The Connection: Are You In?

[Anakira]

December 14, 2004-- New Orleans is a bustling community, especially with it being so close to Christmas. Festive lights are hung from every traffic light, homes can be seen from blocks away in the dead of night, and business all compete silently to see who can have the most decorations smashed onto their properties. There is no snow on the ground, but it is cold about- the temperatures hover in the upper thirties. To make things worse, the sun had set over an hour ago, dropping the wind chill to what can only be described as Hell freezing over. However, there has always been something about Kenner City Park that just holds that special warmth that only being around people can give. Hot chocolate steamed, children laughed as they chased each other, and the sound of the performing high school band's tuning chords drifted over the scene. The adults fussed over the chairs that had been set out so they could sit and chat as they waited for the performance. In the background a train whistled. The main attraction of the park this time of year aside from the multitude of musicians and dancers that came to perform every Christmas music was a train that looped the park. Children and adults both enjoyed the ride around the park as ducks who had found conditions here at the park much better than migrating stared on in mild confusion.

You hold an invitation in your hands and wait around the park's largest pavilion. You hope it’s the right place, based on the horribly drawn map on the back of your invitation, but judging from the people and what they’re doing, you’re pretty sure you‘ve got it right. About fifty people dressed in black, white, and gold uniform are huddling for whatever warmth they can under this pavilion, talking, chatting, and putting together their instruments. An older man dressed in a black suit looms over them with baton in hand, barking orders to those who were not busy just existing with their instruments. In the crowd of predominantly white and gold uniformed jackets, one girl wears a completely black uniform with gold trim. You remember hearing from the friend that dragged you here the drum major of any high school band always was more visible compared to the rest of the band...this must have been her. She herself is giving last minute tips on how to stay in tune in the freezing weather. None of this concerns you.

Speaking of friends, you stand there, invitation and hot chocolate in hand and wait for things to pick up. After standing idle for another half hour, you listen to the band warm up and play a few chorales to tune the instruments properly. The band director, who stands taller than any person there hands down, finally takes a microphone and begins to speak. You soon find yourself laughing at his simple jokes, from poking fun at the weather, to the people in the band, to something you hadn't even noticed before. You find yourself liking this man more and more despite his scary demeanor and now seem to realize why your friend spoke so well of him.

His speech is short, and he turns back around to the band, conductor’s baton raised, and he gives a few waves. There is silence for a moment as everyone is poised ready to play, and then the concert finally starts. The music is very pleasant; it is obvious there is a lot of talent within this group, and they worked very hard to sound this good.

--

No one seemed to notice her, but a woman stands on the uppermost platform above the performance. She is behind the crowd, watching with her intense eyes. This woman seems to be a bit…underdressed for the weather, as she is wearing only what seems to be something black that covers each side of her separately, leaving much of her stomach and in between her chest open. Her arms are almost completely covered, Otherwise, this woman seems normal enough- she has short, chin-length blonde hair and piercing shock blue eyes. It's obvious she isn’t here just to enjoy the pretty music. She holds up a hand, gazes at her nails, then holds her hand flush against a building. All of her nails become black and something that looks like ink floods out of them and onto the structure. Within a minute the black 'stuff' begins to form a network of cracks that sink into the building and seeps into it, leaving it intact for now. Nobody would see the work she had put into the structure, and at this time of night it only looked like a network of vines had grown. Just really, really fast.

At first, nothing seems wrong, but an uneasy quiet settles over the area. The band had stopped playing for some reason and people were beginning to wonder what exactly is going on. What would make a group of almost fifty people just stop? Their questions become half-answered as the ground starts to shake and the sky grows dark- darker than what a normal city night sky usually does. The structure that had been tainted with the black  explodes, bits of rubble flying everywhere. Simultaneously, all of the Christmas lights burst and shatter, and people flee screaming from areas that are potential hazard.

From the Bonnabel band, one girl looks up just to see this strange woman jump back and fade away into the shadows around her. For now, the earthquake stops and soon, like everyone else, the girl hops down from the pavilion. She walks over to you and your group, sighs heavily in relief at the sight that you are okay, and is about to say something when the earthquake comes back, only this time… tenfold. Everyone loses their balance and falls, the pavilions collapse; everyone is screaming, children are crying, and then… everyone’s screams stop. Every sound that had been contributing to chaos has suddenly...just blinked out of existence.  Time has seemed to stop for you before your vision clouds and you lose perception of everything around you, including yourself.

--

It was as if your whole body had fallen asleep. The Devil's Grip has had a tight hold on your body, and after a good panic of where your limbs are, soon you are able to get over the numb feeling, sit up, and groggily look around. You are covered in dust, your eyes and mouth are dry, and if you had ever felt a hangover before, now would be a good time to go back to that feeling. This is just simply, the worst feeling ever.

The land is in ruin. The first thought that crosses your mind after the proverbial systems-check on your own body. There is nothing but rubble left. No dead bodies, no skeletons, just a brownish-blackish-violet tainted ground, rocks, and barren ground. You look around to find the bodies of your companions: The girl that had invited you here and the friends she’d introduced you to earlier. Upon closer inspection, broken, rusted instruments litter the ground, empty plastic cups that once held hot chocolate still lie crushed or in pieces, and most disturbingly, the sky matches the hue of the ground. The silence is overwhelming. It is so quiet your ears are literally in pain.

--

Welcome to a very destroyed New Orleans. What you thought was a Christmas concert suddenly became… this. So who are you? Why are you here? Are you even here right now?

Let's have some fun. If you are from Earth, you can choose one of two options: Earth or Neo New Orleans. The current location of this devastation is Neo New Orleans. These people will be young; no older than 18 and no younger than 14 and with little to no experience with battle. The only exception to this is 20 year old Marco Bennois. The crew here so far will be:

NOTE: THESE CHARACTERS ARE PREVIOUSLY TAKEN.

Heather Dassaux: A 15-going on 16 year old ball of home-grown Cajun hyperactivity. She was the one who had sent the invitation for the Christmas concert. Funloving, optimistic, and incredibly loyal to her friends. She claims she can feel others' pain, literally. Emotionally or physically, do not describe gory situations unless you want to see her wince. This little talent also makes her the go-to person when it comes to personal problems. Shoulder length blonde hair, teal eyes. Tall at 5'10 and a little extra weight to her large frame, she is as strong as she looks.

Seren Lee: Heather's best friend. Ever. He is a native to New Orleans, and has known his best friend since they were in middle school. His father left when Seren was little, leaving him with his mother, who was always away on business, leaving little time for her son. He didn't mind it, and just threw himself into being with his friends for lack of a stable home environment. He is a good head shorter than Heather at 5'8 and is a rather bit on the thin side. Chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes, and he is a tad pale from playing too many video games instead of going outside like a normal person.

Marco Bennois: The oldest of the group at 20, he seems to have no connection to either Heather or Seren.  Marco is impulsive when it comes to thrills. He likes driving fast, gets a kick out of physically demanding tasks. When he was busted and sent to the camp, the mile-long runs didn't affect him much. Since then, he's turned a 'good' leaf. He's been a better person overall, but the inner child still likes to play. He'd have no problems with skydiving or any other risky event or sport. The camp did beat discipline into him, and he has a begrudging respect for authority. He'll ditch it if it's too full of itself, however. He was raised to protect women, so sights of girls being beaten will piss him off
--

For those of you who do not wish to be from Neo New Orleans, there is PLENTY of option. I need one or two people from Earth to play. These people would be between 18 and 30 and would have much more experience. If you wish to play one of these people, I need a PM because there is SUPER SEEKRIT information I need to give you in order to play these characters. In this group I need:

A Captain and pilot for the SS Castiel. These will be the same person. Preferably male, though I will take a woman for the cast if she is –outstanding--.  He (or she!) needs to be a very strong personality with leadership qualities as this will be the leader of this group. His (her?) relationship with the co-captain/pilot Kara Rein (See below) must be on close terms, for they will have been working with her for two years fighting the same battle. Battle ready; whatever kind is up to the player. Being from Earth is only optional, but they must be humanoid. (Read: Elf, Human from another planet, Humanoid alien.)

I need someone who is battle-toughened and able to train the younger group. Again, being from Earth is optional, just keep it humanoid. The specifics here aren't quite so specific.

Those are the only two personality types required; the rest of you can be whatever you want. Ever. If you happen to have your own world or planet, throw me a PM and I will explain to you further options, because this opens a whole new can of worms.

People from the older group will know this woman:

Kara Rein: A woman of about 23 years of age who has been on the S.S. Castiel since the very beginning; about two years. She is a strong woman with a strong sense of morality. She works as the Vice captain and the copilot of the ship nowadays, though her previous experience places her with weapons development. Her hair reaches well past her waist and it is a straw blonde color. Her eyes are a lavender purple, though the popular claim is she enjoys wearing differently colored contacts.

Cid Rein: The founder and original Captain of the original crew. He was aboard the Castiel in the very beginning but has since retired due to his age. At 42 he is still quite physically built to kill, though he has better things to take care of on his home-world. He is Kara Rein's father.

I will repeat this again: If you have any worlds or planets or developed groups of people, PM me and I'll give you details.

And as a reminder: This is not a sexual RP. There will be sexual situations and will allow romances that lead there, but this is not purely for the sex. This RP will probably rape your mind from here, there, and back again before we're through. I need people who can post a few times a day. I need people who are literate and very good at what they do. There will be fight scenes but it is all story-based, and I will decide who wins in the end unless otherwise stated. Otherwise, have fun and let me know what you think!

[Anakira]

OH CRAP. I forgot to mention those roles were taken Dx Naw, you're on your own with the characters.

*speeds off to edit*

[BraveEarth]

I would be interested in takingthe Trainer position I think I have a good character in mind...  He is from Earth and is about 34... And is named Tobias Fenrir.

[Crovonovin]

Alright!  I'll come up with something else later then.

[Anakira]

Awesome, I can't wait to see.

If anyone has any questions or whatever, feel free to ask. I know there are some vague ideas, but some of them are purposely so. Don't want to spoil anything.

[Travaius]

I'll give this a try, probably as the captain or a person from earth.

[Anakira]

If you're thinking about the captain, I'll need you to show me what you can do. I don't need a full profile as of just yet, but if you can PM me a feeler for the character and a sample of your work, that would be awesome.

[Galanthor]

as you know, i already did (just trying to gather attention

[Anakira]

Alright, so here's who we have so far:

Pre existing cast:

Heather Dassaux; Kara; Cid Rein: Anakira
Seren Lee: Saragato
Marco Bennois: BlueShaine


Newcomers:

Tobias; Earthborn. Weapons expert: BraveEarth
Captain of the Ship (I am tired and don't have his name on record. T_T): Travaius
V’ri Darson urd Nomek: Galarnthor

Current number of planets to be used: 8 and still counting.

Would anyone else like to join?

[Galanthor]

sounds nice *bumps*

[Anakira]

Game starts tonight latest. Be there.

Here are our characters:

Younger crew:

Name: Seren Lee
Age: 17
Appearance: 5'8", chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes. Seren likes loose clothes, but they tend to range in the darker side just because he thinks he looks like a doofus in colors. Lives in faded jeans and smelly sneakers with doodles on them. He's a bit on the thin side, and pale from playing too many video games instead of going outside like a normal person.
Weapon of choice: An old fountain ink pen (hey, he thinks it's funny)
Background: Seren is a native to New Orleans, and has known his best friend Heather since they were in middle school. His father left when Seren was little, leaving him with his mother, who was always away on business, leaving little time for her son. He didn't mind it, and just threw himself into being with his friends for lack of a stable home environment.
Current Location: A basement. I'm kidding. New Orleans, on the ground.
--

Name: Heather Engel
Age: 16
Appearance: This girl stands tall at 5'10. She has greenish-blue eyes and short, wavy golden-blonde hair; it hangs between her jaw and her collarbone. Usually she keeps it straightened, but the humidity of the city tends to fight this tooth and nail. She is not a thin girl, and could probably stand to lose about forty pounds or so. Even so, her strong build ensures that the extra weight is dispersed evenly, making her a curvy if not heavy woman. She enjoys wearing loose clothes, being a jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl though it's argued Seren had an influence on this type of dress. Her shoes bear doodles, almost matching the ones on Seren's shoes. To say her complexion is fair would be an understatement; she and Seren are probably about the same hue skin-tone, which says enough about how often she ventures outside.
Weapon of choice: Her conductor's baton. Not much damage it can do, but it is a sharp piece of metal...
Background: Heather is a native to New Orleans, and Seren's best friend. They have known each other since her sixth grade year; since she was 12. Since then she has clung onto him more closely than anyone else around her, including her parents. Her home life has been described as a harsh, unforgiving one even if she has convinced herself it hasn't been so bad. She is highly convinced Seren knows her more than anyone else does.
Current Location: New Orleans, ground

--

Name: Marco Bennois
Age: 20
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 198 lbs
Appearance/Clothing: Short brown hair, Grey eyes. Wears a green pocket t-shirt, dark blue carpenter's jeans, black sneakers with white soles, and a faded black denim jacket.
Background: Has two loving, but strict parents. Marco's father taught him the beauty in respecting women, while his mother taught him to trust whatever he thought was right. While he holds no truly strong sense of justice, he knows 'good' or 'bad' from his years of acting out. He's since become a better student. His sense of humor varies, at some times juvenile and others, more adult. He believes himself to be an easy going guy.
Location: New Orleans; ground

--

Name: Tobias Fenrir
Age: 19
Appearance: Stands about 5’4” has a sort of lean build from personal exercise, has short black hair, green eyes. He has a few scars near his scrotum from his years of molestation (were administered as punishment for bad behavior)
History: Tobias hails from Springfield, Illinois. At the age of thirteen Tobias’s stepmother had begun sexually molesting him and this continued until he was sixteen, when one of his friends had finally pieced together enough signs of Tobias’s depression and aversion to the boy’s mother when not in her presence and high obedience when in it, not to mention a few other suspicious signs. When finally convinced to come out with the truth of the matter Tobias could have guessed it wouldn’t have gotten all better, although he would have never guessed his father shunning him after the incident settled, even after years of closeness between the father and son. Tobias quickly grew mistrustful of women in general even of the friend who had initially helped him come out with the horrible situation he had been in. He had been forced to see counseling when the School finally noticed this prejudice, which was met with some success.
--

Pre-existing Crew:

Name: Unpronounceable with human vocal chords. 
English Designation: Number 7
Age: 473
Homeworld: The Ultothar
Seven is Praetorian born deep within the gullet of a massive extraterrestrial 'god' known as the Ultothar, which hosts an extremely volatile and bizarre ecology that has yet to be fully documented.  Though the Ultothana (residents of the Ultothar) have no caste system and live in theoretical equality, the Praetorians are the most autonomous and respected members of their unusual society.  One might say that they are the most evolved species residing in the gargantuan nuclear leviathan, as they are also the most individualistic when not under the direct influence of their God.  Praetorians undergo excessive amounts of genetic alteration and receive the most advanced synthetic implants available, honing their bodies into biological weapons.

History:

When the Colony Worlds collapsed, the agony and screams of billions were forever seared into the minds of all the Ultothana.  The appearance of a woman, alien and strange, followed swiftly by a holocaust of fire and death.  The sudden apocalyptic assault on their kind caught them entirely off guard, for never before had a civilization dared to challenge them.  The Ultothana were not a violent people: they didn't have to be, for until that point there seemed to be no force in the Universe that could harm them.  Until now.  That woman and her power were a dire threat.  Though the Ultothar and its children, the Daultothar were unharmed by this act of war, the possibility that they might be targeted next was the foremost thought within their Collective Mind.

For the first time, the Ultothana opened contact with galactic civilization and sent out a request for information regarding this woman.  World after world sent back their confused apologies, some of them secretly pleased that the superpower's confidence had been taken down a peg.  But eventually their summons were answered, and a group of four were allowed to pass beyond the writhing sea of gluttonous Consumers and stare into the massive, asteroid-pitted face of the Ultothar.  That they were tracking the same woman was enough to gain the god's trust, and so he sent a single agent to act in his stead.

That agent was Seven, so-named for his rank among the Praetorian Elite.  To better meld with the other members of the team and other terrestrial races, he was granted a Biosuit, an organism developed to conform to the body of its wearer and mimic the appearance of other sentient races.  Seven's highly adaptive body, though only barely humanoid in appearance, is also more than capable of altering its structure to better fill out the suit.  It also served as a psychological safety blanket, allowing Seven to feel the steady pulsation of organs that he was so used to in his homeland. 

Appearance (With Suit):

Appearance (Without Suit):

--

Name: Kara Rein
Age: 26
Appearance: A woman of medium build, standing at 5'8", she appears a lot more frail than she actually is due to the fact she does not eat nor sleep regularly. The heavy black circles that usually hang under her eyes are usually covered with makeup, though some days she just cannot be arsed to bother with her own upkeep and there are often days where she looks exactly how she feels. Her hair has not been cut in over four years, and it hangs messily past her waist though she keeps up with washing and conditioning. She often lets it hang however she likes unless on a mission, where it is bunched onto the top of her head. Her usual attire is a plum colored business suit, the pnecil skirt and jacket with a white, long sleeved shirt underneath. Under the collar of her shirt a deep violet ribbon is tied into a long bow. Due to a natural mutation, her eyes are of a soft lavender instead of blue, green, or brown much like normal human eyes. Because of this, she always wears special contacts when visiting her hometown.
History: Kara has not disclosed much of her own history before a certain point of her life. Cid, her father, has been the one to tell most people what she's about, considering how quiet she tends to be about herself, always looking out for others instead of herself. According to what she's said once, it's all she has left. She doesn't smile much anymore, she hardly laughs, and if she's ever happy it's around her father.

From the understanding Cid has let on, Kara had once been a vibrant young woman with goals and ambitions, and they as a family had been a group of bounty hunters. She was very close to the crew members, especially the two men she grew up with; Soren and Walker. After getting involved in a war and losing Soren, Walker up and disappeared without so much as a single parting word, leaving Kara, her father, and their commanding officer Aileen to repair what was broken. However, there was not much time to do so before Decorus destroyed their planet-- rather, only just over half of it. Any prospect of ever finding her friend again was null and void and the crew had to move their base somewhere more stable.

Since the search for Decorus has been on, Kara has lost another two friends- People they had picked up from one of the razed planets. One had picked a fight with the demon after apparently having had enough, and the other was so stricken with grief he left abruptly. The repeated scenario has left the woman with a rather bitter taste in her mouth toward people in general.

Kara is the crew's Vice Captain as well as copilot and Weapons Specialist.

--

Name: Cid Rein
Age: 45
Appearance: Cid is a scruffy old man, though he hardly looks his age.  Years of chain smoking surely should have done him in by now, but he remains a strong man with strong lungs, somehow. His hair is the exact same shade of blonde Kara's is, the light, almost yellow color. His is very muscular, and the only sign of his age is the wrinkles around his eyes or when he smiles. His blue eyes are one of the more striking features on his face, their light hue complimented by his hair color.
History:He is Kara's father, the captain of their ship, Castiel, and in many cases, the pilot. He was the one who started the crew in the first place, their group's name the Freeborn. They started out as a band of bounty hunters who became war heroes after a sequence of chance meetings and a huge case of being in the wrong place at the right time. Cid has always had a love of adventure, though he hadn't so much realized this until his sister Irea, renowned galaxies over as one of the best bounty hunters in the universe, was hunted down by her own head. Since then, The Castiel has not set foot on the ground very much, and even less so now that his homeworld is essentially ruined.

Since the deaths of two of his crewmembers, Cid's drinking and smoking habits have not gotten any better. His depression has landed him a permanent seat back at the Freeborn base, where it's a bit harder to concentrate on all the bad in the world. Since stepping down as acting Captain, his duties now lie more in paperwork and less in dealing with death and destruction. It is said his temperament has even become better.

--

Name: Etienne
Age:
Appearance:
History:

--

Two profiles have yet to be finished; they are here but not complete. These are all the people participating thus far, but I am still accepting potential characters.