Name: Decimus Rand
Aliases/Nicknames: Deci, Widowmaker
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Orientation: Hetero-sexual
Age: 36
Class: Vanguard
Talents & Specializations: Biotics: Singularity, Shockwave, Dash; Technical: Infiltration, Energy Drain; Combat: Sniper Rifle
Professions: Former N5, former instructor at Grissom Academy, now Lieutenant and Mission Specialist
Personality: Closed off and aloof. Decimus has the classic symptoms of PTSD, yet he has no record of any public breakdowns. He is extremely reluctant to speak about any of his military record. He is more than willing to talk about anything to do with biotics, the merging of biotics with technology, and practical field applications of theory in the field. While he was known as a strict instructor at the famed Grissom Academy, he was known as a fair one. Carrying on the work which was done there is one of his motivators for joining the initiative.
History: Decimus had come from a noted family. His mother was one of the researchers of the Prothan device on Mars, his father chief engineer on board of the
New Dehlia when it first went through the Charon mass relay. In retrospect, it became no wonder Decimus was born with what would be come to named biotics. His parents however had the means to get Decimus the help he needed. The trade off for the help had set Decimus down his father's path to join the Alliance military, but unlike his father, Decimus did not become an engineer, but was trained for the N5 branch of Earth Alliance special forces, the support team which normally set up forward operating locations, and also rescued N7 or other Earth Alliance military members who were caught behind enemy lines. Deciums' unique blend of bitoics with his technological skills and talents made him a valuable asset, and he had risen to the rank of Senior Lieutenant before an injury made him unqualified to be part of an N5 team. Decimus does not talk about his time with N5, or how he was injured with anyone, telling people who ask if they have the security clearance, and the need to know, they can look up his record. If not then it is clear the Alliance does not wish them to know.
While Decimus was recovering from his injury and his new cybernetics were perfected and not being rejected, he taught at Grissom academy. He became known as a hard but fair professor, and his class upon the combination of biotics and technology insightful. Near all new initiatives to the N5 and N7 programs were sent to at least take some of his lectures and practical demonstrations. Over the next eighteen months, Decimus seemed to relax more and settle in, become less guarded and defensive with other instructors, and word had no new student had broke down and sobbed after one of his tongue lashings. Decimus could not stand laziness in any form and any student who did not apply themselves as he thought they could normally got a lecture from him they would never forget.
Then Sovereign appeared and it and Geth forces nearly destroy the Citadel, and everything changed.
Decimus attempted to go back into N5, but after what happened with Sovereign and the Geth, Decimus was marked as unfit for military service because of his cybernetics. They thought it make him even more vulnerable to Reaper indoctrination. Decimus once more became closed off and detached. He stayed on at the Academy, seeing it as his duty to pass along everything he knew to those who would one day join the fight against the Reapers. It did not matter in the long run. When the Reapers finally arrived, billions died, the mighty fleets of all the races destroyed whenever they came in contact with the Reapers. Seeing the war as a lost cause and the Alliance fleet only fighting a delaying action to allow the Andromeda Initiative to launch, everyone at Grissom Academy was evacuated to the human Ark.
Decimus was among the first humans awakened from cryo. It was clear he should be a part of the first expedition crew with advanced biotic ability, his technical skills to hack into any network or other technology, and of course, his ability to fire with pinpoint accuracy the M-98 Widow sniper rifle. A personal skill he self taught, creating a localized barrier about his body to take the bulk of the recoil from the powerful anti-vehicle grade firearm. Decimus had been on the sidelines long enough, and he was not taking "no" for an answer. This was humanity's last hope, he was going to be damned if he was not a part of it.
Appearance & Equipment: Decimus has the long lean muscular build of a long distance runner or swimmer. He does not have much bulk, but he can run a five kilometer run in under thirteen minutes. Since emerging from cryo, he has what seems to be a permanent dark scruff on his features. His hair is also not normal military regulation, covering his ears and touching his collar. His eyes are almost black, a bi-product of the e-zero in his system. When he uses his biotics they turn ebony black, something which has unsettled people in the past. Decimus stands at 5'10" tall, slightly taller than human norms yet not a towering imposition in any case. Decimus does have the type of features which would allow him to blend into any surroundings in which humans numbered in the majority.
Decimus's right arm and shoulder have been replaced with a cybernetic arm with a built in omni-tool As a result he can lift objects with his right arm which most humans cannot, and it is also why he is able to make use of the M-98 Widow. He has battle and burn scars all over the right side of his body from his chest to his right tigh. To mask the bulk of this scarring he has an elaborate tattoo of a dragon about to attack, with the head upon his right pectoral, the body about his ribs, and the legs and tail all about his own leg, from hip to ankle. His cybernetic arm also incorporates the tattoo, a stark contrast to the red metallic finish his arm has. Because of his cybernetic prosthetic, Decimus will rarely ever wear clothing which exposes his arms.
For armor Decimus favors the light Duelist armor class produced by Elanus, allowing for the right merging of his biotic abilities to combine with his technical talents and skills. For weapons he always goes into battle with the M-98 Widow as his primary weapon and the M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol as his secondary firearm. Decimus preferred combat combination is to use a Singularity in the distance to pull all enemies out of cover and taking them out with the Widow. He is also more than capable if using his biotics in close, unleashing a shockwave to knock all off enemies off of their feet, then using his biotics to enhance his speed for a brief moment, able to travel up to 100 meters in less time it takes a human to blink, making it appear as if he teleported from one location to the next, then opening fire upon the disoriented foes. Decimus will also hack any enemy turrets or synthetic opponents in his field and turn them against the enemy. Decimus is a deadly fighter
Misc. Notes: The Dash talent Decimus has takes a toll on his body, and he risks serious injury if he uses it more times than once. It normally needs an hour before his body is able to safely use it again, making it an ability which normally has a single use per combat encounter. He will use it more than once if the safety of his teammate is at risk. Also while it appears he teleports with this ability, he does not, he is merely moving very fast, moving at 2000 meters per second, he is moving over the surface at the time, so any obstacle placed in his path can trip him and ruin his positioning. While he is using the dash ability, there is a biotic barrier about him, shielding him from near all the physical effects moving at that speed can cause. Also in a planet with an atmosphere, triggering this ability also triggers a localized sonic boom, so he is cautious when using this ability if there are allies about, or if the shock wave created in his wake could endanger them. This ability is normally a move of last resort for Decimus.
N5 is not cannon but I wanted something different to make Decimus different than N7. In my mind, N7 is like the United States Navy SEALs, while the N5 I drew inspiration from United States Air Force Combat Control/Para-rescue. Both have distinct and different mission operations yet both are considered Special Forces.
