279: Blackguard

ENTRY 279: Blackguard

"She was a killer. She was good at it. It was all she was good at. She was an adequately excellent lover, a poor tri-spouse, an inadequate parental unit. But she could kill, and she did."
- Excerpt from the first obituary of Mariah Beavercreek AKA Blackguard

The search for meaning in transhuman life is perpetual. For many who no longer want for entertainment, food, shelter, or the other basics of survival, and whose higher needs of entertainment, exercise, work, and socialization are likewise catered to through a steady stream of Mesh programming, all that is left for them is either degeneration or self-actualization. Some find a cause, others seek to realize a dream or a project, and the rest vegetate in a lifetime of holovids, virtual sex games, and whatever drugs they can coax out of the cornucopia machines. Mariah Beavercreek found her meaning in life as a bounty hunter, neglecting her two spouses and their carefully-cloned children for the thrill of the hunt, caring nothing about the credits accrued or reputation, living always in the moment.

If the mark that finally got the drop on her hadn't sent a particle beam through her forebrain, she'd have died happy knowing she had been doing what she loved.

The grave has less grip these days, and some of her former employers were not yet done with the Blackguard. They resleeved her to their own purpose, giving her a new arsenal and a new mission: to find asyncs and capture or kill them, only bring their bodies back to them. There was more after that - much more, about her family that still thought her dead, and the debt she owed from the resleeving - but she didn't listen to any of it. She had a new mission now, and that was all that mattered.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
13	10	16	17	15	20	20	-
INIT	SPD	LUC	TT	IR	DUR	WT	DR
7	1	40	8	80	45	9	67

Morph: Ghost

Skills: Academics: Neurology 40, Academics: Military Science 30, Academics: Psychology 25, Art: Scrimshaw 33, Beam Weapons 54, Blades 44, Fray 50, Freerunning (Microgravity) 25, Infiltration 40, Infosec 38, Interests: Exsurgent Virus 35, Interests: Psi 50, Interests: Merc Groups 25, Interfacing 20, Intimidation 38, Investigation (Legwork) 44, Kinesics 30, Kinetic Weapons 25, Language: Native English 86, Language: Welsh 40, Language: Arabic 40, Medicine (First Aid) 25, Networking: Autonomists 25, Networking: Criminal 25, Networking: Firewall 25, Networking: Media 25, Profession: Bounty Hunting 66, Unarmed Combat 66

Implants: Adrenal Boost, Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Chameleon Skin, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Vision, Grip Pads, embedded Psi-Jammer
Traits: Psi Defense (Level 2), Zero G Nausea

Using Blackguard

Obsessive characters need not be one-dimensional or stupid; simply very focused, particularly when in the middle of a mission, able to cheerfully ignore distractions around them. This single-mindedness is very helpful when introducing Blackguard to the player characters - she may be brusque, but it's the cheerful brusqueness of someone busy doing something she enjoys, which is hunting asyncs. As a hunter, she prefers to track her prey, then set up a nest and wait or arrange for the prey to be driven into her crosshairs. To this end, she might hire the PCs to do a bit of the groundwork for her, identifying a good sniper-post or command center, or to act as "beaters" and attack a target to drive them into her killing zone. If any of the PCs are asyncs, they might find themselves on the run, boxed in and driven to where she can take them out - elsewise, they might be hired to stop Blackguard from making her next hit, or to protect a particular async at the behest of Firewall or some other group. Blackguard for her part tries to minimize civilian casualties, but if the PCs come between her and her target, she's more than willing to fire through the PCs if there's a chance at hitting her mark.