A Closer Look: Amara Nnamani

(Today we look at Tanja the Survivor)

Fenrir File: 449

Area of Origin: Lake Nasser, Egypt   Born: 12/19/2041

Background: The Survivor

Spirin Bonded: Sazori  Arachnid(Scorpion)/Space

Jaeger: Tuma ("Everlasting") (Salvaged Alpha/Military grade Jaeger)

(Amara, File Photo)

Basics: Amara is a powerful woman with a gift of foresight. She has a multicultural upbringing spanning the primitive to the modern. Psychically gifted with foresight, she has stayed one step ahead of danger the bulk of her life, but since the necromorph invasion she has no longer had that option. She was captured by the invasion forces, but when the overseers began forcing necromorph infestation on the populace, the Covenant forces turned on them, saving Amara. She aided the covenant traitors, and has gained powerful technology and allies in the process.

(Tuma, "The Everlasting")

Full Background: Amara was born a Nubian in the lower Nile region of Egypt. Like today, the Nubians are a minority in Egypt, with fewer rights and a more primitive existence than their Egyptian counterparts. Amara was a member of a tribe calling itself the Tehenu, Nubians who made the decision to move into wilderness away from the oppressive governments of Egypt and Sudan. The tribe was very traditional, which meant into nature spirits, female oppression, and crude living conditions. 

At 16 years of age Amara was arranged into a marriage to an older man, a high ranking warrior of the village. She was not attracted to him, and hated the arrangement. To keep herself from succumbing to grief she mentored under the village shaman. For the next 10 years she studied the ways of the spirits, medicinal plants, and tribal medicine. She also had two children in the process, a son and daughter. Her son was Akins, her daughter Aziza, and they were the most important objects of her existence. 

Raising the children was a major issue between Amara and her husband. He wanted them to be in strict accordance to the tribal roles, the daughter to be a farmer and the son a warrior like his father. Amara hated the idea that women were weak, and wanted to raise their children more equally; teaching them both as much as she could. While Amara’s husband never fully gave into Amara’s wishes, he did soften a bit and teach Aziza and Amara some about hunting, how to work a gun, and proper spear and machete technique, but he was reluctant and made it known to them.

When Amara turned 31 her arguments with her husband would come to an end. She had by then become the head shaman of the tribe, and during her meditations she could see a large explosion of fire and earth on the horizon of the tribe’s land. She argued about leaving the tribe for a few days with her husband, but he wouldn’t hear her. So in the middle of the night she took the children and fled to the Nile, following it to civilization. A lone mother alone in a world she didn’t know, and with dreadful sense of dread of the future on her mind she continued to Cairo. The morning she arrived a comet encased Kaiju crashed near Lake Nasser. The impact shockwave wiped out the entire tribe she belonged to, and the monster rising from the crater, an 8 headed 500 foot tall beast known as Hydorah, tore its way through many cities she had stayed in before Godzilla finally defeated the creature… they even nuked the pair of monsters in a futile attempt to kill them both, which killed even more of the Egyptian people, with little harm to the monsters. Amara’s foresight kept herself and her children ahead of the danger, even in this strange new world. 

(The kaiju Hydorah)

Over the next 25 years she stayed in and around Cairo, raising her children and very young grandchildren. (A grandson, Khalfani, and a dranddaughter, Matsimela) Amara was very intelligent, and highly adaptable. She had all manner of jobs over the years, doing what she had to do to survive and provide for her children. Her family stayed close, and grew as her children were married, and they had children of their own. Then the covenant invaded, and all able bodied men were drafted into the Egyptian military. This included both her son and son-in-law. They both died in combat the following year, and Amara was left with her daughters and grandchildren. 

Amara moved out of Cairo, and headed across Africa over the next several years, and settled in Lagos, Nigeria. It was known as one of the safest cities on the continent, and it was a good thing Amara moved there when she did…

(Necromorphs....)

2096, 5 years ago now, a necromorph infested ship crashed in the center of Africa. Life started to become far more dangerous than it once was… but Amara was a survivor, and she defended what was left of her family fiercely. Her gift of foresight continued to keep them safe, until the ‘Necro-Gear’ smashed its way across the continent two years ago now. It destroyed the defensive walls protecting the small country, and spread the necromorph infestation all over the western half of the continent before finally being taken down by Godzilla. 

The necromorphs now invading Nigeria were unlike anything Amara had ever faced before… and when a combined Covenant/Overseer strike team assaulted Lagos, there was nothing Amara could do, they were captured by a heavily armed covenant team led by an immaculately armored elite the others would call ‘Arbiter.’ 

(The Arbiter)

Amara’s entire family was brought to a large plaza with many other people, and corralled into an energy fenced area. Touching the energy walls was a painful shock, but the invaders could walk through them without issue. Amara watched, huddled with her daughter, pregnant granddaughter, and grandson. There was a commotion, as several small grey aliens came into the crowd… Amara swears she could hear their thoughts… and she saw purple ethereal cords weaving around horrifying, batlike necromorph creatures… a creature she would later learn to be called an infector, and started unleashing them on the gathered civilians… In very little time the horrifying transformation was occurring, and the newly infected would be commanded by the other psychic aliens. 

(The Overseers.)

Amara felt her death approaching… but more importantly the death of her family. A necromorph approached. People around her were panicking… when Amara placed herself in front of her family. The creature lunged for her, and Amara closed her eyes. She felt a flash of heat, and through her closed eyes there was a flash of bright blue light. When she opened her eyes, the massively armored elite stood over the necromorphs melted form, the body more a pile of burnt jelly than something that was once human. The creature shouted in his language, and all the gathered covenant forces attacked the small grey aliens and the necromorphs. 

Amara grabbed her family and made a run for it. In the chaos she was knocked down and lost sight of her family. When her eyes found Matsimela, late in pregnancy with an infector leaping upon her… Amara screamed out, adrenalin fueling her legs as she tackled the infector off her daughter. Grappling with the bat-like arms, she throw the creature with all her might into the nearby energy fencing; the creature impacting into it with a surge of electricity. Amara looked down at her granddaughter. The transformation was horrifying, and incredibly fast. Her head split open, her mouth growing multiple mandibles, blades made of mutating bone ripping from her elbows…. Then horrifying bladed tentacles ripping through her stomach, as her necromorph infested child leapt forth from the womb up at Amara. Amara jumped back, noticing a nearby piece of rebar on the ground. Grabbing the iron pole like a sword, Amara swung, knocking the mutated child aside. Turning to run, she impacts into a small grey alien, who raises his hand, and tries to take over Amara’s mind. 

She can feel his desires, his urges… but Amara’s mind is strong, and to the Grey’s surprise, Amara thrusts the rebar right into the creature’s large eye. It screams out, Amara can feel a psychic backlash as if it’s screaming with its mind, and she swings again, and again, and again… Exhaustion overtakes her, and she looks up to see her daughter and grandson looking at her and looking past her. She turns, and the large ‘Arbiter’ alien is there, a twin bladed energy sword in his hand, and to Amara’s mixed relief, her infected family laid to rest. The small grey overseers and the necromorphs were dead, as were many of the covenant. The ‘Arbiter’ then spoke, in fairly decent English for an alien. Its voice was deep, with an otherworldly echo to it, like the creature’s vocal cords had vocal cords of their own. 

“There is no honor in what the Overseers are doing. We are not mindless sheep. We are warriors of the ring. The endless wave cannot be achieved by using the demon plague as a weapon. Our ancestors would be ashamed of us if we allow ourselves to be allied with such a race.” The gathered aliens nodded, the humans stared on in confusion, but thankful for their lives. “The bulk of my warriors will be transporting you to a nearby safe human city, it is called ‘Cairo’ I believe.” He said loudly to the gathered humans. He then pointed at Amara, “You have the gift to resist the overseers mental abilities. I saved your life, you shall accompany me as my advisor. I know too little of your world.”

Amara had no choice but to accept, what else could she say to a group of heavily armed alien invaders? She said goodbye to her family, and she began her journey with a group of Covenant led by Arbiter Elite Ecthelion. 

Ecthelion’s treason did not go unnoticed, and many attempts on his life occurred over the next year. Amara’s gift of foresight came in handy there too, and in an effort to protect both his comrades and himself, Ecthelion, Amara, and Ecthelion’s right hand grunt, a rather opinionated woman named Zarbot, began making their way westward following the path of destruction wrought by the Necro-Gear, cleansing what necromorph infestation they could. The rest of Ecthelion’s crew took to the skies, heading to the space ring in the far reaches of our solar system, awaiting his signal to return.

The Arbiter would ask Amara all kinds of questions while they wandered the continent, everything from politics to music, he was fascinated by our cultures many diverse forms. While the trio was walking, they were salvaging pieces of the ‘necro-gear’ that they would find on the way. The pair’s plasma weapons were used to ‘cleanse’ the equipment, and by the end of the year they had pieced together a rather impressive core for a Jaeger. Zarbot was rather skilled as an engineer, and in the process he taught Amara a bit about the focus crystals that the Arbiter had in his energy blade. Amara set her own mind to work, and with the pair’s help, she managed to design her very own ‘lightsaber’ energy sword. Amara then became a genuine asset to The Arbiter, who started to respect her more and more.

(Zarbot)

One night in the desert, Amara could hear a whisper on the wind. An indistinguishable voice calling for something, but Amara couldn’t make it out. She seemed to be the only one who could hear it. The Arbiter was lying down by the fire asleep, and Zarbot was walking around, gathering different plants to experiment with. The little creature loved earth plants, and she spent all the free time she could eating, smoking, smelling, and otherwise interacting with earth plants. She had an armful of cacti, when a vibrant blue ‘scorpion’ creature, about the size of a small dog, burst forth from the sand. Amara could hear the whispers on the wind, something about saving her… She hopped up, and jogged over to see Zarbot running away, screaming while the blue scorpion chased him. Amara drew her lightsaber, and stepped up to the scorpion. The creature stopped in its tracks, and a rather intelligent sounding voice came from it, sounding almost like an English butler. “Excuse me mi’lady, but I do believe you are in the way of my rescuing you from these Covenant invaders.” Amara deactivated her blade, and smiled at the vibrant glowing scorpion creature. She didn’t seem surprised or frightened of it at all, she seemed more amused than anything else. “Come spirit of the desert night, I need no rescue, these two are actually trying to help.” He extended her arm, and the large scorpion crawled up, shrinking its size down to a more ‘normal’ scorpion as it made its way to Amara’s shoulder. Zarbot looked on, “So the rumors are true, the spirit allies of the Artherian’s are on this world. No wonder your kind have lasted so long.”

(Sazori, the space scorpion)

The scorpion answered back, “We do what we have to alien sir.” Amara smiled, she liked that attitude, and the spirin’s peculiar way of talking. “What should we call you?” Amara asked, “Sazori mi’lady.” The scorpion politely answered back, ‘bowing’ its scorpion head low and gesturing with its claws.    

Not long after bonding with Sazori, Amara’s foresight was intensifying, something bad was going to happen to her family in Cairo, and it involved Necro-Gears. She wasn’t going to let that happen. 

She told the Arbiter about her vision, and she added a condition to her continued ‘employment,’ she was building herself a Jaeger. The two covenant aliens agreed, and set about building a Jaeger for Amara. They made their way back to Lagos, cleared out the necromorphs they needed to, and went to work with the parts they could find at the ‘Oblivion Bay.’ (Jaeger Graveyard.) They managed to make a complete Jaeger for Ecthelion and Zarbot, but all the head pieces were old ‘Drift requiring’ models, so Amara’s Jaeger did not have a head piece available.

Back to the west coast the pair went searching, and washed up on the shore just waiting to be found was the scarred head of the ‘Necro-Gear.’ Once cleansed and installed, Amara got into the pilots seat. Pulling the visor over her head, the Heads Up Display (HUD) flashed an error message, “Pilot format incorrect, reformat? Y/N” not knowing exactly what that meant Amara said, “Yes?” And then there was nothing but pain in her body. She screamed out her body feeling the flesh on the back of her head and spine being manipulated and pried apart. Then it went numb, and she is no longer Amara. She stands, and looks on at the remains of the city and the heavy Jaeger machinery near her. She can feel every ray of sunlight on her glistening hull. Feel the current of the tesla field dance across her chest and back… it’s relaxing, like one of those self-massaging chairs. Amara feels the back of her head, she feels both the cool steel of her Jaeger, as well as a metal device connected directly into the base of her skull. Moving was easy, second nature. There was no learning curve, anything Amara could do, Tuma could do. And so, the pair of makeshift giant robots made its way across the desert, following Amara’s vision of a burning city, hoping they can stop it in time.

(A lightsaber is an amazing anti-necromorph weapon.)

A Closer Look: Daniel Michaelson

(Today we look at another character, Seth the Combat Support Specialist.)

Fenrir File: 441

Area of Origin: Seattle, Washington, USA    Born: 11/5/2070 (30 years old)

Background: Combat Support Specialist

Spirin Bonded: Surge    Earth(Silver)/Air(Lightning)

Jaeger: Blue Sabre   (Experimental Feline Model 01, or EFM -01)

(File photo upon X-Com entry.)

Basics: Daniel Michaelson was a child prodigy student who was accepted to MIT at a young age. His parents went to Mars, and he witnessed their deaths on his webcam via Kaiju. Wanting to avenge his parents, he desires to become a Jaeger pilot and fight Kaiju. The U.S. Military strung him along for awhile, and now he is getting the chance he's wanted in the ranks of X-Com.

(The Blue Sabre)

Full Background: Daniel Michaelson was born to two very loving, well-educated parents. His mother was a scientist, and his father a mechanical engineer. Both of them worked on Jaegers in different support capacities. Daniel grew up playing in labs and with tools, around giant robots, kaiju remains, engineering diagrams, and all manner of advanced scientific materials. Daniel was doted on, in a good way, even when he was at work with his parents. His mother, Barbara, would always make it a point to explain things very well to Daniel, and at a very young age he was understanding the basics behind all manner of chemistry, jaeger engineering, biology, fuels, even anatomy. His dad, William, was similar, only more hands on, loving the time they would spend getting greasy working on all manner of machines.

It was no surprise that Daniel performed well academically, and at 14 years old a decision was being made in the family. Daniel had been accepted as a prodigy student to MIT, and Mom and Dad had made the decision to move to the Mars colony and work on building Jaeger there. Daniel didn't want to leave home. He was excited to be accepted to MIT and didn't want to leave the planet yet. And so, his parents promised to figure out a way to come back by the time he graduated, and they left on the most advanced human craft made by that point.

Daniel would talk with his parents every week over galactic net video calls, (Skype over planets essentially) getting help with his homework, learning about the planet, keeping contact the best he could. Daniel missed his parents terribly, the young man still a little too young to be truly on his own.

Every so often, two of his parents best friends, two older looking scientists involved in the Jaeger program, one Herman Gottlieb-Gieszler, and Newton Gieszler-Gottlieb, would come by and spend time with young Daniel. He did enjoy their company, they were both certainly characters, stubborn, intelligent, but caring and helpful as well. They helped Daniel make it through Jaeger Engineering 101 and Kaiju Biology 101, the trio spending time on group calls with Daniels parents going over every intricacy of the courses. Daniel was performing incredibly well, straight A’s, a favored of his teachers, and like by his classmates. His parents were telling him of their work on mars, terraforming the world, building the worlds 2 defensive Jaegers, and studying the planet. Daniel was fascinated by it all, but he just wished he could reach through the screen, and shake his Dad’s hand, or hug his mother…

(The two scientists in their younger years.)

Then, a horrible even occurred… Daniel has the date burned into his memory. November 15th, 2085… A comet encased Kaiju impacted into the Atlantic Ocean, and a tsunami was on its way to the east coast. Daniel called his parents from his dorm… and when they answered, they were both terrified from their own disaster. Daniel remembers their faces, fear etched all over them. His mother was shaking, his father trying to stay calm, but Daniel could see in his face, inevitability…fear… “Daniel, our Jaegers are losing. A comet kaiju just crashed down here, I don’t think we can stop it.” William said to Daniel. He placed his hand on the screen, and Daniel put his hand to his, his own fear of the Tsunami approaching fading for the time. He could see the screen shake, hear a loud crash, like an explosion far away. He could see his mom looking at a screen out of Daniel’s limited view. “Will… the 2nd Jaeger just fell. The artillery won’t stop it. There’s nothing left.”

Daniel looked at his parents’ horrified faces. They turned to the screen, shaking more and more with each step as the Kaiju came closer to the civilian eco-dome. “Daniel, we love you. We will always love you- OH MY GOD!” Hit mother screamed as the Daniel heard a massive crash, and the sound of metal getting torn apart. Daniel started to cry, and he looked on, his father looked at the screen, “I’m so sorry Daniel. I’m sorr-“ The screen was knocked to the ground, but the feed was still active. The camera was aimed towards the ceiling of the dome, and Daniel could only watch with tears pouring from his eyes, as a massive scaled arm reached down and picked up his parents. He could hear them screaming, and he watched as a massive maw, resembling a tusked snapping turtle, closed around them… and they were gone.

(The Kaiju responsible for the destruction of the Mars colony.)

Daniel cried, watching the creature tear the building apart, scoop up other scientists, and their families… and then his door opened, and a psychology teacher, Ms. Gonzales, began to shout at him. “There’s a tsunami coming, we have to get to the bunker, now!” Daniel was locked in pain, tears pouring down his face, and so Ms. Gonzales grabbed him by the arm and dragged him half way across campus to MIT’s Kaiju bunker. She made it with 5 minutes to spare before the tsunami hit the east coast. 

After his parents’ death, Daniel was lost… angry, depressed, without purpose. Herman and Newton began to spend a significant amount of time with Daniel, helping him make it through school, and helping him with his grief. When Daniel graduated MIT at 20 years old with multiple Bachelors of Science degrees, Herman and Newton were there, watching over him proudly. They then offered him a job in a good lab, studying the differences between the comet encased Kaiju and the rift Kaiju. Daniel accepted, and spent the next 5 years working in that lab, with Herman and Newton coming and going fairly frequently. Neither of them ever saying where they were going.

Daniel was growing impatient… he had learned many things at his time in school and at the lab. He learned that the comet Kaiju were substantially older than any rift Kaiju, for one. For two, he learned that each individual comet Kaiju is a unique genetic structure, unlike the rift Kaiju which appear to be ‘grown’ or ‘engineered.’ 

(Crates and crates of parts...)

Daniel wanted to use his knowledge in a more active capacity against the invasion forces… and he wanted to kill the tusked turtle kaiju that killed his parents. Even if that meant taking a Jaeger to Mars. Leaving the safety of the lab, he went to join the U.S. Jaeger program, citing his extensive academic background and knowledge of Kaiju anatomy as qualifications. Unfortunately for him, the military really wanted combat medics, and blew a bunch of promises up Daniel’s ass about learning field medic work then he would be gifted with his own Jaeger the next time they built one. 

After 3 years of advanced medical training, Daniel was shipped off to boot camp. He excelled there like he did in almost all things, but he was becoming more and more fed up with the broken promises. Daniel was beginning to demand the military keep its promises, and while he never did get to sit in an actual Jaeger, he was given simulator time… which was better than nothing. Daniel, once completing both basic Jaeger and Infantry training, was reassigned to the U.S. Marine ‘local support unit’ which was essentially a much better armed National Guard, dispatched to cities under assault by Covenant and Overseer forces. 

Daniel has spent 2 years now hopping in one transport plane to another, often parachuting in behind enemy lines, keeping those around him alive and keeping civilian casualties to a minimum. On one such mission, something extraordinary happened. The covenant was doing substantial damage to Boston, Massachusetts, a place very familiar to Daniel, having spent his college years there. Daniel had gathered a large amount of people into a Kaiju bunker to keep them away from the covenant troopers. Unfortunately, the door panel had fried itself after opening, and the door wasn’t closing. He was trying his best to rewire it, keeping his body behind the wall as plasma bolts impacted near him… doing more damage to the electronics. Finally Daniel had no choice but to try and fight off the forces pinning him down. Peering out with his assault rifle, he let loose a few rounds, but they deflected right off the energy shield of a covenant jackal. Daniel felt fear as he watched the creature approach, he was all that stood between that plasma weaponry wielding creature. Then, ‘floating’ down behind the Jackal, was a peculiar looking creature. It looked like a small silver robot, with vibrantly electrical blue eyes and a glowing blue lens on its chest. The jackal didn’t seem to notice it, and it paid the price as the small creature took a swing with its right silver arm, electrical energy arcing off it. The little robot impacted the back of the Jackal’s head, and the alien fell forward, blood pooling from a massive crack on the back of the head as it hit the ground.

The creature then looked at Daniel, “Surge man! SURGE!!!!” It seemed to shout excitedly, almost dancing it seemed. Daniel was confused, but the creature seemed friendly. It then said “SURGE!” Once more before fading from a solid little robot to a silver/blue energy and flowing into Daniel. Daniel was confused, but he could hear the creature’s voice, “All good dude, surge that door!” Daniel was not any less confused, but he followed the weird directions, and touched the melted wires on the door panel. Electricity flowed into the panel from Daniel, and the lights on the panel lit up, and the door closed. Daniel, and this little ‘Surge’ creature, had done it. The little energy robot spirin has been with Daniel ever since.  

Once Daniel ‘bonded’ with Surge, (as Daniel has since started calling him) the U.S. military started taking him more seriously, but they still have yet to give him an actual shot at piloting a Jaeger. At the moment, Daniel has been deployed to Seattle, Washington, to help with a covenant assault going on there.  

Daniel was integral in the victory over the covenant forces. On the flight back, he was contacted by Newton and Hermann. At least Daniel has family in the program... and Newton has modeled an experimental Jaeger that drifts with his cat, Sigmund Freud. 

(Who loves kitty!)

A Closer Look: Katsuo Onizuka

(Today we look at another character, Tim the Eccentric Billionaire.)

Fenrir File: 442

Area of Origin: Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama  Born: 10/13/2058 (42 years old)

Background: The Eccentric Billionaire

Spirin Bonded: Pallaton   Mammal(Dog/Wolf)/Space

Jaeger: Kamikaze

(File photo. Not wearing armor.)

Basics: Katsuo Onizuka is an incredibly wealthy man, who has recently lost his wife to the invasion. He feels he has lost his way, and recently devised some of the most advanced weaponry on the planet to protect that which matters most, his only daughter.

(The Kamikaze, one of the most advanced Jaegers the world has seen.)

Full Background: Katsuo Onizuka comes from a long line of wealthy businessmen, with connections going back to the end of the Edo period of Japan in 1867. Their industrial empire began with textiles and owning significant amounts of land as Japan entered the Meiji Era. As Japan became more modernized, the family expanded into education, agricultural science and other innovative fields. Fast forward past WWII, the turn of the century, and to the later 21st century, and it is easier to find what isn’t part of the Onizuka conglomerate than what is. The current head of the Conglomerate, Katsuo, is a well-known Otaku, who has had the opportunity in his rather extravagant life to enjoy all manner of anime, manga, western cartoons, older style video games, and other turn of the century pop culture items. (Pre-Invasion toys/shows mainly.) Katsuo’s interest with that type of fiction has led his organization to make many scientific advances, turning science fiction into science fact, (like anti-gravity weaponry/thruster methods.) which has helped the countries of the world make advancements in their own weaponry, and made Katsuo an even richer man.

Katsuo’s life, until very recently, was exactly how he wanted it. He and his family were safe from any Kaiju related threat, having private planes and offices all over the world. If he heard a kaiju was on its way, Katsuo would just take his daughter, Ai, and his wife, Aiko, to another office somewhere far away from the threat. Which as a multi-billion dollar business with offices in Japan, Germany, America, Saudi Arabia, China, and Brazil, were easy to get to. Then, in late 2085, the year his wife was pregnant with their only child, the Covenant appeared, and life on Earth became much more dangerous. Katsuo could no longer take his family on a plane at the first sign of trouble, covenant ships were far more maneuverable and dangerous than a Kaiju. 

(Covenant Destroyer. Knocking 747's out of the sky for 15 years now.)

Katsuo, in his greed and selfishness, did what he viewed was ‘necessary’ to protect his family, which meant hiring a few more body guards just in case anything happened. Then, June 17th, 2099, a year and a half ago, something terrible did happen. 

Katsuo and his family were at their primary offices in Berlin, Germany, when a combined Covenant/Overseer force began assaulting the city. Katsuo was in his offices, his wife and daughter, however, were at a nearby park playing. As the alarms went off the automatic locking mechanism kicked on, and the building was sealed. Katsuo then saw on his security cameras his family pounding on the glass doors. He called down to the front desk, ordered them to let his family in, and went back about is business making sure all his most secret research projects were backed up, so he could wipe the drives if need be. On his security screens, he could then hear a commotion. Looking back at the monitors, there was a covenant elite and a grunt, along with a small grey creature with a large head, a stereotypical ‘grey’ type of alien, and they had melted through the walls of the building with their plasma weaponry. 

(Small, deadly creatures.)

Katsuo’s security forces were opening fire on the trio of aliens. The elite stepped in front, and our solid rounds began to reflect off the shield. Katsuo turned to his private body guards, “I need you down there, now.” His guards looked on, and in a very small amount of time, all the armed guards on the bottom floor were dead. Katsuo was becoming angry, “Get down there, now.” “No boss, you don’t pay me enough to go get killed.” Was the response, as the pair sat there. Katsuo was enraged, but didn’t make a jolt for the elevator… he watched as well. The small, grey creature walked forward, and the elite began talking to it in an alien language. Katsuo watched as the creature pointed at the child, Ai, Katsuo’s only child… the most precious thing in his life. 

And in that moment, Katsuo’s conscience broke through the selfish billionaire. “Guns, now, both of you. I’m going down there.” The pair of guards handed him their side arms, and as Katsuo gripped them, he could hear a ruckus on the screen, and turning back, his wife was trying to wrestle the small alien’s plasma weapon from him… doing her best to protect their daughter. The elite then took a single shot with his plasma rifle, and Aiko… 

It felt like a lifetime, watching the plasma hit the side of her ribs, burn right through her clothing, her breast, stomach, rib cage… Aiko screamed out and fell to the ground, only a small amount of blood coming from the plasma cauterized burns. Katsuo turned pale, watched as the Elite and Grunt left the small alien in the building, then turned, kicked open the stairway door, and ran 10 stories down in practically no time, sliding on the railing with both guns in his hands like in a John Woo film. When he opened the door on the ground floor, his daughter, the front desk receptionist, and what looked like an older male janitor were standing at attention in front of the small grey alien. Katsuo swears he could ‘see’ some sort of purple ethereal cord connecting the three of them to the small creature.

Katsuo ran forward, raising his twin pistols, and began to fire. Instantly the janitor threw his own body in front of the alien, and the bullets ripped through him. Katsuo was sloppy, never having fired a gun before in his life, and by the time the twin extended 20 round clips were exhausted, the small grey alien was dead, as was the older Janitor. His daughter and the receptionist were both on the ground bleeding, Ai taking a stray bullet in the calf, and the receptionist taking one in the arm.      

Katsuo was absolutely appalled at himself. He spent so much time watching, and ordering others to help… he did nothing while his wife sacrificed herself, protecting their daughter. She was strong, courageous… she always knew what really mattered…

On that day, looking over the death around him, and keeping pressure on his daughter and the receptionist’s wounds, he became filled with purpose. He couldn’t rely on others… he needed to become a legendary hero, like in all those cartoons he watched over his life. Turning a sizable budget towards building his very own Jaeger, and super advanced anti-gravity flight enabled power armor, Katsuo now wishes to bring the fight to the enemy, just like they brought the fight to him.

(Katsuo's 'skywalking' armor.)

Katsuo has become a father obsessed with safety, losing his wife, and nearly losing his daughter, has made him fiercely protective of what he deems as ‘his.’ Martial arts classes, Jaeger simulators, private super secured bunkers, along with his own private drone fleet, navy, and air force squadron are his current methods of keeping his daughter and his businesses safe. 

(You'd get over protective too if this was your daughter.)

This sudden personality change has had an even greater consequence for Katsuo. Six months ago, after he had put Ai to sleep he sat at his desk, a strong drink in hand, and staring at pictures of his Wife, as was standard night time routine since her passing. He could then sense something in the room with him… something strange. He couldn’t see anything, but then he heard a voice, “Your pain is giving you strength, and purpose, but a human mind is not meant to handle everything on its own.” Katsuo stood up, looking around for the source of the voice, but could see nothing. “You feel you were unworthy to your family. That brings you strength, but it also weighs you down. A heavy heart can only accomplish so much.” Katsuo continued to look around, and then in the chair he was just sitting in, there sat a small, furry, pink puppy. It was rather cute, even though it was talking to him. “No Katsuo, you aren’t losing your mind.” The puppy said to him. Katsuo took another drink. “Of course I’m not. I’m just having a conversation with a pink colored dog.” The dog answered right back without hesitation, “Indeed you are, technically a space wolf pup to be exact.” Katsuo gave in, totally losing his mind, he thought to himself. Then the puppy became pink/dark energy, like an ethereal star filled ghost, and ‘flowed’ into Katsuo. His memories… his pain… his body… everything suddenly felt so much more. He could hear the voices of other energy life forms, or spirins, as he learned they were called, and it comforted him. For the first time since his wife died, he felt like he could actually accomplish something. Now, a year later, his training is complete, his Jaeger is finished, his naval fleet is purchased, power armor done… he is ready for a true field test.

(So cute! And well spoken too.)

And so, as his fleet leaves Oregon, heading up to coast to Washington State, Katsuo prepares himself for the first ‘field test’ of his equipment, with both a category 3 Kaiju and Covenant strike force attacking Seattle, it seemed like a good time to make an entrance, and try out the billions that he’s invested in his personal military might. 

A Closer Look: Wulf Reinhardt

(Today we cover another character in detail, Matt the Infantry Specialist.)

Fenrir File: 411

Area of Origin: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada   Born: 04/18/2076 (Age: 24)

Background: The Infantry Specialist  

Spirin Bonded: Strundu'ul (Mammal (Cat)/Air (Lightning)

Jaeger: Sturmer Krallenhass, (Striker of Clawed Hatred) (Modernized Mk. 7)

(File Photo)

Basics: Wulf Reinhardt is an orphan, both parents killed by covenant forces when he was 10. He was rescued by a mercenary group, the "Blood Knights," a Canadian based mercenary group, led by an exceptionally skilled woman who went by the code name 'Angel.' Wulf was trained incredibly well, and has had many close encounters with the Covenant by this point in his life. He has done a lot of work for the Canadian government, several times when the country did not have a Jaeger he and Needle, a fellow Blood Knight, were placed in an old Mark 7, a drift requiring machine. Over time, the machine was continually upgraded, and upon it's transfer to the X-Com project, it was switched over to a single pilot setup, and renamed the 'Sturmer Krallenhass.'

(The Sturmer Krallenhass.)

Full Back Story:  Wulf Reinhardt was born to a normal, middle class Canadian family in Edmonton, Alberta. Wulf’s father was a college educated air force pilot, and his mother was an elementary school teacher. Wulf grew up relatively normal for a kid of his generation, constant threat from Kaiju, from the seas and the skies… Xenomorphs on the news, over a continent away… but all that changed when Wulf was 10 years old. The covenant had made themselves known to us a year prior, and life was becoming more frightening for humanity. The first alien species we had encountered that was truly more technologically advanced than we were… not just a monster alien of some kind. The family lived on base, in the housing quarter, in what was supposed to be one of the safest places in Canada. A relatively small strike force comprised of grunts, jackals, hunters, and a small amount of elite commanders appeared at the southern end of the city, which was one of the more reinforced areas. 

(Covenant strike group.)

The town’s defenses were holding against the gathered covenant forces, when they were assaulted behind their own walls, by optically camouflaged elites. The alarms were ringing throughout the base. Wulf remembers watching his father suit up, pistol on his hip, shotgun in his hands. Then there was a flash of heat, and a higher pitched weapon discharge sound, and the wall was melting away. Wulf’s mother grabbed him and locked him in a cabinet, quickly pulling all the pots from them, arming herself with two before the doors shut, and darkness filled the young boy’s vision.

There were sounds… gunfire, shouting, the distinctive sound of what Wulf would later learn to be a covenant plasma rifle discharge.  He then remembers the sound of his mother screaming, and the sound of a deep alien voice, speaking in a language he didn’t understand. His mother’s screaming voice began to go further and further away… fading into the distance, with the elite’s deep voice trailing off.

He could hear voices… a sort of yipping language, something he would later learn to identify as Jackal speech, and then, a loud sound, a shockwave, it made Wulf’s ears ring… and then there was the sound of motion, a few startled ‘Yips!’ and then silence… and the doors opened, a blonde woman, face decorated with several scars, light encasing her form like a halo, held her hand out to the child. Wulf took it, climbing from the cabinet. He looked around his old home, there was no sign of his mother, and his father was on the floor… his chest cavity completely exposed, lung tissue mostly melted, but still identifiable… and the heart gone, a black melted mass from the alien weaponry. An image that he still sees sometimes in his sleep…

The woman took Wulf out of his home of Edmonton… plasma fire bringing down buildings around them. He remembers seeing a massive man, covered in many tattoos, carrying a mini-gun in his hands, laying down a massive barrage of fire behind them as they ran…

(Full code name, 'Blood Angel.')

Wulf was rescued by the “Blood Knights,” an elite Special Forces ‘Mercenary’ group based out of Canada. (Loyal to Canada, doing jobs for them for free, but still independent and charging other countries, like America, for their services.) The group leaders, Angel and Raven, adopted young Wulf, and began to train him for the terrors of this new world. 

Wulf’s new ‘mother’ was the group leader, a woman codenamed ‘Blood Angel.’ The name is meant more in the Old Testament sense of the word, an incredibly powerful force, seemingly supernatural, working with divine hands, and above concepts of gender or race. She had the ability to cut through the crap and get to the point. The sheer brutality of her existence, the way she expressed herself on the battlefield, seemed superhuman.

Wulf’s new ‘father’ (the two were not romantically involved, though they were intensely loyal friends, veteran warriors of many battles.) was the massive Alaskan Inuit Native, Raven. The spiritual, tattooed man would stress balance in all things, and kept a spiritual belief in spirits and the earth alive in the group.

(Raven doesn't allow his picture to be taken.)

It was very hard at first for the young orphan. He missed his mother and father, and while he was angry, the anger alone wasn’t enough to make the young man want to train or kill. His heart was broken, and he missed his real mom and dad. Angel and Raven were patient with the young man, understanding the pain of loss themselves, and kept him along on relatively low risk missions. The years went by, Wulf couldn’t help but pick up some basic military training just by being in the environment, and one day, that paid off. Wulf was 14 years old, and the “Blood Knights” were deployed to a covenant invasion occurring in Anchorage, Alaska. The U.S. forces were farther away than Canadian forces, so a check was sent, and the “Blood Knights” were on their way. The mission was going according to plan, grunts, jackals, and the occasional elite were being dispatched silently and efficiently by Angel, with only a combat knife. The group then came upon an open city intersection, heavily fortified by covenant forces, the group had no choice but to fight. Angel took several soldiers and was headed for high ground, for a sniping point. Raven provided cover fire with his massive mini-gun, ripped right off an F-16. Wulf noticed a grunt behind Raven, taking aim with his plasma pistol, and Wulf raised his side arm, an old school Canadian made Browning Hi-Power, and fired. The weapon was steady in his grip, the sound seemed distant, despite being in his own hands. The scream of the grunt echoing in his mind as bullet after bullet ripped through the armored alien hide. In that moment, he had realized that his new family was just that. Family… and he learned the pain of ending a life. 

He continued providing cover fire for Raven, allowing Angel and the rest of the Blood Knights to get into position, and the road was cleared, which led to the saving of the city. Wulf began taking his training, and the lessons of Angel and Raven, much more to heart, and he began to excel, especially in hand to hand combat and stealth. Angel started viewing young Wulf as a protégé, and more of a son as well, and the two grew much closer in his mid-teen years. 

Over the next 4 years, Wulf’s codename became “Blood Wolf,” which Wulf was fine with, and he integrated himself more fully into the Blood Knights, becoming a full-fledged soldier himself. During this time, Wulf sparred only with Raven, and other soldiers, (A southerner named ‘Mongoose’ being often among them.) Angel would never step into the circle with him. Wulf can remember getting into arguments with her, she simply stated that he wasn’t ready for her level. This frustrated the young man, who wanted to prove himself. Angel responded that if he could defeat Raven one on one, they would have a match.

 

Wulf made it his mission to defeat the mighty Raven in a match. The massive man, a raven tattooed on his forehead, constantly surrounded by birds, and weighing in at over 300 pounds of solid muscle, standing over six and a half feet tall, and capable of wielding weaponry removed from aircraft, was a giant, imposing man in every sense of the word. It took Wulf over 2 years to land a punch that even registered on Raven as an ‘ouch.’ And every match, Raven would have some sort of philosophical insight to toss at Wulf while he was on the ground, struggling to get up. (“You must control your Tonrar, (spirit) not let it control you.” Or “There is more than one path to the top of the mountain.” For example.) 

Wulf would practice with Mongoose, who was a crude, slack jawed yokel type of Southerner, painfully stereotypical in many ways, though he was a good friend. Mongoose, true to his name, seemed impossible to keep down, and his secret was a mix of Greco Roman wrestling, and Capoeria, a Brazilian ‘dancing’ martial art. His constant motion, intense pinning style, and chaotic mixture of moves was impossible for the physically superior Wulf to keep up with.

Overtime, Wulf learned to adapt a variation of Mongoose’s style to himself, and then, the smaller, weaker, not as smart warrior became beneath his abilities. Raven was next. Wulf did substantially better than before, even managing to drop the monstrous tattooed man to his knees with an impressive flip around kicking out of the back of his legs. Even so, he only lasted about 3 minutes.

Wulf, as he was approaching his 18th birthday, was becoming impatient. He argued fiercely with his adopted mother, as teenagers are prone to do, and finally, she gave in. “Fine, a match,” was her final cold, stern reply. The group made a circle around the two of them, and Angel simply said “Two seconds.” Wulf was confused, “What?” Raven spoke up, “That is how long she says you will last. I think it will be less, for the record.” Mongoose pulled out a 10 dollar bill, “I’ll take that. Longer than 1 second.” Raven smiled, and the crow sitting on his shoulder ‘laughed.’

("Yokel.")

Wulf got into his stance, and was about to perform a charging high-low spinning kick combo, when there was a flash of motion from Angel, and Wulf felt several small impacts on his upper body, and Angel’s index finger was resting on his forehead. He coughed, and was suddenly in immense pain all over. Angel pushed lightly, and Wulf began falling back, he doesn’t remember hitting the ground.

He awoke in his room, Angel sitting next to him. He had acupuncture needles all over his body, and he was hurting. He coughed, “That wasn’t fair.” He began complaining. Angel rested her hand on his shoulder, carefully avoiding the various needles, “I know.” She started, her tone was warm, caring, very unlike how she normally was. “It’s hard, but it is a lesson. It wasn’t fair for your father and mother, it went just like that.” Wulf felt a knot in his throat, and his eyes began to water. “In this time, with this enemy, you have to be the absolute best to survive what is out there. I’m training you now, rest up.”

The next year was absolute hell. Wulf had training on a level he didn’t think possible. He was left in the Canadian woods with nothing but a knife to survive for a few weeks at a time… once in the middle of winter. A Canadian Winter… It was paying off though, he was starting to see the secrets of Angel’s techniques, and she was becoming less of a ‘super human’ and more of a ‘super elite.’ Another mountain he had to find a path over.

As Wulf approached Twenty years old, the Japanese government sent a payment for the service of the Blood Knights, to reinforce a covenant raid of Tokyo. When the group arrived, Tokyo was in bad shape. Covenant forces everywhere, scattered local forces, and a few squads of more advanced looking soldiers with an unknown marking on their armor. (Wulf would later learn it belongs to the X-Com project.) Angel ordered Wulf to secure a nearby tall building, rooms for snipers, and the rooftop as well. Wulf took several soldiers and began ascending up the stairs, clearing civilians, killing the small covenant forces inside, and depositing blood knights setting up for long range siege support along the way. 

(Code Name: Needle)

When he made his way to the top, he saw something impressive, and frightening. A Japanese soldier, a woman, was wielding a Katana, older, traditional looking, it had probably been in her family for hundreds of years, against a covenant elite. Wulf could see a sniper rifle set up on the side of the building, several feet from the battling warriors. The Elite’s shielding was flaring around him, deflecting blows from the ancient steel blade. Wulf watched the elite take a mighty swing with his plasma rifle, trying to smash the lithe, agile ninja commando, only to hit air as the woman rolled back, grabbing her rifle and trying to point it at the Elite. Wulf pulled the trigger on his assault rifle, and bullets began bouncing off the shielding, ricocheting in every direction. One pierced through the young woman’s right thigh, causing her to scream out and drop her sniper rifle, and one came right back at Wulf, piercing his left bicep. Both warriors were on the ground, bleeding, the elite, stopped in his tracks, and began laughing, rather hysterically. Wulf then noticed a grappling hook attached to the small ‘wall’ on the other side of the Elite. Wulf watched as a head of blonde hair started to poke over, it was Angel. She climbed over the wall, and in seemingly singular motion, she kicked out the creatures right leg, smashed in the left knee, then elbowed the back of the head, while pulling her sidearm with her other hand. The elite was dropped to the ground and his shield made a dramatic ‘flare out’ as the elbow impacted, dropping for the moment. There was a single shot, and the elite fell forward, falling face down, the face shot out from the exit of the bullet out of the back of the head.

Angel offered a hand to the Asian Special Forces member, who took it, and they spoke to each other, in Japanese, and Angel called in a Blood Knight helicopter to take the two injured soldiers back to safety. 

Wulf got to know the young woman, who had earned the nickname ‘Needle’ from her squad mates, (As in, threading the needle, a reference to her incredible accuracy.) and the two hit it off fairly well, having a bit of a comedic connection over both getting taken down by ricocheting gun fire.  

Needle became a blood knight herself, a sniper elite, with an interest in martial arts and sword play. Wulf spent a great deal of time sparring with Needle, and in doing so, began to get a much greater appreciation for the skill of the blade, the samurai style, the quick draw. Needle taught him well, and they became good friends. 

This grew into much more, after an intense situation back home, off the coast of British Columbia, 2 years ago. A Category 3 Kaiju was approaching the coast line, and X-Com had no available Jaeger, as they were busy dealing with a problem involving multiple kaiju strikes in Europe and South America. Canada, in its generosity, had lent all its up to date Jaegers to X-Com and the Americans, they only had one in a museum, an old school drift requiring Jaeger, the Mark 7 Krallen Sturmer. (Clawed Striker.) The government was having a hard time finding drift compatible pilots, and Needle had Jaeger Simulator experience as part of her Japanese special forces training. A search was made for drift compatible minds, and Wulf turned out to be the only one. 

They were tossed into a very quick, 10 minute ‘crash course’ sim battle, the free exchange of memories between the two minds was intense… and the two bonded in that exchange. Needle and Wulf had much in common, like a shared hatred for the Covenant. Since Kaiju were leaving Japan alone with Godzilla living there, the covenant were a constant threat, and her parents, and brother, we taken by the covenant prisoner, she could only watch from her hiding place… a cabinet under the kitchen sink. Wulf learned the basics fairly well with Needle’s help, and they were sent out to British Columbia, to take on a Kaiju in a 50 year old Iron Giant. The coast was under attack by ‘Crab Claw II’ a tri armed Kaiju with 2 horrid ‘crab claw’ arms on the right side. Krallen Sturmer was inspired very much by the 20th century comic book character ‘Wolverine,’ and the grappling intensive kaiju was the perfect one to try these claws out on. The pair made quick work of the crustacean resembling kaiju, lopping its arms off before stabbing it in the heart as a death strike. 

(The kaiju resembled this.)

After the drift, Wulf and Needle were inherently uncomfortable around each other, they had been in each other’s minds, and seen the … rather intense visuals… that the pair had for each other. Finally, after dealing with awkwardness for several months, Needle pulled Wulf into a barracks broom closet, pinned him against a wall, and pressed her lips to his, coaxing his lips open with her tongue. 

Mongoose found them some time later, both half naked, making out, and feeling each other’s skin in heated passion, before the interruption by the good ol’ boy. “Oh look at that, the kids are getting’ hot an’ heavy in the broom closet. Just hand me the bleach, I gotta make me some grits and the grill is filthy.” He smiled widely. The moment was lost, and the pair took off in separate directions, Mongoose’s laughing echoing throughout the empty barracks. 

Wulf and Needle would have the occasional Rendezvous, but the nature of their work never allowed them to get as close as they both wanted to be. The pair had to pilot the ‘Krallen Sturmer’ twice more, each time thankfully the Canadian Government had upgraded the machine, and each time the machine was needed, Canada had sent its primary Jaegers, with their pilots, elsewhere. 

Things were progressing fairly well for the Blood Knights, when a call came through, an assault on Calgary was in progress, and the Canadian Government needed all the help it could get. The Blood Knights arrived to a horrid situation, covenant absolutely everywhere. The city was under a grand siege… Wulf went with Needle and Mongoose to set up a secure sniping and artillery station, and as the trio made it to the roof, there was a pair of Elites, several grunts, and a few jackals, setting up some sort of long range plasma artillery. Silently, the trio set up their shots, Mongoose readying a large grenade of his own design. They pulled the trigger, and Mongoose let loose the grenade. They ducked behind cover until the explosion, then the trio popped back out, letting loose a hail of bullets. When the smoke cleared, there was a hole in the floor, from the grenade, the grunts and jackals were dead, and one elite also appeared to have fallen, lying still near the opening. Wulf carefully took point, looking for any signs of the other elite, when suddenly the fallen blue skinned warrior leapt up, tackling Wulf down into the hole, the impact breaking through the two floors below them and knock the wind right out of Wulf after falling over 20 feet and smashing through two floors. The Elite was on top of him, and as Wulf regained his vision he could see the Elite above him, fist clenched, ready to come down on him. There was then a flash of purple lightning, and the creature was knocked off of Wulf, shouting with startled pain. Wulf rolled over, hobbling away, and looked in the direction of the blast, and saw a most peculiar being. 

(Beware the thunder kitty!)

It was a purple kitten, made of lightning. Wulf was confused, then there was a voice. “Fear not, I am Strundu’ul, the crown of thunder, and I have chosen you.” Wulf wasn’t any less confused as the kitten seemed to become more ‘lightning’ and it flowed over Wulf, giving him a sudden rush of vitality and strength. He flipped up, refreshed, and glowing with purple energy. The elite in front of him looked amused, and lifted his fists into a rather alien stance, that looked like some sort of mantis fist. The pair launched themselves at each other, punching, head butting, biting, throwing. A solid slug fest, the spirin enhanced body of Wulf going blow for blow with the Elite, and the Elite seeming to enjoy it.  Then, Wulf was suddenly struck in the side of the head by a heavy, round object. When he looked up from the ground, the other elite was there, a plasma rifle aimed right at the young man. The pair was laughing at the glowing warrior, and then a flash of grey and blonde, as Angel leapt from above, kicking each one, and pulling her side arm. 

She fired several rounds into the unarmed one, whose shields had still not recovered, and then wrapped her left leg around the head of the other. She shot her last few rounds into the unarmed warrior, then gripped the plasma rifle with her other hand, twisted it at an angle the Elites hand could not physically bend, and ripped it from the creatures grasp, flipping off him, releasing his head from her grip and springing off, sending the elite flying into the wall and smashing the plasma rifle into the face of the bleeding elite. She then pulled apart the stock of the plasma rifle, and laid it next to the weakened elite, an overload function appearing to build up. She then grabbed Wulf, and ducked behind a wall. There was a flash of heat, a blue wispy explosion, and Angel peered around. “One dead, no eyes on the other.” She stated, looking at the sealing wounds on young Wulf. “You and Raven will have something else in common.” She said, smiling at Wulf. She then looked past Wulf… the Elite was standing right there, having found there hiding place. Angel leapt upon the creature. Its shields were down, but it appeared to be mostly uninjured otherwise. Wulf then learned that Angel was indeed not a super human… the Elite was massively stronger than she was, and appeared to be as skilled of a martial artist as she was. He blocked most of her techniques, landed several blows to the face, stomach, and broke her left leg at the shin. Wulf’s body was recovering enough to get back up, and Wulf tried to help his mother. He punched the elite once, right in the face, knocking it off balance, but the elite flipped with a kick, somersaulting into Wulf’s chin, flipping the warrior completely over, almost knocking him out again. Angel dragged him away, looked at him right in the eye, “I’m sorry.” She said, and leapt at the Elite, wrapping her legs, the left one dangling horribly, around the creature’s chest, punching it several times in the face. The elite grabbed her by the throat, and began to squeeze. Then there was a sudden look of panic on the aliens face, Angel had triggered all 3 plasma grenades hanging at the creature’s hip with her right foot, and there was no time to react. The explosion was intense, Wulf rolled behind a nearby destroyed couch for what little cover it would provide, and when the smoke cleared, all he found was a bit of covenant anatomy, and Angel’s tags. 

After Angel’s death the Blood Knights began to break up. Wulf tried to keep the group together, but over the year everyone had gone their separate ways. Raven became isolated, and very depressed. He would partake in ‘vision quests’ and perform shamanic rituals by himself, when asked, he would say that he refused to believe Angel was dead, and that without her warrior spirit to guide him, his existence felt empty.

Mongoose became an American Mercenary, “More money, a lot more money.” Was all he said. Needle went back home to Japan, seeking a job, “Perhaps as a Jaeger Pilot.” She left, giving Wulf a kiss on the cheek before getting on a plane. 

Wulf had seen on the news the monstrous ‘Necro-Gear’ and the existence of X-Com had become public knowledge, their base was even off the coast of Japan… maybe he might run into Needle out there… Wulf thought to himself. And so with a wealth of combat experience, special forces experience, and Jaeger experience, he was able to procure a job at X-Com, and with him, Canada was kind enough to lend (Those polite Canadians…) the newly refurbished ‘Sturmer Krallenhass,’ a now single pilot, and with some maneuverability upgrades, close combat intensive clawed Jaeger, under the condition that should there be a Kaiju threat, that at the very least Wulf and the ‘Sturmer Krallenhass’ must report to protect that country.        

A Closer Look: Xbalanque

(Today we cover another player character, James, the Earth Spirit.)

Fenrir File: 420

Area of Origin: San Miguel, El Salvador. Born 04/28/2076 (Age: 24) Blood Type: AB-

Background: The Earth Spirit (Psychic Abilities: Psi-Barrier, Energy Barrier, Minor Healing, and Sense Xenomorph)

Spirin Bonded: Tlaltecuhtli (Tlalt.) (Raw Earth/Earth, Feral Spirit + Enhanced Human Synergy)

Jaeger: Spiked Mictlantecuhtli (Mict.)  (Rebuilt Mk. 80)

(Entry photo into X-Com.)

Basics: Xbalanque, born Gorge Luis Gonzales, began developing intense psychic abilities before he became a teenager. His first official act of heroism is recorded by the El Salvadoran special forces, where he forced himself on a 'hive cleaning crew' and helped the team dispatch the hive efficiently. His ability to 'hear' the xenomorph threat was invaluable, and he earned the name 'Xbalanque,' a name of a Mayan God of Heroism, and young Gorge has stuck with it ever since. Official records are spotty for the next several years, but his Spirin recently contacted the X-Com project through the spirin collective, and convinced them of his immense worth. So X-Com expended much more resources than was necessary to bring the young mystic into the X-Com project, and they purchased an incomplete Jaeger from the Peruvian Government, and finished it, giving the new recruit a cheaper, but still effective, Jaeger.

(The legs are shiny and new, everything else has seen better days.)

Full Back Story:  Born Gorge Luis Gonzales in a small village north of San Miguel, a bustling town in El Salvador. Gorge grew up loving soccer(football for non-americans.), being an active child, and loving the old myths of his mixed Mayan and Aztec heritage. While he was always different even as a child, not fitting in entirely, it started to become clear to young Gorge in the 10-12 age range, when he began to hear things… whispers on the wind… at first, Gorge didn’t understand what was happening, but eventually he understood them to be the surface thoughts of those around him. He hated it… it horrified him. The influx of voices maddening… So as a young man he would spend time out of the village, exploring Mayan Ruins near the Honduran border. In the ruins he would hear other… more ancient voices… memories locked in the stones of the ruins themselves… the life force sacrificed on those stones imprinted the emotion, the memories… and Gorge could hear them… and other voices too… Ancient voices… of spirits that take on the forms of life itself. 

When Gorge turned 14, he wanted to please the ancient voices he was hearing, so he took the family goat to an ancient Mayan temple, over 50 miles away, and sacrificed the poor creature, bleeding it out down the ancient steps. He heard many voices, including his family pets… and the ancient voices were angry… it was the wrong sacrifice. 

(Something like this.)

His family found him over the body, yelling at it and the stone around him, and so they, being a traditional Catholic family, sought out the local priest, and an exorcism was performed. Such intense thought was easy for the young man to read… to feel the emotions… and the fear… such fear of the unknown. 

Over the next four years, all of High School, Gorge’s powers intensified, he could tell more and more of a person’s mind, and hear the thoughts of his classmates… and it was nothing but fear, the women were full of fear, of men, of kaiju, xenomorphs, foreign folk… the men, full of pride, self-worth, all as a cover for their fear. Gorge would see so few who could overcome their basic fear, and not cower… but as Gorge matured, as he grew, he drew strength from that fear… he would challenge the arrogance of bullies, show them their fears. As he got into scrapes at school, and in sports, he was learning to shield himself with his mind. Blows would lessen, sometimes just glance right off, and Gorge started becoming known around school as someone tough as nails… and when a xenomorph hive was found near the village, Gorge forced himself onto the clearing crew, ‘hearing’ the xenomorphs… while the military men were not wanting to take the high schooler on, his uncanny ability to detect the xenomorphs was invaluable, and they cleared the hive with no casualties, the young man healing the one soldier who took a xenomorph tail in the gut.

The xenomorph leapt upon the squad leader, Colonel Louis Ramos, and plunged his tail into his stomach. Gorge leapt at it, before anyone else reacted, kicking the xenomorph hard in the face, and pushing the soldier away from the monster while the other soldiers rained bullets upon it. He channeled his energy into reforming the flesh… taking away the pain. He felt the intensity in his own mind, the searing pain… and other memories. With a gritting of his teeth, and an intense removal of his hands, with sweat dripping off his brow, the soldier’s stomach was sealed, a jagged scar where the open, bleeding wound was moments earlier.

(Do not try to kick in the face unless there is no other option.)

 The El Salvadoran special forces agent, Colonel Louis Ramos, called young Gorge Xbalanque, saying he embodied the spirit of heroism, going fearlessly, unarmed, into a hive of xenomorphs voluntarily. Gorge liked the name, and started using it on his online profiles, game accounts, and the like… and kept loose online contact with the Colonel.

When he graduated high school, he decided to spend the summer exploring the ruins nearby his home. He found that during his travels, he would be compelled by visions in the ruins… ancient memories living on in the stone… to practice shamanism, to listen to the voices of the world… he could hear the Earth itself it seemed, the Earth mother Gaia, and the voices of the spirin creatures… and so, after partaking of an intense vision quest fueled by jungle mushrooms, Gorge abandoned his name, and became fully Xbalanque, and left, on foot, walking 400 miles north, to the Yucatan Pennisula.

His senses, and the voices on the wind, drove him to a ruin deep in the rainforests… deep into the still not fully explored heart of the Mayan empire. The voices on the wind became as one, a deep, grumbling voice, like the slow grind of the plates of the ocean floor… deep, grinding, like a whale almost. It drove Xbalanque on, calling him by that name, leading him to an ancient ruin hundreds of miles from civilization. Xbalanque could sense the occasional xenomorph mind, one began hunting him, and he was forced to run from the creature, hitting it with a tree branch in the face and swinging over a waterfall by a vine to escape. He eventually made his way to a large Mayan temple. Deep inside, he found a talisman, to an Aztec God, in a Mayan temple…    

(The physical embodiment of Earth)

He could hear the xenomorph as it entered the temple. The same one he had hit with a branch. It had taken it rather personally. Xbalanque felt a tinge of fear, and grabbed the talisman. Holding the talisman, Xbalanque heard the voice. A deep, rumbling voice, male in sound, "It is time," the voice says. Then Xbalanque turns, fist becoming as stone, slowly spreading up his body, and a writhing, dark, dangerous form leaps up from the shadows, hissing menacingly. Xbalanque swings his fist down, like a hammer, smashing the xenomorph down with the talisman, empowered by the stone fist. Slowly, the stone begins to cascade around the young man’s entire body, encasing the shoulder, neck, and traveling down, slowly growing over his body. With the human left hand reaching down, Xbalanque grabs the writhing tail, and with a mighty yell, turns with all his might, slamming the creature down onto the pedestal that was until moments ago holding the talisman. The creature tries to leap up, secondary jaw snapping in front of Xbalanque’s face, tapping lightly the stone forming over his nose. A grin forms on the stone face, and the left hand, now solid stone, releases the tail and delivers a massive left hook to the monstrous Xenomorph head. Raising the talisman above his head, and with strength of the earth itself, the flat, round talisman is brought down onto the chest of the creature, breaking its ribs, caving in the sternum, and crushing the heart itself. Xbalanque feels the acid burning his fist... but the talisman is unharmed.

A voice then echoes in his mind, "Place me on the heart." Doing so, the Xenomorph writhes, and a strange blue/green ethereal energy begin to fill the ancient stone room. The stone begins to drop off, the skin unharmed underneath, and the Xenomorph screams... writhes... And slowly, the acid blood starts flow down the altar, slowly burning into the earth...The body seems to start to cave in completely on itself, fade into blue/green energy, and flow into the ancient talisman. 

The room seems to return to relatively normal, and the voice entered the young man’s mind once more. "You are the one I have been looking for. The mind of Xbalanque. Take up the power of Gaia. I am the Earth's Defender, Tlaltechutli, and I have chosen you as my champion.” Leaving the ancient ruin, Xbalanque walked a year and a half, making his own Macuahuitl on the way, studying shamanism, warfare, and hunting with the tribes he found along the way, before one fateful day in Ecuador. 

In the forest, he found a beautiful woman, dressed in next to nothing, which wasn’t unusual for indigenous peoples he’d met along the way, only she… she was something exceptional. Beautiful beyond compare, but also a mother of a 6 year old girl… both of whom Xbalanque discovered very shortly after meeting them had a psychic gift similar to his. 

(Love at first telepathic sight.)

Xbalanque fell very hard for Rosa, and she fell for him as well, being a lonely widow herself. Xbalanque and Rosa raised her daughter, Emma, together in that village in the heart of the Rainforest in Ecuador. Xbalanque finally felt like he had a family, his gifts were also respected in the village, and he and Rosa were both being trained in the ancient art of shamanism and herbalism. For an entire year, Xbalanque was happy. A father, a lover, a healer of the whole village… he adopted the entire place, and couldn’t leave. All that changed one day though… one horrible day. Xbalanque was out gathering medicinal herbs in the forest, when his xenomorph sense went haywire… he could hear them… and they were hunting. 

Tlalt empowered Xbalanque, giving him increased endurance and strength, and the pair ran back to the village. He could see several dead men, hunters trying to defend the others, but the bulk of the village was getting carried off by the horrible, black, rubbery skinned invaders. Xbalanque only slowed for a moment before rushing the closest he could see, catching it by surprise with a massive smash from his Macuahuitl. Acid began burning his club, and the xenomorph, skull completely caved in, acid spraying, spun around, flying over 10 feet before falling lifelessly to the ground. Xbalanque concentrated on the acid burning his club and his body from the flying xenomorph, and a shimmer formed over him, the acid falling harmlessly off it, and his club. (Energy Shield) 

(The 'Spirin Merged' form.)

Reaching down, he grabbed a rock, and pressed it to his holy symbol, Tlalt’s energy moving from Xbalanque to the stone/symbol, starting to take shape. Xbalanque then tossed the shifting, forming rock golem into the Xenomorphs, the small golem popping out, tackling one, causing him to drop the young child being carried. 

Xbalanque focused his mind, increasing his kinetic barrier, before rushing to Tlalt’s aid. While they managed to free a few villagers, the bulk, Rosa and Emma, included, were being hauled away. After killing 3 Xenomorphs between the two of them, Xbalanque’s Macuahuitl had burned away, despite his energy shielding. Tlalt remerged into Xbalanque, preparing for Earth Knight, and running after the hive of Xenomorphs… the screams of the villagers, but more importantly, the emotions… the fear of his fellow psychically gifted family, the thoughts of Rosa… and Emma… echoing through the trees… shouting on the wind. 

Xbalanque ran for several miles, Tlalt’s endurance enhancing merge keeping him on their heels. As Xbalanque approached a large clearing, at the base of a mountain, he could hear intense thoughts… the thoughts of many, many more xenomorphs… and in the clearing, in front of a cave, stood a xenomorph queen. Stone began forming up the legs, and over the arms, when a  Xenomorph came leaping from the cave. Xbalanque smashed the creature down, then raised a stone foot, smashing it on the back of the Xenomorph, breaking its back, smashing its organs, and causing it to scream in pain as the stone form completed over Xbalanque. Xbalanque took a few strides before roaring at the queen. He could see villagers getting taken into the darkness of the cave beyond… and the Queen approached. 

With speed Xbalanque was not expecting at all, the tail pierced right through the 2 kinetic barriers, the stone, right into his heart and out his back. The stone began dropping off his shoulders immediately, Tlalt starting to try and save his host. Xbalanque then heard Emma’s voice. “PAPA!” 

He looked up, and with great strength, gripped the tail with his left stone hand, and swung his right with all his might, chopping the tail right off. He ignored the pain, and the blood pumping from his pierced heart, being kept pumping by Tlalt. The Queen reared back, screaming, and he could see Rosa and Emma vanishing in the darkness, hear their thoughts… the fear… 

(The 'Earth Knight' form)

Charging, ignoring the acid blood the queen was flinging at Xbalanque, and pulled the massive bladed tail from his heart, holding it like a sword in his right hand. The earth fell off completely, Xbalanque kept running, the queen lunged forward, and Xbalanque swung the tail, hitting it in the side of the face, a clear cut bleeding on the creatures face. It screamed, and turned to go back into the cave. Xbalanque was about to throw the tail at the queen, when two more xenomorphs charged him. Xbalanque impaled one, and the other raked his claws across his back… drawing an enormous amount of blood. Xbalanque took the tail blade from the dead xenomorph, and thrust it into the xenomorphs hissing mouth, ripping through the top of its skull. Xbalanque began to lose consciousness, the damage becoming too great to keep going… Tlalt starting taking over the fading mind…

And he awoke later in the mountains. He made his way to Machu Pichu, Peru, protecting who he could… and trying to deal with the pain in his heart… both from the alien tail and his lost family… He has most recently defeated 4 xenomorphs, and after his spirin Tlalt communicated with the spirin collective… Xbalanque needed a change of pace, and a way to actually help those he needed to. He negotiated the evacuation of the entire city of Aquas Calientes, and X-Com went ahead and purchased Peru’s incomplete Jaeger, at double the cost… and finished it, readying it for X-Com’s newest secret weapon… the next step in human/spirin evolution.