The Aschen Empire, a massive collection of semi-sovereign provinces that reigns over a great portion of the Milky Way Galaxy, paranoid, arrogant, and cruel, a once prosperous nation spirals into poverty, and self-destruction.
Description
Cashmere is just shy of six feet tall with a full athletic figure. She works out regularly and takes care of her appearance. Her hair is naturally red though with her latest nano-infusion she opted to change it to a dark green and cut it back to just blow shoulder length. She has clear amber eyes that always have a calculating look to them. She has vaguely asian features, the shape of her nose, slant of her eyes, and a slight roundness to her face. Her age is impossible to tell. Though genetic treatments and nanotech in her blood she has remained young looking despite being a lot older than she looks.
The rest of her body is almost always covered in a full body combat ready environmental suit. The suit is primarily dark grays and matte black though with highlights and an emblem in dark green that match her hair. When activated the suit's highlights turn on and pulse with a brilliant green, modeled after animals to indicate she is quite dangerous.
A modified pistol, modeled after an 'antique' design she likes conceals advanced circuitry and many capabilities.
Personality
Cashmere's attitude has often been labeled as hostile, arrogant, paranoid, self centered and cold. Very few have gotten past those layers to find the woman underneath. She uses her environmental suit as a projection of her emotions. Her primary goal is keeping herself safe, but she can't just hide in a hole all her life. She has a hunger, a need, to prove herself and her ability as an individual. She hates working with other people, not trusting them to not back stab her when it is convenient for them.
Cashmere is incredibly brilliant when it comes to technology development and modification. Her own ship, the Hyou, an antique Predator Class Assault Vehicle (PCAV) has been upgraded through and through by modified technologies from several different alien races. She strives to make it her own impregnable fortress and home and it is nearly there. However as good as she is with AI technology it cannot replace true human interaction and she fines herself craving such recently.
Equipment
Cashmere's environmental suit is filled with various technologies of her own development and alien. A modified goa'uld energy shield and hand device, and full body armor, miniature deployable mines and grenades. Sensors and miniature surveillance drones keep her alerted through a Heads Up Display (HUD) located in an implant in her right eye. The suit also has some advanced experimental strength and agility enhancers that she isn't even supposed to have.
Her latest treatment of nanotechnology has altered her appearance slightly and allows for her to alter it more if she desires. Along with enhanced strength and senses independent of the suit her bones are laced with various metals to increase their durability. Her skull is covered with a fine mesh of circuitry that should block all but the most powerful or most skilled telepaths, and even then give her warning of being mentally breached. She can now expel some of the nanites through her breath, saliva or blood given simple commands. This is extremely dangerous technology, as a wrong command could have all the nanites in her body breaking down her cells from the inside out. However she is certain of her control, and will not use that technology save for the most dire of circumstances.
Her pistol has been modified to fire variable projectile rounds from typical Aschen magnetron trinnium rounds to modified sabot, cryonic freeze bullets to high explosive or tracker rounds. It also can fire energy as stun or high intensity lasers. The gun is DNA and biometric locked so only she can fire it without getting a massive jolt.
There are few things she treasures as much as her ship and one of those is her bike, Kuro. Designed from scratch and modeled after a leaping panther. Glossy black finnish that can shift to matte black with a command. The Kuro is made from light ship armor and is highly weaponized. The 'paws' contain blades that can be deployed to slash in passing. There are also energy weapons mounted in the mouth and a forward mounted energy shield that can envelop the entire bike.
NEW as of 12-05-10
Cashmere has voluntarily severed her left arm from the elbow down after receiving payment for a job in certain psychoactive metals. It combines all of her skill and many technologies: sensors, weapons, and tools. A laser saw in her index finger and a short range teleporter in the wrist are just examples of its capabilities. It is experimental and she may chose to reattach her flesh arm, which she has kept in cryo, should she dislike it.
History
Cashmere was raised on a war torn Aschen colony, the Cosmora Archipelago, on the edge of 'civilized' space. Never knowing who her parents were she was raised by a rough man who recognized her skill with technology and forced her to work, beating her and worse if she did not come up with newer and better technologies at an entirely unreasonable pace. She killed him when she was 16 with his own battle rifle. Her life got even harder for a time because as rough as the man had been he had been protecting her from worse things.
She eventually smuggled herself aboard a transport ship and got off planet. When she was found she was put to work and excelled even more than she had on the planet. She was adopted by the crew as a kind of mascot and good luck charm as her quick fixes and improvements saved them numerous times. She lived there for nearly two years, allowing herself to open up and become part of the crew, to trust them. Until they were betrayed to pirates. The pirates somehow got the access codes and boarded the ship. Cashmere hid while the crew that she had gotten close to was murdered. All the while the pirates were searching for the 'Tech Girl'.
She was eventually found and brought to the pirates. Another crew member, one of those she trusted had betrayed them all and was demanding payment from one of the pirates when Cashmere was brought out. She watched as the woman was shot in front of her.
Once again she was pressed into labor by the pirate captain. He forced her to fix things on their ship during the day and taken advantage of by the captain at night. This went on for two months while she plotted and planned using her superior tech knowledge to rig the ship. She stole the captains PCAV and when she was far enough away detonated bombs all over the pirate ship. She watched as it detonated in space, vowing to herself to never let another take advantage of her or trust anyone else.
The PCAV became her own ship, renamed Hyou, and she modified it over time with more and more technology until it was covered in ripping edge technology inside and out. A lavish home of her own in which she can travel anywhere she wishes though air, space or even fluid.
She has sold her skill with technology to most major civilizations over time for various technologies or money.
She has been characterized as Techno Mage, New Type, and Savant, though she calls herself none of those things. Rumors of her existence have persisted for nearly two hundred years now, though no hard evidence backing up those rumors can be found. In truth she is roughly a hundred years of age. Though she had no record of her actual birth date.
She has recently learned more of her past. Her sister, Helena Cain, Admiral of the Aschen Fleet
To those who may be following her actions she has visited the planet a number of times. Mainly for rest and the occasional drink at Gambits Bar. However she never takes a room there, instead sleeping on her own ship and is usually gone within a day, never more than two.
So begins...
Cashmere walks into the bar with her rifle in her hand, not threatening anyone but ready to draw it at a moment's notice. She steps inside the door and then to the side, casually looking around as the sensors in her suit take in the tavern displaying their findings to the implant in her eye. She marks the exits up, down, front and back as well as windows as well as secure areas to withstand an ambush. She makes her way along the wall the highlights of her suit pulsing with soft green light as a warning of her nature. She takes a seat by the bar so that she can keep her back to the wall. "Bartender. I've heard that Aschen some through here. You keep Ambrosia?" A hopeful tone to her voice. It seems it has been a while since she had any of the native alcohol of her people.
Cashmere flexes her hand slowly before touching the insignia on her chest. A full body shield envelops her slowly. It should keep the fire out easily enough. She keeps the energy low to so as not to draw the attention of anyone in the bar. She raises a hand to the bartender. "Have you any Ambrosia?" The sound of a bit of desire for the alcohol in her voice. She is clearly Aschen from the inflection in her voice.
Cashmere gets the green alcohol and she smiles, giving a soft sigh as she picks up up in a gloves hand. She dips the tip of a gloved finger into the alcohol and her suit automatically runs a toxin scan. She had tried to recreate the alcohol on her own but had been unable to. She slings her rifle over her shoulder and tries to relax some and enjoy her drink while keeping an eye out. She seldom ran into trouble while enjoying a good drink. But there have been exceptions over her life.
Cashmere observes the fight from her spot by the wall. People seem very different here. She flips up a section of her arm plating and a portable computer pad can be seen. She sends a few codes to her bike outside and sets its security measures. A blue shimmer appears around the leaping panther bike before fading to transparent. She relaxes a little and lets her personal shield fall so that she can actually drink the Ambrosia. Her tech was not advanced enough to allow for permeability, but it was something she was working on.
Cashmere laughs softly as she watches the people in the bar. The fights were amusing and the tech seemed quite archaic to her. She slowly drains her Abrosia and savors it. "I shall certainly be coming here more." She murmurs with a soft tone, her voice modulated a bit by the tech around her neck.
Cashmere walks into the bar, her rifle in one hand, her other on the stock as she waits for her equipment to scan the bar before stepping deeper into the bar. She pauses after getting the info to the display in her eye. She frowns a little and follows the wall along to the bar. She settles onto the bar and hangs her rifle over her shoulder at her side. "Bartender, Abrosia." She speaks her voice is gently modulated and artificial.
Cashmere taps her belt several times and it deposits the cubits into her hand so that she does not have to open her suit at all. She lays them on the bar by the glass and dips a finger into the glass testing for toxins before nodding to the bartender. "Many Aschen come though here?" She was aware of the activity in space and in the space port. But had yet to meet up with any of them. Thankfully.
Cashmere finishes scanning the people within the bar, categorizing the various energy sources and before putting the scanner away and heading out of the bar. She climbs onto her motorcycle, smiling as it purrs between her legs before letting it roar and peal out from outside the bar and head to the space port where her ship is.
Cashmere makes her way into the tavern stepping inside and to the side of the door keeping her back to the wall and her hand on her gun as the scanners in her suit check the room. They note the centurion bouncer and pick up an Aschen life readings. She frowns slightly her hand tightening for a moment on the stock of her rifle before forcing herself to relax. She makes her way over towards the bar, keeping a wary eye on Cally. "Ambrosia." She mutters to the bartender, her suit modulating her voice slightly, preventing any tech listening in from identifying her by voice.
Cashmere tenses as Cally approaches. "Hello." She has her scanners work over the woman for any monitoring equipment. Turning to look at Ace and nodding back towards her feline bike outside. "My own creation." She sips her Ambrosia, smiling a small smile at last, she couldn't get any of this on her own ship without bartering heavily for it and it hard enough to get even then.
“
"DDG-102, Naquadria core, Mako boost." Smiling at the thought of the unstable/radioactive elements that she rides around on regularly. She glances the mechanic over and then the man to her other side. She did not enjoy being hemmed in on either side, but would listen for now. Any rash movements could bring far too much attention from the Confederacy. "Takes a bit more than that to become my friend." Even through the light modulation it is obvious from her tone that it takes a LOT more to become her 'friend'.
”
Cashmere Sips her ambrosia sitting in silence for a moment as her suit feeds her information into the HUD in her right eye. "Hmmm, Cally McGregor, how is the Acropolis? Did they ever fix the fuel manifolds? I told them to use vacuum insolation." She sits there and sips her drink, not looking at the mechanic.
“
"I am Cashmere." She speaks as though this should explain everything. She shifts ever so slightly so her rifle strap slips down a little so she can grab the gun easily if needed. The dark green highlights on her suit pulse softly with a gentle glow before settling. In truth she kept up to date info of people in positions of influence in her ship's database. It was a small matter to see if she was one of those. And luckily enough she just happens to be the wife of an Admiral, which qualifies her for that database.
”
Cashmere snorts softly at the title. "Relax," her tone modulated softly by the suit. "I'm just here to drink. Take some R&R. You make no hostile moves and I won't perforate you." As she speaks her gun slips from around her shoulder and easily into her hand, aiming across her body easily enough at the center mass of the mechanic's body before slipping back into it's relaxed but easily drawn position. "Even traitors need days off." She shrugs and sips her Ambrosia. "Go inform your commander or whomever if you like. I'm not going anywhere. At least until I finnish this glass, possibly two."
“
"Up that high? Maybe you aren't up on all the info." She smiles and jerks her thumb back behind her at the feline motorcycle. "Naquadria core, remember? Something happens to me and you've got a half kilo ready to blow when my heart stops. I thought I made sure everyone knew that. Don't want any itchy trigger fingers doing something stupid." She looks down at Cally's hand on her weapon and then at the woman. "Else you've got a crater you can see from orbit."
”
“
"Defect?" She turns to face the woman with an angry snarl. "There was nothing for me to defect from. My home was a hole. I was beaten and worse, forced to..." she spits out several alien epithets. "You know nothing of my life. The Cosmora Rebellion just happened to pay me for my services. Upgraded tech with fewer resources. Better bang for their buck." She snorts and turns away. "I don't hate you for your wealth. I've got plenty of my own. I hate you because you weren't there." She downs the rest of her Ambrosia and slams her glass down, ordering another.
”
“
"Shut up," she growls and takes a large drink of her ambrosia. The suit reacting to her elevated heart rate and powering up. The highlights going from dark hunter green to a lurid shade. "Let me know when you get kidnaped and raped for your tech skills. Then we can talk." She calms down and the highlights dim slowly.
”
Cashmere laughs. "As if. I will never work for anyone but myself. I will never get taken advantage of by anyone." She shakes her head and calms down slowly. "I grew up on the edge. Lived on the edge. I don't know another way to live. I couldn't live at Langara if I wanted to. I can't even work there. I go mad in a day and have to blow something to hell." She laughs and looks at the Ambrosia.
“
"What we all have is a past we cannot escape and a future we strive for," she lifts her glass to the other Ashen woman before sipping her Ambrosia. "I heard about the Queen. Bad business all around there." She shakes her head. She looks at Cally slowly. "Got to say I'm surprised you haven't called in bigger guns yet."
”
Cashmere watches Cally leave and wonders if she is going to get the whole LDA down here before she can finnish her glass of Ambrosia. She smiles a little and sips the green liquid, sitting back and enjoying it. All the hastle with dealing with more Aschen was mitigated purely by the simple glass of alcohol.
RPG
