"Iām the nicest psycho youāll ever meet, sweetheart."
THE PROFILE
Name: Rhys (pronounced āReeseā) Wilcox
Nickname: Gale, Rhys, Asshole (definitely with a capital āAā).
Title: The Tempest; formerly Captain Wilcox of the Thirteenth Regiment of the Sky
Species: Human
Race: Cyborg
Visual Age: 22
Factual Age: 29
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual, but picky.
Role: Tailor/Second Mate
Class: Engineer
Specialization: Mech Pilot
Theme Song: Black Sabbath- āIron Manā
THE DIAGNOSTICS
Hair: Green- nobodyās really sure why. Rhys acts like thereās a story there, but heās not going to do more than tease if anyone asks him. Thereās a white streak about two inches wide starting at five inches above his right ear- he suffered an injury there and the hair grew back without pigment.
Facial Hair: None- heās meticulous about that.
Eyes: Eerie, kind of luminescent gold; wide, but fairly narrow in terms of height. Usually squinting a bit.
Eye Brows: Also green, which only seems to fuel further speculation. The left one is pierced.
Ears: Unremarkable, though each has several holes which may or may not have anything in them depending on the day.
Nose: Eh, it fits his face. Straight, on the pointy end of things.
Lips: Neither terribly thin nor anywhere close to pouty.
Build: Tall. And how. Being a pilot and a soldier also requires absurd levels of fitness, and it shows. His iota of natural fat was scared away by the training like the nerd who stumbled upon a bunch of Navy SEALs at a bar.
Skin Tone: Rather white. Thereās no sunlight around and he doesnāt have the genetics for anything else.
Height: 6ā7ā
Weight: 190
Voice: At 0:09
Handed: He was left-handed as a child, but forced to learn how to do everything with his right, so now has something resembling ambidexterity.
Body Markings: None
Scar Tissue: Underneath his clothing, there are scars various and sundry, most of them he doesnāt really remember how he acquired, as there are quite a number. Somehow, his face has thus far remained unscathed.
Unique Body Features: Though one couldnāt tell, much of his central nervous system has been replaced with cybernetics. The scars from the surgeries are underneath his clothing, but would be readily apparent otherwise.
THE DOSSIER
Quirks: Rhys tends to stare unabashedly when something catches his attention. This, he has been told several times, is unnerving as hell. Also prone to falling asleep just about anywhere. He seems very lethargic in general, and does everything with a kind of deliberate languidness and condescending laziness. Oh, heāll follow an order, but on his own terms, in his own time.
Virtue/Creed: āThe perfect day involves exactly three things: A good fight, some new loot, and a long nap.ā
Motivation: Sometimes Rhys feels like heās the only actual damn pirate on the ship. He wants money, adventure, and the ability to wantonly destroy things.
Goal: Get rich and break stuff.
Fear: That heāll spend the rest of his life incurably bored and entirely impoverished. ā¦Or that heāll be, yāknow, caught by the Empire and executed for desertion or whatever.
Likes
- Destroying things- he crossed the line into dangerous sadism a long time ago and hasnāt looked back.
- Sewing- and if youāre inclined to mock him for it, wellā¦ see #1. Donāt mess with the tailor-man.
- Sleeping- probably the closest thing Rhys has to a hobby that doesnāt get people killed. Only because sewing is more of a lifestyle.
- His mech- makes #1 much easier, and rather entertaining also.
- Messing with people- oh, he wonāt lie to you, at least not frequently. But heāll tell the truth in the most painful way possible, or make cryptic statements and leave you to stew in them. Heās an ass like that.
Dislikes
- The Sky Faction Military- Itās a long story, but mostly involves him killing things like he was supposed to and then getting court-marshaled for it. He tends to attack uniformed Sky Factioners on sight.
- Those with āholier-than thouā attitudes- give it a rest, nobodyās perfect, and heāll be the first to remind you of this fact. Bluntly and cruelly.
- Pity- as far as Rhys is concerned, pity is how people who think theyāre better than you remind you of it. This connects very closely with #2.
- Sticks in the mud- if you take yourself too seriously, youāre just asking for it.
- Being interrupted while sleeping- unless itās an emergency, leave him the hell alone.
Strengths: Physical combat is kind of his thing. Heās better close-up than too far off, but not completely hopeless at any range. Heās also a pretty savvy guy, and not bad with figuring out how people tick, though most of the time he doesnāt care enough to try. Heās also just bloody lucky somehow, if chaos theory is your thing.
Weaknesses: He doesnāt always play nice with others, and tends to end up in the thick of a confrontation without thinking it through. This is not because heās actually an idiot, but rather because he rather prefers to be in situations where heās in more danger and thus doesnāt really bother strategizing too much.
Physical Description: Tall, muscular, and possessed of excellent posture, Rhysās physicality practically screams āsoldier.ā His appearance is an interesting study in contradiction: though he dresses well, his clothes are often rumpled or askew, and his hair is almost always mussed. Though he has the bearing of a clean-cut military man, he moves about lazily, as though without discernible motivation, has multiple piercings, and keeps his (very soft) coif just below the nape of his neck. To spite what seems like carelessness, though, his stare is acute, sharp, observant- he doesnāt miss much. His expression seems to be a cocky smirk by default, and the fact that he has to literally look down his nose at most people doesnāt really help matters.
Heās been shaded with an interesting palette for a human- the hair especially is most unusual. Green after the manner of grass, with an inexplicable white streak. Given his apparent youth, thereās no way itās premature aging, but only a few people know that it marks an old injury and also the installation of a mechanical device. His eyes are strangely backlit, sort of like a catās are, and this too makes no sense. It is speculated that there must be some majnun in his heritage somewhere, perhaps all the way back before the humans ascended into the sky, but why it took this many generations to present in so strong a manner is unknown to him. He also doesnāt really give a shit.
Between the height, the slightly-malicious facial expression and the careless ease that pervades everything he does, we have here a rather intimidating figure. No, he is not a wall of a person like the first mate, nor are his cybernetic parts as obvious as the captainās, but thereās something just a littleā¦ off about him in the right situations.
Personality Description: Rhys is, essentially, a high-functioning sociopath, at least in some ways. Despite his tendency to say very blunt, often cruel things without apparent regard for how they make people feel, his personality is actually a rather charming one, in its own sort of way. Heās got an acidic wit, and when directed against someone else, itās terribly funny.
Heās not really emotive beyond the occasional burst of rage or perhaps bloodlust, but most people are unlikely to provoke him to this. Unlike the average sociopath, he doesnāt lie nearly as often as he could, and only really keeps a lid on the things he doesnāt want anyone else to know. Even then, heāll usually inform the person asking that heās choosing not to answer by saying something outrageous or very, very obscure. Still, in the end heās almost entirely self-interested, and has difficulty bringing himself to care about anyone else. He feels some marginal connection to the crew at large, and has an old friendship with the Captain, but the psychological fracture he endured a few years ago has made most social relations dysfunctional at best.
He has a deep and abiding hatred for the Sky Faction, one of the reasons he fell in with the Asura in the first place. That said, pretty much any authoritarian structure pisses him off, and heād probably flip the bird to Thee Ascent as well, given the opportunity. Not really all that able to fear, heās definitely reckless enough to risk something like that. He thinks of himself as one of the underdogs, and connected to people whoāve dealt with being second-class for who knows how long, but really, this connection is no deeper than anything else heās capable of.
Itās strange though. For all heās a completely irredeemable, belligerent heel, thereās something almostā¦ kind about him at times. Beyond the illusion of charm and the cruel wit, thereās something else, though heād never admit to it. The most likely situation in which one might see this elusive trait is in the company of children, when heās sure nobodyās watching. Even a complete ass has lines he wonāt cross. Or at least thatās how he justifies it to himself.
THE TALENTS
[Perfect] - [Excellent] - [Good] - [Above Average] - [Average] - [Below Average] - [Poor] - [Very Poor]
Combat Prowess
Excellent Hand-to-Hand Combat: Well, his arms arenāt made of giant chunks of metal, but heās been messing people up weaponless since he was a kid. The military made full use of this and a professional pugilist of Rhys; itās how he fights while in his mech, too.
Good Melee Combat: He can pick something up and smack you around with it, if thatās what youāre asking. Not his preferred method, of course, but workable if necessary.
Good Armed Combat: Heās not exactly a crack shot, but Rhys can manage all right with a gun. Bows are another story; he knows the principles involved but has never had a reason to use one, being from a city with, well, guns.
Poor Magic Combat: He canāt fight with it, but for some reason he can tell when magic is about to be used. Itās nothing terribly-useful, but if he concentrates, he can give himself a few seconds to prepare for an incoming spell. This is the primary reason he believes thereās a majnun somewhere in his family. He canāt control a damn thing, though, and has no talent whatsoever for alchemy.
Excellent Mounted Combat: It depends on your definition of āmount.ā Heās an excellent mech pilot, one of the best, in fact, but as for any of the beasts the ravein useā¦ he can pretty much stay on at full speed and thatās it.
Racial Abilities
Good Techno-babble: Heās not a technopath, but knows enough to sync with his mech and repair most basic human-invented contraptions.
Good Adaptability: Well, there are certain things about Rhys that just arenāt going to change, but for the most part he can roll with the punches as he needs to, and he certainly doesnāt have any ridiculous dogmas to hold himself back. Whatās perhaps a bit more important sometimes is that he can seem to adapt to just about anything, adroit actor that he is.
Good Logical Mentality: With a few exceptions, this is how Rhys handles life. Thereās an end in mind, and means to choose from- so go with what makes the most sense. Well, unless thereās no fighting in that one. Then go with what makes the second-most sense.
Bloodline Traits
Good Painless: His cybernetic nervous system allows him to feel ordinary sensations, but dulls or shuts off completely when heās in pain, meaning that it is possible (though dangerous) for Rhys to ignore wounds he suffers in battle or elsewhere.
Excellent Reflex: Neural impulses are sent twice as fast along his pathways as a normal personās would be, giving him extraordinary reflexes and the ability to make the necessary snap-judgments required of a pilot.
Good Adrenaline Rush: In heated situations or combat-related ones, Rhysās body is pumped with adrenaline and a cocktail of other chemicals that up his strength, speed, and mental acuity at the expense of a hefty crash afterward. Heās been known to sleep for sixteen to twenty-four hours after a difficult fight and wake up ravenously hungry.
Class Skills
Excellent Synchronization: This attribute reflects the ability of Rhys to pilot his mech effectively, reducing the delay between his thoughts or actions and the reactions of the machine. Due to having a partially-mechanized brain, he has achieved extraordinary levels of this and there is virtually no lag at all.
Perfect Mech Combat: As heād be quick to remind you, Rhys is the best in the world at his craft. His hand-to-hand skills and high synch level, combined with his cybernetic abilities, earned him his title when he was with the Sky Faction Military, and enemies of the Emperor knew well enough to fear it.
Good Maintenance: Rhys isnāt the best mechanic out there, but he knows his own machine better than anyone else.
PIRATE SKILLS
[Perfect] - [Excellent] - [Good] - [Above Average] - [Average] - [Below Average] - [Poor] - [Very Poor]
Good Sailing: Heās been at this pirate thing long enough to know whatās up.
Average Gunnery: Ehā¦ guns are boring.
Above Average Leadership: Heās not exactly inspiring, but heās rational for the most part, and the only person heās ever really in danger of getting killed is himself.
Perfect Fighting: Overall, he can kick it with the best of the lot. Or just kick the best of the lot, whichever. Itās pretty much what he lives for.
Poor Tact: He can lie very well, but he doesnāt. Add to that the fact that heās often deliberately cruel, and heās pretty much destroyed any possibility of winning the Miss Congeniality award.
Good Charisma: Assuming you arenāt the present target of his vile tongue, thereās something bizarrely likeable about him. Many have said that they hate themselves for liking him, but they do anyway. Some people just donāt like him, too, though.
Poor Honor: He doesnāt play dirty in an actual fight unless he absolutely has to, but other than that, his āhonorā is negligible. Heās a pragmatist and a self-interested jerk; whereās the honor in that?
Excellent Courage: Arguably has long since crossed the line into recklessness. Rhys likes to be the first one into and the last one out of a fight. Heās not easily intimidated, and doesnāt truly understand fear.
Excellent Bloodthirst: He doesnāt want to kill everything in sightā¦ just anything that looks both strong and hostile. Sometimes, he entertains thoughts of challenging other crew members to duels, but he figures thatās probably on the list of things he shouldnāt do if he really wants to continue to stay aboard and use the situation to get what he wants, so he refrains.
Good Intelligence: Sometimes overridden by his more reckless inclinations, but definitely present all the same. Not immediately obvious, but you donāt have to act like a know-it-all to be intelligent.
Above Average Wealth: The military pays like shit, but being a pirate is pretty lucrative.
CLOTHING & ARMOR
Head Rhys is usually wearing a fedora. Black, with a black satin band.
Neck A cravat or tie, depending on the day. Usually also black, because itās such a classy color and doesnāt clash with his hair.
Chest A collared shirt, often white, under a vest, usually black or charcoal grey, under his old military officerās coat, which he kept because it keeps him warm and also looks rather swish. Itās- surprise- black also.
Back See chest.
Arm/Shoulder Sleeves, of course.
Right Hand A curious sort of fingerless glove thatās more a roughened leather band than anything. Used for maintaining grip on his controls.
Left Hand See right hand
Right Accessory An assortment of rings, usually in silver
Left Accessory The same as the right, though his ring finger deliberately has nothing on it. Wouldnāt want to give the impression that thereās someone in the world he couldnāt stand to lose, yāknow?
Waist A wide leather belt with two buckles, on which is hooked the chain of the silver pocketwatch that resides in his vest pocket.
Legs Pants, black obviously.
Feet Raptor-hide boots, which in cold climes are swapped for fur-lined ones.
ARMAMENT
Primary Weapon
Weapon Name: Tempest
Weapon Type: Mecha
Material: Carbonite, cobalt and various synthetic compounds- quite resilient
Ammo: While Tempest does come equipped with a rather large gun (with a multi-barrel functionality: one for grenades and incendiaries and another for armor-piercing rounds), most of the time the ammo is nothing more than Rhysās able piloting and desire to destroy things with his hands.
Length: Twelve feet tall, clearly constructed for speed.
Weight: Youāre not going to move it without Rhysās cooperation.
Weapon Description/Info: A speed-type Mobile Assault Suit by origin, Tempest has been stripped of most of its extraneous bulk and adjusted for maximum speed and maneuverability. Itās modified enough that there really arenāt any others quite like it.
Secondary Weapon
Weapon Name: Left and right.
Weapon Type: Bare hands/feet
Material: Flesh and bone
Ammo: Stamina
Weapon Description/Info: Up close and personal is how Rhys prefers to take down his foes.
EQUIPMENT
Items
1. Pocketwatch
2. Call device that will summon Tempest at a range of three miles
3. Portable sewing kit, folded into a pouch at his belt
4. Canteen
5. Collapsible telescope
6. Compass
Technology
Nothing besides Tempest and the signal device
Weapons
The ones attached to his body and the giant one he climbs into.
BACKGROUND
Marital Status Single. Sociopaths and marriage arenāt all that compatible.
Relatives Mother- Gretchen Wilcox- Dead
Father- Unknown
Sister- Allison Wilcox- Dead
Brother- Brennus Wilcox- Not alive for much longer if Rhys has anything to say about it.
Birthplace The Empire- Pacifica
Occupation Formerly a military mech pilot, having achieved the rank of Captain before his court-marshal.
Recruitment [TBA]
Bio/History Rhys Wilcox didnāt really have what anyone would call a fortunate start in the world. His story is not one of a tragic fall from grace, nor is it one where the blame for his present circumstance can be laid entirely upon the shoulders of others. He grew up a whoreson in the slums of Pacifica, the Empireās second-largest sky city, and for a while, those alleys and ramshackle shanties were all he knew. The boy was naturally adroit, able to manipulate people to get what he wanted from them, and it was only normal that someone with those skills and an empty stomach would become a thief. For a number of years, that was all he was. The middle of three siblings, all the offspring of different fathers, Rhys followed his brother Brennus into the military for the sake of supporting his mother and sister, since the latter insisted that her brothers find ālegitimateā employment.
At fifteen, he was accepted into the ranks of the Pacifica branch of the Emperorās army, and during basic training, he was funneled into an experimental program for mech pilots, testing a new design of machine that promised to add a new level of terror to the capabilities of the Sky Faction. The trainers had noted his proclivity for hand-to-hand, something they looked for in pilots, but they didnāt want to waste anyone too well-trained on an experiment, so they picked a few of the younger recruits. Though the war was officially over, there were still occasional skirmishes with ravein, and smugglers as well. It was during one of these that Rhys, still only seventeen, was victim of an equipment malfunction which caused a synching delay in his mech and resulted in a traumatic head injury. He crash-landed and nearly died, but was saved by a cybernetics engineer named Doctor Falwich, who had been looking for a test subject for a synthetic nervous system replacement heād been developing.
It took him another year to recover, but eventually Rhys was completely functional again. Within a few more years of distinguished service, he moved from the experimental regiment to take up a Captainship of the newly-formed Mobile Assault Regiment Thirteen.
[There is an important chunk of history here that will be filled out at a later date]
Rhys was court-martialed for his disobedience and sentenced to death for direct insubordination of the emperor. Brennus was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. That pretty much did it for Rhysās sanity, and he broke out of prison on the night before his execution, stealing an experimental mech and fleeing the city.