Application for singularityrpg

[notromanceable]

Player Information
Your Nickname: Stupei
OOC Journal: frogwolf
Under 18? No.
Email/IM: storm_2010[at]hotmail[dot]com / Stupei Iori [AIM]
Characters Played at Singularity: N/A

Character Information
Name: Lieutenant James Vega
Name of Canon: Mass Effect 3
Canon/AU/Other Game CR: Canon
Reference: Hey. Thanks for the dance, Lola.
Canon Point: Following the Cerberus attack on the Citadel.

Setting:

Reapers fall, everybody dies.

Come year 2148, humanity had finally extended their reach within their own solar system. During the course of their exploration, they unearthed the ruins of an ancient civilization known as the "Protheans" on Mars. While the artifacts weren't able to provide much in the way of knowledge of the race itself, they allowed for drastic leaps in human technology, along with the discovery of mass effect physics. Through the use of element zero, Mass Effect fields can facilitate everything from faster than light travel to toothbrushes with dentist-level plaque removal.

This also marked the establishment of the human Systems Alliance. This organization would become the representative of the human race as a whole, with ties to Earth's military, economy, exploration and scientific endeavours. Its parliament would later be housed in Arcturus Station, which would also be named the Alliance capital. The N7 division is a subsection of their military; it is an advanced military training program, completed by only the most skilled of marines, such as Commander Shepard.

One year following the Mars discovery, a team of scientists stumbled across another of the Protheans' creations orbiting Pluto - a Mass Relay station. Mass Relays are a network of transit devices, allowing travel on a far larger scale; with the station in their possession, humankind would be able to access the galaxy in a way they'd never thought possible.

Of course, humanity being what it is, they used the technology to attempt rapid expansion into other systems, activating every relay they could in an effort to see how far they could go. Their actions went generally unnoticed until 2157, when they unwittingly broke Citadel regulations by activating a dormant relay. This attracted the attention of the turians, instigating the First Contact War and marking mankind's first encounter with intelligent alien life.

The war only lasted three months before the Citadel Council stepped in, bringing the conflict to a swift but peaceful conclusion. With the Council's timely intervention, humans were introduced to the political hub, known as the Citadel, along several other sentient races whom they now shared their galaxy with.

The Citadel Council is considered the governing body of the enforced, lawful Citadel space, and, while most species strive to obtain a seat among their ranks, very few succeed. When humans first encountered the Council, it was made up of three races - The asari, the turians, and the salarians. They are also responsible for a faction known as the 'Spectres'; an elite team of operatives who are granted the highest level of authority by the Council, and are not bound by galactic law.

Beyond Citadel Space lies the Terminus Systems, a region on the edges of the area claimed by the Citadel and Systems Alliance. While they are free from the Council's edicts, they are also fraught with piracy and crime. There is no formal government, and conflicts are commonly waged between would-be rulers.

Outside of the Council, races who have contributed to Citadel space can be honoured with an embassy aboard the Citadel station. These privileges can be revoked however; for example, following the Krogan Rebellions, the krogan lost their embassy along with their political standing. Citadel races include the three Council races, along with the volus, drell, elcor, and hanar. The batarians relinquished their position on the Citadel, in protest to what they considered "preferential treatment" toward the humans. There are also the mysterious "keepers", whose sole purpose seems to be maintaining the Citadel itself.

For one reason or another, some races do live outside this inner circle. The quarians were outcast after creating artificially intelligent machines called the geth. Other non-Council races include, but are not limited to, the krogan, the vorcha, the raloi, and the yahg. The rachi were considered extinct following the Rachni Wars, where they attempted an aggressive expansion.

Humanity ascended quickly - far quicker than several species would have liked - and were granted an embassy on the Citadel in year 2165. Their reputation was spotty at best, having introduced themselves to the galactic stage by means of war; the turians are considered the military strength of the Council, making the humans' ability to stand against them for any length of time surprising, to say the least. The sentiments were mutual however, and feelings of xenophobia were common in quite a few humans.

Enter Commander Shepard. After coming into contact with a Prothean Beacon, she was named the first human Spectre in 2183. Forming a small crew, she began an expedition to stop a rogue turian Spectre, by the name of Saren

Over the course of their mission, Shepard and her squad uncovered a horrible truth - The mass effect technology that they had thought was left by the protheans was in fact left by an ancient race of sentient machines known as the Reapers. The Reapers have long followed a cycle - Every time organic life advanced, they would return from hibernation and obliterate them. By setting out a trail of technological breadcrumbs, they could influence the way the races developed, and lead them to the Citadel. What the unsuspecting organics did not realize was that the Citadel itself was a Mass Relay, and the starting point for the impending Reaper invasion.

Realizing the danger, Shepard's team managed to find a backdoor into the Citadel and defeat Sovereign, the Reaper attempting to lead the invasion. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary measure - The Reapers had unknown numbers, and vanquishing one would not spare the galaxy.

Shepard's heroics did manage to earn humans a seat on the Council, and Admiral Anderson stepped up to fill that position. The victory was short-lived, however, as soon afterward, Shepard was killed in action by an unknown vessel. With Shepard out of the picture, the Council was quick to cover up the existence of the Reapers, blaming the incident solely on Saren. Coupled with human colonies vanishing without explanation across the Terminus Systems, the situation had deteriorated significantly.

A pro-human extremist group, Cerberus, brought Shepard back from death under the command of their leader, The Illusive Man. Shepard was convinced to join forces with the organization out of necessity, utilizing their resources to deal with a new threat known as the Collectors. Thanks to the checkered past of her new allies and the unusual circumstances of her revival, she was forced to work without Alliance backing.

With a new team at her side, Shepard set out on a suicide mission to put a stop to the Collectors. In the process, it was learned that the Collectors were the repurposed bodies of the Protheans, being used as puppets by the Reapers. Reapers would harvest the organic races, using them as cannon fodder or liquefying them to create new Reapers. The Collectors were attempting to create a human-based Reaper using the colonists, which Shepard subsequently destroyed.

In the time following, Shepard was brought into custody for destroying a Mass Relay in the Bahak system and killing hundreds of thousands of batarians in the process. Through an indoctrinated (Reaper controlled) scientist, she had learned that it was to be the primary relay to initiate the Reaper invasion, and by destroying it, their arrival could be delayed by months. As that could not be proven officially, Shepard was grounded and her ship decommissioned. At Admiral Anderson's request, James Vega was brought in as Shepard's security, acting as a guard during her incarceration.

All of this works to set the stage for the Reaper invasion, which finally takes place six months later. Earth is ravaged by their initial assault, and Shepard is forced to leave Earth in order to rally the various races, and hopefully put an end to the cycle, once and for all.


Personality:

There are few men as dedicated as James Vega. Once he has committed himself to a person or a cause, he doesn't waver. So long as he's physically able, he will stubbornly stay his course through to the end; if that means taking a few hits along the way to get the job done, then in his opinion, it's totally worth the cost.

Despite his training, Vega is still young - and oftentimes, impulsive. He will often throw himself headlong into situations without fully thinking through the consequences. Pick a fight with a couple batarians? Sure. He can take them. Oh, they have five or six friends with them? He's got two fists - Bring it on. He loves a good adrenaline rush, and isn't above doing something others might consider stupid to get it.

At times, he can come across as almost cocky in his self-assurance. He knows he's got skill on the field, and he's certainly not ashamed of his body (and why should he be?). A lot of this ties into his particular brand of humour, and should be taken with a grain of salt. Not that he isn't a capable attractive man, but he's also a team player ninety-five percent of the time. Calling him out on his flirtatious attitude is enough to break the illusion, and leave him struggling to make a recovery.

He has a habit of giving others nicknames, under the excuse that some people just don't match their actual names. The nicknames themselves are usually just the first thing that comes to mind, making them generally easy to remember. These can range from fairly obvious titles, like renaming Garrus 'Scars' after his facial scarring, to more obscure references, such as naming Shepard 'Lola' after his friend's older sister. They aren't intended to be mean-spirited, and he will drop the use of a nickname if it actively bothers the person.

He is always ready and willing to speak his mind, even if it isn't the most popular view. “Opinionated” isn’t quite the right term for it; more, he's straightforward and doesn't care for bullshit. To him, it's easier to say what you mean and get it out there, rather than to tiptoe around an issue.

It's likely that penchant for blunt honesty that makes it difficult for him to fathom political affairs. He's not oblivious to the universe's workings, but he does get frustrated with the intricacies of interspecies politics. It would be easy to say that he's simply naive, but that isn't the case - In Vega's mind, he's simplified the situation to 'shit is going down, we need to work together.' Unfortunately, while that is technically true, it conveniently overlooks past rivalries and alliances, the fallout of previous wars... Basically, all the reasons that the galaxy doesn't get along.

Coming from a time where racism between the various species is prevalent, it is unusual for someone - particularly a soldier - to be quite so tolerant. Vega generally leaves it up to an individual to make an impression, and rarely judges based on background alone. The one exception to this being Legion, where he states to Shepard that he is wary of a geth being on board. This could easily be attributed to the collective aspect of their species, making it harder to judge on an individual scale. And, even in that instance, he is willing to put aside those differences and come to his own conclusions.

Given what the past crew of the Normandy has gone through together, James finds himself in what could potentially be a very uncomfortable position; being the newcomer and having never faced challenges on this scale or worked with these people, he's an outsider. With that in mind, he manages to integrate himself admirably. Not only does he keep pace with the others on the squad, he actually manages to make friends and forge his own bonds in a high stress situation. This is due in large part to the fact that Vega is, on the whole, a pretty likeable guy. He's easy-going when he can be, and doesn't have an issue putting himself out there. The man tried to find common ground with a prothean - It takes guts, which he has in abundance. And, even when his attempt wasn't... entirely successful, it didn't do much to discourage him.

Not every scar that Vega carries is physical. Despite his open nature, there are a few past wounds that he would prefer to keep to himself. He has unresolved issues with his father, which will bubble to the surface occasionally - particularly when the question of living up to one's parents is being thrown around. The details of his last encounter with his father aren't clear, outside of the fact that the man was a verbally abusive junkie with an incredibly low opinion of the military - not the sort of person anyone would want to be associated with. Adopting his uncle's last name, he makes very little mention of his father outside of the fact that he exists and isn't what one would consider family. Given that James still felt the need to check up on him when the Reapers hit Earth, it would indicate that whatever went on between them, some small part of him still cares about whether or not he lives.

Part of what makes James an effective soldier is his ability to lock down his emotions, forcing himself to deal with the pain and grief long after the battle is over. He can focus on the moment, harnessing his anger into a weapon against the enemy. While it works to get the job done, it can make him come across as almost callous to an outsider - This comes across particularly strong during the Thessia mission, where he repeatedly tells Liara to ignore the casualties and use her rage to press forward.

The major flaw in his strategy, of course, is the fact that he does still have to deal with the fallout of war, at some point or another; the loss of the colony on Fehl Prime in particular is a heavy weight on Vega's conscience. Despite the circumstances being beyond his control, he feels the fault is squarely on his shoulders; in the end, it was his leadership that had led his squad to their deaths. The fact that the information was quickly made useless by Shepard's mission was just salt in the wound, making it feel as though their sacrifice had been for nothing.

In the wake of those events, Vega considered his life to be worth considerably less, and, in the time following, he became increasingly more reckless. He began to act as though through some personal sacrifice, he might right the damage he'd caused; while he'd always been impulsive, the change was bordering on self-destructive. He was more than willing to go back to a fight that he couldn't possibly win, or to crash a shuttle if it meant achieving an objective; it was only following Shepard's intervention after Mars that he began to reconsider his actions. With her guidance, he eventually found focus in the current fight against the Reapers.


Abilities, Weaknesses, and Power Limitation Suggestions:

Having trained in the special forces, James has nurtured a natural talent for fighting. He is educated in both close and long range, and has proven himself proficient in armed and unarmed combat.

In game, Vega is classified as an 'arms master' - which isn't entirely accurate. While he is capable of cleaning and basic maintenance of firearms, his favoured guns (the shotgun and assault rifle) are both weapons of brute force, rather than precision. The lack of diversity makes it difficult to truly classify him as an expert; he is able to use pistols and high-powered rifles, but not to the same effect. Not only that, but it's only ever shown to be Shepard who modifies weapons in game, rather than Vega altering his own.

When armed, Vega's omni-tool can be used to augment his weaponry, creating incendiary ammo. When in effect, rounds are super-heated to cut through armor and burn enemies.

Take away the gun, and he is still a considerable threat. Not only can he deliver one hell of a punch, but he is more than capable of taking one as well. Through a strict regime, he keeps his body in top shape and he is capable of getting creative if it means getting the upper hand - If launching off a building with a batarian as your landing pad isn't inventive, I don't know what is.

While he is not a biotic, James does have an ability referred to as fortification. It reacts similarly to a biotic barrier, strengthening his armor through the use of a specialized fluid which will harden upon impact. The extra protection afforded by the barrier can be sacrificed for stronger melee attacks for a brief period - But it does take a while to recharge.

As someone apparently thought this was a good idea, James has also been allowed the use of frag grenades while in the field. Packed with shrapnel, they are a vicious weapon, capable of shredding enemies and leaving a nice bit of collateral damage in their wake.

He also has an ability called "carnage", and it... literally makes people explode into a shower of gore. Pleasant as it is, it's not well explained, so it's highly unlikely that he'll ever use it.

Vega is not the most technically inclined. While he can strip and rebuild a rifle in no time flat, give him a control panel or a large scale weapon to disarm, and he's out of his depth. He'll typically try his best, but when it comes down to it, he resorts to either pulling wires at random or putting his boot through the console.

So far as limitations, outside of physical prowess, James' skills rely strongly on his equipment. Without his armor, weaponry or thermal clips, he's just an average human. Restrictions on stock will keep him from wasting what resources he has.

Vega is also a ridiculously talented poker player. Don't make any bets against this guy unless you're ready to part with your shirt.


Inventory:

Vega would be arriving wearing his default heavy armor and military dog tags. He'll be armed with both the M-8 Avenger assault rifle and the M-23 Katana shotgun, along with his omni-tool, a full supply of thermal clips, six frag grenades, and a single application of medigel.

And his other guns. Aww yeah.


Appearance: If the M35 Mako were to have a human form, this is it. James Vega is a tank, plain and simple.

As Lieutenant Cortez once said, the weapon that Vega maintains best is himself, and that certainly shows. At 6'-1", he may not be the tallest member of the squad, but he is certainly the hardiest; muscular to an almost extreme degree, he can usually be found whiling away his spare time keeping up his physique.

That said, his fantastic abs muscles aren't the only thing that define him. He carries his share of scars; mostly notably, one on the right side of his mouth and another across the nose and cheek. There are, of course, several smaller nicks and gouges left over from his years of service, but to list them all would take up a page on its own. He also has an impressive array of tattoos, spanning up the side of his neck, down one shoulder, and on both his chest and back.

James has a fairly tan complexion and dark eyes and hair to match. He keeps his hair buzzed short as per military regulations, with a bit of faux hawk style thrown in for some personality. When not decked out in heavy armor, he leans toward a tight fitting t-shirt - After all, what use is having guns, when you can't show them off?

It's also worth mentioning that his clothing is nearly always Alliance issue - Even in Conviction, when he was all but hiding from his responsibilities, he is still flying Alliance colours. While this could be overlooked as re-use of his in-game character design, the batarians do draw attention to the fact that he is an Alliance soldier; it would make more sense to assume that he is committed to his cause and unashamed to show it.


Age: Twenty-six [I've taken Vega's age from the lead writer's twitter, where he answered a fan question about it. As they'd know better than me, this is what I'm going with.]


>OC/AU Justification
If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across? Vega is about as 'canon' as one can be in Mass Effect. He comes from a paragon female Shepard playthrough.

Decisions:
+ Wrex survives
+ Rachni Queen spared
+ Kaidan rescued
+ Council survives
+ All twelve squad members recruited and survived Suicide Mission
+ Maleon's life spared and data salvaged
+ Collector Base destroyed

If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test?
And What Did You Score?

Samples

Log Sample:

James grunted as his fist connected with the window with a hollow thunk. The action may have earned him a few sideways glances from the pair of turians behind him, but it didn't help much with the frustration.

He hated everything about this situation.

In hindsight, he probably should have waited in the lower levels. With Liara off to help appeal to the Council, it left him a lot of time to think. Not only that, but there was something very off-putting about the false serenity of the Presidium, the eerily calm music lilting from some unseen source. After the brutality on Mars, the sheer destruction that was happening on Earth that very minute, it was like they'd stepped into some bizarre alternate dimension.

The very idea of running from any fight made his stomach twist uncomfortably - But running out on what could have been the Earth's last stand? All in the hope that some politicians might get their acts together long enough to actually get something done about it? By the time they pulled their heads out of their asses, Earth could be a scorch mark on a map of the Sol System.

And why would they help? They were so caught up in their comfy illusions, their safety blankets wrapped so tightly around themselves it was a wonder they could even breathe... All while the ones who actually gave a damn were getting their skulls cracked by crazy robot chicks. But you could bet that as soon as shit went down, there would be no question who they'd be running to first.

He didn't understand how Shepard put up with it. Well, no. He did understand, somewhat. Without the backing of the Citadel, there would be no union, and alone, none of them were getting out of this mess. It was the idiots in charge that he just didn't understand. How was ignoring the situation in anyone's best interests? Toss them Earth, and hope that it would appease the Reapers, while they ran in the other direction? Keep doing that, and they'd run out of places to run.

His hand still pressed against the observation window, he shifted his weight forward to rest his head on his forearm.

As much as he didn't want to be there, he couldn't ignore the dull glint of logic, that nagging voice that insisted that this was the right thing. Shepard knew what she was doing. She wasn't going to throw Earth or anyone else to the wolves, not if there was an option.

After all - since when had doing the right thing ever been easy?


Network Sample:

[At this point, Vega isn't easy to surprise. He's watched Reapers get eaten by Thresher Maws, been nearly squashed by a very much not extinct Rachni Queen, and witnessed the cure for the Genophage firsthand.

Showing up somewhere unexpected? It doesn't really make the list after that.]

Yeah, very funny.

[Sancrosanct? Okay, so maybe a bit more lost than usual.]

Joker, if you think I won't kick your scrawny ass when I get back there... C'mon, man. We've got shit to do.

[Radio silence. What, did EDI really think that this was a good idea too? Nevermind, he's didn't want an answer for that - Her sense of humour was pretty warped.

That narrowed the options. Hopefully someone was listening, if the dynamic duo up there weren't planning on responding.]

Normandy, come in. I need a pick-up.