Name: Tunnel-Rat

Assault Specialist

Tunnel-Rat
Agent of S.C.O.R.P.I.O.
Player: @RPAngel1
SCORPIO Intel
Division:	Spec-Ops
Rank:	Operative
Origin/AT:	Natural/Blaster
Security Level:	50
Agent Personal Data
Real Name:	Catalina Marin Vasquez
Known Aliases:	None
Species:	Human
Age:	32 (Born 1979)
Height/Weight:	5'6" / 122lbs
Eye/Hair Color:	Blue / Black
Citizenship:	United States
Current Residence:	Founders Falls
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Mother (Deceased), Father
Known Powers
None
Training / Abilities
Specialized Military Training
Equipment
See "Equipment"
Footnotes
Assault/Tactics Specialist

Overview

Catalina Vasquez is a highly trained assault specialist. Her specialties include evasion, survival, demolitions and assault tactics. She has a reputation for being tough as nails after surviving a suicide mission in Somolia. Her petite size allows her easily traverse small tunnels and caves, and those dark places are where she feels the most comfortable, earning her the nickname "Tunnel-Rat".

Appearance

Catalina Vasquez is now in her early 30's. She has long black hair and blue eyes. Her spanish heritage is reflected in her dark olive skin, and her duties require her to stay in top physical shape. She maintaines a lean but strong build. While she does carry a few scars from combat, none are over obvious or even visible while she's in uniform. She seems to carry most of her scars on the inside, especially after a grueling and deadly mission in Somolia.

Ever since Somolia, Vasquez paints her face with a white skull before missions. Some people say it's a reminder of her own mortality. If asked, Vasquez would probably just say she does it because it scares people. The truth is that she knows that by all accounts she should have died in Somolia. She feels she was "raised from the dead" to continue fighting...and it scares people.

Personality

Vasquez is as far from "proper" as a woman can get. She smokes, drinks, and swears like a sailor. She's also highly motivated and finds comfort in her belief in the chain of command. For Vasquez, morality almost never factors into her actions. She follows orders, and those orders justify her actions. She believed in a strong team, and taking care of each other. She'll go to just about any lengths to protect her teammates, almost to a fault. Her concept of team and trust is one of the few situations that can cause her morality to override her orders.

Powers and Abilities

Offense

AR-9 "Revenant" Rifle - The AR-9 is a custom rifle presented to Vasquez after her return from Somolia. While the Vanguard "Redding" Rifle is preferred by many, Vasquez always felt it was too large and bulky. The AR-9 was made by Pegasus with the same capabilities, but smaller and sleeker. Perfect for a Tunnel-Rat. Even the name was custom, Nine (AR-9) was the number of teammates who died in Somolia, and "Revenant" was a clear reference to Vasquez herself. It is her prized possesion.

Trip Mines - High Powered Mines built with close range motion sensors. A few of these set up before a fire fight, made sure that enemy forces who tried to close in met with a deadly suprise.

Tracking Drone - This small robotic drone has one purpose. It constantly scans the local area for threats and transmits that data back to the user. The drone uses a vast array of detection methods including motion and thermal. This allows the operator to more accurately engage targets.

Long Range Missile (LMR) - This RPG style missile is carried in Vasquez's pack. Like an RPG it can be quickly loaded into the AR-9 and fired. The explosive power of the LMR is impressive and can easily take out a group of enemies or enemy vehicles.

Defense

Cloaking Device - This device is able to bend light around the user. While it does not grant complete invisibility, it does provide advance camoflage making detection increasingly difficult.

Tear Gas Grenades - These grenades release a concentration of tear gas in a small area. Visibility and ability to visually focus on targets is severely hampered. These grenades can be used by themselves in a firefight, or in conjunction with the cloaking device to aid in evasion or escape.

Survelliance Equipment - While in combat, this equipment can scan an opponent. That data is cross-referenced against all data contained in a databases, and quickly provides data on weaknesses and vulnerabilities. If there is a kink in every set of armor, this equipment is made to find, and exploit it.

History

Early Life

Catalina was born in the United States. Her mother died during childbirth, so she was raised by her father who was an Army soldier. As most military does, they moved around from base to base. While her father was proud of his Spanish heritage, that pride never really rubbed off on Cat who didn't really care about her heritage. Catalina spent most of her time at home with her dad and surrounded by other Army grunts. They're manners and attitudes soon began to bub off on Cat. While she did good in school, she often got in trouble for using bad language that she had heard. She also got in trouble more than once for fighting. One day after another little girl pushed Cat to the ground during recess, Cat responded my punching the little girl in the face.

While her father discouraged this behavior, the other soldiers would come to the house. When they heard these stories they would laugh and high five Cat, which just made things worse. By the time she was in High School, Cat had a reputation for being a girl not to be messed with. Still, she was never a bully. She simply protected herself and her friends. She was very active, and always seemed to be involved in some sort of sports. Field Hockey was the only girls sport that allowed a decent amount of physical contact, so of course it was Cat's favorite. She stayed in top shape, often working out or simply trying to out push-up or sit-up her dads Army friends. Being a bad girl, she attracted the bad boys. Much to the dismay of her father and the amusement of his follow soldiers, she seemed to be surrounded by muscle cars, cigarretes, and underage drinking.

Once she graduated, she didn't waste any time enlisting into the US Army. She had grown up around it, and idolized her father and his friends. Her father was pleased with the choice, hoping the Army would give her focus and discipline.

U.S. Army

Catalina was already in fantastic shape when she joined the Army, and she already had much of the soldiers attitude. She excelled at the physical training, easily outperforming the other girls in training, and some of the boys. She held her composure when she was being screamed at, and always followed her orders to the letter. Army boot camp was the perfect place for the ultimate tomboy.

She excelled again during the Army team building excerises, and she demontrated both the ability to lead and follow. Later during rifle qualifications, she scored 40 of 45, earning her the Marksman ribbon. Her squadmates respected her abilities and drive, and they respected that she would pull her own weight. Her Training Instructors were also impressed with her, though they would never say as much to any recruit. She graduated basic training with honors, and was assigned to her first platoon.

Green Berets

Just over 3 years into her 4 year tour, Cat applied for Green Beret school, but was turned down because she was a woman. She took 30 days of leave, and travelled to the Green Beret training site in N.C. There she spoke to the members of the Cadre and offered a strange proposition. She wanted to take the course "Unoffically". Meaning she would try to endure their two weeks of hell, knowing that she could not be selected. If she survived, and "would" have been selected, they would give her a recommendation letter and help her get waivered to become a Green Beret.

Impressed by the young woman, the Cadre conferred and examined thier regulations. They decided to let her try to complete the course, even though she could not be selected. Since she was on leave, they simply classified it as "High Risk Activity" and made her sign a waiver. They assigned her Candidate Number 1, warning her "Number 1 never makes it", to which she replied, "Then I guess I'll break tradition twice Sergeant."

Over the following two weeks, Cat fought through the grueling training. She never gave up, never said she couldn't do something, and never asked or accepted any special treatment. It was the toughest training she had been through. People dropped around her as time went on, but each person that she saw quit, only made her want to keep going. She knew all eyes were on her, and she was going to prove that she could do it.

She survived the training. They gathered the remaining recruits, and began to announce those that had been selected. Even though she knew she couldn't be selected, a part of her still hoped to hear her name. After the last name had been called, they called Catalina to the front of the formation. The Cadre praised her efforts and announced that she would have been selected if it had been in thier power to do so. They presented her with the Green Beret badge, and told her that she had thier support.

The Cadre held up to thier end of the deal. They wrote recommendation letters, called every contact, and pulled every string. Eventually, Catalina was waivered and allowed to become a Green Beret. However, she was still not allowed to fight on the front lines, which limited what she could actually do. However, once your out in the field, whos to say what rules you followed or didn't follow. Her time spent working with the Green Berets was the highlight of her military career, and despite her "restrictions", whenever firefights broke out, Cat was always there, fighing along side her team. When questioned, her teammates adamantly denied her being involved, simply saying that she was only there in a support capacity.

Her efforts and reputation had made it beyond the Army however. She had caught the attention of a multi-national army under control of the U.N. This organization called itself, "Pegasus".

Pegasus

When Cat was picked up to join Pegasus, she was skeptical and nervous. She wasn't looking forward to trying to prove herself in yet another orgainzation. She was flown to Madrid, Spain and met at the airport by an Army liason. He drove her to the Pegasus base of operations and training ground. When she arrived, there were troops doing PT outside, but things seemed calm. She grabbed her bags and headed to her barracks.

When she walked into the barracks, her fears were quickly laid to rest. The female barracks were full of other women, who welcomed Cat with friendly smiles. After getting her bags settled, they took her to the mess hall for dinner. There she realized that most of the women there were just like her. Tough capable women, who had been denied forward positions because they were female. Pegasus allowed them to fight as equals. They had found a home here, and Cat knew that she would too.

The men in Pegasus were also friendly, coming from all walks of life. Everyone accepted each other, and treated each other like family. They ate and joked, telling stories from previous missions. By the end of the night, Cat felt like she belonged and was already looking forward to starting new advanced training with her new family.

While combat was a part of the job, Pegasus itself was a peacekeeping organization. Thier training involved not only combat and tactics, but also logistics that included relief to war torn contries. Like Cat herself, Pegasus wasn't a bully but it protected itself and others. The training at Pegasus wasn't people screaming and working out until you puked. It was calm and measured, intructors instructed and taught like mentors.

One thing that Cat learned about herself during this training was that she had a very good sense of direction. They would put her in small caves or tunnels, and she could always seem to find her way without getting turned around. Her smaller frame allowed her to navigate through tight spaces more easily, and the muck and grime of the sewers didn't phase her. She would often crawl out completely covered in the most disqusting substances with a big grin on her face. Followed by her running around trying to hug everyone as they fleed laughing. Her knack with that field of training earned her the nickname "Tunnel-Rat", a nickname that she wore like a badge of honor.

Tunnel-Rat or "Rat" as she was affectionatly called, was placed on a 10 member crew designated as "Whiskey Team". Together with her team, Rat served in various regions of the world. sometimes they fought to provide freedom and relief, and sometimes they simply provided a vigil to maintain that freedom and peace.

Whiskey Team

Steven "Big Daddy" Cosby = Team Leader

Lyle "Dynamite" Richards = Explosives Specialist

Patricia "Nerd" McCarthy = Computer Specialist

Bradley "Chatter" Clark = Communications Expert

Catalina "Tunnel-Rat" Vasquez = Infiltration/Assault Specialist

Matthew "Gearhead" Frey = Vehicle/Equipment Maintenance

Joshua "Nuke" Luke = Heavy Weapons Specialist

Preston "Flyboy" Carter = Air Support/Expert Pilot

Mira "Trigger" Johnson = Ranged Support/Sniper

Peter "Beatdown" Bryer = Close Combat Specialist

Somolia

After 3 years on Whiskey Team, they recieved an assignment in Somolia. The people of Somolia had always suffered under the Warlords there, but the constant struggle and conflict between Warlords had taken a even greater toll on the people. Whiskey Team was chosen to go in and secure peace, even if that meant breaking the Warlords. They were given a contact inside Somolia, a local to act as a guide. They packed thier gear, and headed to thier new destination.

Once they arrived, they met with they're guide and began thier mission. Over the following weeks they provided relief to the local population, constantly staying on the move to avoid detection by the Warlords. They had arrived in a new village and were awaiting a relief supply drop from Flyboy. They could see the helicopter in the distance hauling a crate of supplies. As the chopper got closer, the guide had caught Big Daddy's attention. The guide was sweating, nervously fidgeting. Suddenly a volley of RPG's covered the skies. Daddy shouted for everyone to take cover as the guide fled the scene quickly. One of the RPG's hit the Helo, the firey wreckage crashing just outside thier position.

Mortars and gunfire began to rain down on the team. The guide had betrayed them to one of the Warlords. A small stone building was the only viable cover in the area, and while the building provided cover from gunfire, it also made them sitting ducks. It was a no win situation, and they all knew it. Whiskey Team fought bravely, killing dozens of enemy soldiers. Then they heard the whistling sounds of incoming RPG's. In the final moments of the battle, Beatdown threw Rat to the ground, laying on top of her to cover her from the blast the best he could.

One of the RPG's scored a direct hit on the building. Shortly after, enemy troops moved into the destroyed compound to find all of Whiskey Team dead. They dragged the bodies outside, stripping them of thier equipment before burying them in a shallow mass grave. Later that day, Rat woke up. Beatdown's final actions had saved her life. She awoke to darkness, barely able to breath. Trigger's body laid on top of her. Confused, injured and panicked, Rat dug her way out from under Trigger's body. Luckily, the grave was shallow and the collapsing dirt from Rat's movement revealed pinholes of light. Rat emerged from the grave, alive but changed forever.

The enemy troops had long since left. Rat laid on the ground, feeling the heat from the sun shine on her face. She finally sat up and began digging away the dirt of the mass grave. One by one, she pulled out her teammates. She pulled thier bodies to the remains of the small building, and covered them in thier ponchos. Taking one of the Dogtags from each of them, she slid them one by one onto her own chain. She would carry them with her forever.

She had no equipment or weapons, and only one viable option. It was dangerous, but by all accounts she should already be dead. She had nothing to lose, and all she cared about was killing the Northern Warlord, the one that had killed her team. So she travelled south, into the territory of the opposing warlord. She was quickly picked up by those enemy forces and brought to the Warlord himself. The southern Warlord believed she had come to try to kill him. She explained that it was in fact the other Warlord she intended to kill. She asked for weapons, and a diversion. In exchange, she would kill the opposing Warlord, and secure his factions dominance in the area. If she succeeded he would gain much, and if she failed he would lose nothing.

There was no downside to her proposition, and as he looked into her eyes he could see that nothing short of death would stop her from killing that man. The Warlord agreed to her proposition. He gave her weapons and a small group of poorly trained men to act as a diversion. She sat inside a small room by herself, loading her weapons and preparing for what could be her final battle. There was a small container of a white paint like substance in the room, the somoli forces sometimes used it to paint thier faces before battle. She stared at it for a moment before turning her gaze to a small mirror in the room.

When she emerged from that room, she had painted her face with a white skull. She was ready to fight, and if need be, to die again. Her and her small force travelled north again, to the opposing Warlords stronghold. Her small team began a useless frontal assault, firing their weapons from cover, but drawing the attention of those inside. As they fought, Rat emerged silently from a grate near the center of the stronghold. Silently using her knife, she killed several guards before moving into the main compound. Once inside, there was no subtlety. She ran through the compound like a demon, spraying bullets at anything that moved. Forces from the outside entered the building to provide back-up, but they were killed by a grenade boobytrap left at the door. She worked her way through the compound in a sea of gunfire and explosions, killing everyone in her path until she reached the Warlord himself. As he fired at her, she aimed for his legs and returned fire. Bullets tore through his knees as he fell to the ground. Rat moved in quickly, kicking away the Warlords weapon. She drew her knife and straddled across him. She saw fear in his eyes as he looked at her. She plunged her knife into his heart, her eyes never leaving his as she watched the life drain from him.

Once he was dead, she picked up her rifle and headed back outside. She continued fighting, the poorly trained soldiers were no match her her especially with thier leader dead. Finally, the compound was quiet. She opened the front doors and waved her diversion team inside. When they entered, the bloodbath inside stopped them in thier tracks. She told them to head south and pass on the message that the job was done. One of the fighters, looking at Rat's bloody and weary face, lit a small cigar and handed it to her with a respectful nod. They left to head back south. Rat just sat still, smoking her cigar. Her fingers played with the dogtags on her chain. She finally stood up and found a radio. She called for extraction, and met the Helo at the small building where she had left her team. They all went home together.

Aftermath

Rat returned to Madrid as a hero. Not only had she survived, but she avenged her teams death, and accomplished her origional mission. By killing the Nothern Warlord, she had in fact stopped the conflict. She was treated for her injuries, and spent the next week in the Hospital. She attended the funerals for her teammates, and took comfort seeing them recieve a proper military burial.

After her debriefing, Rat was like a folk hero to those in Pegasus. Her friends often asked her about it, but she never spoke of Somolia again. Pegasus had petitioned for Rat to recieve the US Medal of Honor, since she was a US Soldier. Although her accomplishments had more than warrated it, the mission into Somolia was still classified, and so the medal was denied.

However, she was presented with a special gift from the members of Pegasus. The AR-9 "Revenant" Rifle, was custom made for Rat and presented to her in front of her peers. Rat accepted the weapon quietly. As she looked it over. she saw the dogtags of her 9 fallen teammates were inlayed into the sides of the rifle. She broke into tears, falling to her knees on the stage. The rifle is now her prized possesion.

She was given leave to recover from the incident. She returned a month later, stronger than ever and ready to go back to work. Every mission that came after, Rat painted her face with a white skull, as she did in Somolia. She contunied to serve with distinction, never leaving a teammate behind, and always completing her mission.

S.C.O.R.P.I.O.

(Strategic Command Objective for Research, Protection + Interdictive Operations)

Equipment

Wrist Comm Unit

The SCORPIO wrist communications unit is an interesting technology developed by Singer Defense Systems for SCORPIO Agents. It is in essence a highly advanced computer capable of tracking mission data, interfacing with satellite scans and collected intelligence, providing a communications interface.

- Unit acts as a basic datapad, able to store and retrieve data from robotic systems/androids/etc., the SCORPIO database, other computers (via a direct link or wireless transceiver), comm signals, and standard datacards.

- Wrist link allows Vasquez to open base and teleportation portals and receive signals from her surveillance gear. This Comm Unit was incorperated into her L.E.E.C.H. gauntlet system.

Anti-Gravity Harness:

- Standard issue SCORPIO device located within the lining of Agents' 'stealth' harness and belt.

- Can be used on 'low' for greater jumping in combat, 'medium' for a sort of 'super' jump, and 'high' for flight. Follows directional touch control commands located in the palm of Agents' gloves.

MediPort Beacon:

- Monitors vital signs in the wearer and prompts a teleport to the nearest hospital in case of an emergency. Can also be activated manually.

Customized SCORPIO uniform:

- 8-ply kevlar panels (able to withstand ballistic impact up to .45 caliber bullets)

- "Atlex 5" a fire-resistant material that withstand temperatures of up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit.