Sister Katia Dashkov
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| "Ex-Spetsnaz" | |
| Sister Katia Dashkov | |
| Player: @Templar Katia | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Corrupter |
| Threat Level: | 40 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Katia Ania Dashkov |
| Known Aliases: | nicknames: "Red Devil", "Red Ace" and "Kat" |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 26 |
| Height: | 5'9" |
| Weight: | 135 |
| Eye Color: | Light Blue |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Russian |
| Occupation: | Ex-Spetsnaz, now member of The Templar Order |
| Place of Birth: | Abandoned village in Kostroma, Russia (Isupovo) |
| Base of Operations: | St. Joan of Arc Church |
| Marital Status: | Never married |
| Known Relatives: | Father, named Aleksei |
| Known Powers | |
| Katia is a phenomenal sharpshooter and exceptional martial artist. Uses a device that emits radiation to harm her enemies and heal her allies, designed by Alexis Drisdan. (Assault Rifle/Radiation Emission Powersets) | |
| Known Abilities | |
| General Military Training, Martial Arts (Systema)/Spetsnaz GRU Hand-To-Hand Combat Training, Sharpshooting, Survival Training, Templar Training | |
| Equipment | |
| Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle, Templar Tactical Suit, Tactical Trench Coat, Aviator Sunglasses, Silver-Coated Blessed Combat Knife, Blessed Hollow-Point Bullets w/ Holy Water, Radiation Emitter | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Childhood
I was born in a picturesque, yet dying village in the Kostroma region of Russia. I was an only daughter and lived in poverty. My mother died when I was only 8 years of age. After my mother's funeral, relatives from Moscow tried to convince my father to move to the big city. He stubbornly refused, unwilling to abandon his family's land. We disagreed, and this eventually led to a falling out between us. I believed a better life waited for us in the city. How wrong I was, how foolish.
At age 14, I ran away from home to live with my Aunt Alena and Uncle Irinei. Though I have not seen my father since then, I am told he is alive. He lives alone in that now dilapidated village, holding onto the shadows of the past that will never be again.
I found out very quickly, that life in Moscow was nothing I'd imagined it to be. My aunt and uncle lived in a communal flat in a very bad area of the city. It was a rundown old building, falling apart from neglect. We shared the flat with another family, that was comprised of a single mother and her three daughters.
All of them were members of a local street gang that sold drugs and generally ran the area. After much pressure and even threats, I was made to join. I was jumped in by ten members, and it took me weeks to recover from the beating I received. Shortly after, I was put out onto the street selling heroine to pathetic drug addicts and participating in brawls with other gangs.
Out Of The Darkness
Two years later, I was in my usual spot making a deal with a regular customer when a large man in a black trench coat came out of the darkness. He grabbed me, frightening off the drug addict. I believed he wanted to rob and kill me, so I fought as hard as I could. He easily subdued me with his training, which at the time I didn't know was a fairly common hand-to-hand technique.
"I've been watching you, girl." He said. "You wish to waste your life as gutter trash? I see a potential in you far greater than this.. chush' sobach'ya!"
His name was Aramazd Golitsin, an ex-Spetsnaz and vigilante. It was he that taught me I could be anything, more like a father than any blood relative I've ever known. Aramazd took me away from that horrible place, supported me, mentored me and helped my education. When I reached the age of 19, I joined the Russian Police. After a great deal of hard work and training I was inducted into the elite Spetsnaz unit known as Rus.
Time With Rus
The purpose of our unit was counter-terrorism and direct action in times of crisis. Most of our work took place in Chechnya, where we liquidated several terrorist cells. Our unit also traveled abroad to work internationally with other special forces to eliminate threats.
I was recruited into Rus for my exceptional sharpshooting skills. My main objectives were to eliminate specific targets, or provide covering fire for my unit. Even though I was the only female present, I was well respected among my peers. It was from them I earned the nickname "Red Ace". They were like a family to me. Losing them is something I still haven't recovered from.
The Vampire Incident
We were sent to investigate reports of supposed terrorist activity in the seaport city of Kalingrad on the Baltic Sea. What we found was nothing like anything we expected. We arrived by helicopter, lowered down near the Museum of History and Arts. The streets were abandoned as we swept the area, moving like shadows. I recall the quiet and stillness as unsettling. As the unit made it's way deeper into the city, I found a good perch and observed from a distance through my night vision scope.
What I saw will haunt my dreams to this day.
They came from nowhere, leaping from the darkness like wild animals. They attacked my team mates with such lethal ferocity, there was little they could do to prepare. Lightning fast and possessing inhuman strength, the creatures tore them apart. Even with all their experience in combat and years of training, my men didn't stand a chance.
Recovering from the initial shock, I took aim and fired at several targets. Confirmed kill shots seemed to do nothing, as they would stand right back up as if unwounded. I emptied clip after clip into them, to no effect. Head shots, chest shots, all did nothing to these.. monsters.
I watched helplessly as my unit was slain, horrified as they drank the blood from their corpses.
"Upyr.." I whispered. Vampire.
In my carelessness, I did not realize that one of them was almost upon me. I turned just in time to see him leaping through the darkness, fangs bared as a spine-chilling hiss escaped his lips. I cracked him in the side of the head with the butt of my rifle. The force of the blow should have killed a normal man. He merely stood up, dusted himself off and gave me a toothy grin.
He was upon me in seconds, my combat knife slipped easily into his ribs. We struggled, his blood spilling across the rooftop as I rained blow after blow upon him. All he did was laugh maniacally at my futile attempts to harm him. I started screaming and cursing, crying out for him to die.
It was like a blur, his fist connected with my abdomen and the air was pushed from my lungs. I lay flat on my back, gasping for air. Standing over me, the vampire continued to laugh.
"You're a strong one." he gloated. "I'll enjoy draining you, blyadischa."
I closed my eyes, ready to die.
It was then I heard the shots, the sound of an M-16. My eyes snapped open. The vampire standing over me grotesquely flopped to the ground, missing most of his head. It's body then disintegrated into what appeared to be ashes. My eyes scanned the rooftop, eagerly seeking whoever fired the shots that saved my life.
It was then he emerged from the shadows and offered a hand to help me up. Father David Haden.
His men destroyed the rest of the vampires on the island. Another Spetsnaz unit appeared and my commanding officer. After speaking with Father David and listening to my report, he stated that my unit had been slain by very well equipped terrorists and their bodies would be unrecoverable. His report would say that the terrorists were taken out by international assistance. Father David's Templars, as he called them, melted from the scene like ghosts.
I was flown back to Moscow immediately and debriefed. Not allowed to tell anyone what happened, I became resentful and angry. They told me I'd be on an extended leave until I was called. This turned to weeks, then months. I found myself drinking much more than usual those days, unable to forget the horror I'd seen and the friends I'd lost.
It was at a dive bar near my old neighborhood, where I sat in my usual seat (smoking my usual Sobranies), when I saw him again. Father David silently sat down next to me, his gaze piercing and purposeful. It was then he explained to me what The Templar Order was, and the existence of supernatural beings. It was all a little hard to swallow. By the end of the conversation I'd barely touched my drink and my cigarette dangled from my mouth, mostly ashes.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked, lighting up another Sobranie and cursing softly about wasting the other.
"Are you a woman of faith?" He replied out of no where.
"Those weapons you used, they were no different than mine.. but blessed, am I correct?" I asked him. "They decimated those creatures, while mine had no effect. Would that not be witnessing the power of God?"
Father David nodded only slightly. There was a long silence as I sat back, taking a slow drag from my cigarette. It was then he offered to take me to Scotland, where I'd convert to Catholicism and join The Templar Order.
After what I'd seen and experienced that terrible night, I knew there was a bigger threat out there. An unseen war that made the idea of busting key heads of the Russian mafia or taking out terrorist cells seem frivolous. A battle for our souls, against forces more dark and terrible than you can imagine. Knowing now where the true fight really was, I quickly agreed to his offer.
After my education I was inducted into the Order, ready to combat the darkness. I was then assigned to a place called Mercy Island. It was there I found Father David again..
Abilities
Katia is a professionally trained sharpshooter, having done so her entire military carrier. She specialized in taking out sensitive targets, and never missed a shot on a human target. While undergoing her Templar training, Katia became just as proficient at hitting supernatural targets. Her favorite rifle is the Dragunov SVD, having used it for many years. Katia uses blessed hollow-point bullets filled with holy water.
As part of her Spetsnaz training, Katia also became an expert in the martial art of Systema.
Systema makes use of joint and finger locks, focusing on using your opponents momentum against them. Common moves in this martial art involve fluently disarming a foe and attacking them with their own weapon (or delivering a savage blow while they are vulnerable). A majority of the moves in Systema are defensive, waiting for the opponent to attack and disabling them as quickly as possible. It requires being light on your feet and having fast reflexes.
Katia is fond of this form of fighting and made it her goal to become as deadly in it as possible. What she believes makes it so useful is the fact that strength has no place in Systema, save the blows you rain down upon your floored opponent. She developed her own form of the martial art, making use of a combat knife to deliver damage instead of her fist. This has become incredibly useful since joining the Templar Order, because most supernatural creatures aren't susceptible to unarmed blows. She now uses a silver-coated, blessed knife in place of her old one.
Personality
Katia is all about business, undertaking everything to do with operations and the Order with cold professionalism. It is quite rare to see her laugh and smile. This is mostly due to the loss of her friends in the Spetsnaz unit she used to be a part of. They were like family to her and their deaths are still fresh in her conscious.
It is common to see her drinking while off duty, due in part to her heritage and also because of her depression. She smoked for a brief time while in the Spetsnaz but gave it up as soon as she joined the Templar Order.
To many Sister Katia comes off as callous and uncaring, though this is not true. Hints of compassion tend to slip through her hardened facade on occasion. She knows little of relationships, having been alone and self reliant most of her life. When it comes to emotional banter, she is less than tactful.
Status
Katia has just arrived at St. Joan of Arc school and is still trying to get her bearings. There is a great deal of activity going on here and she is still waiting for a full briefing from Father David.
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