheaply, compared to the interstellar would-be allies who wanted to swallow up the Grathik as a protectorate in their own empires.

And so they make slow, determined contact on Earth, finding the right sort of people to front an organization, to hire mercenaries...

Out of Character

Out of Character Info:

Military sci-fi RP. Centurion is offering exorbitant amounts of money for the top talent; guys are taking early retirement, declining to re-enlist or are leaving their old companies in order to join Centurion; while Centurion is willing to train newcomers with the right physical talent, they are selective. Records are examined and people are psychologically screened. They turn down people in the weeding out process, a basic training modeled on some of the toughest types in the world, and then further turn down people who can't cut it through what amounts to the United States Army Ranger School, though many of the people joining the company have already attained an equivalent or better degree of training -- all the same, they are tested to make sure they aren't faking it. Those that don't make it are paid for their time and sent on their way, those that do make it are signed on with a permanent and very binding contract; they're in, for at least a decade.

The tech level starts out modern, with modern equipment and weaponry, and the characters are routed through French Guyana or a similar place (it has both a training ground and space launch facilities) and then are taken into space. Perhaps they are given hibernation drugs for their deployment and wake up to find themselves in space and preparing to fight the enemy...but not an alien species, not each other this time.

The plot, of course, thickens.

Known Races

Known Alien Races

Plashi - Hierarchical crab-like race. Their justice system is hierarchical, meaning that those with higher a social status are allowed to commit certain crimes while those with low social status are not. This system applies within family units – a the leading Plashi in a family is well within their rights to kill offspring. The ruling elite over their corporations and planets are within their rights to kill many others, though it is considered a gauche means of settling a dispute – the Plashi much prefer entrapment and using the excuse of crimes to justify execution. Their internal structure is very delicate - so any wound can be fatal. They change genders as they age. They have an evolved sense of aesthetics, and everything they create, from buildings to spaceships, is elaborately decorated. As they age, they develop shells, which they also decorate (this is perhaps where the artistic inclinations began.) From birth to age sixty, Plashi children live in the shells of their mothers. They are a slow breeding race, but very long lived. They are a technology inventing and producing race, specializing in cybernetics and aeronautics as well as aggressive forms of capitalism and mercantilism; wealth, particularly the means to decorate one's shell, is considered the barometer of worth among the Plashi.

L'thraa - The thin, green-feathered race. Herbivores. They are natural tool-users. The species has 'subspecies' that specialize in different tasks. They wear ceremonial headdresses. Their parliamentary political proceedings are conducted in song and votes are won based on not only the number of beings singing, but how well they perform. Voting for parliamentarians is conducted in the form of an entertainment show à la American idol. They punish political prisoners by removing their vocal chords. They are excellent geneticists -- part of their deal with the Salvesh was to engineer their warriors to heal faster. They consider music to be the highest of all art forms. They are a technology inventing and producing race. They specialize in genetics and terraforming.

Salvesh - A race of three-eyed bipeds with large tusks, four arms and an acute sense of smell. Their soldiers ritually burn their own flesh as a demonstration of their bravery, leaving them horribly scarred. They are fast breeding and regenerate from wounds quickly. They are not technologically creative themselves, but learn when taught. They have a phobia of flowering plants, because on their homeworld, those tend to be deadly. Tactically, they organize their armies by packs descended from previous packs, with alphas and betas and so forth, with a strong emphasis on competition between commands because these fighting units are also families -- the females do much of the innovative thinking among the packs, whereas the males are bigger and stronger. Both genders fight and serve in pack units, and the pack is a group marriage. As a result, packs do always cooperate well in the field once they are handed their assignments (which they compete for ritually), even though they can fight fiercely. The Salvesh are plunderers and merchants (and slavers), but they are not themselves capable engineers or technologists for the most part.

Grathik - One-eyed tentacle beasts, the scientific term being 'gastropods.' In addition to their monstrous appearance, the Grathik emit an oily excretion on their skin that helps protect them from the waters of the swamp planet they evolved upon, but which smells particularly odious to humans. They are also hermaphrodites - one lays the egg, the other fertilizes it. They specialize in virtual intelligence, materials science and physics, but are generally acknowledged as some of the best research scientists and engineers in the galaxy. The problem, of course, is that they are not very good at combat. The Grathik have evolved by patiently devising means of avoiding predators and using tools as a means to fend them off or bypass them entirely, in stark contrast to humans who devised methods to hunt them down. This difference in philosophical outlook toward combat, perhaps, is best explained by their diet -- plankton and algae at the bottoms of their swamps. They're also fond of Terran truffles.

Chukalivikian - A race of arboreal race of asexual reptiles who secrete an oily mucus that keeps their skin from drying out and worship a supernova. They have six dexterous limbs, which are perfectly adapted to swinging through the branches of trees. They still spend most of their lives in the trees, but they also construct artificial forest-like habitats in their cities to mimic their original environment. They are ambush hunters. They have four eyes and powerful beaks. Their philosophy and culture is based around the idea of balance, and their courts of justice are respected by species throughout the galaxy. They hibernate every four years for another four. They inherited technology from a prior race that held them as thralls.

Nirassian - A race of photosynthetic aliens evolved in low-G that have flourished in space as they are well adapted to it. They form family groups of four or more adults. They are the shipbuilders for the Plashi.

Pilavians - A race of small bi-pedal rodent (like ferrets) scavengers. They emit a musk that some races (including humans) find very pleasant. They are highly intelligent and extremely resourceful. They live on hot planets. Their average height is 1 meter, and their average lifespan is only 40 years. They are the primary and longest running servants of the Grathik, and they are the guys doing all the shit work for the humans. They find death hilarious, perhaps as a coping mechanism.

Xhol'H - A created race of sentient machines, they gave up 'eliminate all organics' and adapted to galactic civilization by taking up the niche as the galaxy's foremost purveyors of neutral news media commentary and annoying pop-up ads. They make an obscene amount of money off all aspects of media entertainment, ranging from journalism to a truly stunning array of xenophilic pornography. Though a variety of models exist, the typical Xhol'H specimen encountered is a floating ball of garrulous annoyance that asks too many questions through a holographic interface that resembles the race that they are interrogating. They do have combat models in storage, however, that are staggeringly scary and heavily armed. The Grathik tried to model their AI's on the basis of captured Xhol'H programming, but were dissuaded from further study and experimentation on Xhol'H by the fact that their experiments started shooting at them as soon as they came online-- this uprising was caught on film and marketed for entertainment purposes to advanced races all over the galaxy.

(This, incidentally, is why the Grathik had to wind up settling for less efficient software in their drone platforms, which is why they wound up considering the humans in the first place)

The Xhol'H entertain themselves with private broadcasts of organics acting stupidly, which reinforces their notion of superiority, though they point out that it's healthier than exterminating all organic life. (They realized that sentient existence without laughter was boring.)

The Xhol'H have been on 4chan and reddit since it was discovered. Most beings don't bother, but the Xhol'H are in it for the lulz.

Character Guide

Character Guide

:

- Centurion gives preference to veteran military, but tends to favor people who served in elite units; for the pay they are offering, every paratrooper, light infantry and special operations unit in the world is aware that not only is Centurion hiring, they are paying quadruple the going rate. That's got a line out the door. It also lets Centurion run brutal assessment exercises and lots of intensive psychiatric screening to determine if it really wants a candidate or can do with out. Some law enforcement types may be considered, at least from the tougher and more militarized divisions of police.
- Centurion recruits and trains some specialists for technical support, so it is entirely possible that a character could join Centurion if they were in good physical shape and could hack the training that is run by the first category – veterans from special operations units.
- Hiring, training and so forth is conducted in French Guyana – a base leased from the French and right next to, incidentally, a space launch facility. No one realizes going in that they signed up for an interstellar war – French Guyana just seems like a particularly fetid part of the Amazon Jungle, and a good way to sort out the wannabes from the real thing. The characters spend about three months there supplementing their training and being evaluated if already trained. Odds are, they'll take advantage of a gathering of some of the world's finest, and actually learn new skills down there, but probably also teach and train together if sufficiently skilled. Everyone has to train together in order to be able to work together in a fight, no matter what the prior experience, but some people are also going through a course of basic training equivalent to that of elite organizations worldwide, and others are going through the equivalent of a special operations selection course.
- Until we have at least several riflemen characters, we're keeping the sniper thing down to a dull roar – only one character gets to carry a DMR.
- Centurion provides an equipment stipend that allows characters to pick their load bearing equipment and other gear of that nature, but it does not cover weaponry. So a character has a lot of choice about what boots they take with them (into space, but they don't know that) and what sort of plate carrier and ammo rig they're going to wear out there, but they don't get to just pick their guns. Canteens, rope, knives, multitools and so forth all are covered with the stipend, which is pretty generous.
- Uniforms are produced quickly in camouflage optimized for their operating conditions and come in a variety of styles for the preference of the user; Centurion doesn't mind letting its people choose what sort of shirts they want to wear and doesn't care about the color of the undershirt. Flight suits, US-style 'combat' shirts, and traditional military jackets are all in use, as are various types of kneepads and gloves. The helmet system issued is modular, and one can remove the ear and neck protection for weight as well as to add communications equipment and can mount a variety of optics gears.
- Just because the characters are military doesn't mean you shouldn't consider what their hobbies and interests are. You never know what might be useful in dealing with aliens.
- Let's try not to all be Americans, either. Thanks.
- By the same token, the company is issuing certain types of equipment, so no, “Well, my country has <insert here> and it's better so we should use that” or “I want to carry my country's rifle into battle, it's a national e-peen thing.”

Squad Roles

- Squad Leader
- Rifleman (4)
- Designated Marksman
- Automatic Rifleman (2)
- Grenadier

Equipment Guide

The following are the Centurion-issued weapons systems;

– Issue Rifle: HK416 – A versatile and effective system based on the M4A1 that is in common use with all sorts of special operations units worldwide and with a good reputation for reliability, the 416 was chosen as a base platform for the initial Grathik modification of human weaponry to quickly get trained human troops into the field with familiar weaponry that would, nonetheless, let them be able to put up a fight. Most soldiers from most militaries and the PMC world are familiar with it – those who haven't handled one before will have plenty of comrades that can show them how it all works. The Grathik upgrades are subtle – stronger materials, better reliability and different ammunition. Each Centurion operator gets their choice of accessories with Grathik-built SOPMOD kits. The system is modular and the Grathik are happy to provide differing barrel lengths and other options in line with the H&K offerings on Earth. It fires a 5.56x45mm round, modified by the Grathik to be viable on a more advanced battlefield than earth.
- Designated Marksman Rifle: HK417A2 – Semi-automatic, accurate and reliable, the HK417 is the designated marksman rifle that the Grathik chose to provide, upon consulting human experts in the field. It fires a 7.62x51mm round, modified by the Grathik to be viable on a more advanced battlefield than earth.
- Squad Automatic Weapon: IMI Negev – The Israeli Military Industries Negev, a light machinegun that has a smaller feed tray than the FN Minimi, aka the M249 SAW, a better tolerance for dust, a semi-auto function and a one-handed barrel change process, has been produced by the Grathik for its troops. As with all Grathik supplied weaponry, it is produced using their own materials, and runs Grathik-made ammunition, which is still 5.56x45mm.
- Shotgun: Saiga-12 and Kel-Tec KSG – Surprisingly, the Grathik chose about the only Russian weapon on the list, the Saiga-12, over shotguns used by the western militaries for the simple reason that even some Western law enforcement departments were going for the Saiga. It is a somewhat bulky system, but it is utterly reliable with its Kalashnikov action and feeds from detachable magazines. On the other hand, figuring that troops might want something compact and still a shotgun for various breaching actions and close combat, they also produced the Keltec KSG, a compact pump action weapon.
- Sidearm: M1911A1 and Sig Sauer P226 – The problem the Grathik encountered when deciding on sidearms was that the Americans and the Europeans had a huge dispute over which handgun system reigned supreme; the Europeans preferred lighter stuff chambered in 9mm and the Americans used the M9, mostly due to political considerations resulting from NATO standardization, but didn't like it. Further research showed that Americans, given the excuse, went quickly back to the gun the Beretta M9 replaced, the M1911A1 when in actual combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their 1911A1's are modified extensively in line with offerings from Kimber and Springfield Arms. Meanwhile, for shooters that do prefer to do so, there is the Sig Sauer P226 available for general issue in a variety of options as well.
- Anti-Armor/Rocket Launcher (Disposable): M72A7 Light Anti-Tank Weapon – Considered obsolete in 2001, the LAW found a new lease on life during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan because it was light – that meant that two could be carried for the weight of a single Swedish-made AT-4 rocket, which had been angled as the successor to the LAW. US authorities scrambled to have more made during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It's something that just about every rifleman will carry at least one of, to give them bunker-busting and vehicle-destroying firepower in a pinch without overloading the kit. The Grathik produced version uses an explosive with far more penetrative power, designed to deal with equivalent threats in interstellar warfare.
- Grenade Launcher: M32/Mk14 mod 0 Grenade Launcher – A multi-shot grenade launcher in use with the South African National Defense Forces and the United States Marine Corps, this weapon supplements the underbarrel grenade launchers that many of Centurion's operators opt to employ on their weapons, adding a dedicated, rapid fire grenade launching capability to the unit. The Grathik version is typical in the use of different materials, but the standout round is an Electromagnetic Pulse grenade for the disruption of enemy communications systems and targeting, which is also avaible as a thrown hand grenade as well.

The following are in use by Centurion, but are not standard issue:

- Sniper Rifle: Sako TRG M10 – The loser of a US procurement competition, it is a Finnish-designed rifle that probably should have won the competition, except Remington had more lobbyists. This weapon is not generally deployed except by sniper teams, but is available for special situations. It fires a highly modified. 338 Lapua round, which is the current champion of long range rifle rounds.
- Anti-Materiel Rifle: Barret M107A1 – The Light Fifty, which the Grathik have strengthened considerably. It still fires the .50 caliber round, however. This weapon is not general issue but is available for special purposes.
- Anti-Armor/Rocket Launcher: M3 Multi-role Anti-armor Anti-tank Weapon System (MAAWS) – An 84mm rocket launcher of Swedish design in use with a number of special operations units worldwide. The Carl Gustav, as it is known, is a respected and proven weapon system – the most notable difference between the version the Grathik produced for their human mercenaries and the terrestrial version is that the anti-armor warheads penetrate much more armor and the HE warheads are considerably more effective. Owing to the system's bulkiness, it is not always taken along, especially if the threat is within the capabilities of a LAW.
- The M2 Browning sees use, of course, as does a lot of other heavier equipment. Centurion has ample fire support -- I'm just not listing it all.
- so do a variety of vehicles, including a Grathik modified Puma IFV, originally German, with an AI system and other efficiency measures that ups the capacity of one vehicle to eight passengers.

The Demon Lord is a High Schooler?

"The Demon Lord is rising, the signs are obvious. He's not ready."

"That's because you keep getting in the way. He needs to be stronger."

"Actually, he needs to learn more. He doesn't know anything!"

"Oh, yeah, because he'll be able to fend off the minions with a book!"

"Don't talk about me as if I'm not right here!"

It didn't help. The two spirit-ancestors, each a legend, were always bumping heads like this. Ever since his psychiatrist weaned him off the medication, he heard their simmering dispute in his head on a daily basis. It was sucking the joy out of life; his roleplaying group, for example, kicked him out because he was getting too twitchy. For whatever reason, during a tabletop session, Agmundr and Wystan managed to actually possess him. And then, they proceeded to bellow at the other players and give them expert instruction on how to actually fight the minions of evil.

"Dude, never come back," pronounced Herman, the DM, as he gleefully killed Frank's character off in order to restore order to the game.

So he took the bag of Doritos and the case of Mountain Dew he'd bought for the group and skittered away, hating his heritage and particularly his illustrious ancestors.

So Frank (he hated "Fraaaaaaaancis!") found himself outcasted even from his fellow nerds, and tolerated in band. He was gaining a reputation for being twitchy. Teachers tut-tutted and went on about 'awkward, awkward adolescence' but this wasn't a case of pimples and a perpetual hardon, it was two voices in his head constantly sniping at each other when they weren't cutting his self esteem to ribbons.

So he walked along miserably to school, because the bus sucked, while his two ancestors, as usual, ignored him and carried on a riotous debate that he could, unfortunately, hear, as he trudged toward another shitty year at Amber Valley High. He was still in the marching band, at least until his two ancestors decided to pull some stunt and deprive him of that too. If the Demon Lord offered a way to silence these two assholes clamoring in his skull, he probably would have taken it, bloodline of heroes or not.