REAL NAME: Brian
E-MAIL: bvaldezcasselman@gmail.com
==============PROFILE PORTION ==============
Character Name: Zed Cassel
Character Age: Birth Year 2026. Approximate years lived as of 2067 (45 years due to time travel).
Gender: Male
Birthplace: South Coast City
Beliefs: Personal spiritual view on life based on experiences and his Christian upbringing.
Hair Color: Dark brown/black
Eye Color: Dark brown with gray and black speckles
Height: 6'1 1/4" (and damn proud of that 1/4"), 186.69 cm
Weight: 197 lbs., 89.4 kg.
Handedness: Right handed
Distinguishing Features: Wears a goatee when allowed. His hair is gelled, kept combed back and spiky. He has a small scar on his chin from secondary school physical education. On the inner corner of his left eye there is a small black mole that many mistake for a bug, dirt, or any other debris. Classified parts of his history can explain his youthful appearance, with his true physical age hard to guess at.
Family: Father (Kyle Cassel) and mother (Emily Cassel) are divorced, part of the original civilian colony team of the M15 Fleet. Sister (Renee Cassel) is younger and beginning secondary school. Having been accepted to the UN Spacy, they have all effectively disowned him.
Occupation: Classified
Affiliation: Classified
Rank: Captain
Character Interests: He loves to write. He is always daydreaming and writing short stories. People who knew him were confused why he joined the UN Spacy if he likes writing so much. What they don't understand is that his dreams are always of flying and fighting. As he has aged and seen conflict after conflict, his greatest interest is raising the abilities of those around him with the intent of burying fewer friends and colleagues.
Hobbies: Reading and writing literature. Much of his free time is now consumed by duty.
Best Friend: His Zolan lover, Mjuiri Kavryn.
Worst Enemy: Himself. Zed has grown beyond his youthful self-depreciation and social awkwardness and now finds himself prone to getting lost in a cause. He is likeable and respectable, but not very approachable.
Turn Ons: He is satisfied with who he has to the exclusion of interest in any other woman around him.
Turn Offs: Prissy, selfish and self-deluded woman. They disgust him with their disregard for others.
Worst Secret: Classified, Classified, and more Classified.
Character Goals:
**Two year Goal - Classified
**Five year Goal - Classified
Character Background:
Zed Cassel was born in South Coast City in the year 2026. His father, Kyle Cassel, is the 6th son of eight children to a Spanish family in the California Central Valley. His family was very religious and very controlling, which inevitably led to Kyle's disregard for all rules except those that seemed right to him. Around 2025 Kyle met a young Caucasian woman named Emily Gaust. She had been working as a temp for the company that Kyle belonged to. Through their mutual longing and lust, Emily became pregnant and decided to move to the rebuilt San Francisco. Kyle, trying to be the responsible father, moved with her. With young Zed born Emily and Kyle remained unmarried. Immediately they knew that Zed was intellectually talented, but due to their frictional home-life, did not foster his growth well. A year before Zed's younger sister Renee was born, also the year before Zed began school, Kyle married Emily out of necessity and guilt. Thus Zed's childhood was filled with hidden tension, the kind that a young child stores away in his subconscious without thinking about it. His social life suffered growing up, never fitting in. He was a dreamer, and much to his parents' chagrin, watched DYRL constantly, wanting to be a variable pilot. He let his imagination rule his mind in class, drifting away in boredom from the lessons he felt were too easy. When he was old enough, he built a replica glider of a WWII P-51 Mustang, and launched in it from the hills above San Francisco. This alarmed many a defense force soldier, and as a result he was detained and his glider impounded. Other than this, Zed's record was very clean. He never fought, never was mean. He chose to see the good in people, and to respect them no matter what. This did not mean he didn't see the bad or the faults, just he chose to ignore them.
As Zed entered secondary school, he finally met a friend. Jake Hawthorne. Jake was the son of two Defense Force career marines, and as a result, shared many of the same dreams of a military career that Zed had. Jake recognized the intellectual talent within Zed, and chose to benefit from it. While this caused Jake to excel in school, Zed floundered, still insecure and caught in dreams. At the beginning of his third year, Zed was unfortunate enough to really hurt his back. He could not walk for extended periods of time for over a month. This galvanized his resolve into bettering himself. Just as his back was fully healed, his friend Jake's parents came to Kyle and Emily, announcing they were leaving on the Colony 15 mission. Because their lives were so hectic, Zed's parents signed on at the last minute. Because of this, many school records, medical records, and personal items were left on Earth. When Zed started his final year of secondary school, he knew that he would apply for Beginhill 15. He concentrated all of his efforts into staying in shape and writing his entrance thesis. On the weekend that the thesis were due, Jake offered to take them over personally on a shuttle while he went to see his parents. On the way over, Jake changed a few things on Zed's thesis and made it his own, effectively leaving Zed's application bare. When Zed learned of this, he confronted Jake in physical education. He challenged him to a game of basketball, winner took credit for the thesis. In the last moments of the game, Jake drove his elbow into Zed's chin, giving him his small scar and winning the game. Stunned, but not too surprised at the loss, Zed walked away. He did not become angry with Jake, nor hate him. He hated himself for not recognizing Jake's manipulations of him. At the same time, his parents revealed to each other each of their infidelities, and divorced. Zed at first took sides, but then began to resent their lack of love for each other, and decided to just look out for his sister. None of his family wanted him joining the Spacy, and as he graduated and declared his intentions, they disowned him Still wanting to be a pilot, he spent his following year out of secondary school writing a new thesis and practicing his general flying skills. His social confidence was completely shot however.
His three years at Beginhill 15 went fast. He avoided most of the other cadets during offtime, but proved to be an excellent soldier and leader during classes. He avoided making new friendships and focused on being the best he could. Despite himself, the cadets in his training class did break through his resolve, and he found that he depended on them to be there. In training exorcises he made it his goal to look out for them. One cadet in particular Zed trusted, and that was his bunk mate and wingman Henry Chinaski. One other cadet became a good acquaintance to him, and that was Edward Silos. Silos ended up being fast tracked through training a few months before Zed, and found himself as part of the Macross 15 City Busters. Zed keeps a running correspondence with Silos, though that had been interrupted for a while with malfunctions in the fleet mailing system. Only once did he bump into Jake, and at that time he just kept going, not angry, but still hurt.
Zed’s first assignment was to the SVFA-55 Archers aboard the Rainbow Warrior III. Fortune smiled upon him enough that he was kept paired with his wingmate from the academy, Henry Chinaski. Upon arrival on Earth’s moon, Zed and the rest of the Archers met up and brief night’s sleep, the Archers were given their first sortie out of the Moon’s dry docks. This first flight ended in disaster, with one pilot dead and another severely injured. Subsequently the Archers were subject to investigation and massive runs in the combat simulator. Their second flight up proved much more successful, and with Zed placed as third in command, his flight managed to rescue the captain of a ship in distress. Again, the Archers’ luck was hit or miss. Their next mission up proved to be the end of them, just as Zed received a promotion and command of the entire mission. On Seed the Archers found themselves subject to another devastating aerial accident that blew their cover. After ambush and routing, the Archers were left on Seed with their quarry gone and over half their number dead. Subsequently the squadron was decommissioned and the pilots all reassigned.
Zed’s first tour of duty after the Seed incident was with the 10th Galaxy Patrol electronics warfare squadron SVAQ-48 Copperheads. Four three months duty seemed fairly ordinary, until the unit was called to give insertion cover and fly CAP for the SVA-95 Gremlins in a reprisal attack against a militant group who had recently raided the New Nile Weaponry Base of Cristania. The attack itself was supposed to be simple in plan and execution. The Copperheads would fly in low, jamming enemy frequencies and drawing fire to pinpoint the defenses that the militant group had established. The Gremlins would follow on the tails of the Copperheads and destroy the defensive emplacements, then move on to the storage facilities and attempt recovery or destruction of the stolen arms. Going into the mission, Zed’s assigned EWO, Lt. Viola Aldrich, dryly commented that she didn’t expect anything in the mission to be simple and that Zed better watch their asses. As is the nature of most pre-mission warnings, Viola’s bad feeling was fortuitous. Part of two flight, Zed was recessed behind the squadron XO as the group made their way up a valley flying NAP of the earth. Communication channels proved limited to laser line due to heavy deposits of iron and cobalt in the terrain. As the squadron moved through the range that intelligence claimed the target defenses would begin all they found was empty terrain. The leading fighters never saw the ambush coming. Fragmentation and EMP mines blasted into the air and detonated in the paths of the squadron CO, XO, 3IC, and three other pilots. As their fighters succumbed to the hail storm of destruction, Zed kicked his VF-11 into a left sideslip and transformed to battlroid mode, effectively slamming his fighter’s backside against the terrain but proving none the worse for the ware. Two other Copperheads managed to avoid damage altogether, with two more avoiding the mines but getting caught in particle beam blasts from behind the Gremlins down the valley. Recessed cannons had opened up from the long end and rained deadly energy upon the two squadrons, destroying and downing eight Gremlins. With the situation rapidly deteriorating and no clear command structure with both squad’s leaders down, Zed took control. Ordering the two units to provide cover fire, he moved down the valley towards the turrets, Viola protesting the whole way. In probably the greatest feat of flying he’d ever done, Zed outmaneuvered the cannon blasts and reached the terrain above the barrels. Dropping his gunpod, Zed reached down and manually moved traversed the barrel down as it was firing, causing the beam to rake along the valley floor and detonate the remaining mines. With a shout of, "Mission is a go!" Zed grabbed his gunpod and unloaded the full clip into the turret system. Through his brave actions and clear head, Zed was able to accomplish the mission objectives with only one other casualty. During cleanup and recovery, it was found that the militant group was actually an annex to a Zendreadi supplied rogue unit, and had been awaiting pickup of the stolen weapons. Both the Copperheads and Gremlins were out of action for the ambush of the shipping fleet, but their actions proved invaluable in shutting down their operation in the area. With the death of the Copperheads XO, and the wounding of the CO and 3IC, the whole squadron was put on leave for a month. Upon return Zed found himself third in command.
The rest of the tour of duty with the 10th Galaxy Patrol was far less eventful than their first combat mission, but throughout it Zed and Viola proved to be an effective unit, ensuring the success of the mission through tenacity, bravery, and a commitment to the members of his squadron. Several times he made the difficult choice of placing himself in the line of fire in order to protect a downed pilot. Despite his bravery on the field, Zed was still rather taciturn in his interactions with the other squad mates outside of missions. They all liked him, and they trusted him, but they didn’t know how to break through his protective shell. The only squad member he let inside was Viola, and only on a professional level. He knew that in order to function properly she had to know him and trust him, just as he had to know and trust her. As with most Pilot/EWO relationships, their friendship meant that one was rarely seen without the other.
The second year of Zed’s career would have seen both Zed and Viola returning to the Copperheads if not for a malfunction aboard their home carrier. The accident occurred during a rendezvous to pick up Three Flight from leave. The four VF-11s would fly out to a set of coordinates a day’s flight away from their launch site and the carrier would pick them up in secret. Three flight arrived on time, in deep space dear a comet nursery. They waited for four hours, all members getting extremely antsy and nervous. At last someone showed up, but not their base carrier. Instead it was the hostile frigate Naginata engaged with a group of UN Power Armor Marines. The marines were trying desperately to disable the ship’s engines and gain entry to the command station. The Naginata was quicker in reaction than the Copperheads, and two of the VF-11’s went down in a single salvo. Kicking his throttle forward and yelling to his remaining wingmate to go evasive, Zed maneuvered towards the offending cannons. He had Viola make contact with the marines, discovering their objectives and aiding in their capturing of the Naginata. As things calmed down, the marines signaled for a pickup and recovery while Zed worked guarding the remaining vehicles in the hanger. It was later learned that the Copperheads’ home carrier had split and detonated due to sabotage of the fold generator. The Major in charge of the Marine assault group was suitably impressed with Zed’s ability to work with the marines and react to a negative situation. On his recommendation Zed and Viola were assigned to a joint insertion group nicknamed the Kitshickers, tasked with covering ship breach and capture missions against rogue insurgents. Zed’s specific role was operation coordination between pilots, Marines, and internal operatives. During a mission, aside from general combat duties, his decisions determined where and when to hit hard or withdraw, allowing the marine boarding parties the diversions and cover they needed to get their jobs done.
At this point Zed and Viola’s history becomes classified. 18 months pass before their assignment to the Kitshickers ends and they are moved back into regular squad rotation, pending assignment.
Black Wraiths Period of History: Classified
Emigrated to Scorpii 18 system and naturalized as a Buthridan in 2050. Commissioned as an officer in the Intersolar Lookout as a veteran instructor. Given command of the Chaerilidae Training Carrier Air Wing, CVW-24. Formal information of this period is classified and Zed’s career goes on without official documentation.
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Game Mechanics
IQ: 15
ME: 13
MA: 10
PS: 9
PP: 14
PE: 12
PB: 11
SPD: 10
HP: 26
SDC: 30
OCC: VF Pilot
Level: 10
Exp:
SKILLS
BASIC SKILLS: Core World: Urban Middle Class, (86%) Pretty much a Regular Person: Bonuses: +2% on base and MOS skills.
Language: English 98%
Literacy: English 66%
Language: Spanish 71%
Literacy: Spanish 61%
Math: Basic 61%
Math: Advanced 61%
MOS: High School Education
High School Science (extreme basics of Chemistry, Physics and Biology): 81%
General History 51%
Regional History 61%
Lore: region of birth 56%
Music instrument-bass guitar 92%
MOS Related Skills
Cook: 66%
Boat - Motor and Hydrofoils: 50%
Lighter-than-Air Vehicles: 51%
OCC VF Pilot SKILLS:
-All Heavily used in Chaerilidae Radio-basic: 70%
Read Sensory Instruments: 60%
Navigation (all): 70%
Weapon Systems: 65% +1 strike in vehicles
Pilot Jet: 72%
Pilot VF: 85%
VF Combat: VF-1, VF-4, VF-5000, VF-11, VF-19, VF-22
WP: Automatic Pistol +5 aimed, +3 burst, 66%
WP: Automatic Rifle +5 aimed, +3 burst, 66%
Hand to Hand: Expert
(FRZ) Base Military Etiquette: 30%
(FRZ) Base Lore - UN Armed Forces: 30%
OOC VF Pilot Related SKILLS:
Medical-First Aid: 98%
Automobile: 73%
Airplane (old style prop, single or double engine): 77%
Space Fighter: 76%
Pilot Shuttle: 88%
Computer Operation: 98%
Movement - Zero Gravity: 98%
Basic Electronics: 65% -
Only occasionally practicesIntelligence: 58%
- Heavily used in Chaerilidae 6th level: Language Zentraedi 55%
-Heavily used during Chaerilidae6th level: Fortification 45% -
Heavily used during Chaerilidae 9th level: Chemistry
RETRAINING SKILLS (from level 4)
Pilot Mecha: Power Armour 70%
Mecha Combat: Power Armour Mk 3.09
RETRAINING SKILLS (from level
–All heavily used in ChaerilidaeMechanical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
OverTechnology (mecha) Mechanics
OverTechnology (mecha) Electronics
Armorer
SECONDARY SKILLS:
Swimming: 96%
- Swims no less than 2 miles daily during ChaerilidaePhotography: 50%
Computer Repair: 86%
Writing: 76%
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COMBAT:
5 Actions
+2 Roll with punch/fall
+3 roll w/ impact
+3 Pull Punch
+3 to parry and dodge
+2 to strike
+4 to Disarm
+1 initiative
Kick attack 1D6 SDC
Critical Strike 18, 19, or 20
Paired Weapons
VF-1 Valkyrie
10 attacks
+2 on initiative
+4 to strike
+6 to parry
+5 to dodge in solder mode
+6 in gerwalk
+8 in jet mode
+6 roll with a punch or fall
+6 roll with an impact
VF-4 Lightning III
VF-11 Thunderbolt
VF-19 Excalibur
13 attacks
+2 on initiative (+5 w/ ASS)
+3 to strike (+4 w/ ASS)
+4 to parry
+7 to dodge in battroid mode,
+8 in gerwalk, +10 in jet mode.
+5 to roll with a punch or fall
+5 roll with an impact.
VF-22 Sturmvögel II Combat
13 attacks
+2 on initiative (+5 w/ ASS)
+5 to strike (+4 w/ ASS)
+7 to parry
+6 to dodge in battroid mode, +8 in gerwalk, +10 in jet mode.
+5 to roll with a punch or fall
+5 roll with an impact.
Mk 309 Combat
6 actions
+1 initiative
+5 to strike (weapons only, not hand to hand)
+7 parry
+6 dodge
+5 roll with punch or fall
+5 roll with impact.
Background and stats that need approval:VF choices per period:
M0- SV-51
SDFM- VF-1
MF- VF-27*
*During the years between the current date of Chaerilidae and the start date of Black Wraiths 2, Zed will have undergone several injuries (he leads a very active combat lifestyle) and I would like for him to have a significant portion of his spinal cord replaced with blackmarket cybernetics not tied into the Macross Galaxy based network of interconnected cybernetics. I would like his cybernetics to be localized only, without actually wireless networking capabilities, such that were he to try piloting the 27, his neural interface would probably be controlled via flight suit interfacing with his implants through the skin (think similar to the way the magnetic interface of an apple charger can technically interface through any non-resistant surface). If possible this I feel would at most give a plus 1 to PE, ME, and PP due to increased durability of his back, increased control over his nervous system, and faster neural response time for physical reactions.
Language:
