Starlance

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

The part of the Galactic Bazaar where the factory was located reminded Rachel of the Nariman district of Londres Nova, where she grew up back on Mars. Dark, somewhat rundown, quite cramped, almost claustrophobic in some places and very few law enforcement officers ever ventured there. But it was home, no matter how bad it was. A heaven for a fingersmith such as herself, had it been more populated. With her hands in her pockets, the former scoundrel followed the group towards the team’s humble abode in long strides, leaving her mind to wander. Eight years ago, give or take a few months, she tried to steal her first bicycle in a street not very different from the one they were just walking on. Given that she has never learned to ride a bike, it was the first and also the last one she ever set her hands on.

When the group stopped to listen to the news, Rachel followed the broadcast with her ears, eyes mindful of the street. Although the general was correct in citing the lack of security in the name of freedom as a problem in past regimes, his apology rang hollow. He was also correct about the corruption issue, but there was a big difference between a corrupt government and a species-wide cult of personality. She had to snort with laughter at the last bit. ‘...disturbance of tranquility is never a way to solve any problems.’ Spoken by a representative of the government that started a race-oriented war and pissed off every known major species in the process. And the might of Ascendancy’s military? Rather, they would face whatever scraps were left of it. But despite the massive beating they received at Proxima and during several late-war battles prior to it as well as the subsequent disarmament and sanctions, squashing a couple of annoying bugs was still a fairly easy task for them. And their little group was a very small bug.

As the broadcast ended, Rachel turned to Aaloka. “I don’t know. I think I saw a deck of cards in one of the cabinets?” she searched her memory for more, but came up with nothing. ”We’ll have to check when we get home. That is unless something that needs to be done first pops up.” she added, looking forward to sitting down at last. “How long do ye think the job will take? Few days? A week?”

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

I was just asking myself the same question.

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

Rachel watched John leave the tank alive and well, thinking about Karrsh’s question. “My upbringings weren’t anything grand, but it was something at least remotely normal.” she responded quietly “Than the Ascendancy came, took everything I knew and turned it all into nothing more than distant memories. And although many, including all of ye, had it much worse during the war, I just don’t have it in me to forgive such a thing. I want to watch them burn, just like they watched us. Just make sure ya take inspiration from John and not me, and ya’ll be right as rain.” Much to her surprise, she became quite fond of the group, something unthinkable just a few months ago. The presence of others who went through a similar ordeal worked wonders. Humans were, after all, pack animals.

Although Rachel wasn’t sure mixing alcohol and magic-wielding super soldiers was a good idea, she welcomed anything that would keep the group’s spirits high. Perhaps ‘spirits’ wasn’t the best choice of words. “A party, ye say? Should I go and steal a few bottles of something? Maybe some snacks to go with them?” Rachel asked a semi-serious question over the comms as she followed John out. Some distance from the meeting point, she emerged from the shadows and joined their leader, still vigilant of their surroundings. Falling into pace, she spoke, off the comms. “What are yer thoughts on this deal? I didn’t hear all of it, but what I heard sounded a little too good to be true, at least without a significant hitch somewhere down the line. I mean, ten million? Is the lass planning a field trip through a war zone or something? Who in their right mind would pay so much for bodyguards?”

Titanfall: City of Angels

Anatoly Loginov

Appearance

Name: Anatoly Fyodorovich Loginov

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Faction: Special Recon Squadron
ARES Division (formerly)
IMC Armed Forces (formerly)

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Gear:

• R-201 Carbine w/ HCOG sight
• Hammond P2016
• MGL Mag Launcher
• Grapple
• Cloak

Backstory: Anatoly joined the IMC when he was 18. As a son of a car mechanic, he was interested in vehicles since early age, helping his father wherever possible. He initially trained as a tank crewman, putting the things his father taught him into a good use. When the Militia reared its head, the demand for titan pilots rose, especially after the Militia started using them as well. Seeing a chance, he applied for pilot training. A few years later, after an operation involving the ARES Division has gone wrong due to a commander’s ego, Anatoly decided to leave the IMC, disgusted by how a rank-climber could waste lives and equipment to satiate his pride without any scrutiny. His service record did not go unnoticed and he was contacted by the ARES Division, looking to replace losses from the same battle.

While initially loyal to the ARES Division, Anatloy opposed the use of mercenaries of Blisk's caliber. Worse yet, he was sent to Typhon and placed under Blisk's command where he witnessed the needless brutality and questionable state of mind of the men and women under his command, much to his disgust. With Typhon's destruction and his views of the IMC turned the other direction, Anatoly sought out the Frontier Militia with the intention to defect.

Titan:

Model: Tone

Retrofit: Hunter-Killer package

Designation: EL-3940

Nickname: Elena

Decoration: EL is painted with a simple two-tone woodland camouflage. Despite the damage it's suffered over its service life, EL is well maintained, from her inner workings to the paint.

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

Anything will do for Rachel, but meat would be appreciated.

Titanfall: City of Angels

Anatoly Loginov

Appearance

Name: Anatoly Fyodorovich Loginov

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Faction: Special Recon Squadron
ARES Division (formerly)
IMC Armed Forces (formerly)

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Gear:

• R-201 Carbine w/ HCOG sight
• Hammond P2016
• MGL Mag Launcher
• Grapple
• Cloak

Backstory: Anatoly joined the IMC when he was 18. As a son of a car mechanic, he was interested in vehicles since early age, helping his father wherever possible. He initially trained as a tank crewman, putting the things his father taught him into a good use. When the Militia reared its head, the demand for titan pilots rose, especially after the Militia started using them as well. Seeing a chance, he applied for pilot training. A few years later, after an operation involving the ARES Division has gone wrong due to a commander’s ego, Anatoly decided to leave the IMC, disgusted by how a rank-climber could waste lives and equipment to satiate his pride without any scrutiny. His service record did not go unnoticed and he was contacted by the ARES Division, looking to replace losses from the same battle.

While initially loyal to the ARES Division, Anatloy opposed the use of mercenaries of Blisk's caliber. Worse yet, he was sent to Typhon and placed under Blisk's command where he witnessed the needless brutality and questionable state of mind of the men and women under his command, much to his disgust. With Typhon's destruction and his views of the IMC turned the other direction, Anatoly sought out the Frontier Militia with the intention to defect.

Titan:

Model: Tone

Retrofit: Hunter-Killer package

Designation: EL-3940

Nickname: Elena

Decoration: EL is painted with a simple two-tone woodland camouflage. Despite the damage it's suffered over its service life, EL is well maintained, from her inner workings to the paint.

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

Rachel stuck to the dark spots, taking in the layout of the factory, comparing it with the floorplans she studied beforehand and mapping possible escape routes. Unsure of her usefulness in a direct confrontation, she tried to stay slightly ahead of John at all times without letting him out of her sight to warn him of any danger in advance, all the while trying not to expose herself to any eyes that may or may not be lurking in the factory’s numerous nooks and crannies, much like herself. Given their past, she would not be surprised at all if someone was watching. Her task was made somewhat easier by the fact that John was the only green thing in the seemingly endless sea of battleship gray and the occasional faded black and yellow warning tape that was the abandoned factory and therefore easy to keep track of. As they approached the tank, Rachel opened a channel to John. “Nae way I can get inside the tank unseen, ye'll have to manage on yer own. I'll be right at the door, so nae problem pal. Holler and I'll be there.”

She watched John enter the tank and settled close to the door, straining her ears for any signs of commotion or a cry for help. All she heard was a muffled conversation between John and another man. “Playing the princess’ guard, oh the sweet irony.” she thought with a sigh, turning her attention back to the silent factory. But was it? Rachel took a few steps away from the door so the conversation inside the water pit wouldn’t interfere and listened carefully. Nothing. Nothing but a slight draft and distant noises of a busy district. Satisfied for the time being, she retreated back into the shadows beside the pit entrance and waited for John. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she found it hard to believe the mysterious woman would pay ten million credits for bodyguards, especially a group of teenagers in less-than-ideal mental states, magic or not. Either the lady expected to go through hell, or worse, or the entire job was a ruse. She made a mental note to ask John’s opinion once they were out of the factory and waited, eyes darting from one corner to another, looking for oddities.

Titanfall: City of Angels

Checking in.

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

Rachel Scott

Name: Rachel Scott
Callsign: Flash
Age: 18

Appearance

Voice: Sofia Boutella (Gazelle, Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Rachel stands at 176 cm and weighs 74 kg with a lean build. Rachel favors dark clothing with many pockets plus a few hidden ones. Anything that restricts her field of view or freedom of movement is a no-go. When it comes to spacesuits, anything that is not leaking will do.

Important Items

• Several thousand credits acquired through pickpocketing or odd jobs.
• Universal screwdriver

Short Bio: Born and raised in the suburbs of a large city on Mars, neither the neighborhood nor her family were particularly well off. And since no one would hire a little girl, Rachel took to thievery to give the household an income boost. Over the years. she’s become proficient at sleight of hand, unarmed combat and getting from place to place without being noticed. But sometimes someone would notice, and so she learned to navigate urban environments quite well, often with officers at her heels. Until one day, one of the officers was faster. Upon her capture, the authorities took note of her agility and resistance to questioning. It wasn’t long until her holding cell was visited by men in armor instead of policemen - the last time she saw her home.

Rachel was sent for “augmentation” and assigned to intelligence, namely a recon and deep strike team. Engineered and trained to enter and exit any compound, negotiate any terrain or obstacle and extract any necessary information from captives, Rachel was made to be a crossbreed of a black-ops operative and a master interrogator, with varying success. She has also picked up some basic engineering. However, several years of literally messing with people’s heads also messed with hers, turning her into a cold, emotionless husk of a person with but a tiny shred of humanity, buried somewhere deep within.

She was grateful for the war’s end, despite humanity’s defeat. So when the ceasefire was announced, she laid down her arms and approached the nearest alien unit, a Rau’ve infantry patrol. In captivity, the emotionless young woman awaited her inevitable execution, until she and her fellow children were released. However, she couldn’t return to normal life, if “return” was even applicable. All she knew was thievery and war. But her newfound freedom pushed reason aside and fanned the flames of vengeance that lay dormant in the back of her broken mind and seeing an opportunity, she took it, determined not to let go no matter what may lay ahead.

Spell List

• Rapport (Mind): Rachel can give an order to a single person. To do this, she needs to perform a specific hand gesture and say the order out loud. Her target needs to hear her and understand the language. If the target loses consciousness or goes through intense pain (like gunshot wounds), the spell loses effect. The presence of others near her target makes it significantly harder and tricking a person when more than two other people are present has proven impossible at her current level as the other members of a group can interrupt the spell.
• Illusion (Mind): Rachel can create an illusion visible by a single individual. She has to concentrate on keeping the illusion and cannot do anything else that requires her mental faculties (she can create an illusion while running away from something, but not when solving an equation). The illusion can be virtually anything, but bigger or more detailed things require more focus and take a greater toll on her. Keeping the illusion for more than a few minutes also leads to headaches, nausea and general exhaustion. The illusion can only be seen by the affected individual, Rachel and cannot physically interact with the world. Rachel can only make a person see something that isn’t there, not the other way around.
• Extraction (Mind): By far the most advanced and tasking spell Rachel has learned, Extraction allows her to “view” the memories of others. The process requires physical contact and complete concentration, sending both Rachel and her victim into a trance-like state. Memory extraction time ranges from mere seconds to minutes, depending on the target’s mentality and training to resist such practices.
• Telekinesis (World): Rachel can manipulate objects at a distance, the farther and or heavier the object, the harder it is. Her current cap is around one ton. While she cannot use this to fly, she can use this to jump higher, slow her fall or make small adjustments to direction midair.
• Fire Surge (World): Produces a stream of flame from her palm as a desperate close quarters defense measure. Maximum range of the stream is two meters, flame temperature is around 1000°C. Casting this spell with gloves on is not recommended, as Rachel found out the hard way during training.

Exceptional Skills:
Exceptional Stealth
Trivia:

• She is unable to use mind spells against the kaisoken species and the korta are naturally hard to get to due to their usually high intellect.
• While mostly detached from reality, Rachel became quite protective of children because of what happened to her and many others.
• Always keeps a knife on her.
• Her proudest moment is extracting the layout of a building her team had to navigate from a korta logistics officer.

Titanfall: City of Angels

Always liked the Tone, but will go with something else if someone beats me to it.