Skeletal
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Skeletal in S.C.O.R.P.I.O. Spec-Ops gear. | |
| Skeletal | |
| Player: @Beta Ray | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Defender |
| Security Level: | 29 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Infiltrator A-600, serial no. 8243783-782573 |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human/Mechanical Cyborg |
| Age: | 44 months since activation sequence |
| Height: | 5' 10 1/2" |
| Weight: | 460 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Grey |
| Hair Color: | White |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | English (alternate timestream) |
| Occupation: | Superhero, formerly Governmental Assassin / Covert Operative |
| Place of Birth: | Lancaster, England (Place Constructed) |
| Base of Operations: | London, England (alternate timestream) |
| Marital Status: | N/A |
| Known Relatives: | N/A |
| Known Powers | |
| Enhanced Visual Spectrums, Increased Density/Toughness, Self-Repair, Moderate Appearance Modification and Personality Mimicry, Radio/Data Packet Transmission | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Extensive unarmed combat and weapons usage programming | |
| Equipment | |
| 60 lb. Steel Compound bow and various arrows | |
| ' | |
Contents |
Activation and Government Career
Infiltrator Cyborg 8243783-782573 was activated in a secret factory in Lancaster, in the Holy English Empire, on 5th October, 2046. Its battle software and loyalty hardwiring was installed to normal specifications, and the unit passed all relevant Surveillance Ministry diagnostics.
Like most A-600 Infiltrators in service at the time, the unit was used primarily for surveillance of the domestic populace and the rooting out of hidden traitors. It passed successfully for a munitions assembler in Bath, a policewoman in Glasgow, and a hoverbike messenger in the Imperial Colony of New York, each time uncovering a terrorist resistance cell and reporting back for reprogramming and new identity installation.
On 15th June 2049, the unit was requisitioned by Lord Roger Whittington for a special assignment. Its weapons handling routines were upgraded, experimental Covert Jungle Warfare software was installed, and it was paradropped into Her Majesty's Colony of Burma, where the barbarian Capitalist and Individualist forces had not yet completely come round to the pleasure and benefits derived from dedicated service to Queen and Empire. Armed conflict in the swamps and jungles of Burma was constant and especially deadly.
The unit performed admirably, and resistance in the Colony was soon back within acceptable levels. Lord Whittington (now also named Duke of Surtsey by the Crown in recognition of his victories) was said to be especially pleased with the cyborg, nicknaming it "Skeletal" after its habit of taking massive damage and continuing to operate with only the barest bits of flesh clinging to its metal endoskeleton. Reports that Lord Whittington accompanied the unit back to London and that it rode in the passenger compartment instead of the cargo bay are most assuredly untrue.
Capture and Reprogramming
In preparation for its next assignment, "Skeletal" was memory-wiped and installed with a new personality matrix - a concert violinist, undercover at the renowned London Crown Orchestra. Though the Orchestra was reputed to be a hotbed of heretical Democracy activists, this was considered a comparably simple assignment, and speculation abounded in the Ministry that Lord Whittington was "rewarding" the unit for its admirable performance in Burma. However, the A-600 never completed a single situation report or filed any Treason Notices from its assignment. Skeletal had been captured.
Older Infiltrator models had occasionally been captured or deactivated by the Resistance, but this was the first known reprogramming of an A-600. Crown operatives reported seeing Skeletal over the next six months at a number of attacks on Royal property, pro-democracy demonstrations, and assisting in the escape of convicted criminals from the Tower of London.
After the events of the Battle of Wembley Stadium on 26 December 2049, the A-600 cyborg was recaptured and the members of its Resistance cell were executed. Unfortunately its programming proved difficult to purge. After several attempts, the cyborg was scheduled for destruction. Lord Whittington, still grateful for Skeletal's vicious effectiveness and loyalty (which had furthered his career at the Ministry to a large extent), called in a favor at the Ministry of Time. Just before Her Majesty's War Party brought Timestream 426 into the Crown's benevolent embrace, the Skeletal unit was deposited into an uncharted timestream, in an eddy that sent it back approximately 40 years.
Arrival in New Timestream
Powers and Skills
All powers derive from inherent cyborg composition and equipment, and related programming.
Cyborg Abilities
- Increased Density and Toughness
- Enhanced Visual Spectrum / Compositional Analysis
- Radio/Wireless Data Interception and Transmission
- Audio and Video Recording (maximum data storage size: 256 exabytes)
- Enhanced Running and Jumping
- Appearance Modification
Installed Skills
- Military Tactics / Covert Warfare
- Weapons Handling
- Interrogation Techniques
- Personality Emulation
Equipment
Personality / Current Programming
Current Directives
Skeletal was re-programmed by members of a democratic resistance front in an unknown alternate future. Although she can interpret her directives autonomously and learn new skills, she is incapable of true independent thought, or of altering this programming herself. Skeletal is currently programmed with the following operational directives:
1. Protect The Innocent
2. Uphold Democracy / Resist Tyranny
3. Obey Chain of Command
4. Maintain Optimum Effectiveness and Continued Operation
Personality & Behavior
Skeletal cannot be said to have much of a personality of her own. She is a machine fulfilling her programming to the best of her ability. Although she is capable of near-perfect imitation of a human being, her current programming does not call for her to do so, and she makes no effort to hide her nature. As such, she can be perceived as humorless, stilted, and never relaxed. She stares directly, unblinking at whomever she speaks with. She waits motionlessly at a gathering point for a mission to begin. She barks orders in the field of combat and issues reports regarding her combat strategies and operating status.
Occasionally a turn of phrase or behavioral tic will surface from one of Skeletal's previous identities. She treats these occurrences as minor imperfections in her operation. She does not appear to be curious about them or the people, long since dead, that they represent.
Personality Matrix Fragments
During her years of operation as an infiltrator of "terrorist" organizations, the Skeletal cyborg was installed with a number of personality matrices. These matrices are painstakingly compiled from audio and video surveillance, medical records, social history, psychological analysis, and holographic imaging software. They are intended to provide complete social and physical camouflage upon the subject's abduction or murder, and replacement with an Infiltrator.
After completion of an Infiltrator's mission, the matrix is purged from the cyborg, rendering it an essentially blank slate for a new personality to be installed, and a new mission assigned.
The installation and removal of these personality matrices by the Ministry of Security is an imperfect process. As a result, Skeletal retains bits and fragments of some personalities she has previously adopted. She will occasionally lapse into a pattern of speech or express a desire that is inconsistent with her programming or irrelevant to her mission as a superhero and SCORPIO operative.
A sampling of previous personalities that Skeletal has been programmed with:
- Victoria Truman, a munitions factory worker from Bath. Loves green tea. Mother to a seven-year-old son, Jack.
- Hailey Wright, a hoverbike messenger from New York City. Brash, foul-mouthed, and prone to fighting and drinking binges. Amateur kung fu aficionado.
- Carla Chambliss, a corrupt policewoman in Glasgow. Known to play local gangs against each other, traffic in narcotics and other illegal product, and allow herself to be openly bribed.
