Name: Matilda "Tilde" Cortaine
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5
Weight: 118lbs
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Ethnicity: Mixed Nordic / French descent
Appearance:
Other Information: Full potential brought out through contact with the Origin Unit twelve years prior, restored voice and use of legs.
Leitmotif:
Biography:
Matilda Cortaine never knew her family. Just one of the unlucky children of the dead from the bloody war of Colonial Independence, she lived a hardscabble life in the L5 cluster. Her comfort, her talent and escape from the poverty and desperation that surrounded her, was music. From thirteen and onwards, every day she would be on a street corner, singing - sometimes with whoever was available to play an instrument alongside her, but often alone.
One day, a talent scout happened upon her - and one audition later, she was swept up into a new world. One of glitz, glamor, fame and fortune - as an Idol.
Performing as part of a group called EX-Calibur, Matilda had never been happier.
Her manager was kind. Her teammates were the truest friends she had ever known. No longer did she need to worry about where to stay, or what to eat, and her songs were inspiring others all across space. They traveled all across the Colonies, to Earth, even performing on the shockingly lavish Moon for its curious folk. She poured everything she had into her work over two years, rising from a fresh background talent to the star of the show-
And just as quickly... It was all snatched away.
An accident.
On the night after a big concert, her Producer was driving her home. They were struck by a drunk driver head on at an intersection - that was the official report, at least. Toxicology revealed that it was in fact the Producer who had been imbibing, and whose carelessness had caused the passenger side of the car to be caved in. While he survived with only minor injury, the same could not be said of the young starlet.
She was told that her career was now over. The incident was quietly covered up in the interest of protecting the reputations of those involved. It didn't take long for others to drift away as well, fading out of contact like phantasms, as though they had never existed. All references to her were quietly stripped away... and she was left alone once again, heartbroken beyond belief.
Matilda spent one long year back on the streets. The memories of how to survive had not completely left her - in fact, they seemed to return as easily as if they had never left. She took odd jobs, or panhandled, every day blurring into an agonizing grey, tainted by the temptations that come with being in dire straits. One day, however, she stumbled across something while browsing in a net cafe.
An experimental procedure seeking volunteers. Not only would they provide money, but it was designed to repair brain damage. Her heart raced as she read, hope daring to rise in her chest for the first in what felt like a long time. Apparently it was highly imperfect, and incredibly dangerous - but, what did she have to lose? She packed her things, her best looking clothes, showered and cleaned, and went to apply in person.
The procedure in question was not, she discovered, some shady underground quack, but a Directory funded military project. Apparently the thinking went that nobody would miss a few urchins in the Colonies. As the electrodes were fastened to her head... She felt nothing. Not even the smallest hint of fear. Everything went dark, as though a sonic scream had erupted in her mind-
And when she awoke...
Her legs moved again. Her voice groaned in her throat.
She was alive again.
Of over thirty-eight applicants, she was the only survivor to make contact with what she would come to know as the Origin Unit, an EOT artifact of extraordinary power the Directory was looking to acquire, having only been able to study it from a distance via the waves it emitted across space. If this seemingly infinite source of power were to be harnessed, they reasoned, it could be made to serve humanity's benefit.
Rather than leave, she elected to stay and allow herself to be studied - eventually, after resuming her own studies, she joined the project officially as an intern, moving her way quickly up the ranks to become an engineer specializing in brainwaves as they fine-tuned the imitation-Origin Unit, the Celestial Reactor. Believing it to be a force that could protect mankind from the imminent dangers presented by the alien menace, the first unit, called Habakiri, was lost during testing - but the successor, the mass-production machine Ascalon proved to be everything they had ever imagined it to be - for those able to withstand the selection process of the Reactor.
When the London Address occurred, a dispute erupted in the laboratories of the Nemesis Project. The full details to this day are uncertain - but it culminated in the burning down of the institute, the theft of its research, and the disappearance of Matilda Cortaine with the six existing Ascalons-
Mobile Weapon: Ascalon 07A
Affiliation: Jericho Faction
Combat Style: Tragédie
Strengths: Tilde is a monstrous force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, fueled by a destructive instinct that has no equal. With her maximum potential brought out by the Celestial Reactor, her close combat skills are able to make even a towering Super Robot dance, its movements amplified by her emotions. The more powerful an opponent, the harder she will dig herself in and fight, specializing in situations where she is the underdog. Her curious fixation on the most powerful, the greatest of foes, allows her to carefully research and prepare attack plans against them that can be both unconventional and alarming in scale.
Weaknesses: Matilda's effectiveness is mostly married to the Celestial Reactor - she would be a poor pilot for an ordinary mobile weapon due to the power of her impulses, and if/when her morale starts to flag, the resulting downside carries over to her machine. Her interest is only held by "strong foes", and this overwhelming desire can place her in disadvantageous situations. Lastly, while her abilities have been strengthened, she is still "only human", lacking the superhuman qualities of the Psychodriver or any other self-styled homo superior.
Combat Leitmotif:
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5
Weight: 118lbs
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Ethnicity: Mixed Nordic / French descent
Appearance:
Other Information: Full potential brought out through contact with the Origin Unit twelve years prior, restored voice and use of legs.
Leitmotif:
Biography:
Matilda Cortaine never knew her family. Just one of the unlucky children of the dead from the bloody war of Colonial Independence, she lived a hardscabble life in the L5 cluster. Her comfort, her talent and escape from the poverty and desperation that surrounded her, was music. From thirteen and onwards, every day she would be on a street corner, singing - sometimes with whoever was available to play an instrument alongside her, but often alone.
One day, a talent scout happened upon her - and one audition later, she was swept up into a new world. One of glitz, glamor, fame and fortune - as an Idol.
Performing as part of a group called EX-Calibur, Matilda had never been happier.
Her manager was kind. Her teammates were the truest friends she had ever known. No longer did she need to worry about where to stay, or what to eat, and her songs were inspiring others all across space. They traveled all across the Colonies, to Earth, even performing on the shockingly lavish Moon for its curious folk. She poured everything she had into her work over two years, rising from a fresh background talent to the star of the show-
And just as quickly... It was all snatched away.
An accident.
On the night after a big concert, her Producer was driving her home. They were struck by a drunk driver head on at an intersection - that was the official report, at least. Toxicology revealed that it was in fact the Producer who had been imbibing, and whose carelessness had caused the passenger side of the car to be caved in. While he survived with only minor injury, the same could not be said of the young starlet.
She was told that her career was now over. The incident was quietly covered up in the interest of protecting the reputations of those involved. It didn't take long for others to drift away as well, fading out of contact like phantasms, as though they had never existed. All references to her were quietly stripped away... and she was left alone once again, heartbroken beyond belief.
Matilda spent one long year back on the streets. The memories of how to survive had not completely left her - in fact, they seemed to return as easily as if they had never left. She took odd jobs, or panhandled, every day blurring into an agonizing grey, tainted by the temptations that come with being in dire straits. One day, however, she stumbled across something while browsing in a net cafe.
An experimental procedure seeking volunteers. Not only would they provide money, but it was designed to repair brain damage. Her heart raced as she read, hope daring to rise in her chest for the first in what felt like a long time. Apparently it was highly imperfect, and incredibly dangerous - but, what did she have to lose? She packed her things, her best looking clothes, showered and cleaned, and went to apply in person.
The procedure in question was not, she discovered, some shady underground quack, but a Directory funded military project. Apparently the thinking went that nobody would miss a few urchins in the Colonies. As the electrodes were fastened to her head... She felt nothing. Not even the smallest hint of fear. Everything went dark, as though a sonic scream had erupted in her mind-
And when she awoke...
Her legs moved again. Her voice groaned in her throat.
She was alive again.
Of over thirty-eight applicants, she was the only survivor to make contact with what she would come to know as the Origin Unit, an EOT artifact of extraordinary power the Directory was looking to acquire, having only been able to study it from a distance via the waves it emitted across space. If this seemingly infinite source of power were to be harnessed, they reasoned, it could be made to serve humanity's benefit.
Rather than leave, she elected to stay and allow herself to be studied - eventually, after resuming her own studies, she joined the project officially as an intern, moving her way quickly up the ranks to become an engineer specializing in brainwaves as they fine-tuned the imitation-Origin Unit, the Celestial Reactor. Believing it to be a force that could protect mankind from the imminent dangers presented by the alien menace, the first unit, called Habakiri, was lost during testing - but the successor, the mass-production machine Ascalon proved to be everything they had ever imagined it to be - for those able to withstand the selection process of the Reactor.
When the London Address occurred, a dispute erupted in the laboratories of the Nemesis Project. The full details to this day are uncertain - but it culminated in the burning down of the institute, the theft of its research, and the disappearance of Matilda Cortaine with the six existing Ascalons-
Mobile Weapon: Ascalon 07A
Affiliation: Jericho Faction
Combat Style: Tragédie
Strengths: Tilde is a monstrous force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, fueled by a destructive instinct that has no equal. With her maximum potential brought out by the Celestial Reactor, her close combat skills are able to make even a towering Super Robot dance, its movements amplified by her emotions. The more powerful an opponent, the harder she will dig herself in and fight, specializing in situations where she is the underdog. Her curious fixation on the most powerful, the greatest of foes, allows her to carefully research and prepare attack plans against them that can be both unconventional and alarming in scale.
Weaknesses: Matilda's effectiveness is mostly married to the Celestial Reactor - she would be a poor pilot for an ordinary mobile weapon due to the power of her impulses, and if/when her morale starts to flag, the resulting downside carries over to her machine. Her interest is only held by "strong foes", and this overwhelming desire can place her in disadvantageous situations. Lastly, while her abilities have been strengthened, she is still "only human", lacking the superhuman qualities of the Psychodriver or any other self-styled homo superior.
Combat Leitmotif:
