*-Item of Power: Swords. These swords are fairly normal except for the laser/plasma sheathing. The laser/plasma can be activated by a thumb switch on the hilt, once for low/stun setting, twice for standard setting, and thrice for maximum power.
These swords do not have their own internal source of energy; rather, they rely on the chi energy of the wielder. As such, the higher the power setting, the higher the drain on the wielder.
Damage: Off setting-7, Low/stun-4, Standard-8, High-12
EP drain: Low-1 EP/turn, Standard-3 EP/turn, High-5 EP/turn
Special effect: stun (when activated on level 1) on a roll of 4 or less (on 2d12).

Defects
Hunted (whoever's after his implant) 1 BP

Basic Character Description:

At least as far is fighting style goes, Zand is your typical beast with a sword. With two swords, actually. The first thing anyone coming up against Zand is likely to notice first off is that he's fast, fast, FAST. Almost inhumanely fast, in fact. He can also pull off a fair amount of acrobatics, and he's quite skilled at tearing stuff up with his swords.

Ah, and the swords! A pair of pretty nifty weapons which, at the flick of a switch on the hilt, can be sheathed in a laser/plasma esque field for more damage. They also have an optional "stun" setting, which delivers a semi-strong electric shock upon contact to disable without killing.

Zand is free-spirited, not overly intelligent, and enjoys a good time, a good drink, a good joke, and (being mildly attractive) a good woman. At the same time, however, he approaches all his jobs with all seriousness- beneath the jokes and jibes, there is always a drive to complete the mission as closely to the letter as possible. This is a remnant from his old mental conditioning. He has a fair amount of willpower due to his training, as well.

Zand was one of the wandering urchins "recruited" by the Sh'dar, or the Order of the Twin Blades. The Sh'dar were an ancient, monklike sect devoted to overthrowing the government and establishing a theocracy in its place. To this end, they captured the young, broke their minds, trained them, shaped them into weapons. It was under the Sh'dar that Zand learned and polished the skills that would turn him into a blademaster.

When Zand was only eleven, the planetary government forces found and overran the Sh'dar stronghold, losing hundreds of men in exchange for dozens but successfully wiping out most of the group in the process. The youngest monks were taken prisoner and their mental conditioning blocks broken. Some went insane at that moment, others withdrew into themselves, and some very few, Zand among them, bounced back.

Zand was eventually released from government custody and allowed to live a somewhat more normal life as a ward of the state. Gradually, the horrors he had undergone in his training were forced down into the subconscious, not to trouble his waking hours. He became an immensely happy-go-lucky youth, almost as if his body were overcompensating for his early years. Still, he could not shake the desire to hone his skill with blade and body. The compulsion was so deep-seeded that he virtually NEEDED to train somehow, and so he did. In time, he almost forgot why he trained, how he got this good.

At age 18, Zand took up the role of bounty hunter, traveling the planet and the solar system after dangerous quarry. He was immensely successful and soon made money and a fair name for himself. His swords, named Neyma and Noyma after the twin goddesses of a dead religion, were purchased from an offworld weaponsmith. To this day, Zand continues his bounty-hunting operation.

-Mental Implant- Zand doesn't even know he has this. Few know what it does or how it got there. The Sh'dar? A corporation that hired him? Something even more sinister? Does it make him compelled to follow orders or go berserk, or does it just spy on him?