Provost Moreaux
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Willpower
Body Mastery
Fiat justitia ruat caelum.
- Charles Sumner
Dossier
A force of nature outfitted with a suit bristling with plasmatic point defenses, James Moreaux's prototype for the perfect warrior has given up on his status as a Praetorian nobleman. An infamous betrayer to the Tactical Engagement Strike Team as well as leaving the life of a soldier in favor of taking the mantle of a true warrior, the only thing as unbreaking and unflinching as his armored form is his convictions.
Seere follows Adam Fairfield of the Ascension group with the same devotion of a templar following their god. While Fairfield is the sovereign who keeps the army in place, Seere is the sword in his mailed hand ready to snuff the life out of any who wish to stand against the dream of a world without fear. The General may be at the helm, but his unflinching praetorian is Armageddon on legs and best approached with extreme caution.
Psychological Profile
"I'm a Phoenix. It is my duty to obey."
Seere's service record is sterling, although his personal discipline is lacking to say the least. Ever since his divorce, he's alternated between morose depression and blazing fits of anger. His lethal focus, however, has achieved new heights. As far as the warrior's art goes, he is no longer the brash and idealistic brawler he was when he left Praetoria, nor is he a mindless killing machine--he is simply a man loyal to his organization and his patron. Among tactical operatives, Seere is known for a confidence and unshakable faith in the General as well as a self-sacrificial attitude that has managed to save the company on numerous occasions at cost to himself. Prior to the Praetorian invasion, he ran out of power for his plasma gauntlet and stuck himself with a grenade to incapacitate one of Neuron's escapees, losing most of the arm in the process. Despite his bitterness and depression, Seere still clings to hope even if despair comes soon after.
Service Record
Service Record Sealed.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Flexible is the easiest way to describe Seere's greatest strength. Seere boasts harder bones, tougher skin, denser muscles and low level regenerative properties while mixing the combination with mobility. Courtesy of extensive modification, Seere's blood clots faster, his bones mend quicker and his skin heals with more ease. Unfortunately, on a matter of blood, Seere has allergic reactions to 'human' blood courtesy of his own marrows producing a different type in order to carry the extra 'hardware' required to keep his considerable frame going. To put it in perspective, his ossular and musculature density is approximately three times that of a normal man, as a hand to hand specialist he has also improved his reflexes. His body's ability to soak up raw damage coupled with his suit's enhancements to his reaction times make him able to chain attacks from his otherwise unwieldy power fists as well as switch back and forth between that and his plasma repeaters while still staying mobile in combat. However, Seere can do many things, but doing all of them well is another matter entirely. He does require ample support to take on the bigger bads of the Praetorian offensive, and he is at his best in groups that can take advantage of his unique combination of speed, staying power and raw offensive output.
Relationships
The Confidants
Marcus Drake: "Sterling service record, incredible ability to pull us out of the gutter, very poor ability to die. All in all it's a bit of a change... but not necessarily bad."
The Circle
Viera Rosseau: "Viera...? Viera. I made mistakes, tons. And sacrifices. I've sat up at night wondering what the hell I did wrong. Maybe we simply were not meant to be. It doesn't matter, she's one of the people I fight for."
Natasha Tarasova: "A broken bird. We're so alike and yet so different. I just wish things would've been different... If things were more stable, we may have possibly made good friends."
The Others
Aether Backblast: "Idealistic brawler. Jaycee's a good kid, but I can't honestly relate to the morality anymore... Pity though, she's always been trustworthy."
Adam Fairfield: "Fairfield's busy scheming again. Whatever, I've got other shit to worry about."
Riou Hotaru: "Good kid. Just that, though, a kid. If his drive to succeed managed to surpass his drive to annoy the living hell out of me, I see a fight for Sergeant occurring soon."
Christian James: "Another idealist. I know a lot of them, on hindsight. Good man, even if he makes the choices I've made to keep the peace. I just hope he doesn't fall anywhere near as badly as I have."
Sergeant Anna Maris: "Maris...? I'm not stupid, I'm not saying anything."
Fenwick McDough: "Yet another idealist. He has his priorities set up at least. He's trustworthy and ready to make the sacrifices expected of men like us... but honestly, I want to see where he falls when the hard choices have to be made."
Yorishiro Meika: "An ally. She needs to spend less time trying to play games with me and more time sparing me these empty platitudes about how things will get better."
Alicia Trent: "Good woman. She deserves better than what she's gotten. She deserves better than me... and she just seems to remind me of my greatest failures as a person."
Malcolm Trent (Primal): "Headstrong, defiant and willing to make the hard choices... but he's another idealist who doesn't see that win or lose, we're just a delaying tactic. I just hope his life gives him peace of mind at night. Mine does not."
The Grievances
Web: "I really don't spend too much time hating him, or feeling sorry for him, or thinking about him at all, really. Maybe he's a nice person to others, but to me, he's a piece of shit and will remain one for years to come. Either way, he's letting one offhanded comment that I apologized for completely dominate his activity with me."
Malcolm Trent (Praetorian): "I pity him. That is all."
Marked For Death
Christopher Blackwood: "A weak man with all of that power and no idea how to use it. His will is weak, his powers are unpolished and he's proven to be a headache on several occassions. I put his name forward to help us face off against Arachnos... Leaking intel to civilians was a foolish misstep, but then again, foolishness seems to be a habit among our recruits these days."
History
Seere was born not to a family, but to a lab. His mother was a tank that kept him imprinted with the knowledge to perform his duty, and his father was the genetic tampering that turned in him into a iron-willed, steely muscled killing machine. His brothers and sisters were his armored plates and his best friends were his Plasma gauntlets, who despite a long service still retain almost perfect use. The third generation clone of a James Moreaux, this one built towards strategic applications of overwhelming force.
Keep Your Friends Close...
To say Seere had much of a childhood would be to say he were a female. Seere's childhood consisted of a punishing regimen of rigorous training that left his armor pockmarked, burned and scratched before he had even seen actual combat, set by his brothers. He was outfitted with experimental AIs to allow him faster reaction times, better target acquisition as well as several mundane features that operated much more efficiently than the standard T.E.S.T. armor. In addition, his suit regularly cannibalized other elements, eventually turning a regulation suit into its own type of carapace that deflected most forms of attack, essentially turning into a walking tank.
Most of his time outside of testing areas was spent in the academy learning about the basics of normal human behavior, in addition to foster camaraderie amongst the more mundane members of the PPD. Because of all around above average scores on the range, he earned the ire of many of his peers, making him a bitter young man. During the final days of his time at the academy, he met a geneticist from the Ministry of Technology named Isaac Ellisman. The two became fast friends, with Doctor Ellisman acting as a field medic to allow the aspiring Ranger to continue pushing on for longer than his frame normally allowed. Ellisman's ability to read the flow of the battlefield coupled with his young partner's ability to move about quickly while supported by drones allowed this combination of a senior's wisdom and fresh new talent to make a name for themselves in the Powers Division.
At the age of sixteen, Seere received a handful of new presents. A new AI, and a new suit of armor: the finished product of the T.E.S.T. carapace he'd been experimenting with as well as his very own Monitor Sphere. He was now a proud member of T.E.S.T. and was given a degree of freedom with organizing his team. Afterwards, Isaac and he celebrated his new promotion with a few scientists. Ten years his senior, Seere found himself relying on Isaac's keen mind to help him direct his wrath, conversely Isaac relied heavily on Seere's nonstandard armor which was essentially a high tech heavy field plate. After a while, the two began regular workings, with Isaac calling him in for help with Powers Division operations and Seere calling in Ellisman from Powers Division when things grew hectic.
Seere also saw that his evaluation results had been decimated in virtually every single field by one Malcolm Trent. Not sitting well with him, he ended up trying to beat his own records, succeeding and getting them broken again. By the time the two had proven their "ceiling" Malcolm had left Seere trailing behind in precision and creative thinking while Seere topped him in raw power and sheer endurance while their scores far surpassed "Adequate" or "Competent" and moved straight to "Ninja," "Badass" and "Praetor." In order to look more like the savior of man, Seere then began regularly dyeing his hair, lashes and eyebrows black until he looked like a shining example of one of Emperor Cole's devout.
Like Any Emperor Fearing Citizen
His reputation grew, and he came to rival even the Top Dogs in prestige, but it still wasn't enough. The Ranger felt empty when he wasn't on the field protecting his people. Reese was very clear about his sentimentality for the faceless masses of Praetoria grating on his nerves, only to be reminded that those were the Emperor's people. His orders were dangerous, and often put him up against extraterrestrial threats while backing the Imperial Defense Force. He was recommended for the new position on three separate instances and each time he turned it down, for his duty was to protect the people back home. Placated by his response, the Emperor bestowed the rank of Provost to his loyal son and he was allowed access to his dynastic lineage.
Seere found out that he was one of five heirs, the original from which his 'older brothers' were cloned from. He planned to go through the files to find out where his parents were located and meet them... but nothing ever goes according to plan. He found himself staring down a Crusader demon summoner and her pets wreaking havoc on the populace. The newly promoted Provost ended up in a protracted firefight alongside a few of his brothers until it was just him against a demon prince. Out of charges on his plasma gauntlets, he produced a plasma grenade and stuck his right hand, then jammed it in the Prince's mouth.
Seere spent weeks in the ICU before being transferred to triage. His family actually visited him after that little stunt, his mother was impressed with his devotion to the cause and arranged for him to meet with his family at the next gathering. With the extended olive branch, he began to take his regimen more seriously. Weapon drills became fiercer, even T.E.S.T. Rangers were whispering about him being a hardass. Some even cracked that they were waiting for some Resistance to take them down so they wouldn't have to survive another week of the training. After meeting with his family and seeing a handful of his cousins and siblings in IDF dress uniforms, they then suggested that he request special dispensation to fight something worthy of his time... the spawn of Hamidon.
Into the Jaws of Hell Itself
Seere went into the First Ward in a borrowed uniform on a mission to cleanse the place of the wretched Devouring Earth creatures. He projected the intended proud and militant bearing and earned the respect of his erstwhile brothers in arms with his quick progress in learning how the arms and equipment of the Imperial Defense Force worked. His peerless use of the weapons earned him a reputation for a ruthless efficiency in dispatching the monsters. He stood as a proud beacon of hope and a champion of the Emperor. After a few weeks, he had topped the chart in kills per sortie, surpassing even the mighty Marauder's body count by mowing down hordes of Devouring Earth with heavy machinegun fire and well placed landmines cackling with glee.
His tour lasted three months without a hitch, and then without warning, his squad was crushed by a tentacle that burst out of a building and the debris left in its wake. Seere broke a leg and kept running while the servos did all the work, trying in vain to rescusitate his still living team. After a few moments, he had the realization that the only respite he could offer was the Emperor's mercy. He threw down a beacon for bombardment and artillery from War Works took care of the rest. After about two days, his cybernetics began to fail because of blood loss and exhaustion and he had to get underground to take a break. The entire time, he fought that terrible intelligence away from his somehow vulnerable mind.
Seere had a chance meeting with Jules, his older brother while getting respite. His brother helped make the necessary repairs to his formidable armor and cybernetics. Cut off and for all they knew abandoned. After a week, they began losing hope, and Seere couldn't shake the feeling that millions of hungry eyes were staring at him while he slept. By the second week, both were running low on ammunition and parts were cannibalized by their dead brothers and sisters of the IDF because it became quicker than replacing damaged plates. One night, while resting, the two were assailed by a Devoured Olympian. Seere and Jules fought valiantly, but it devolved into a fistfight once the ammunition was expended. They kept on fighting and Jules was severely wounded. Seere finished it off with his augmented might and sheer determination, but Jules suit's hull was compromised and the elder asked his brother to kill him while he was still human. Seere obliged him with a final prayer and thus began the tarnishing of his once faultless faith.
First Floor: Candycanes, War Works, Secret Tech Facilities
After serving three months with the IDF, Seere eventually became discontent with his job. Time spent on cleanups on dead leads became increasingly common, he would be pulled from his Monitor Sphere to put down one rogue member of Powers Division, or a squad or so of insurrectionists. When news went out about the Mediporter sabotage on Primal Earth, Seere finally snapped. Abiding the rule of his Emperor was one thing, but this was genocide. Seere left his Monitor Sphere and made his next move: he slew his own brothers in T.E.S.T., men and women he shared his hopes and dreams with, whom he'd eaten meals with, whose families he had met prior to their conditioning. By the time things got hectic, he was almost glad to be having someone shooting at him again. Once the firefight died down, Seere recalled thing left from his old life he could not afford to leave alone... his former partner.
Seere memorized Isaac's patrol schedule long before this, and used it to his advantage. He stalked his old friend for miles underground using the hot air from the sewers to mask his heat signature, ghoul activity to mask his footfalls and shadows to hide his considerable form. Every time Isaac stopped to rest, he told himself he was going to take the shot. And every time he went to make it, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The angered ex-Provost wandered up to the surface and simply left on his own. This was no longer his battle.
On his way to the Resistance headquarters, he found himself ambushed by aliens in red and white. Outnumbered ten to one, he did what any sensible T.E.S.T. operative would do: if they insisted on Police Assisted Suicide, he'd oblige them. There was a salvo of plasma, a flurry of punches, near misses with gunfire and silence. By the door, there was only a faint glow of red on his gauntlets and a faint green glow where his eyes were before finally leaving. None dared to open fire on him on the way through the sewers, those who did were glassed or left broken and battered for the ghouls to tear apart.
Defiance
Seere's betrayal ended up making it impossible to work among his peers, so everything became a sabotage effort from underground, first of all was to get people under the banner of the Resistance. He had to show them the truth: Cole was a monster. Over the course of the next few months, Seere had managed to sway the opinions of a few people in Powers Division, most notably his old friend Isaac Ellisman and a GalTech Industries employee. He slowly but surely became an icon among certain Resistance factions. While he didn't work with them officially, he was no longer PPD and was ready to reduce Ghouls, PPD, Seers, Resistance, Syndicate and all who opposed him to cinders and glass, though occasionally he was known to aid a Resistance operative or two if the cause benefited them both. This was not to say he murdered everything he came across, merely that he had no tolerance for betrayal.
Eventually, he became a sort of informant for The GalTech Industries assistant, who proved herself capable in CQC utilizing a katana. Keeping her pointed in the right direction was simple, surprisingly so. Keeping her in touch with a few contacts of his was also an alarmingly simple feat. During this time, he ended up joining the ranks of Christian James in the LSI while in Paragon City, though he was far from the most typical hero. Seere continued to keep operations going on both sides of the fence, although ouncing back and forth between dimensions became taxing on his cybernetics and he came close to burning out on multiple instances. He kept his mouth shut and his job going.
Riding the Tempest
Paragon City was a strange change of pace from Praetoria. On one hand, things were a lot more hectic, on the other hand responding to lethal force with glassing was frowned upon. This led to a lot of quarrels with his CO, who he treated impersonally, not caring whether or not anyone in the organization lived or died but rather that the job got done. The main problem with professional heroics were that on one hand, the job never truly finished because killing the bad guy always made ten more like him; on the other, his Primal counterpart was a wanted terrorist. He never meshed with the LSI well, critical of an almost totalitarian way of doing things where he had little freedoms outside of operations which he did on his own as well as questioning the judgement of his CO's wife. After a while he simply ceased caring and got his job done.
Alicia ended up joining soon after Seere's service was commended with the status of Chaser Knight, and he ended up in quite a few antagonistic relationships. Aether, for example detested his attitude and they butted heads on the regular. Eventually however, they became closer friends. Magisterum however was somehow held to a different standard and got no remarks about use of lethal force, turning the ex-Provost off to the group as a whole. As he struggled to keep the faith, he ended up developing yet another antagonistic relationship with Web, a former Chaser Knight.
No longer able to bring himself to want to work with others, he went on a journey of self-discovery. He used his stipends to purchase properties and renovated himself in order to have his own private training facilities. He purchased old military vehicles to practice on and went as far as taking on high bounties to pay for a decommissioned Russian tank. Within a few months, he found his ability to work with machinery to be rather cathartic as well as discovered a reasonable aptitude for doing so. His mood was ruined upon returning to the base when he established that he was now locked out. Enraged at his former superiors, he left Paragon seeing nothing for him there and instead striking out as a slayer of criminals.
Old Habits Die Hard
Seere's first month in Etoile was both disconcerting and familiar at the same time. Most here were guilty, most needed to be punished. He had very little to think about beyond pointing and shooting. It was an easy job for easy money. Alicia, who he began dating shortly before ended up coming with him. Much to his annoyance, she had a habit of actually being on the field with him, which resulted in bloody messes fouling up his visor (sharing the front lines with a butchering ballerina) and occasional injuries defending his girlfriend (being a protective boyfriend). At the very least he had somebody to talk to, which certainly eased the feeling of loneliness. Time passed quickly, and he went from the protector to a cold vigilante following no law system other than his own. He stood the accuser, the the world the accused, turning his back on his ideals in favor of his own brand of justice.
Seere was very "mercenary" with his work. To fund repairs to his armor and weapons, he ended up taking commissions or simply looting the target's lair after the slaughter. He also came to the Shadow Spiders for asylum... for Alicia. He was allowed brief visits, and got the feeling Alicia resented being babysat. Feeling guilty about it, he ended up cutting repairs to his armor in favor of stationary defenses. This asylum worked well, though it was attacked in a sabotage operation by an old rival. Seere's project fell apart, forcing him to start over from scratch. He was not destined to lead... only to follow, it seemed.
Reunion
Seere's operations went from small skirmishes using only the Acolyte Semi-Powered Infiltration Harness. This eventually evolved into the Zealot and later, the Disciple. During the Acolyte's reigning months, it was hit and run. The Zealot turned these into protracted firefights, and finally the Disciple turned him into a walking tank, able to resist most forms of energy and convert them into more power. Courtesy of such a large power supply, it became incredibly difficult to overload, he became incredibly difficult to kill and his agility enhancing systems made him difficult to spot. The Disciple turned the straight firefights into outright slaughters once he became quick enough to close in during reloads or strong enough to throw his own cover at the enemy.
The ex-Provost quickly gained a reputation that attracted the attention of his betters. Adam Fairfield, a fellow warrior had sought him out for help with a Praetorian defensive. Naturally, the Praetorian wished to prevent his new home from being destroyed and steps were taken to stop the IDF. When Seere came into the meeting room with the schematics on the War Walkers meant to act as Super Slayers, he had finally completed his betrayal. His aim was to kill every man, woman and machine under Cole's command. Praetor Berry and Bobcat were the choice targets, being the weakest of Cole's Praetorian Guard, but Battle Maiden planned her assault on King's Row and Steel Canyon first.
Their strike force was one of many to pursue the attacks. Hundreds were dead in the first few hours. Strike Force Razor was among the first dozen to land in King's Row. The forces of the Ascension group that had backed him would seize the station and he would fly on ahead to Steel Canyon to clear an LZ. Seere's gunship crash landed into the statue of John Knox when it was impaled by flying swords. Trapped and with no hope of rescue, faced with impossible odds and nothing but his force gauntlets, his wits and a prayer for absolution in his final hours, he planned to kill his way to freedom, or die in the attempt. But fate... had other plans.
Strike Force Razor alongside others had managed to not only secure the police station in King's Row, but also rescue a handful of police officers. Their ship was taken down, but nonetheless they ensured their new comrade wasn't left behind. After regrouping, the crew tore through the Champions of War Earth and eventually cut their way to Battle Maiden herself. After a long and bloody battle, Primal Earth was secured and the counterassault was underway.
Seere linked up with the Phoenix Company as a full time operative. War went to his old home, and Seere accompanied a strike force to Nerva to wipe out Malta and Praetorian invaders. Much like his temper, it was short and accompanied by excessive use of force. They fell easily at the hands of their offensive. After, they fought at Portal Corp's headquarters and then the streets of Neutropolis. At that point, Seere had every right to be arrogant... as Bobcat lay on the ground after being hurled off Neuron's tower and having landed right next to her boyfriend... he had won.
Faith
WIP
Broken Shield
Risen From Ashes
It Ends In Blood
And Then The Dead Will Come For You As Well
We Do Not Overlook Betrayal
The Only Choice That Matters
The Power To Do What Is Best
Informed Abilities [Alts]
Best part about the whole thing is a tactical shift takes about as long as a quick smoke. - Seere
Seere has alts. Lots... and lots... of alts. Some of them even make it to fifty! Compiling a list since there are a bunch of people who roleplay by level which I don't. I roleplay by 'prove you're a hardass'. If you can consistently kick ass and consistently do it well, I'm not going to drag you into an arena using a dated system, nor am I going to perpetuate F2Pers getting the shit end of the stick in that regard since... yeah.
- Provost Moreaux - 50 +3 Kinetic Melee / Willpower Scrapper
- Contumax Ut Terminus - 35 Time Manipulation / Beam Rifle Defender
- Agent Moreaux - 23 Street Justice / Electric Armor
Word on the Street
What others have to say about him
"Seere's a good guy, despite his short temper. I worry 'bout 'im, an' I just wish I could help more, ya know? Still, if he ever asks 'm there for 'im." - Aether
"Seere? He saved my life, gave me something to believe in after I lost my family. I never would've guessed I would fall in love with him. He is... my everything." -Alicia Trent
"He scares the shit out of me sometimes, but... he means well. If it came down to a fight, I know I can count on him to watch my back." -Malcolm Trent
"Seere is a hell of a soldier. I hate the fact that misplaced information and a lack of communication cost him as a member of LSI, and I hate the fact I was so bitter about losing him that I didn't try to bridge things. But I know wherever he is, and whatever he's doing, he's doing all he can do. That's all he's ever done." - Xeden
"I wanna light him on fire." -Web
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I promise, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't be mad!" -Gizmo
"I wanna light him on fire after that other guy does it. Kidding. Or am I? Bwahaha!" - Baron Malifico
