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Augmented Human E4-148 (Etho)
Character artist: @vesperionnox
AC: LADDERS
ARENA RANK: (Variable)
Emblem: A slab of polished gray stone on an otherwise blank background. Later, a certain familiar 13-pixel caricature.
he/they
A cyborg Armored Core (AC) pilot in the service of Handler Valther, indentured to his service to repay for his fourth-generation augmentation surgery. He is the latest in a line of “hounds” in service to the good Valther, if not also the one who has shown the most promise thus far.
Upon landing on Raficon 7 for the first time, he picks up the callsign of “Slab” from the wreck of a low-ranking mercenary’s AC. 148 doesn’t say much, being a person of few words even before his augmentation, which further suppressed his emotions. Despite his augmentations, he relies on crutches to move about outside the cockpit - the mobility part of the surgery was figuratively and literally cut off, leaving 148 with one (left) leg and a half to speak of and nothing in the way of built-in mobility aids (though he does have a workable, detachable prosthetic lower leg, it isn’t exactly broken in yet - as such, the crutches stick around regardless.)
Early on in the course of Chapter 1, 148 is handed the “unlucky” designation of R13 by Red One Grimdog of the Redhearts, so-called because all the pilots who have held it before perished in the line of duty. 148, however, resolves to make the most of it… and then some.
His AC, LADDERS starts as a grayish-tan stock EaR LOADER 12 model, but 148 customizes it over the course of the story to become… quite a bit more with its livery.
Handler Valther (VintageBeef)
Character artist:@hatifas
AC: RR-E04 ZOL 645
ARENA RANK: (Unregistered)
Emblem: A chunk of raw meat with a meat cleaver crudely stuck into it.
he/him
“Don’t compare your journey to others, 148. Each person’s path is unique.”
The infamous broker Dr. Valther Llamard is the manager of many capable yet dependent and subservient mercenaries (owing to their older augmentation technology’s shortcomings), whom he leases to the highest bidder… at least, that was once the case. Unfortunately, a large chunk of mercenaries under his care were lost to a prolonged streak of unsuccessful missions, which only furthered Valther’s (undeserved) reputation as a “butcher” of augmented humans. After losing 144, 145, and 147 to a POE WARDEN craft, E4-148 is the only mercenary the good handler has left.
Stoic, professional, and while some might be led to believe he is uncaring and indifferent to his “assets,” he, in fact, cares much more for 148 than others might, who often see such old-gen augmented humans as inhuman. (Secretly, he also plays various card games with E4-148 in the little downtime they have between missions - an odd bonding mechanism.) He acts as the first of several “mission support” characters assisting E4-148 on his outings.
Artyn (Martyn Inthelittlewood)
Character artist: @rotibasie
AC: LISTENER (TRANSIENCE-series)
ARENA RANK: (Unregistered)
Emblem: N/A
he/him (we/us if referring to the Ision collective), gynesexual
Artyn: “Slab, you left the hatch to your AC aj’a-har’! Are you trying to vent your stink out again?”
A good-natured, if somewhat laid-back and optimistic, Raficonian who makes “Contact” with 148 during the events of Chapter 1. Complementary to Handler Valther, Artyn becomes another “mission support” character onwards, referring to 148 by their borrowed callsign of “Slab.” His catchphrase (opportunistically shoved into any pun he can make with it) is “a-ha!”
Artyn is, in fact, an I-pulse wave mutation - a sentient, living energy entity generated by the planet’s Ision energy, which is alive. To 148, he initially appears as a purple-to-white, swirling stringy waveform, but is invisible to Handler Valther, as only augmented human generations 1 through 4 (Ision-based) can perceive such entities. As the story progresses, Artyn starts appearing in a more human-like form that only E4-148 and other early-generation augmentation humans can perceive. He is also a bit of a jokester, having an unusually strong grasp on the concept of humor for a Raficonian.
As a living energy entity, he is capable of taking control of machinery and powering it of his own accord - this includes ACs, such as LISTENER, a white and lime-colored TRANSCIENCE-series I-Weapon created by the Raficon Research Institute that Artyn discovers along with E4-148 in Magimount City.
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