Difference between revisions of "Tal Ravis"

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{{Quote| "Forget Karate, I got me a shotty!"}}
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{{Quote| "Nothing. I keep other people awake at night." -Secretary of Defense James "Mad Dog" Mattis}}
  
 
{{Character Infobox
 
{{Character Infobox
 
| name = Tal Ravis
 
| name = Tal Ravis
| image = Talstare.png
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| image = T0L.png
 
| imagesize =
 
| imagesize =
| caption = "God forgives. I don't."
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| caption = "God forgives, I don't."
 
| origin = {{House Link | Liberty}}
 
| origin = {{House Link | Liberty}}
 
| gender = Male
 
| gender = Male
| occupation = Interceptor Pilot
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| occupation = Freelancer
| affiliation = [[Gas Miners Guild ]]
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| affiliation = Himself
 
| service_what = Liberty Marine Corps (Former)
 
| service_what = Liberty Marine Corps (Former)
 
| service_time = 4 years
 
| service_time = 4 years
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}}
 
}}
  
<b>Tal Ravis</b>, also known as <b>Underscore</b>, is known for being a very main protagonist-like main protagonist.  
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<b>Tal Ravis</b>, also known as <b>Underscore</b> or <b>Snoopy</b>, is renowned for being an intergalactic hero.  
  
 
==Biography==
 
==Biography==
 
===Early Life===
 
===Early Life===
  
Tal was born on August 6th, 798 A.S. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, [[Planet Manhattan]]. The first of three children born to a disadvantaged family of blue-collar workers, he was also the least successful in comparison to his brothers Hudson, who became a Primary Fleet [[Liberty Navy]] Officer, and Xavier, who dealt in the lucrative [[platinum]] trade before joining the [[ALG]]. Indeed, he showed little potential in academics and labor skills, and upon graduating from high school at the age of 18, he found himself enlisting in the Libertonian Marine Corps for lack of anywhere else to go.
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Tal was born on August 6th, 798 A.S. in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district on [[Planet Manhattan]], to a family of relatively poor blue-collar workers. Of the three Ravis children – Hudson, Xavier, and himself – he was the least successful, nearly failing out of grade school twice with a terrible disciplinary record. He also showed no talent or interest in the arts, spending most of his free time playing in the streets with his friends. Later on, he helped form a small street gang with a handful of his friends, lurking in alleyways at night, waiting for unsuspecting targets to rob.
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Young Ravis soon found out that this new gang lifestyle was volatile and unsustainable, as an LPI crackdown on crime ended in the arrests of all of the gang but him. Lucky enough to avoid the cops, he sought an alternative to life on the streets, and after graduating from high school, he turned to the Liberty Marine Corps, a far cry from the wishes of his parents, who were vehemently anti-war and anti-military on top of being disappointed in Tal's life choices. This led to his official disowning from the Ravis family, although Hudson Ravis would later become an officer in the Navy's First Fleet without any repercussions.
  
 
===Service History===
 
===Service History===
 
[[Image:Talmarine.png|left|thumb|200px|Tal Ravis in standard Libertonian Marine EVA armor. Note lack of "Underscore" on helmet - this picture was likely taken during early training.]]
 
[[Image:Talmarine.png|left|thumb|200px|Tal Ravis in standard Libertonian Marine EVA armor. Note lack of "Underscore" on helmet - this picture was likely taken during early training.]]
  
Tal turned out to be a rather unspectacular Marine despite his outstanding marksmanship abilities, and was only able to obtain the rank of Lance Corporal in four whole years of service. Trained to be a "Reconnaissance Man, Parachute Qualified, Combatant Diver and EVA Certified", he was subsequently assigned to the elite 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, based out of [[Planet Los Angeles]].  
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Tal Ravis proved to be a rather mediocre Marine, taking up a four-year enlistment contract to become a gunner in a machine gun section. Promised action by his recruiter, he was disappointed when his enlistment consisted of little more than carrying a thirty-pound general-purpose machine gun around the deserts of Planet Los Angeles. Indeed, the war in Rheinland hadn't yet made it to Hamburg, and the effectiveness of an MG team in the tight confines of a Junker Salvager or Pirate Train was dubious at best, and he was relegated to planetary garrison for most of the years that he was in the fleet.
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While waiting for his opportunity to stack dozens upon dozens of [[Rheinland | Kraut]] bodies in front of his MG, he did manage to qualify expert with the standard-issue rifle of the time, Ageira's "Backblast" tachyon rifle, and also graduated from EVA school. Sadly, his enlistment contract ended before he could fulfill his dream of indiscriminately slaughtering scores of Rheinlanders or Gallics, and he chose to seperate from the military at the age of 22 instead of reenlisting, mostly due to his lack of motivation.
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The Corps was where he first acquired the nickname "Underscore", where, in an attempt to make a commemorative tally mark on the side of helmet after a successful training op, he accidentally had his helmet facing visor-up, thus resulting in a mark that looked more like an underscore than anything else.
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===Later Career===
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Once out of the Corps, Tal quickly realized that he needed a means to provide for himself, eventually taking up a stable job flying freight for Ageira Technologies for two years until his adventurous spirit came back. With a sudden craving for more thrills in his life, he quit working for Ageira and applied to join the Liberty Police, the same organization that jailed all of his closest friends just five years ago. It was here that, over the course of a few months, he discovered that he had anger management issues, eventually deeming himself unfit for duty in the LPI. From here, he resigned and went his own way, using some of his pay to buy a basic model Sabre fighter in order to start his own mercenary company.
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Named "Haven Tactical Security", he and an associate mostly flew low-level escort missions, failing to make much of an impact or name for themselves. Eventually, his associate departed from the endeavor, taking with him most of the company's assets and leaving Tal to his own devices.  
  
As there was not yet a large-scale ground offensive that required the deployment of such specialized deep reconnaissance units, his unit was relegated to their secondary mission of conducting boarding raids on transports stopped by Navy or Police vessels. Considered to be part of the "striking arm" of Liberty's latest method to crack down on the [[Cardamine]] trade, he took part in many raids on unmarked, Freelance, [[Junker]], and Pirate transports, taking enemy fire on at least three separate occasions. Despite this, however, he never once had the opportunity to fire a shot in anger during his entire four-year enlistment.
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Undeterred, he turned to the then-Colonial Republic for work, where he was hired as a fighter pilot. Preferring the Nyx multirole superiority fighter, he was pushed through an accelerated pilot training pipeline and was eventually assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron, operating mainly in the Taus. He flew combat sorties against the Outcasts under the callsign "Snoopy", until he realized that the flashy lifestyle of a fighter pilot wasn't really for him. Stress, injuries, and trauma stemming from frequent combat was rapidly getting to his head, and so he took his leave from the CR.
  
Later in his enlistment, mostly in order to comply with battalion regulations that required at least one scout sniper in each platoon, he was selected to attend the prestigious Scout Sniper School, where he was able to successfully graduate after a long period of intense training and testing. Once graduated, he returned to Los Angeles, where he conducted several more raids on contraband transports before his enlistment ended.  
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Life after the CR was sketchy, as he seemed to be unable to find legitimate work anywhere. His veteran status in the Libertonian Military put off many an employer as the war with Rheinland was becoming increasingly unpopular, and so he simply roamed around Sirius, taking small jobs wherever he went. During this time, he became involved with the Junker Marauders, helping to erect and maintain Beaumont Spire briefly until he disappeared from the face of Sirius for a month. It wasn't until much later down the line that Tal reappeared, this time working for the resurgent Core, having apparently undergone a journey of self-reflection and discovery.
  
Promised action by his recruiter, he was severely disenfranchised and demotivated at the end of his four-year enlistment, and as such he separated from the military at the age of 22.
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Following the Core's successful capture of Yaren and Planet Nauru, Tal was part of a contingent of mercenaries sent to reinforce Core assets on Nauru, starting off with just a week-long search-and-destroy mission aimed at stomping out any remaining Corsair presence on the planet. The length of the mission grew and grew, until it was a full-on six-month garrison mission at a Core forward operating base. It was here that he survived the Great Ion Storm  of 822, lucky enough to have received supplies from a transport just days before the storm hit Sirius. For the rest of the month, his garrison was on high alert, wary of any potential Corsair raids aiming to take advantage of the lack of communications between the base and Core command, although no attack ever came. It wasn't even known at the time if Nauru even had an appreciable Corsair presence planetside.
  
===Later Career===
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After Nauru, Tal found himself with a fair amount of money, and was willing to settle down somewhere a bit more stable for the long haul. After some milling about as a Freelance pilot, Tal found freight work with the GMG, after meeting Guildmaster Keiji Namura. Gradually, he became more and more part of the Guild, and was eventually absorbed into the GMG's esteemed Paramilitary division as an interceptor pilot. Stationed on Gas Miner Ogashawa, he flew sorties in a Karasu heavy fighter dubbed the Silver Bullet, after the ship's distinctive appearance and an aerial ramming attack incident in which he speared and disabled a pirate Waran bomber.
[[Image:Talaim.png|right|thumb|250px|Tal Ravis posing in a defensive position on Nauru for a Core propaganda broadcast.]]
 
  
Once out of the Corps, he quickly realized that he'd need a method of providing for himself, but found out over the course of six months that he lacked the patience to fly freight, the temper and personality to be a cop, and the mechanical skills required to be a mechanic. After a slew of more disastrous jobs that left him no options, he finally realized that he could exploit the few achievements that he had under his belt, and began to flaunt his Rifle Expert qualification and Scout Sniper graduate status in an attempt to find contract work. [[The Core]] was one of the first organizations to offer him a job: a week-long search and destroy mission on backwater Nauru, in the desolate Omicrons.  
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Unfortunately, the original Silver Bullet was disabled in a confrontation between Guild forces and Nomad-Infected Kusari Naval Forces pilots. While conducting a strafing run on an Isejin-affiliated gunship, his vessel was caught by a full primary battery salvo from a Hatchet destroyer, which erased the entire rear half of the fighter. With no weapons or engine remaining, he coordinated an ejection to avoid capture by Wilde forces and was rescued by Guildmaster Keiji Namura, suffering minor injuries related to the ejection.
  
As usual, everything rapidly went south, with no [[Corsair]] sightings on top of his deployment being extended to a six-month occupation in order to better secure the planet for future Core operations. It was also during this time that the Neural Net suffered a massive disruption that severed communications with Core Command, leaving him and his band of fellow mercenaries under the command of Paladin Nova Hawken, who's tenure as Company Commander severely demotivated the mercenaries. Communications were eventually restored, although the damage had been done: trillions of credits worth of damage across the entire Sirius Sector had been reported.
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In late-823 A.S., he and the rest of the 2nd Interceptor Division were temporarily reassigned to Iejima Station following a threat from an independent group of Corsair battleship captains, flying T-493-B Kaichous from Iejima. Once two weeks had passed without an attack, he and his squadron were relocated back to Niigata Star City.
  
After Nauru, he wandered around Sirius looking for work, finding small contracts here and there until he was offered a job by the Gas Miners Guild. He accepted their offer to become a [[Stork]] captain, and flew freight for a brief period before being transferred to the GMG's esteemed paramilitary division as an interceptor pilot. Stationed on [[Gas Miner Ogashawa]], he flew combat sorties in a [[Karasu]] heavy fighter dubbed ''Silver Bullet'', after the ship's distinctive appearance and an incident that could be classified as an aerial ramming attack.
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Tal was later given command of the 2nd Interceptor Division, nicknamed "Dealers in Death", and was reassigned yet again to Gas Miner Ogashawa to fly in support of the VWA-BD-Order Anti-Corsair Joint Strike Force. The 2ID will be stationed on Ogashawa for the forseeable future.
  
Unfortunately, the original ''Silver Bullet'' was disabled in a confrontation between Guild forces and Nomad-Infected Kusari Naval Forces pilots. While conducting a strafing run on an Isejin-affiliated gunship, his vessel was caught by a full primary battery salvo from a [[Hatchet]] destroyer which erased the entire rear half of the fighter. With no weapons or engine remaining, he coordinated an ejection to avoid capture by Wild forces and was rescued by Guildmaster Keiji Namura, suffering minor injuries related to the ejection.
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===Saving Guildmaster Namura===
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{{Quote| The mission is more than a man.}}
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In early 824 A.S., Keiji Namura mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving most of the Guild puzzled as to his whereabouts. Tal Ravis and the 2nd Interceptor Division were tasked with the initial combat search-and-rescue operations as Ogashawa was closest to the Guildmaster's last-known location, although their preliminary search yielded nothing. Despite their efforts, the 2nd Interceptor Division was unable to locate Keiji Namura before their disestablishment.
  
[[Image:Talsniper.png|left|thumb|Tal Ravis during a night operation on Planet Tomioka.]]
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===End of GMG Service===
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Due to new Guild leadership and administrative policies, which emphasize cooperation and a military draw-down over Namura's "take all comers" policy, the 2nd Interceptor Division, and many other squadrons, were dissolved on April 24, their assets being scrapped or sold to make way for an expanded miner fleet. As such, Tal remains jobless for the forseeable future.
  
Once he recovered, he temporarily took a leave from the Guild to participate in a small-scale offensive on [[Planet Tomioka]], operating under the alias Daniel Recker with the [[Blood Dragons]] in their attempts to recover a downed [[Togo]] battleship. His injuries were relatively minor in comparison to the intensity of the fighting, and he returned to service with the GMG shortly afterwards.
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[[Image:Landscape3.png|right|thumb|400px|Tal Ravis stopping to view an advertisement.]]
  
He returned to the Guild in time for the final stages of Operation Ashigakari, the GMG's preparation phase for the invasion of Samura's holdings on [[Planet Kurile]]. Assigned a new Karasu interceptor that was quickly named the "Silver Bullet II", he flew several preliminary combat sorties aimed at disabling Samura communication and air defense capability, later providing air support for the main landing force. After the successful invasion of the Samura-held platform, during which he participated in several operations against Samura forces hiding in the lower levels of the platform, he remained stationed on the platform as part of the interceptor division until he was transferred to [[Niigata Star City]]'s squadron following station renovations.  
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==FWG-5==
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Tal's preferred sidearm is a customized FWG-5 pulse laser pistol, originally manufactured by Detroit Munitions. Sleek, deadly, and quick on the draw, it's the perfect companion for an enterprising intergalactic hero. His personal model is nicknamed Birth Control and sports all manners of strange, innovative features in order to maximize killing potential and efficiency, including factory-custom "Featherweight" parts that reduce weight considerably.
  
In late-823 A.S., he and the rest of the 2nd Interceptor Division were temporarily reassigned to Iejima Station following a threat from an independent group of Corsair battleship captains, flying T-493-B Kaichous from Iejima. Once two weeks had passed without an attack, he and his squadron were relocated back to Niigata Star City.
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The first and perhaps most useful modification is the addition of a specialized hexagonal double-stack heat sink unit, which replaces the normal cooling system located at the rear of the weapon. As the name suggests, this doubles the heat capacity of the weapon, allowing him to fire long, sustained bursts in automatic mode. Specialized vents on the sides of the unit automatically pop open when critical heat capacity is reached, airing out the weapon and cooling it faster.
  
Tal was later given command of the 2nd Interceptor Division, nicknamed "Dealers in Death", and was reassigned to Gas Miner Ogashawa to fly combat sorties in support of the VWA-BD-Order Anti-Corsair Joint Strike Force. The 2ID will be stationed on Ogashawa for the forseeable future.
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Next, and most noticeable, of his changes is the total lack of a front or rear sight post. Instead, both have been replaced by a snag-proof guttersnipe sight, which consists of three yellow triangles that taper off at the end of the sight unit to form a square that the shooter subconsciously aligns with the target. While ineffective at long range, it allows for extremely fast target acquisition up close, and where he'd usually find himself needing a gun.
  
==Nickname==
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While not his own modification, the FWG-5 is notable for having a rather large, recessed fire control knob in front of the trigger guard, with options for automatic mode. Using this knob, which requires a coin or relatively long and sturdy fingernail, the operator can fine tune the weapon's rate of fire, with 480 pulses per minute being the default setting. The selector goes down to 200 pulses per minute or up as far as 1200 pulses per minute.
Tal's "formal" nickname, Underscore, stems from his service in the Liberty Marine Corps, when, in an attempt to commemorate his first VBSS (Visit, Board, Search,and Seizure) mission, he drew what he assumed was a tally mark on his helmet. However, he had held the helmet at an improper orientation as he did so, thus resulting in the tally mark resembling an underscore. His attempts to cover the mistake up failed, and from then on he became known to his unit simply as "Underscore".  
 
  
 
==Ships==
 
==Ships==
 
{{Ship List/begin}}
 
{{Ship List/begin}}
 
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal,Ravis |''Silver Bullet I'', [[Karasu]] (Destroyed) | Hw_t_h_int.png}}
 
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal,Ravis |''Silver Bullet I'', [[Karasu]] (Destroyed) | Hw_t_h_int.png}}
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal,Ravis |''Silver Bullet II'', [[Karasu]] | Hw_t_h_int.png}}
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{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal,Ravis |''Silver Bullet II'', [[Karasu]] (Scrapped) | Hw_t_h_int.png}}
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal;Ravis |''Hercules'', [[Kaichou]] | Hw_t_bomber.png}}
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{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal;Ravis |''Hercules'', [[Kaichou]] (Scrapped) | Hw_t_bomber.png}}
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Valdez.Maru |''Exxon Valdez'', [[Stork]] | Dsy_trainx4.png}}
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{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Valdez.Maru |''Exxon Valdez'', [[Stork]] (Reassigned) | Dsy_trainx4.png}}
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Tal.Ravis |''Gas Grazer'', [[Kamome]] | Gmg.png}}
 
{{Ship List | GMG<nowiki>|</nowiki>Underscore |''Space Amoeba'', [[Garanchou]] | Hw_t_fr.png}}
 
 
{{Ship List | Tal | ''Money Longer'', [[Kestrel]] | Kestrel-s.png}}
 
{{Ship List | Tal | ''Money Longer'', [[Kestrel]] | Kestrel-s.png}}
 
{{Ship List | Tal.Ravis | ''Cruel Summer'', [[Scimitar]] | Bw_fighter.png}}
 
{{Ship List | Tal.Ravis | ''Cruel Summer'', [[Scimitar]] | Bw_fighter.png}}
{{Ship List | Tal,Ravis | ''The Joy'', [[Scimitar]] (Spare) | Bw_fighter.png}}
 
 
{{Ship List | Tal.Ravis! | ''So Help Me God'', [[Sabre]] | Bw_vheavy_fighter.png}}
 
{{Ship List | Tal.Ravis! | ''So Help Me God'', [[Sabre]] | Bw_vheavy_fighter.png}}
 
{{Ship List | Tal,Ravis! | ''Late Registration'', [[Jackdaw]] | Jackdaw-s.png}}
 
{{Ship List | Tal,Ravis! | ''Late Registration'', [[Jackdaw]] | Jackdaw-s.png}}
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The second Karasu interceptor assigned to Tal after his short departure from the Guild, serial number 23-011. Initially, his tail code was OG (for OGashawa), but following his reassignment to Planet Kurile, the code was changed to AS (short for AShigakari, the GMG codename for the Kurile Invasion). While awaiting orders on Kurile, he had mechanics paint "Silver Bullet II" onto the ship, as well as a large shark mouth on the nose and a black line around where the nose of the original Silver Bullet had been cut off.
 
The second Karasu interceptor assigned to Tal after his short departure from the Guild, serial number 23-011. Initially, his tail code was OG (for OGashawa), but following his reassignment to Planet Kurile, the code was changed to AS (short for AShigakari, the GMG codename for the Kurile Invasion). While awaiting orders on Kurile, he had mechanics paint "Silver Bullet II" onto the ship, as well as a large shark mouth on the nose and a black line around where the nose of the original Silver Bullet had been cut off.
  
Silver Bullet II participated in several pre-invasion operations, mostly utilizing specially-modified Firestalker missiles to target ground radar and communication systems in preparation for the invasion. Ravis was personally credited with the destruction of 3 radar arrays, 2 surface-to-air Sidewinder missile sites, and 4 radar-directed Sunfrenzy AA guns, all of which were destroyed in the sorties leading up to the full invasion. Silver Bullet II was further utilized to suppress any possible enemy air defenses during the invasion, although Ravis did not have an opportunity to launch a single missile during his four hours of loitering near the platform and returned home to the GMG platform without any additional kills. Silver Bullet II was then employed in a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) role around Planet Kurile for the next two days, until Ravis was called to assist ground forces in pacifying the lower levels of the platform.
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Silver Bullet II participated in several pre-Kurile invasion operations as part of Operation Ashigakari, utilizing specially-modified Firestalker missiles to target ground radar and communication systems in preparation for the invasion. Ravis was personally credited with the destruction of 3 radar arrays, 2 surface-to-air Sidewinder missile sites, and 4 radar-directed Sunfrenzy AA guns. After the initial Kurile strikes crippled the Samura platform, Silver Bullet II was reassigned to Niigata Star City in Sigma-59, gaining the new tail code of "SC", until it was reassigned to Gas Miner Ogashawa just a week later.  
  
After the Kurile invasion, Silver Bullet II was reassigned to Niigata Star City in Sigma-59, gaining the new tail code of "SC". It continues to serve with the GMG to this day.
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After the dissolution of the 2nd Interceptors, Silver Bullet II was sold and ultimately ended up scrapped.
  
During an action in which Tal was able to disable a [[Mako]]-class battleship in Sigma-19, Silver Bullet II sustained heavy damage that resulted in the loss of his number one and two engine. Regardless, he was able to make it home in one piece and has since had a Mako kill mark painted on his ship.
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During an action in which Tal was able to disable a [[Mako]]-class battleship in Sigma-19, Silver Bullet II sustained heavy damage that resulted in the loss of his number one and two engine. Regardless, it was able to make it home in one piece and has since had a Mako kill mark painted on the side.
  
 
Silver Bullet II is equipped with 2 swivel-mounted CP-M Mark One Mod. 0 Improved Debilitators and 4 swivel-mounted synchronized Sunblast A photon cannons. Additional armor plating and iridium cargo bay struts were installed upon delivery of the vessel to Ogashawa.
 
Silver Bullet II is equipped with 2 swivel-mounted CP-M Mark One Mod. 0 Improved Debilitators and 4 swivel-mounted synchronized Sunblast A photon cannons. Additional armor plating and iridium cargo bay struts were installed upon delivery of the vessel to Ogashawa.
 
===Hercules===
 
Kaichou serial number 21-006, normally reserved for reinforcement actions against heavily-armored enemies trespassing in Guild space. Not particularly visually modified, as the ship is not employed for most of Tal's duties due to a low cruise speed. Tail code has changed from OG to AS to SC, with one Pirate Transport kill mark.
 
 
Supposedly, this was the ship that disabled Guildmaster Keiji Namura's infamous Kaichou bomber during a routine training simulation.
 
 
===Exxon Valdez===
 
An old Stork transport, originally built by Deep Space Engineering at Baltimore Shipyard and eventually sold to the Gas Miners Guild by an independant GMG contractor, serial number 20-024. Tal captained the vessel briefly until he was reassigned full-time to the Guild's paramilitary division. Registered as safe to fly in all four Sirius Houses, with "Baltimore Shipyard, New York System" written along the side underneath "Exxon Valdez".
 
 
The ship was forced to enter drydock for emergency repairs in the Pennsylvania system following an attack by fanatical Xenos, during which the ship's cargo pods were all blown off by Nova torpedoes. Despite severe damage to all parts of the transport, Tal was able to successfully escape pursuit and made an emergency docking at [[Harrisburg Station]].
 
 
Exxon Valdez was fitted with extra add-on armor panels around the main hull (Heavy, Level IVA) and 6 Charon turrets following the Xeno attack. Helium-3 was transported in large, white cylindrical removable containers.
 
 
===Gas Grazer===
 
A Kamome light transport/miner, serial number 22-076. Tal captained the vessel briefly during mining operations in Sigma-19, however, following an incident in which Tal successfully used Gas Grazer's four Charon turrets to engage and ultimately disable a Storta destroyer, the ship has been stuck in drydock awaiting repairs. The ship still bears the tail code OG, and there are plans to display a Storta kill mark on the ship's left side once it leaves drydock.
 
 
Gas Grazer was armed with 2 mining arrays and 4 Charon turrets, with additional armor plating (Universal, Level VIIIB) attached around the cargo bay.
 
 
===Space Amoeba===
 
Tal's assigned replacement for the Gas Grazer, a Garanchou freighter serial numbered 23-003. Used once for a large-scale mining operation involving Interspace Commerce; the ship performed admirably in it's role and Tal's contributions to the operation were noted. Despite Tal's assignment to Niigata Star City, the ship is based on Iejima Station and has the tail code IE.
 
 
Space Amoeba is armed with 4 light mining arrays and 2 swivel-mounted Sunblast A photon cannons, with armor plates (Universal, Level VIIIA) stacked around the most critical areas of the ship.
 
 
===Money Longer===
 
A [[Kestrel]], produced at Baltimore Shipyard by Deep Space Engineering. Registered in Liberty as ship code NC1008, and serial numbered as 22-003, the ship is one of the first Kestrel freighters produced. Has been recalled multiple times by DSE for upgrades and other improvements, and now sees use mostly as a storage ship, parked on Planet Manhattan in an extended-stay ship storage facility.
 
 
Money Longer is an unarmed vessel, but retains armor plating (Universal, Level VIIIA, 820 A.S. Model) put on after Tal was dissatisfied with the stock amount of protection.
 
  
 
===Cruel Summer===
 
===Cruel Summer===
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Cruel Summer is armed with 4 Enforcer VIs and 1 CP-L Mark 1 Mod. 0 Advanced Debilitator, with iridium armor struts (Universal, Level VIII) in the cargo bay.
 
Cruel Summer is armed with 4 Enforcer VIs and 1 CP-L Mark 1 Mod. 0 Advanced Debilitator, with iridium armor struts (Universal, Level VIII) in the cargo bay.
 
===The Joy===
 
 
A spare, brand new Scimitar, registered in Liberty as POI999 with serial number 23-008. Sits in long-term storage until his main Scimitar inevitably gets disabled or damaged beyond repair.
 
 
The Joy is a near identical match with Cruel Summer in terms of loadout, modifications, and armor.
 
 
===So Help Me God===
 
 
A secondhand Sabre purchased from a dealer on [[Freeport 11]] in [[Omicron Delta]]. Unregistered in house space, and missing a serial number, the ship is used primarily for clandestine operations in deep, unclaimed space. Is modified in a similar fashion as Cruel Summer is, although without the lift fan and VTOL capability.
 
 
SHMG is armed with 4 Adv. Flashpoints, 2 CP-M Mark 1 Mod. 0 Improved Debilitators, and 1 Advanced Debilitator turret, with specialized extra armor (Universal, Level VIIIC) around the weakest points of the ship.
 
 
===Late Registration===
 
 
A secondhand Jackdaw purchased from a sketchy dealer on Freeport 11, unregistered in any house and without a serial number. Not particularly useful and more of an impulse buy, Tal has since greatly improved on the ship's original run-down condition, adding all sorts of aftermarket modifications to ensure that his investment would be worth it.
 
 
Late Registration is armed with 2 Purple Goddess Chainguns, 2 CP-M Mark 1 Mod. 0 Improved Debilitators, and a Sidewinder missile launcher.
 
  
 
=Skillset=
 
=Skillset=
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|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Health.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Health.png|30px]]
|Health
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|Constitution
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░ ░ ░
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░ ░ ░
 
| - Missing a few pieces here and there.
 
| - Missing a few pieces here and there.
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Fitness.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Fitness.png|30px]]
|Fitness
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|Agility
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░ ░ ░ ░
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░ ░ ░ ░
| - Combat diver, parachute, and EVA certified.  
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| - Perfect score on the PFT.  
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Dexterity.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Dexterity.png|30px]]
 
|Dexterity
 
|Dexterity
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░ ░
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░ ░
| - Well-trained and versed in rapid operation of manually-cycled (bolt, pump, and lever-action) weapons.
+
| - Well-versed in the operation of automatic weapons.
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Strength.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Strength.png|30px]]
 
|Strength
 
|Strength
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █</span> ░ ░ ░ ░ ░
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █</span> ░ ░ ░ ░ ░
| - Sufficient to haul significant quantities of equipment on long missions.
+
| - Carried a 30-pound machine gun for a living.
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Martial Arts.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Martial Arts.png|30px]]
|Martial Arts
+
|Attack
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █</span> ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █</span> ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░
 
| - "What's so hard about swish-swish-stab?"
 
| - "What's so hard about swish-swish-stab?"
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Firearms.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Firearms.png|30px]]
|Firearms
+
|Ranged
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █</span>  
+
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █</span>  
| - Can blast the balls clean off of a fly at 250 yards with a scoped rifle, and at 125 with iron sights.
+
| - Calls the automatic setting "family mode".
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Leadership.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Leadership.png|30px]]
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|Observation
 
|Observation
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░
 
|<span style="color:#516363;">█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ </span> ░
| - Trained extensively in information-gathering and deep reconnaissance.
+
| - Sees all.
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Image:Self-control.png|30px]]
 
|[[Image:Self-control.png|30px]]
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==Diplomacy (Personal)==
 
==Diplomacy (Personal)==
 
{{Faction Diplomacy/begin}}
 
{{Faction Diplomacy/begin}}
{{FD | Guildmaster Keiji Namura | +1.0}}
+
{{FD | Everybody | -0.5}}
{{FD | Everybody Else | -0.5}}
 
 
{{Faction Diplomacy/end}}
 
{{Faction Diplomacy/end}}

Revision as of 19:14, 11 June 2017

"Nothing. I keep other people awake at night." -Secretary of Defense James "Mad Dog" Mattis


Tal Ravis
T0L.png
"God forgives, I don't."
Profile
Origin Flag-liberty.png Liberty
Occupation Freelancer
Gender Male
Affiliation Himself
Liberty Marine Corps (Former) 4 years
Rank Lance Corporal
Status Active
Born August 6, 798 AS, Planet Manhattan.
Died N/A

Tal Ravis, also known as Underscore or Snoopy, is renowned for being an intergalactic hero.

Biography

Early Life

Tal was born on August 6th, 798 A.S. in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district on Planet Manhattan, to a family of relatively poor blue-collar workers. Of the three Ravis children – Hudson, Xavier, and himself – he was the least successful, nearly failing out of grade school twice with a terrible disciplinary record. He also showed no talent or interest in the arts, spending most of his free time playing in the streets with his friends. Later on, he helped form a small street gang with a handful of his friends, lurking in alleyways at night, waiting for unsuspecting targets to rob.

Young Ravis soon found out that this new gang lifestyle was volatile and unsustainable, as an LPI crackdown on crime ended in the arrests of all of the gang but him. Lucky enough to avoid the cops, he sought an alternative to life on the streets, and after graduating from high school, he turned to the Liberty Marine Corps, a far cry from the wishes of his parents, who were vehemently anti-war and anti-military on top of being disappointed in Tal's life choices. This led to his official disowning from the Ravis family, although Hudson Ravis would later become an officer in the Navy's First Fleet without any repercussions.

Service History

Tal Ravis in standard Libertonian Marine EVA armor. Note lack of "Underscore" on helmet - this picture was likely taken during early training.

Tal Ravis proved to be a rather mediocre Marine, taking up a four-year enlistment contract to become a gunner in a machine gun section. Promised action by his recruiter, he was disappointed when his enlistment consisted of little more than carrying a thirty-pound general-purpose machine gun around the deserts of Planet Los Angeles. Indeed, the war in Rheinland hadn't yet made it to Hamburg, and the effectiveness of an MG team in the tight confines of a Junker Salvager or Pirate Train was dubious at best, and he was relegated to planetary garrison for most of the years that he was in the fleet.

While waiting for his opportunity to stack dozens upon dozens of Kraut bodies in front of his MG, he did manage to qualify expert with the standard-issue rifle of the time, Ageira's "Backblast" tachyon rifle, and also graduated from EVA school. Sadly, his enlistment contract ended before he could fulfill his dream of indiscriminately slaughtering scores of Rheinlanders or Gallics, and he chose to seperate from the military at the age of 22 instead of reenlisting, mostly due to his lack of motivation.

The Corps was where he first acquired the nickname "Underscore", where, in an attempt to make a commemorative tally mark on the side of helmet after a successful training op, he accidentally had his helmet facing visor-up, thus resulting in a mark that looked more like an underscore than anything else.

Later Career

Once out of the Corps, Tal quickly realized that he needed a means to provide for himself, eventually taking up a stable job flying freight for Ageira Technologies for two years until his adventurous spirit came back. With a sudden craving for more thrills in his life, he quit working for Ageira and applied to join the Liberty Police, the same organization that jailed all of his closest friends just five years ago. It was here that, over the course of a few months, he discovered that he had anger management issues, eventually deeming himself unfit for duty in the LPI. From here, he resigned and went his own way, using some of his pay to buy a basic model Sabre fighter in order to start his own mercenary company.

Named "Haven Tactical Security", he and an associate mostly flew low-level escort missions, failing to make much of an impact or name for themselves. Eventually, his associate departed from the endeavor, taking with him most of the company's assets and leaving Tal to his own devices.

Undeterred, he turned to the then-Colonial Republic for work, where he was hired as a fighter pilot. Preferring the Nyx multirole superiority fighter, he was pushed through an accelerated pilot training pipeline and was eventually assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron, operating mainly in the Taus. He flew combat sorties against the Outcasts under the callsign "Snoopy", until he realized that the flashy lifestyle of a fighter pilot wasn't really for him. Stress, injuries, and trauma stemming from frequent combat was rapidly getting to his head, and so he took his leave from the CR.

Life after the CR was sketchy, as he seemed to be unable to find legitimate work anywhere. His veteran status in the Libertonian Military put off many an employer as the war with Rheinland was becoming increasingly unpopular, and so he simply roamed around Sirius, taking small jobs wherever he went. During this time, he became involved with the Junker Marauders, helping to erect and maintain Beaumont Spire briefly until he disappeared from the face of Sirius for a month. It wasn't until much later down the line that Tal reappeared, this time working for the resurgent Core, having apparently undergone a journey of self-reflection and discovery.

Following the Core's successful capture of Yaren and Planet Nauru, Tal was part of a contingent of mercenaries sent to reinforce Core assets on Nauru, starting off with just a week-long search-and-destroy mission aimed at stomping out any remaining Corsair presence on the planet. The length of the mission grew and grew, until it was a full-on six-month garrison mission at a Core forward operating base. It was here that he survived the Great Ion Storm of 822, lucky enough to have received supplies from a transport just days before the storm hit Sirius. For the rest of the month, his garrison was on high alert, wary of any potential Corsair raids aiming to take advantage of the lack of communications between the base and Core command, although no attack ever came. It wasn't even known at the time if Nauru even had an appreciable Corsair presence planetside.

After Nauru, Tal found himself with a fair amount of money, and was willing to settle down somewhere a bit more stable for the long haul. After some milling about as a Freelance pilot, Tal found freight work with the GMG, after meeting Guildmaster Keiji Namura. Gradually, he became more and more part of the Guild, and was eventually absorbed into the GMG's esteemed Paramilitary division as an interceptor pilot. Stationed on Gas Miner Ogashawa, he flew sorties in a Karasu heavy fighter dubbed the Silver Bullet, after the ship's distinctive appearance and an aerial ramming attack incident in which he speared and disabled a pirate Waran bomber.

Unfortunately, the original Silver Bullet was disabled in a confrontation between Guild forces and Nomad-Infected Kusari Naval Forces pilots. While conducting a strafing run on an Isejin-affiliated gunship, his vessel was caught by a full primary battery salvo from a Hatchet destroyer, which erased the entire rear half of the fighter. With no weapons or engine remaining, he coordinated an ejection to avoid capture by Wilde forces and was rescued by Guildmaster Keiji Namura, suffering minor injuries related to the ejection.

In late-823 A.S., he and the rest of the 2nd Interceptor Division were temporarily reassigned to Iejima Station following a threat from an independent group of Corsair battleship captains, flying T-493-B Kaichous from Iejima. Once two weeks had passed without an attack, he and his squadron were relocated back to Niigata Star City.

Tal was later given command of the 2nd Interceptor Division, nicknamed "Dealers in Death", and was reassigned yet again to Gas Miner Ogashawa to fly in support of the VWA-BD-Order Anti-Corsair Joint Strike Force. The 2ID will be stationed on Ogashawa for the forseeable future.

Saving Guildmaster Namura

The mission is more than a man.

In early 824 A.S., Keiji Namura mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving most of the Guild puzzled as to his whereabouts. Tal Ravis and the 2nd Interceptor Division were tasked with the initial combat search-and-rescue operations as Ogashawa was closest to the Guildmaster's last-known location, although their preliminary search yielded nothing. Despite their efforts, the 2nd Interceptor Division was unable to locate Keiji Namura before their disestablishment.

End of GMG Service

Due to new Guild leadership and administrative policies, which emphasize cooperation and a military draw-down over Namura's "take all comers" policy, the 2nd Interceptor Division, and many other squadrons, were dissolved on April 24, their assets being scrapped or sold to make way for an expanded miner fleet. As such, Tal remains jobless for the forseeable future.

Tal Ravis stopping to view an advertisement.

FWG-5

Tal's preferred sidearm is a customized FWG-5 pulse laser pistol, originally manufactured by Detroit Munitions. Sleek, deadly, and quick on the draw, it's the perfect companion for an enterprising intergalactic hero. His personal model is nicknamed Birth Control and sports all manners of strange, innovative features in order to maximize killing potential and efficiency, including factory-custom "Featherweight" parts that reduce weight considerably.

The first and perhaps most useful modification is the addition of a specialized hexagonal double-stack heat sink unit, which replaces the normal cooling system located at the rear of the weapon. As the name suggests, this doubles the heat capacity of the weapon, allowing him to fire long, sustained bursts in automatic mode. Specialized vents on the sides of the unit automatically pop open when critical heat capacity is reached, airing out the weapon and cooling it faster.

Next, and most noticeable, of his changes is the total lack of a front or rear sight post. Instead, both have been replaced by a snag-proof guttersnipe sight, which consists of three yellow triangles that taper off at the end of the sight unit to form a square that the shooter subconsciously aligns with the target. While ineffective at long range, it allows for extremely fast target acquisition up close, and where he'd usually find himself needing a gun.

While not his own modification, the FWG-5 is notable for having a rather large, recessed fire control knob in front of the trigger guard, with options for automatic mode. Using this knob, which requires a coin or relatively long and sturdy fingernail, the operator can fine tune the weapon's rate of fire, with 480 pulses per minute being the default setting. The selector goes down to 200 pulses per minute or up as far as 1200 pulses per minute.

Ships

Hw t h int.png
GMG|Tal,Ravis
Silver Bullet I, Karasu (Destroyed)
Hw t h int.png
GMG|Tal,Ravis
Silver Bullet II, Karasu (Scrapped)
Hw t bomber.png
GMG|Tal;Ravis
Hercules, Kaichou (Scrapped)
Dsy trainx4.png
GMG|Valdez.Maru
Exxon Valdez, Stork (Reassigned)
Kestrel-s.png
Tal
Money Longer, Kestrel
Bw fighter.png
Tal.Ravis
Cruel Summer, Scimitar
Bw vheavy fighter.png
Tal.Ravis!
So Help Me God, Sabre
Jackdaw-s.png
Tal,Ravis!
Late Registration, Jackdaw

Silver Bullet I

The first Karasu interceptor used by Tal Ravis during his tenure with Gas Miner Ogashawa's resident interceptor division, serial number 22-045 (the 45th Karasu produced in 822 A.S.). It had "OG" (OGashawa) painted on the outer sides of both top fins as the tail code, with the serial number stenciled in under it. The ship was easily distinguished by the color offset between the nose and fuselage, as his infamous ramming attack rendered the front of his craft squashed up and his scanner array inoperable without a full-on replacement. Karasu serial number 20-023, an older reserve ship stashed in the cargo bay of Ogashawa, was cannibalized for parts, providing Silver Bullet's new nose and Advanced Deep Scanner array.

Following an incident in which Tal used the ship to ram straight through the hull of a pirate Waran bomber after depleting his ship's powercore, successfully disabling the hostile craft in the process, the ship was repaired and the nickname Silver Bullet was bestowed upon it, written underneath the cockpit in black paint next to his three kill tallies. There were plans to get his aerial ramming "kill" immortalized in the form of a cartoon-y silver-colored bullet smashing a brick clean in half; however, the vessel was disabled in action by an Iseijin Kusari Destroyer before the drawing was finished and applied.

Silver Bullet was outfitted with a standard loadout of 2 swivel-mounted CP-M Mark 1 Mod. 0 Improved Debilitators and 4 swivel-mounted Sunblast A photon cannons. Aftermarket struts for the cargo bay were later installed.

Silver Bullet II

The second Karasu interceptor assigned to Tal after his short departure from the Guild, serial number 23-011. Initially, his tail code was OG (for OGashawa), but following his reassignment to Planet Kurile, the code was changed to AS (short for AShigakari, the GMG codename for the Kurile Invasion). While awaiting orders on Kurile, he had mechanics paint "Silver Bullet II" onto the ship, as well as a large shark mouth on the nose and a black line around where the nose of the original Silver Bullet had been cut off.

Silver Bullet II participated in several pre-Kurile invasion operations as part of Operation Ashigakari, utilizing specially-modified Firestalker missiles to target ground radar and communication systems in preparation for the invasion. Ravis was personally credited with the destruction of 3 radar arrays, 2 surface-to-air Sidewinder missile sites, and 4 radar-directed Sunfrenzy AA guns. After the initial Kurile strikes crippled the Samura platform, Silver Bullet II was reassigned to Niigata Star City in Sigma-59, gaining the new tail code of "SC", until it was reassigned to Gas Miner Ogashawa just a week later.

After the dissolution of the 2nd Interceptors, Silver Bullet II was sold and ultimately ended up scrapped.

During an action in which Tal was able to disable a Mako-class battleship in Sigma-19, Silver Bullet II sustained heavy damage that resulted in the loss of his number one and two engine. Regardless, it was able to make it home in one piece and has since had a Mako kill mark painted on the side.

Silver Bullet II is equipped with 2 swivel-mounted CP-M Mark One Mod. 0 Improved Debilitators and 4 swivel-mounted synchronized Sunblast A photon cannons. Additional armor plating and iridium cargo bay struts were installed upon delivery of the vessel to Ogashawa.

Cruel Summer

A Scimitar, bought secondhand from a dealer on Planet Los Angeles by Tal shortly after he graduated from boot camp. Registered in Liberty as POI998 with the serial number 14-009, the ship has been with Tal for over 7 years now, facing extensive modification along the way.

The first of these modifications involved caging off a section of the cargo bay for re-purposing as a living area, featuring a small metal cot, a folding table attached to the wall, and storage drawers underneath the bed. A small bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink is placed across the small hall, which leads back up to the cockpit. These modifications were necessary considering that Tal was disowned by his vehemently anti-military parents following his decision to enlist, and as such he had nowhere to stay during the downtime between boot camp and further training.

The second of the modifications were two navigation lights, one red and one green, placed on the wingtips of his ship. These help to alert other ships of his presence and lower the risk of collision.

The third of his modifications involved getting a lift fan installed and hooked up to his ship's stock engine, allowing him to conduct vertical takeoffs and landings. While completely unnecessary with the inclusion of stock vertical thrusters, he purchased the modifications anyways to better distinguish himself. This VTOL system was used once on Planet Nauru, where the jet exhaust from his engine kicked up sand hard enough that it chipped paint off of a nearby parked Anki freighter.

The last of his modifications so far are mainly cosmetic, as he got his stock engine swapped out for an HN-series light fighter engine. The new engine's longer exhaust proves to be a hazard when used in conjunction with VTOL mode, as it has been shown to melt some older-model launchpads on Manhattan.

Cruel Summer is armed with 4 Enforcer VIs and 1 CP-L Mark 1 Mod. 0 Advanced Debilitator, with iridium armor struts (Universal, Level VIII) in the cargo bay.

Skillset

Attribute Value Additional Notes
Health.png Constitution █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ░ ░ ░ - Missing a few pieces here and there.
Fitness.png Agility █ █ █ █ █ █ ░ ░ ░ ░ - Perfect score on the PFT.
Dexterity.png Dexterity █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ░ ░ - Well-versed in the operation of automatic weapons.
Strength.png Strength █ █ █ █ █ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ - Carried a 30-pound machine gun for a living.
Martial Arts.png Attack █ █ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ - "What's so hard about swish-swish-stab?"
Firearms.png Ranged █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ - Calls the automatic setting "family mode".
Leadership.png Leadership █ █ █ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ - Terminal Lance.
Observation.png Observation █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ - Sees all.
Self-control.png Self-control █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ░ ░ - Keeps it 300, like the Romans.
Charisma.PNG Charisma █ █ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ - As charming as a 25-year-old brick wall.


Shotgun Diplomacy (Faction)

Faction Relationship
Gas Miners Guild
Allied
Everybody Else
Unfriendly
Hogosha
Hostile
Samura
Hostile
Outcasts
At War
Corsairs
At War


Diplomacy (Personal)

Faction Relationship
Everybody
Unfriendly