The Premium Rook
- Name: RKA20313 or Joseph Drakov
- Codename: Rook
- Aliases: Premium Professional, the Cybernetic Soldier, Cut-throat Crow, Rogue Runtkiller
- Age: 43
- Hair: Brown
- Eyes: Yellow
- Gender: Male
- Height: 6'1"
- Origin: Cyborg
- Occupation: First a soldier, then a freedom fighter, now an assassin.
- Date of Birth: 2156
- Group Affiliation: The Wanderers (current), the Resurgency (former), Runtkillers (former)
- Known Relatives: None
- Nationality: Citizen of the United Coalition of Humankind
History
In the year 2121CE, all the people of Earth have come together under the banner of the United Coalition of Humankind. War is over, the threat of communism is no more, and capitalism reigns supreme. The world is a very different place.
Yet after years of conflict, the people of Earth are vulnerable and population levels are low, with disease claiming the lives of those who survived the devastation. Disease has to be eradicated, and over the next few decades the government accomplishes exactly that. The root of human illness and disability is identified as the randomness of human reproduction. Anything can happen in the formation of a foetus, so the Coalition take over the business of reproduction.
Traditional breeding is outlawed by the Preservation Act, and all citizens are required to regularly donate their genetic material. From this pool of genes, the Coalition select the best combinations and create the optimum humans. These children are then sold, to the highest bidder. Anyone who wishes to have a child must pay for one, with several options available. The basic Economic package is a base human, resistant to all diseases, but with no additional qualities. If the parents are looking for specific attributes, such as eye colour, skin tone or a predisposition to athleticism, they must pay an additional fee. However, the ultimate package for would-be parents are the Premiums. These infants were built with an underlying cybernetic structure, with much of their skeleton, muscles and organs composed of cyborganic tissue.
The military has a particular interest in this initiative, with much of their budget dedicated to the acquisition of Premiums. Many infants are bought by the army and raised as soldiers from birth. One particular area of the military is dedicated to policing the breeding of the population, resulting in a substantial discount on all Premiums. The Runtkillers are a division whose existence is unknown to the general public, and enforce the Preservation Act by any means necessary. In particular they train a rank of soldiers known as Antibodies, a group of highly skilled assassins, to hunt down and eliminate anyone participating in natural reproduction, whether man, woman or child. These children (known as runts) are a danger to the rest of society, as ordinary humans are susceptible to incubating diseases, viruses that could mutate and pose a risk to the population. One such Antibody received the designation RKA20313 upon birth. Much later, he would take on the name Rook.
Powers and equipment
Abilities
Rook was created as a Premium human being, with no expense spared to ensure he would be perfectly suited to his life as a professional killer. His cyborganic structure grants him many superhuman abilities.
- Blending - As an assassin, it is very important to go unnoticed. For this reason, as a runtkiller Rook was equipped with a holographic projector designed to mask his appearance from those around him. His suit is outfitted with several microscopic cameras, which record the wearer's surroundings. The projector then creates an illusion to blend in with those surroundings. It is not invisibility, and it is very easy to notice if the user is moving, but providing that he remains still it is a perfectly functional camouflage.
- Enhanced Senses - Born from a perfectly selected gene pairing, Rook possesses peak human attributes, which are further enhanced by his cyborganics. Firstly, the traditional five senses are enhanced, his eyes and ears in particular are mostly cybernetic. This allows him to alter his vision to see things both microscopically and telescopically. His hearing is equally adjustable. However, his other senses are also enhanced, such as his kinesthetic and equilibroceptic senses. He is also able to sense environmental disturbances, like electromagnetic or gravitational anomalies.
- Enhanced Chronoception - Linked to his enchanced senses, Rook is able to control many brain functions that normal humans can't, such as his perception of time. He cannot affect time, but is capable of slowing down or speeding up his perception of it, allowing him more time to think and react in high pressure situations, or just speed through boring tasks.
- Enhanced Strength - Rook is currently able to lift up to 1,200 lbs.
- Enhanced Endurance - His body is far more energy efficient than the average human, allowing him to exert himself at the peak of his abilities for hours.
- Enhanced Durability - The organic metal of which Rook's bones are composed are incredibly tough. While his skin is not especially hard to penetrate, it requires a lot of force to break or cut through his bones. Additionally his muscles are cybernetically enhanced and are most resistant to harm than the average human.
- Enhanced Speed and Reflexes - Using powerful legs, he can run at speeds up to 40mph. His limbs can also be manoeuvred at high speeds, and his enhanced brain and chronoception greatly increase his reaction time.
- Disease Immunity - Being a Premium, he is immune to all known diseases, and his cybernetic implants allow him to attack any unknown diseases easily. This also extends to other foreign bodies, such as poisons.
- Cybernetic Control - Rook's cyborganic body allows him to control several bodily functions that would otherwise be automatic. For the most part, he allows his body to regulate himself, but if he ever needs to shut down his digestive system or turn off any of his senses, he is able to do so. If he is bleeding, he can reduce blood flow to the area in question. He can even shut down his pain receptors, though this comes with the disadvantage of not being able to feel anything at all.
- Metallic Skeleton - While Rook's skeleton is primarily metallic, it has been demagnetised in order to prevent those with power over magnetism from manipulating his body in combat situation. These bones also contribute to the aforementioned enhanced durability.
Weapons
As an assassin, Rook is also experienced with a wide variety of weapons. Much of his equipment comes from his time in the Communist Resurgency movement in the 22nd century. The rebels created their own weapons, taking inspiration from the gear used by the legendary Soviet army. All of the weapons are collapsible and undetectable by most modern technology. Rather than traditional ammunition, the weapons manufacturers of the 22nd century took advantage of the invention of organic metal, the material that composes much of Rook's body. Much like plants, these particular organic metals need light and air in order to grow.
Essentially, the guns generate their own bullets. Nitrogen is absorbed through an air vent on each weapon and, when low on ammunition, the user must simply active the reload feature. This causes a flash of light in the inner chamber, which reacts with the nitrogen and the metal 'seed' in order to create more bullets. As the material is organic, it allows each weapon to apply a different effect to its ammunition, depending on its purpose.
MKRV13 Gavett - A pair of rapid-fire pistols that rest on Rook's belt. By far the most simple weapons in his arsenal, the ammunition is merely base metal, though fired with more power than present-day weaponry. Each gun has two barrels, allowing a huge number of bullets to be fired simultaneously. For the most part, each barrel will alternate, so there will always be one bullet in the air at any given time. It also means that, while one gun is reloading, the other can still be firing from both barrels.
MKRV22 Scythe - Used more for stealth, the Scythe is a silenced pistol that produces no noise whatsoever by converting the sound energy of the weapon firing into electrical energy, which is then instilled into the ammunition as it fires. Essentially, each bullet is imbued with a massive amount of electricity before being fired, in addition to a trail of heat left in its wake. Upon entering the target's body, the heat trail immediately cauterises the entry wound, useful for a stealth mission as it ensures that no blood is spilled and renders the wound almost invisible. It also makes it more difficult to remove the bullet. Once embedded in the flesh, the electrical energy is released. Depending on where the bullet hits, this can either paralyse a certain part of the body, or cause the entire central nervous system to collapse and shut down the enemy's brain.
KalashDrakov - Named for Mikhail Kalashnikov, father of the assault rifle, and Andrik Drakov, one of the founders of the Resurgency. Due to its size, the Kalash has room for multiple chambers and is thus able to fire indefinitely by switching to another chamber while the other is reloading. This constant firing generates a lot of heat, which is then used to radiate the ammunition, leading to each bullet being filled with incredible heat.
DGN67 Harpoon - His sniper rifle is probably the most lethal weapon the assassin owns, in his own timeline being caught in possession of such a gun would lead to one's immediate incarceration. Firstly, the scope allows him to see even further than his cybernetically enhanced eyeballs already permit. Using advanced electromagnetic imaging it can allow the user to see right through multiple walls. In addition, its bullets can pass straight through those walls. Upon firing, massive amounts of energy are directed into the firing chamber, applying spin to the newly formed bullet. The speed and heat generated by this rotation cause the molecular structure of the organic metal to shift, with its very atoms vibrating at such a speed that the entire bullet phases through everything in its path. Walls, barriers, even people, the round will pass through everything until reaching its intended target. The Harpoon has a range of up to a range of three miles and the peak velocity of the average round is 1,113 metres per second (hitting a target three miles away will typically be at a speed of 900 m/s, so theoretically the round could travel further, but accuracy is compromised after this distance). Once the bullet has reached its destination, it will solidify after having already pierced the skin. This makes the weapon an excellent choice against opponents with enhanced durability, as no matter how invulnerable they are, the round will phase through them regardless. Following this, the bullet can be remote detonated in one of two ways: either the massive amounts of residual energy can be converted into an electric pulse, similar to the Scythe; or converted into an explosion from within the target's own flesh. Rook usually opts for the former, much cleaner, option, but some enemies require a more brutal touch.
DGN-RKK Flare Gun - While Rook was raised to be an assassin and focuses mainly on stealth, he was also a fighter in a rebellion, forced to face up against thousands of government soldiers with his exact skillset, not to mention heavy artillery and mechs. For this reason, the Resurgency outfitted him with some heavy weapons to be used against large and tougher opponents. One of these weapons was the Flare Gun, not named after the traditional flare gun, but rather upon the Solar Flares upon which its technology is based. Drawing inspiration from the raw energy output of stellar flares, the rebels' tech specialist created this unique weapon as a prototype, which was then given to the former runtkiller as his personal nuke launcher. It is also coded to his DNA, in order to ensure that no-one can use the gun against him. The RKK functions by replicating the atmosphere of star, containing a burning ball of plasma within its heart. Then, generating magnetic disturbances through rotating discs around the miniature star at high speed, the Flare Gun creates its own solar flares, which are then launched out of the aperture. This coronal mass ejection releases a massive blast of solar energy, tearing through everything in its path before detonating. Obviously, the resulting explosion is not as powerful as an actual solar flare, but it can generate an explosion that releases up to 30 megatons in heat and concussive force.
Grenades - Also for taking on tougher opponents when stealth is no longer an option, the assassin carries a variety of grenades. Like the ammunition, they are composed of organic metals and can be grown from a seed. For this reason, Rook doesn't carry any actual explosives on his person, rather there is a section of his belt that contains seeds for each grenade. By allowing air to be vented into the compartment, the devices can be grown instantly. Firstly there is the standard fragmentation grenade, that explodes with force and scatters red-hot shrapnel around the battlefield. These shrapnel can also detonate a second time after being scattered. Secondly, electrical pulse grenades, that can be used to release a massive blast of electrical energy in order to overwhelm electronic equipment. And finally, electrical dampening grenades. While they do not explode, these devices release a field that dampens all electrical activity, in order to prevent opponents from using electricity-based attacks. In particular this is meant to counter enemy runtkillers.
Hidden Blades - Like almost all members of the Brotherhood, Rook has a hidden blade used primarily for assassinations. Unlike the other Wanderers, his blade is not made of metal. After he was born, the military modified his cybernetic arms to include devices in his wrists that would generate electromagnetic blades, each measuring almost two feet long. The purpose of each blade is to pierce the flesh (though this produces more of a burn than an actual wound, as they are not physical weapons) and release an electrical pulse through the target's central nervous system, essentially a biological EMP. Usually the cyborg aims for neck, shoulders or chest, as shutting down either the heart or the brain will cause an instant clean kill. If he hits a person's extremities, such as the arms or legs, it may merely paralyse part of their body. Of course, Rook can alter the strength of his blades so that they will merely stun an opponent no matter where he strikes. In addition, the electrical pulse can be used for the opposite purpose and restart a person's heart. Alternatively, rather than channelling the electricity into the blades, Rook can merely channel it through the palms of his metallic hands and arms.
Shashka - Upon becoming a time traveller, one of the first place Rook chose to visit was Russia, during the reign of the Soviet Union. The rebellion he was a part of was founded upon communism, particularly the legends of the Soviets. He assumed that the negative aspects of their history were exaggerated by the capitalist government, and was incredibly surprised by what he found. During his time in Russia, he began training in the use of a shashka, a traditional Russian blade. His sword is not particularly extraordinary, it is made of ordinary steel, though tempered in the engines of the Voyager in order to make it slightly more durable and sharp than average. Though channelling the electrical energy of his hidden blades into the shashka, Rook can electrify the blade in order to cause more damage.
Arm Blades - Once the flesh had peeled off his cybernetic skeleton, Rook made a few enhancements to his arms, including two blades that rest in either forearm, and can be extended out of either the elbow or the wrist. This can lead to particularly deadly elbow strikes. After being extended, the blades can rotate and pivot, in addition to the base of the blades sliding up and down the forearm to allow for a variety of positions for each blade.
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