THERE MAY BE THREE KINDS OF ACES, BUT THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS IS ACE MERVICK

Menhir

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Jul 13, 2019
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Name: Ace Mervick
Age: 73
Gender: M
Height: 195 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Grey
Ethnicity: Spacer
Appearance:

Character Theme: Fly To The Leaden Sky

Biography:
"Ace Mervick? Sure thing, stranger. All I know for the low, low price of one- you know what? Make that two beers."

The sly-looking man stares into his drink, the fingers of his right hand tracing damp circles on his napkin.

"They called him the Rising Blue Lightning. Had something to do with the way he flew, or maybe it was his insignia; nobody can really agree. He got his start as a freighter jock, hauling ore back and forth from the Kuiper Belt 'till the Second War Of Colonial Aggression. 'Course, if you ask me the first one never really ended, but I don't write the history books."

"If the man knew one thing, it was how to fly. I hear he had more confirmed kills in that rusty tug of a mining freighter he started out on than most men had in Personal Troopers. Squads would break rank and rout as soon as they saw his crest, and with good reason. Nobody's sure how long he really fought out there- some say one year, others say ten, or even twenty. Even today, kids on Belt patrol swear they see his ghost from time to time- a story which I'd believe, if it weren't for the fact that he never died out there..."

"-Ah, yes, two beers all accounted for, much obliged, stranger-"

"...Now where was I? Oh, yes, Mervick. See, when Directory really started cracking down on the colonies, and the movement's leaders started denouncing their own boys in the Belt as terrorists, unconnected insurgents; well, he just up and vanished into thin air. Must have broken the poor old guy's spirit, seeing the world he fought so hard to protect turn against him like that. So he faded away, classified himself as obsolete. Some say he even left some kinda treasure hidden out there, but nobody's ever found anything."

"Now here, the story gets a little murky. They say he fled to Mars, see, through the quarantine blockade. Nobody's sure if he was fixing to die, or if he was just looking for somewhere the war couldn't hurt him anymore. Whatever happened, the plague didn't kill him- fact of the matter is, I don't think anything could. They say he finally found happiness there, and the love of his life- a homesteader girl, named Dizzy. They made their keep in the usual ways; moisture-farming, junk-dealing, searching for artifacts in the dunes and smuggling them past the blockades. He made a life there, I hear, and a pretty damn good one if you ask me. But peace doesn't come easy for a man like that."

"I hear someone put out a hit on him- Directory, Moonies... Hell, I hear even the other Spacers had it out for him; something about 'purging old sins'. I heard they got his wife, but they never found Ace's body. Wouldn't be surprised if he was still out there, somewhere, mad as hell and searching for whoever done it."

"...Now this last bit ain't verifiable information, you understand, so take it with a grain of salt. A man hears rumors, out there in the field. Rumors of a half-mad pirate king who doesn't seek fame or riches- only strength in as great a quantity as he can find. And a man gets to thinking... If you lost everything, would you try to get it all back? Or would you try to make the world suffer like you did?"

"Food for thought."

Mobile Weapon: Ascalon

Affiliation: Space Pirate
Combat Style: Legend
Strengths: Ace is basically the ultimate super pilot, capable of outmaneuvering and outgunning literal superhumans on nothing but pure skill, honed reflexes, and a lifetime of battle experience. He primarily sticks to his roots as the pilot of a space fighter, but across his storied military career he has shot down men with such varied implements as mining platforms, salvaged Personal Troopers, and weaponized lifeboats. Ace Mervick is not a man to be trifled with.

Weaknesses: Before her untimely demise, Ace made an oath to his beloved wife that he would never shoot another human being, and he's sticking to that promise. Furthermore, his fancy flying isn't something that's really conductive to a large bulky craft which, considering what he can do with the Ascalon, says a lot.


Model Number: GALM-2
Code Name: Ascalon
Manufacturer: Fuchi Industrial
Operator: Ace Mervick
Power Source: Crystal Heart
Armor Material: Radar-absorbent heatshielding that allows the ship to survive at speeds equaling or exceeding mach 25 within the atmosphere.
Height: LL
Weight: 40,000 t (base)
Propulsion: Twin Tesla Drive x5
Armament: None
Equipment:
AI Copilot: "Dizzy", named for his late wife, is probably a completely standard AI copilot similar to those found on commercial freighters. Probably.
Tow Arm x2: Massive hands mounted on the end of retractable, flexible arms that extend from Ascalon's underbelly, they can magnetize themselves for a better grip. Normally used to load or tow oversize cargo that can't fit in the hold proper, such as other ships.
Morph Paint: An electronic paintjob that can be reprogrammed on the fly by changing the electric potential of the ship's hull; combined with the Ascalon's standard freighter shell, it can allow the ship to operate undercover.
Flares: Though they're called flares, these are closer to a series of disposable broad-spectra chaff pods that scramble guidance and targeting systems. Vital to any fighter pilot's success.
Reinforced Prow: The Ascalon's name comes from it's heavily-reinforced sloped prow, designed to deflect space debris, which can be further bolstered by the projected energy field generated by a Tesla Drive. Incidentally, this also allows the Ascalon to forcibly press its way through blockades and, when forced to fight, other ships.
Sensor Array: Like any good smuggler, Ace has made sure to equip his ship with the best sensors money can steal, giving him reconnaissance capabilities on par with a military scout ship. It also allows him to decrypt comms frequencies which would be useful if anyone ever used a closed channel.
Cargo Bay: It wouldn't be a cargo freighter without a cargo bay. Offering ample storage space, a small hangar, and a launch bay, it's no surprise why the Ascalon is considered the gold standard for transporting sensitive cargo.

Finishing Moves:
Crystal Heart Sword: By channeling his love, his anger, and all of his sorrow into the Ascalon's Crystal Heart, Ace can project the Crystal Heart Sword across the entirety of the Ascalon's prow and thereby effectively turn the entire ship into one gigantic beam sword. Then comes the suicide ram.

Description:


History:
A generic cargo freighter chassis overhauled from scratch with a combination of junk parts and stolen alien technology, Ace's Ascalon is a testament to his long, storied piratical career as much as it is a display of his maneuvering skills. Though it appears, and for all intents and purposes is an ordinary unarmed cargo freighter, it's ability is not to be underestimated. A combination of the unlimited energy provided by the machine's reactor core and Ace's miraculous piloting skill mean that once stealth has failed the Ascalon is capable of moving like a ship one-twentieth it's size, and is easily capable of outspeeding just about anything under the sun thanks to it's powerful boosters. The most notable aspect of the ship is the Crystal Heart, an ancient alien relic capable of converting emotional output into energy and the product of he and Dizzy's first successful dig on the dunes of Mars.

Additionally, Ace keeps an unarmed (both gunpods have been replaced with grappling anchors), mass-production model Calion in the Ascalon's hold for situations where a more maneuverable craft is required, such as grocery runs or boarding actions. It also doubles as the craft's escape pod.
 
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