=====Gods===== ====Sindra=== **Purviews:** Vigilance, Carousing\\ **Bane:** Deception\\ **Aspect:** Eloquent\\ **Deed:** Wrote an account of Loki's wrongdoings and punishment that was spread across the Nine Worlds.\\ ===Quirks=== * //Dwarf Forged Item (+)// A set of bronze pipes that can produce the sound of any other instrument. * //Better when Drunk (+)// When she is three sheets to the wind, Sindra produces her finest music, and composes her most entertaining songs. * //Legendary Figure (+)// * //Vice (-)// Incredibly nosy. Sindra can't resist learning other people's secrets, even when doing so would place her in great danger. * //Link with the Chiefs (-)// Loki once tricked Sindra into spreading tales of Freyr's impotence across Asgard. Though she made abject apologies, the prideful god has not forgotten or forgiven this slur. === Background === A skaldic goddess, Sindra seeks out the hidden truths of Asgard with sharp eyes and keener ears, and from them she creates wondrous songs of them to entertain those who would invite her into their hall. Unfortunately, she has a tendency to believe too easily and is sometimes deceived into spreading false tales. Her account of Loki's part in the slaying of Baldur is considered the definitive telling of the tale, both by norse scholars and the gods themselves. ====Blindir=== **Purviews:** Weather, Vengeance\\ **Bane:** Fertility\\ **Aspect:** Wrathful\\ **Deed:** Scourged the farms of Alfheim, causing a two year famine\\ ===Quirks=== * //Dramatic Flair (+)// Always impressive, always sung in the stories. * //Legendary Figure (+)// * //Midgard Cult (+)// Worshipped by an apocalypse cult, who believe that he will come to scour the lands clean and ensure than only the strong will be there for the final battles of Ragnarok. * //...Killing Hundreds (-)// He doesn't do the subtle kinds of weather... More the hailstones as big as your head, firestorms, and freezing fog. * //Berserker (-)// === Background === Blindir, where Thor is god of thunder, lightning, and the storm that arcs across the sky, Blindir's domain is the long drought of summer, the fierce hail that has all seeking shelter, the strong winds that wreck ships against the cliffs, and the bitter cold frost that leaves the old to die in their homes. Constantly angry, constantly seeking revenge for any petty wrong, and happy to seek that revenge against your friends, your family, and everyone else in your town. ==== Goffrij ==== **Purview**: Elements (Earth)\\ **Aspect**: Handsome\\ **Deed**: Beat a jotun in a house-building contest\\ === Quirks === * //Dramatic Flair (+)// * //Fear (-)// of Hounds * //Great Hall (+)// called 'Ardskall'. Impressive and imposing in the Vanir style === Background === Goffrij is one of the minor Vanir gods that came to Asgard at the conclusion of the War of the Gods. A follower of Freyr and known to be dramatic and a show-off, one of the first things that Goffrij did was to build for himself a hall. Having some skill in the moving of earth and building, he was able to raise one to rival most other thanes. Seeing this, and being jealous, a few enterprising Aesir found a pack of rabid dogs and set them upon poor Goffrij while he was walking in the fields before Asgard. From the savaging he received he has always held a mortal fear of dogs. One of his best-known exploits was going to Jotunheim and challenging a giant to a house-building competition - although the jotun had an advantage in size and could hollow out whole stones to create the dwellings, he had not specified the size. Goffrij built significantly more, but smaller houses - suitable for the stocky dark elves. ====Lorjar==== **Purviews**: Love and Companionship, Vigilance\\ **Bane**: Wisdom\\ **Aspect**: Tough\\ **Deed**: Maintained an unresting watch outside Thor's Hall for a week to prove her love\\ ===Quirks=== * //Vice (-)// Lorjar is not judicious in her choice of partners and will fall madly in love, and lust, with someone at the drop of a hat. * //Killing Hundreds (-)// * //Prophecised Fate (-)// A wandering seer informed Lorjar that "//At Ragnarok Lorjar will forever forsake Love and Vigilance//" * //Midgard Cult (+)// * //Better When Drunk(+)// * //Link with the Chiefs(+)// Her week long vigil, and subsequent rendezvous with Thor has left her in his good graces. * //Good Neighbour(+)// === Background === As one of the Vanir accompanying their chiefs to Asgard at the end of the Aesir-Vanir war, Lorjar has had many years to become accustomed to life in Asgard. She did not disappoint in that regard, and to the inexperienced she could easily be mistaken for one of the Aesir: taking on their more boisterous and epicurean lifestyles. This is most well known in her 'seduction' of the Aesir Thor, who initially brushed her off due to not expecting to be the one seduced. Not being one to be beaten easily, she waited outside the entrance to Thor's hall. Not sleeping, eating or resting for a whole week before Thor, impressed, relented. ==== Iydjarn ==== **Purview:** Deception\\ **Aspect:** Cunning\\ **Deed:** Stole Thor’s longboat\\ === Quirks === * //Companion// (+) A partner, Thlandir, whom accompanies Iydjarn on his various hijinks, coming up with brilliant pranks to play on other gods. * //Better When Drunk// (+) “Hey, Thlandir, I’ve gotsh the besht idea ever...” * //Awful prank// (-) Having successfully stolen Thor’s longboat, he attempted to steal Loki’s, but accidentally sank it, with Loki finding out. === Background === Iydjarn looks up to Loki and seeks to cause as much mischief as the legendary god. Whilst not quite as proficient or cunning as his idol, he has in his time pulled off a number of pranks of little note, causing a little nuisance to the other Aesir, but nothing to make him known. Generally, he spends his time drinking with his partner in pranking, Thlandir, coming up with brilliant (or less than brilliant) ideas for putting one over the other gods. =====Humans===== ==== Cpt. Sameera al-Quatar ==== === Skills === **Excellent** - Commander (Non-armed subordinates), Researcher (Astrophysics)\\ **Good** - Engineer\\ **Inept** - Anthropologist, Medic\\ === Quirks === * //Rank (+)// She is an Egyptian Air Force Captain in charge of one of the top UNITED teams and a trusted operator. * //Elite Squad (+)// She has one of the best teams at UNITED's disposal. * //Specialist (+)// Dr Thames- An expert negotiator. * //Gizmo (+)// An experimental power-source based on latest ITP research. * //Dependent (-)// Dying father. * //Bad Memories (-)// Experience with experimental mind-control while held captive during the Wars. * //In the Eyes of a Politician (-)// Dr Zuberi of the SARB has made it clear to Sameera that her time at UNITED should be used to improve the profile of the South Atlantic Bloc. === Background === Captain al-Quatar joined the Egyptian Air Force not long after women were permitted into the armed forces and quickly made a name for herself as an extremely good pilot. Having acquired a Ph.D in Astrophysics beforehand, she increasingly became involved in research for alternative power sources using extra-terrestrial materials. When things didn't work out in Space and war broke out in 2047, she was involved in both flying jets and advanced research into power-efficiency and advanced weaponry. She was captured by a rogue Technocrat cell and subjected to experimental mind-control in an attempt to harvest the research she was an expert of. A friend at UNITED was able to persuade Director Jefferson to mount a special extraction operation to rescue her. Since then, UNITED have requisitioned her assistance for continued ITP research and she is permanently seconded to the UN. Indeed, she has been instrumental in the breakthroughs that have allowed the first ITP portals to be opened and was among the first to travel to AM021-X. She returned with one of the human thralls from 'Asgard', and after extensive debriefing had him added to her team, designated UNITED-11. === Squad === * Dr. Janice Thames - linguistics expert and trained negotiator, she is highly valued for her advice on ethics and communication. * Thorir Njordsson - former thrall of the Aesir who is convinced they can do nothing about Ragnarok anymore and the future of the world lies with the people of Midgard. * Hajime Yatsuda - A member of the Japanese defense force and former karate Olympian. ==== Warrant Officer (WO) Stephen Singh ==== === Skills === **Excellent**: Soldier (Close Quarters Firefights), Administrator (Troop Logistics)\\ **Good**: Diplomat\\ **Inept**: Researcher, Commander\\ ===Quirks=== * //Rank (-)// Having not been recommended to UNITED by one of the world governments but instead having been internally employed Stephen only holds the rank of Warrant Officer. * //Quartermaster's Mate (+)// Being involved with the day to day deployment and restock of UNITED's forces, Stephen is on good working terms with the folks in the research department, who can sometimes provide him with tools and weapons which are a little stronger than 'standard issue'. * //Hardened (+)// Through daily religious meditation, Stephen is able to reach a state of calm allowing him to think clearly even in the direst of circumstances. ===Background=== Being relatively unknown before stepping into the ranks of UNITED, WO Stephen Singh had been working for the Pan-Asian Cooperative for almost 20 years. Working in a vital, but thankless position, WO Singh was instrumental in the effective deployment of troops for unprovoked hostilities against the Euro-Rus Union. Realising that his role in events to come will almost certainly come back to haunt him, he fled to the US and joined UNITED, putting to use the same skill set he utilised for the PAC. ==== Anya Gracheva ==== === Skills === **Excellent**: Diplomat (Journalism), Researcher (Twisting the Truth)\\ **Good**: Anthropologist\\ **Inept**: Soldier, Medic\\ === Quirks === * Rank (-) Anya has no official ranking with UNITED, even as a civilian attaché. * External Resources (+) Europa Press, the media organization Anya works for is incredibly well-financed and is happy to back her with additional resources in her reporting at UNITED. * Vice (-) Bending the Rules. Anya has barely kept on the right side of journalistic ethics, and most would believe the methods she resorts to be not only criminal but deeply problematic. She will happily bribe and blackmail to get her way, and even doctor evidence to fit her story. * Hardened (+) Having once been a war-reporter in the Euro-Rus Union, Anya has seen an awful lot, and while it'll all stay with her, she's been hardened against the terrible and gruesome. === Background === Anya Gracheva is a high-flying reporter who earned her name as a war-reporter during the '47-'49 Wars and her reports were viewed not just in the Euro-Rus Union, but across much of the world. During this time however, she started down a slippery slope, and with the best of intentions resorted to unsavoury methods to get her stories. Breaking point was when one of her filed stories, based on circumstantial evidence, led to the end of several military careers and ultimately to increased losses in the War. Instead of backing down, unable to bear the prospect of her career collapsing, Anya fought through it and arranged for the only source who could credibly contradict her to be assassinated. More recently UNITED has agreed for limited journalistic presence following the development of a working inter-terrestial portal. Major media organisations were allowed to pick journalists for the task and Gracheva was sent by Europa Press. ==== Dr. Sally Blackbird ==== === Skills === **Excellent:** Medic (Reconstructive Surgery), Researcher (Cybernetics)\\ **Good:** Diplomat\\ **Inept:** Anthropologist, Scout\\ === Quirks === * //Rank// (+) Blackbird is a respected surgeon in her field and the go-to cybernetics expert in UNITED * //Quartermaster’s Mate// (+) Very friendly with whoever’s in charge of medical equipment * //Specialist// (+) Blackbird’s squad features a medic she herself has trained. * //Gizmo// (+) Surgically implanted vision improvement * //Dark Past// (-) Under the name of Katie Raven, she developed cybernetics during the war that malfunctioned and caused grizzly and painful deaths for all test subjects. * //Lilly-livered// (-) “I’m a world class reconstructive surgeon, not a fighter!” * //Rival// (-) Sally has a rival in surgery who keeps showing her up by pulling off slightly more miraculous feats than herself. === Background === Dr Sally Blackbird has been working in reconstructive and experimental surgery for half of her life, making leaps and saving lives from otherwise debilitating injuries. Of more recent years she’s been researching ground-breaking cybernetics (well, they’ll be ground-breaking when she gets them to work) and working with UNITED on their projects. She claims to have gone to university in London and Oxford, but her past is rather hazy, and the first actual evidence of “Sally Blackbird” existing came after a particularly grizzly war, coincidental with the disappearance of wanted war criminal “Katherine Raven”. === Bio === Dr Sally Blackbird is a world class surgeon, specialising in reconstructive (often miraculous) surgery at finer definition than many surgeons in the same field. === Squad === * Dr George Clarkson * Dr Amelia Williams * Dr John Holmes – trained by Blackbird herself ==== Lt. John Krawford ==== === Skills === **Excellent:** Scout (Harsh terrain survival), Soldier (Hand to hand Combat)\\ **Good:** Commander\\ **Inept:** Researcher, Engineer\\ === Quirks === * //Elite force// (+) Krawford's scout squad are all hardened veterans. * //Specialist// (+) Krawford's squad features a renowned sniper. * //Hardened// (+) Krawford's numerous scrapes with situations he shouldn't have survived have left him apathetic to the possibility of death. * //Asgardian Blood// (+) This is only visible in Krawford's eyes which when looked at closely seem to swirl like a gathering storm. * //Dark Past// (-) In a previous life and name Krawford was a corporate assassin before the going got too hot. * //Corporate backing// (-) Krawford was set up at united as part of his retirement deal he's still not quite sure why though. * //Vice// (-) Krawford has always been more prideful than he should and has on numerous occasions boasted about operational details best kept secret. ===Squad=== * Sergeant Traviss - Gruff spoken demolitions expert. * Corporal Slim - Never speaks, sniper specialist * Private Billy Haord - Squad medic and expert at keeping you alive until your back at base === Background === John Krawford spent most of his life living under the name of Miles Brake moving in the shadowy world of corporate espionage and removal. However recently his cover was blown after a particularly disastrous job and he was forced to take the out offered to him and join united with corporate backing. His skills put him in good stead at united however and he soon made a name for himself leading an elite recon team. He specialises in being the first into dangerous situations and then getting out again with information for others to utilise. === Bio === A relatively recent addition to UNITED. Krawford commands a recon squad and is known for heading in first and somehow coming back as well.