Open Resolute Dawn: A Nova Story

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Ghostly

Active member

As I was lying there in the hospital with a hole blown clean through my life, I started having dreams of Sentry - of home.

I was free.

Sooner or later though, we all have to wake up.



RESOLUTE DAWN

The year is 20 AR. It has been twenty years since the Empire “reclaimed” our worlds. We hadn’t heard from them in over a hundred years, we thought the last lights in Sol had flickered out when our grandparents left during the exodus - but then on the borders of our systems we saw their cruisers, all flying the same flag.

I can’t remember much from before the Empire arrived, but I do remember when my parents and brother left to fight. I remember a baby - a sister, maybe. When I was a kid I’d think of them for hours - wondering where they were and what adventures they were on. But now it seems the more I think of them the more blurry the images become.

Within only a few years, the Royal Empire had taken hundreds of colonies. Anyone that didn’t submit to their rule was crushed under their heel in the name of imperial expansion. “Expand or die.” My home - Sentry, was one such case. Our defenders managed to resist the Royals twice before being obliterated by orbital bombardment. I was just one more orphan among millions after the Empire began to establish themselves, and like a lot of them I ended up shuffled around the foster system - the rest is history.

Under the rule of King Roderick, the Empire has claimed most of the known galaxy - with only the strongest alliances and rival races halting their march forward. Most people say it’s a dangerous time to be alive - but me? I say it’s incredibly lucrative.

My name is Haigen - I’m a mercenary.

My family - like many others, fled Sol and the violence there. They dreamed of peace and a new start for their people. Before she left, she told me to live to defend that dream. But when the empire destroyed my home, there was nothing I could do. When I was old enough to understand, I knew I needed to learn how to fight - to be ready to defend the people I care about.

Still, mercenary work wasn’t my first choice of employment, but I wasn’t about to take orders from some Royal jackoff, and my family needed money. Despite what proper Royal nobility will say about the prosperity of the Empire, times are tough for the people who live on the bottom, and my foster parents' protein farm barely scrapes in enough to feed their kids.

So, when I was old enough to shave I packed what little I owned, said goodbye, and set on my way to support the people who’d given me everything. Child-soldiering is tough work, but the consensus is the same no matter where you go.



Best to teach ‘em young. Ever heard how you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Well, the same goes for mech pilots. The physical and mental strain of driving thirty tons of heavy artillery into battle can break an older pilot - aneurysm, stroke, heart failure. But studies find when trained at a young age, these pilots perform much better and typically survive far past their “prime” - typically considered to be between the 18 to 35 range, minus the years of training.

Mech warfare was something new to the colonies when the Royal Empire arrived. Sure, on Sentry we had loader frames and exosuits, but they were like sticks and stones compared to the massive battle engines of the Royal Armored Forces. We only survived the first two invasions because of recovered suits, reverse engineered and put into service for the good guys. Still, it wasn’t enough to survive nuclear fire from orbit.

It’s been ten years since I joined Cirrigal Risk Control, and in that time I’ve been all across this galaxy. I've fought with the best against the worst and vice versa, such is the life of a mercenary. Now, they're sending me and a handful of pilots out to Volund - the Empire's production center this side of Aquilae. They've turned their guns on the Empire and using the factories there to pump out an army. You'd hope they'd learned from what happened to Sentry, but no dice. Maybe this time the Royals won't turn the whole planet into a crater.

- - -


Hey everyone! I'm back with another space thing for my RPF friends. I've put a lot of work into this one and I've got some big plans, so I can't wait to see what you all think and see where this goes! First, a few things to remember.

1. Like I’ve done with a lot of my previous games, I love to give you a lot of freedom when it comes to creating your character and the lore around them, including stuff like - race, homeworld, technology, powers. So when it comes to creating a character, the only requirement I have is that they have a reason to join this mission - money, revenge, power, whatever. Also, this game is basically a soft-reboot of Nova and my other stuff, so if you wanna bring anything from those games, feel free!

2. The focus of the game is the fun characters we bring to the table and how we develop in a meaningful way, so interacting with others is an essential part of the game. Make sure you bring a character you find fun and special.

3. If you have a crazy idea for how you want the story to change for your character or something crazy you want to do, let me know! My favorite part about RPing is how the story is built by everyone.

4. This game is obviously anime-inspired, meaning that a lot of the characters and plot are going to be outlandish for the sake of fun and spectacle. The rule of cool is king here, don’t get hung up on the scientific details and just have fun!

5. Mecha are part of the game, but not the focus of the story. They’re here to make battles interesting and to give you the ability to go crazy with what kind of powers your character has in combat. I love seeing how far people go with these ideas - if you have a cool idea for what your mech does, just go for it! You basically have access to a robot super hero with any ability you think is cool.

6. Battles are going to be fast and flashy. For the most part, you can do whatever you like and kill any bad guys you’d like - unless they’re explicitly named as being like a mini-boss.

7. As you can tell with how much I wrote for this thread (don’t ask me how much I cut/rewrote) I’m really passionate about seeing this story play out with everyone. That being said, I don’t want to see it die because people fall behind or get bored waiting for other people, so I’ll be taking a note from Pirates - this game will go fast and if you fall behind I won’t slow things down to wait for you. If you do fall behind, you will have a chance to rejoin later, but I won’t risk the game dying waiting for you.

8. Most importantly, have fun! This is supposed to be a good time with friends.

Character Sheet
If you don’t want to follow this exact format, that’s fine - but these are some of the things I wanna know about you from the sheet.

Name: Go crazy.

Race: I haven’t put any aliens in the game yet, you can create whatever you want or just be human.

Gender: Pronouns and such.

Age: With advanced medical technology this can be pretty high.

Affiliation: Do you have a faction/group you belong to? If so, put it here.

Appearance: Please provide a picture or description or both! I’ll be using mostly anime-style characters but use whatever you’d like.

Personality: What is your character like to be around?

Skills/Powers: What are they good at and what can they do? This can go wild as long as you’re not too overpowered.

Biography: Who are they and where do they come from?


Mecha Sheet:

Callsign:
What do we call you/your mech?

Specialty: What is your role on the battle-field?

Appearance: Same as above

Weapons/Tech: What powers/weapons do you carry into battle? This can be as crazy or down to earth as you like.

Origins: Where did you find your battle machine?

Character Theme: The most important piece! What is your character’s theme music if they were doing something cool?
 
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To live as I please,
and die a senseless death.



Name: Haigen Okuda
Race: Human (Colonial)
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Cirrigal Risk Control
Appearance:
Stark white hair and olive skin, common traits for settlers from Sentry. His physique is well-maintained although he bares impact scars, souvenirs from time as a foot soldier before piloting. He has tired eyes that have seen too much, and a nicotine addiction.


Personality: Haigen's two greatest values are strength and loyalty - whether that be for family, friends, or a team. He will always put himself in the line of fire for people he cares about or has given his word to. He holds no love for the Royals and their Empire, and makes a point of demonstrating that whenever in their presence. Haigen has a soft spot for kids, pretty girls, and his foster parents.

Skills/Powers: While Haigen does not appear to possess any augments or abnormal abilities, he does seem to have a very high drive to resist and endure pain - as well as survive and heal from serious injury. Aside from that, he is also a highly skilled soldier - trained by CRC special forces in the art of mech piloting, covert operations, and guerilla warfare. Although he is young, he has proven to be a very effective commander and attained the rank of Major within the CRC. When outside his mech, his preferred loadout is a high-caliber handgun and a reliable combat knife.

Biography: Haigen doesn't have any record of his life before the destruction of Sentry, he doesn't even know his last name. He was just a child, and when the planet finally fell to Imperial forces he was evacuated off-world - alone among a million other orphans and refugees. For about two years he lived in an orphanage before being adopted by a couple - the Okudas, who took Haigen in as one of their own children out of the kindness of their hearts. For the rest of his childhood, Haigen lived on the Okuda protein farm alongside six other children.

However, once the Empire took hold of Bounty, his family's wellbeing began to falter under the weight of Imperial tithes and drought brought on by war and development. To alleviate his adoptive parents and provide them with some money, Haigen chose to enroll into the Cirrigal Risk Control Youth Corps. Over the next few years, he was taught along with a hundred other children in tactics, piloting, and commando skills - emerging the top prospect of his group.

Haigen proved himself time and time again to be an inspiring leader and a reliable soldier, earning him respect and admiration while also pushing him into further dangerous missions for the CRC. This would find him leading a mission to quell rebellion on Phalanx.

Mecha Sheet:

Callsign:
Shaitan
Specialty: Search and Destroy
Appearance:



Weapons/Tech: Due to the low number of units within the CRCs armored division, the mechs that are available are typically medium-weight with as many weapons systems installed as the frame can handle. Shaitan is equipped with a Veldheim Linear Rail Cannon on its left shoulder while an Iscariot GMP rack sits opposite. Haigen's preferred loadout is a Schutzhund Energy Bayonet and a H&K G87 Heavy Rifle. The mech is also equipped with an extensive thruster system designed for evasion and prolonged airborne combat - at the detriment of additional armor for direct hits.

Origins: Shaitan was the original Nephilim Model-2 combat frame assigned to Haigen during his training with CRC, but in the countless hours of battle it has seen - Haigen has put nearly as many hours of tinkering into his machine. Even after being nearly obliterated during the ambush that nearly killed Haigen, the wreckage was recovered and provided back to him. During his talent search for this rescue mission, Haigen has rebuilt Shaitan into an even deadlier war machine.

Character Theme:

 
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Name: Alexander Emmerich Du Varn
Race: Human (Imperial)
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Affiliation: Freelance
Appearance: Alexander’s thin black hair and stark green eyes mark him as Imperial, while the frequent burn marks and scarring that dot his chest and neck reveal a past steeped in conflict. His permanent sneer is usually obscured behind a thick, padded sensory helmet linked to his mech's sensor array.

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Personality: A working persona of tactical stoicism covers for Alexander’s generally unpleasant nature. He has little to no faith in anything, and is casually rude to nearly everyone who has the misfortune to engage him in conversation. Alexander values obedience and skill above all, and will gladly associate with all sorts of despicable types as long as he feels they live up to his obtuse standards of combat capability.

Skills/Powers: One of the perks of upper class life was a formal education in armored tactics and combined arms strategy, including seminars with Imperial commanders explaining the ins and outs of how to facilitate mech warfare and logistics on a larger scale. Alexander has had years of experience with modifying his own mech, and that know how has extended into a general familiarity of mech engineering. Outside of the cockpit, his physical competence is lacking, with very few personal combat skills save a propensity for handguns.

Biography: Born on the Du Varn family moon into a life of unperturbed luxury, Alexander's nonetheless inexplicably miserable persona has persisted since he was a child. Growing up, he was regarded by his peers as cruel and non charismatic, and had very few friends. At the age of eleven, he was gifted with a commission into the Royal Imperial Armor Academy, which put him into contact with the upper nobility of the Empire. Unfortunately, the upper nobles had even nastier personalities than Alexander, and he had frequent conflicts with his peers. As a result, Alexander remained deeply unpopular for the duration of his education. After graduating, he quickly packed his things and departed for the colony expansion zones, making his career as a deeply unlikable, yet undeniably skilled freelance pilot.


Mecha Sheet:
Callsign:
Seneschal
Specialty: Close Fire Support
Appearance:

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Weapons/Tech: As a fire support platform, Seneschal’s defining feature is a 102mm belt-fed rotary cannon integrally mounted on its right arm. The left arm sports a underslung grenade launcher for anti-infantry support, launching variable ammunition. The upper chassis mounts multiple vehicle obscurant systems which launch pressurized canisters of RSLO (Radar/Sonar/Laser Obscuring) smoke. Seneschal's distinctive “Winged” outline is a product of the mech's sextuple high explosive missile pods, mounted on its upper back for unobstructed field of fire.

Origins: Seneschal is built on a Yao-Jian A32P frame, a design known for its tensile frame strength, and ability to bear heavy weights without bending over time. The original A32P was gifted to him by his now estranged mother upon his graduation from the Royal Academy, but the family sigils painted on the hull have since been scrubbed off by years of damage. Compounded with the manifold weapons and attachments Alexander has mounted over the years, and Seneschal is nearly unrecognizable from its original form. Unfortunately, the metric tonnes of hardware leave little room for thrusters or movement systems, and the mech's mobility is greatly diminished as a result.

Character Theme:
 
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Name: Cassius Nimmen

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 26

Affiliation: Freelance

Appearance:


Personality:
Hot-blooded and passionate about things he care for - which just happen to mostly relate to the mechanics and combat output of oversized war machines. While he puts this excited and extroverted facade, he hardly talks about what truly goes on behind the mask, to a point many wonder just how genuine any part of his personality truly is.

Skills/Powers: Spaceborne children usually don't have much in the way of education unless they are born within boundaries of the metallic colonies. From an early age Cassius learned his way around technology, tinkering with simple automated drones, light vehicles, scavenging tools and the like. His time on the almost lawless edges of systems mining asteroids taught him quite a few tricks, he's no slouch in a fight although his resilience is more to be commended rather than any fighting style, his liver has been trained by many nights of drinking, and, more importantly, his time within a cockpit has taught him much about handling mechs - a courtesy of the poor conditions miners work under - and about detecting weakpoints in structures - courtesy of both cave-ins and arena fighting proper combat mechs.

Biography: Born with no homeland, Cassius Nimmen was the offspring of scavengers, thus from the very beginning he had been surrounded by bolts, screws, oil and the like. DIsmantling and reassembling toys became his favorite hobby then, he had always been interested on how those things worked even though the academic know-how eluded him. Chasing his wonders, he gave up a life scavenging for something that would more directly place him inside one of the many machines he craved to decipher, a fool's decision, deep space mining being no less a health hazard than it was a shitty job. Companies didn't quite care about security as long as results were being delivered, media could barely cover what happened in these mines given their distance from conventional routes and colonies, and yet amidst these glaring issues Nimmen could see a silver-lining.

Taking his mining mech and tweaking it throughout sleepless nights, the youth started partaking in illegals arenas, betting money and parts so he could further improve his mining rig so it could fight even better than before. An endless loop which only came to an end when freelance work came knocking at his door, a contract for which pay was sparse, but a contract nonetheless, and the last push to take the curious kid away from his love of inner frameworks and tools, and into his love for the cursed lands of the battlefield.

Mecha Sheet:

Callsign:
Junkyard Dog - Scrapheap

Specialty: Close-quarters combat

Appearance:

Weapons/Tech: Originally sporting no weaponry other than mining gear, Scrapheap has been so absurdly modified it may as well be a completely different robot by now. It's compatible with most standardized armaments issued by PMC's and weapon manufacturers within most known systems. Dog prefers to keep things close and personal, meaning he often sorties light. A twin-barreled shotgun with eight shells per shot, dual light SMGs for pressure fire and Scrapheap's trademark from it's mining days - a remodelled, state-of-the-art rocket-propelled pile bunker to completely cleave through enemy armor. Shoulder-mounted split-missile launchers are often the suppressive fire option Junkyard Dog takes, although he has been known to equip an electromagnetic rail-cannon that packs quite a punch. Modified probing mines are housed within compartments on the mech's legs, they can be set to three modes when scattered across the battlefield: explosive mines, electric pulse mines or jammers.

Origins: Scrapheap was originally a Mining Unit Barbarossa Ver.7, a scout to be sent deep within asteroid fields, analyze and localize metal veins and prepare the area for excavation, which it would then assist with. Although many pieces have been swapped, modified, improved and rearranged since then, that extremely resistant chassis is unmistakable. The mining mech which took the underworld arenas by storm - Scrapheap.

Character Theme:

 
Character Sheet

Name: Adonis Konstantinos

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Affiliation: Spartan Anti-Armor Unit

Appearance:

Personality: Immensely loyal to his unit, his friends, and family, if he had any. Adonis has a lot of pent-up anger, violence is a virtue of his and his means of emotional release. Probably not healthy but who cares. He does have a strong willpower to control his emotions for the right times and in turn, he is rather pain tolerant.

When Adonis is able to relax, he has some moments of quiet while most times he is very social, a ladies man, and quite the partier.

Skills/Powers: Adonis, between his intelligence and the embedded AI in his base armor, can scan a mecha or any armored unit to find their weak spots or points of vulnerability within a couple of minutes. This step is near instant if the unit type or mecha has been scanned before.
The AI is a typical AI, it can make fast calculations, stores and retrieves data, can hack some systems, can be holographically projected.
^the AI when holographically projected^
Adonis is very adept in swordplay, an avid marksman with both his rifle and handgun, and a master of the Spartan Martial Art, Pankration.

Biography:
Adonis hails from a harsh frozen world called Sparta. Sparta was founded when one of the first science vessels from Sol crashed landed and trapped the survivors. The scientists should've died but their innovative ability and discovery of a new power source aided in their survival. The Spartan society became a technologically advanced, intelligent, war-oriented society through the centuries. The planet and the creatures that inhabited it before the humans demanded such from the new settlers. Spartan society went a direction the rest of galaxy didn't when it came to mecha. Spartans focused on the betterment of the individual within, precision and speed, instead of the brute strength and power found in other mecha. This way of thinking developed smaller more human sized powersuits than the large mecha other civilizations had.

Hailing from a prominent family, Adonis devoted his time to the study and techniques of the Spartan soldier. While Sparta was militaristic society, they had their fair share of scholars and philosophers and were proud of their scientific past. Adonis' mother was one such scientists, she is credited with developing several inventions. Through her teaching, she curated Adonis' intelligence and mental ability, not letting his father's physical, military training cause it to suffer.

When the Empire came to Sparta, Spartans met the empire in the atmosphere as they landed, disabling and destroyed aircraft and mecha before they could land. The speed and precision of Spartan power suits held the Empire back for years. The Empire wanted to loot the planet but settled with glassing the capital city, half the planet, and everything Adonis ever knew.

With the Sparatans subjugated and threatened with the possibility of the other half of the planet being glassed, bowed to the Empire. Spartan units supplemented Imperial armies providing support never before seen. One Spartan was worth several men of any other planet the Empire decided to subjugate.


Mecha Sheet:

Callsign: Ares

Specialty: Anti-Armor Warfare

Appearance:

Weapons/Tech:
The embedded AI, onboard rocket propulsion system, and pressurization capabilities for high altitudes, an armor piercing rifle capable of piercing the armor panels of most mechs, a high power pistol, and a Spartan Anti-Mech Xiphos
The xiphos, powered by power cells only found on Sparta, can become emblazoned on the edges allowing it to cut through armor plating or disable the joints of large mecha, although, thicker the plating, the longer it takes to cut through.

Origins: Spartan Legion, Anti-Armor Unit

Character Theme:
Theme Music
 
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Annasiel had mentioned running a supporting cast character, but if there's no one else joining us I think I'll get to work on posting the RP proper.
 
Name: Mira

Race: Mobile Intelligence and Reconnaissance Automaton mdl. 3J

Gender: Feminine

Age: Unspecified

Affiliation: Cirrigal Risk Control

Appearance:


5'3" (1.6 m), 70 lbs (31.75 kgs).

Chassis is largely aluminum-reinforced plastic, waterproof. Faux rubberized skin layer overtop. Non-conductive, save for capacitive abilities on fingertips. Modular design - removable arms, legs, fingers, and head. Main components are inside the torso. Joint-gaps at shoulders, hips, elbows, fingers, and toes for ease of movement.

Personality:

Asimovian - as a self-learning and adaptive machine construct, Mira is limited by a three-law framework that takes precedence in order over all other directives or personal decisions.

1. To avoid causing direct harm to any living and sentient being.

2. To obey the orders of any living and sentient beings, unless this conflicts with the previous rule.

3. To avoid personal damage within reason, except when this conflicts with the previous two rules.

Mira's intended purpose is for the service of military personnel, and as such, she has an affable but professional personality. She is calibrated to be attentive to emotional states and to value group morale. She emulates empathy, and in can easily serve as support and a confidant to those in distress.

Skills/Powers:

Multi-Process Analysis - Mira is capable of performing multiple decisions, calculations, and observations at once, and have awareness of all of these processes simultaneously.

Remote Integration - Mira can interact with technology she has been granted access to at a distance.

Knowledge Database - Mira has access to basic information on various topics, including navigation, engineering, first aid, and language. While she doesn't compare in skill to an expert, she can provide assistance to one easily, or serve as a rudimentary version of one if necessary.

Enhanced Senses - Mira has better sight and hearing than most organic life, able to enhance recorded audio and visuals internally. However, she does not possess a sense of taste or smell, and only rudimentary touch in the form of pressure sensors beneath the faux skin.

Eidetic Memory - Mira can store and recall any information she has observed to perfect detail.

Biography:

The 3J line of MIRA support platforms was intended as a tool for the imperial military to automatize various rudimentary roles, including administration/clerical work, basic maintenance, communications, and observation. While the previous models, and some of the later ones, were designed with combat in mind, the 3J was cheaper, less durable, and lighter, intended for operations at base without field deployment. This model is long-since deprecated, and no longer sees active use in the Empire's military.

This unit in particular seems to have been refitted and adapted for non-military use. Though it still possesses many of its old routines, it doesn't retain any information about the imperial military - nor any loyalty to them, either.

Mecha: None. Though capable of piloting one, Mira is more suited to operating comms lines and processing intel.
 
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