Body Break
Heroes: Jenissa, Zeke
Enemies: Doug, long line-ups, and Hal Johnson
After a suitably stirring introduction by the GM, the curtain of the Res Publica campaign rose on a small and mostly empty classroom at the City of Electra Military Academy. Seated at a desk in the centre of the room was a lone figure. This smarmy fellow was fidgeting impatiently and repeatedly punching a fist into the palm of his hand. Nobody had any way of knowing this yet, but he was in fact...
Varin
Race: Electran
Rank: Platoon Lieutenant
Affiliation: Electran Conventionals
Varin is a young, tough, competitive officer of the Electran
Conventionals. He has short blond hair spiked up in the front,
and wears a dark blue Conventionals uniform with the sleeves
rolled up and a pair of black fingerless gloves. He makes plain
his contempt for the "spoiled" Special Forces and seems intent on
proving their inadequacy next to the Conventionals. And with his
obvious fitness, determination and martial arts prowess, he might
be capable of doing just that.
Time ticked by as Varin continued to look exasperated, frequently glancing at his military wrist-watch and shaking his head. Meta-gaming wise, however, this lasted only a few moments, as he was eventually joined by three more young officers, each one slightly later than the next.
Jenissa
Race: Electran
Rank: Platoon Lieutenant
Affiliation: Electran Special Forces
Jenissa is one of the young protagonists of the Res Publica
Campaign. Dressed in an expensive, designer red and black
uniform, with wavy brown hair and a gleaming, bejeweled Steeltek
sword at her side, Jenissa is sure to make the Republic proud with
her carefully groomed looks alone. Although capable of using both
her sword and her pink-flamed psychic powers in battle, her most
effective weapon is her cell-phone, which can be (and frequently
is) used to call her daddy to bail her out of any predicament.
Zeke
Race: ??
Rank: Platoon Lieutenant
Affiliation: Electran Auxiliaries
Zeke is also one of the protagonists of the campaign, but it would
be hard for he and Jenissa to look any less alike. A tall man
with disheveled, light brown hair, he is dressed in a blue
button-up shirt, khaki combat pants, black steel-toed boots, a
flight jacket, a set of aviator's sunglasses and a pair of black
leather gloves in the proud tradition of Hannibal Smith. All of
his clothing is also covered with dirt, with various amounts of
smearing depending on how formal the occasion is. Zeke wears a
wheel on a silver chain around his neck, which seems to be the
symbol of his unit. In combat, Zeke fights with both his rolling
fists of street brawl and a predisposition for revenge.
Cetina
Race: Electran
Rank: Platoon Lieutenant
Affiliation: Electran Special Forces
Sporting blond hair with short, spiky bangs, a bright red military
jacket with gold epaulettes, a golden sash and glimmering white
pants, Cetina does her part to hold up the pristine image of the
Electran Special Forces. She comes off as rather snobby and
elitist to those 'beneath' her, but is quite friendy and chattery
to those she considers her equals. In battle, she wields a
Republic Sabre with what some might call rather dubious skill.
The first to join the bored Varin was Jenissa, who wasted no time in accusing the Conventional soldier of looking like a thug. Varin responded by quickly determining the new arrival's affiliation and then expressing his open contempt for the glitzy Special Forces. In a huff, Jenissa chose a desk as far away from Varin as possible.
Zeke was the next to enter, grabbing a seat beside Varin and kicking his dirt-covered boots up onto the desk. This former had a few misgivings about this, but seemed to greatly prefer the rugged Zeke's company over that of Jenissa. She, on the other hand, rather haughtily but correctly surmised Zeke's position in the "grubby Auxiliaries," and turned her back on the both of them.
Finally, Cetina made her belated arrival, immediately turning up her nose at Varin's scowl and Zeke's hygiene. However, she hit it off immediately with Jenissa, and the two girls started discussing each others' wardrobe, as well as berating their two fellow officers well within their hearing. 'Impolite' was the word Zeke was looking for to describe the situation, although he admitted that it still wasn't quite forceful enough to capture it all.
Fortunately, the stand-off in the room didn't last much longer, as entering at this moment was the class' instructor for the day.
Wincester
Race: Electran
Rank: Captain
Affiliation: Electran Conventionals
Captain Wincester comes from a long line of soldiers, and more
importantly, a very distinguished family. Dressed in a fastidious
blue uniform with shiny brass buttons and a hoard of medals on his
chest, Wincester is a man who certainly knows how to appreciate
soldiers who are looking their best. In fact, he has stated that
this last-minute briefing is crucial so that the performance of
the new rookie squadrons doesn't reflect badly on his family name.
He seems, at the least, to be a precise and competent instructor,
though his other abilities have yet to be witnessed.
Wincester addressed the class cheerfully, although he was somewhat taken aback by the presence of an Auxiliary in his course. After Zeke removed his feet from the desk, the Captain began his lecture. He first described the group's destination and itinerary. At first light the next day, they were to depart for the Electran Field Camp in the foothills of the Crystal Mountains. Further north lay the Electran aptly named Front Base, which marked the frontline of the Electran campaign. Beyond that, most of the region was known to be occupied by the Spherans, particularly the important mining city of Velguara itself. Done with this, Wincester changed his topic. Although he was sure his students knew all of it already, he wanted to review the key concepts of managing a squadron and combat in the field. In addition, he asked the four officers to register the competencies of their squadron in the military database. Jenissa's squadron turned out to be called 'The Outfit,' while Zeke's troop of Auxiliaries was known only as 'The Wheel.'
After just a few questions from Jenissa concerning bathing facilities at the Electran Field Camp, the class was then dismissed for the moment. Wincester told them that they were to meet up with their subordinate officers, and then report to the Academy gym for some last minute physical training. With salutes from Jenissa, Cetina and Varin and some kind of vague hand gesture from Zeke, the four young officers left the room and headed towards where their newly selected subordinates were waiting.
Once out of earshot of the Captain, banter erupted immediately amongst the officers. Zeke and Varin were highly critical of their lady companions' military competency, while Jenissa was demanding to know why Zeke couldn't make an effort to look more presentable. In response, the latter made a half-hearted attempt to wipe the dirt from his clothes, but it didn't seem to placate Jenissa. Fortunately, before the argument could escalate, the group arrived at their destination. Waiting inside the small briefing room were four people.
Sergeant Slaughter
Race: Electran
Rank: Platoon Sergeant
Affiliation: Electran Conventionals
Loud and proud, the burly Sgt. Slaughter is a soldier to the core.
He's got a bluff, clean-shaven face and his buzzed brown hair is
hidden by his wide-brimmed Army hat. A set of green camouflage
fatigues and black army boots completes the ensemble, and what
with his outrageously loud shouting and stomping, it's an ensemble
that's very hard to miss. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this
rough-and-ready soldier serves as platoon Sergeant to Lt. Varin,
and is always ready to lay down his life for his unit, his
country, or really nearly any cause whatsoever.
Brock
Race: Electran
Rank: Platoon Sergeant
Affiliation: Electran Special Forces
An ex-elite-gym trainer, the squinty eyed Brock has signed on with
the Electran military for reasons known only to him. He has spiky
brown hair and sports a green military vest, a red shirt and brown
slacks. Although rumored to possess rock-solid defense, Brock's
number one characteristic seems to be his irresistible attraction
to anything remotely female. As such, he seems to have ended up
as platoon Sergeant to Special Forces Lt. Cetina.
Vidal Sassoon
Race: Electran
Rank: Platoon Sergeant
Affiliation: Electran Special Forces
The first, and often the only, thing that one would notice about
Vidal Sassoon is that he looks good. He wears an absolutely
immaculate white uniform with frequent red tassels and lining, as
well as a pair of brilliantly shined black shoes. His hair is
lustrous, black and perfectly styled in the latest European
fashions. Sassoon's other abilities remain rather vague and hazy,
but when you look as good as he does, nothing else really matters.
Quite naturally, Vidal Sassoon serves under Lt. Jenissa of the
Special Forces, and is certain to ensure that the troops under her
command are always looking their best.
Desrae
Race: Terrorian
Rank: Platoon Sergeant
Affiliation: Electran Auxiliaries
Sgt. Desrae makes quite a foreboding figure. Wavy brown hair
frames a hardened face with two exotic - and dangerously - slanted
eyes. She wears a crimson leather vest, black leather gloves and
pants and has a set of scaly bat-wings protruding from her back.
Her trusty PK-33 handgun is never far from her side, and she has
no qualms about making its presence known either. In fact,
Desrae's effort in any endeavor would seem, at first glance, to be
directly proportional to the amount of money involved. This
rather commercially-minded officer serves beneath Lt. Zeke of the
Auxiliaries.
Sergeant Slaughter was the first to react to the officers' arrival, snapping to attention and nearly deafening them with his acknowledging shout. Jenissa and Zeke both correctly surmised that the man was to serve under Varin, who was simply nodding in approval at Slaughter's salute. However, there wasn't much time for further consideration, as Cetina and Jenissa were promptly assaulted by the presence of Brock and his incessant questions concerning their day. Backing away, they were fortunately saved by the timely intervention of Vidal Sassoon, who presented the ladies with several complimentary assessments of their wardrobe. The conclusion of these introductions left only Desrae, who was slouched in a chair with her feet up on the table. Zeke was quick to follow her example, and the two greeted each other with the universal 'Hey.'
This lack of military discipline and proper posture was most offensive to Jenissa, and she stated as such rather loudly. Vidal was quick to second his superior's opinion, but was even quicker to back down when Desrae's gun left its holster to centre itself in his general direction. Not to be thus intimidated, Jenissa immediately reached for her cell-phone, with threats to call her "very important" daddy to deal with the situation. With groans from nearly everyone in the room, Desrae put her gun away in exasperation. The phone, it appeared, was mightier than the sword.
Varin reminded everyone that they were due immediately at the gym, and he and Sgt. Slaughter jogged off in that direction without another word. Jenissa and Cetina swiftly followed, with the latter questioning the former on where she had found such a fine officer as Vidal, and the persistent Brock pestering them along the way. This left only Zeke and Desrae, who, after a set of mutual shrugs, reluctantly decided they had better go too and hauled themselves to their feet. And so it was that our heroes arrived at the Academy Gym, where they met the man who was to be their trainer for much of the rest of the day.
Hal Johnson
Race: Electran
Rank: Civilian
Affiliation: The Body Break TV Series
As well as being the co-host of his own TV series, Hal Johnson is
an acknowledged fitness guru. Despite being a slightly older
fellow, he is still in perfect health, sporting a short black
mustache, a blue-and-white windbreaker, blue sweat pants and an
impressive physique. Always full of encouragement and enthusiasm,
Hal was never one to let anyone back down from a fitness
challenge, be it a short warm-up or a marathon, and was specially
brought in to ensure that the soldiers leaving for the field would
be in the best condition they could be.
Hal jovially welcomed the young officers to the gym, and assured them that they should be looking forward to a tough work-out. He waited only enough time for Jenissa to change clothes, into a "cute" red aerobics outfit, though the rest of the officers were a bit surprised that Vidal Sassoon did not do the same. Zeke, in the meantime, preferred to simply sling his grungy flight-jacket over a chair. The work-out then began with a jump-rope warm-up. Jenissa tangled herself up on her first round but afterwards managed to find a steady rhythm, whereas Zeke did quite fine as soon as he started actually trying. Cetina, meanwhile, seemed to have trouble making it over the rope even once, and it soon became apparen why Vidal had no need to change clothing, as he seemed intent on casually posing with his skip-rope slung jauntily over one shoulder.
Finished with this warm-up - without Hal breaking a sweat, of course - the recruits moved on to the most gruelling part of their training: the 2000 metre run. The ever-helpful Hal informed the officers that he and his TV crew were going to make a donation towards the military budget of whichever officer finished the course first. Even Zeke was inspired by this incentive, and took to the starting line with a new gleam in his eye. Hal Johnson gave the signal and the race was on. Sgt. Slaughter set the pace with an Insane Dash, whereas Zeke and Varin began competitively sprinting against one another. Jenissa decided to warm up first with a light jog, with Hal Johnson doing the same. A casual stroll, meanwhile, seemed more the pace of Vidal Sassoon.
The dynamics of the race changed as Brock caught up to Jenissa, chatting to her along the way. This caused her to step up the pace to an insane dash herself in an effort to leave poor Brock behind. Surprised by this maneuver, Brock tripped and fell face-first onto the gym floor, allowing Jenissa to make good her escape. Zeke and Varin, intent on their own race, were completely shocked when Jenissa, spurred on by the threat of Brock, blew right by them and redoubled their efforts. Vidal Sassoon, in the meantime, was engaging in some serious decisive action, while a now red-faced Sgt. Slaughter struggled to keep up his insane pace. Hal Johnson, done with his proper warm-up, stepped it up to a Highland Run, and began swiftly gaining on Slaughter.
The gruelling race continued for some time, with Hal and Slaughter in the lead, and Jenissa unbelievably managing to stay ahead of Zeke and Varin. The latter three had just crossed the half-way point when Hal jogged across the finish line, with Sgt. Slaughter following shortly thereafter, and Cetina lagging far, far behind. Fatigue finally began to take its toll on Jenissa and she was forced to slow to a jog once more, allowing Zeke and Varin to dash past her. Both commanders gave it their all, but as they approached the final stretch, Zeke's step faltered, allowing Varin to race ahead and take the win. Red-faced from exertion, Zeke stumbled across the finish line, and a few moments later, Jenissa, looking picture-perfect despite her fatigue, arrived. Hal Johnson, of course, had been waiting for them for quite some time, as was, somewhat mysteriously, Vidal Sassoon, and the fitness guru was quick to offer his congratulations to each of the officers. Brock was quick to add his own congratulations for the two ladies, although Jenissa cheerfully suggested to Cetina that she take up an aerobics program as well. However, although the race had been gruelling, the day was far from over for our heroes, and with Jenissa changing back into her uniform and Zeke hitching his grungy jacket over one shoulder, they proceeded to their next duty.
Following their training at the hands of Hal Johnson, the quartet of lieutenants returned to their briefing room, where they were greeted once again by Captain Wincester. The topic of this next lecture was on leadership both on and off the field, and each leader was handed a report detailing the military's assessment of their strengths and competencies. Our heroes poured over these reports, while Cetina asked what the procedure was for changing uniforms in the field, in the unlikely event that one would become dirty. This earned only a snort of contempt from Zeke, who, judging from his own clothing, didn't find such an event so unlikely. Finished with the lecture, Wincester told them their next step was to visit the acquisitions office, where they would spend their military credits to procure equipment for their troops. Jenissa brightened at this, stating that she was very familiar with forms of credit. Following this, the officers had leave to break for lunch, before returning for one final briefing.
Together, our four heroes swiftly headed down for the Supply and Munitions office. But as they arrived, they witnessed a disturbing site. The office, which consisted of a booth set into the wall, was empty, with a crudely written sign on the counter that read 'Back in 5 Minutes.' Just in the process of leaving was an extremely unhelpful individual, who would have walked away right on the spot had Jenissa not forcibly stopped him...
Doug
Race: ??
Rank: Supply and Munitions Manager
Affiliation: Electran Military Academy Staff
It's almost impossible for anyone to be less helpful than Doug. A
grey-haired man in a blue-and-grey flannel shirt and blue jeans,
he was in charge of issuing equipment at the City of Electra
Military Academy. His hobbies consist of ignoring people from
behind his computer screen and giving young officers the
bureaucratic run-around. If Doug had any combat skills, they
would likely involve towels in some way, but no one has ever
witnessed such skills, so this is really a moot point.
Despite his apparent lack of anything to do, Doug claimed he was very busy, but Jenissa would have none of it, and even called her daddy in an overt threat on Doug's job security. Faced with this, Doug resignedly returned to the counter, but rather than assist them immediately, he spent several moments at his computer screen, which was tilted just enough so that no one could see it. Eventually, Doug handed over the forms that our heroes would need to fill out, but the bureaucracy was far from over. The officers would have to fill out the form, take it all the way across the base to Accounting, get it stamped and signed, and bring it back to receive their equipment. Even the threat of Jenissa's daddy was unable to circumvent the bureaucratic process, and thus our heroes finally took the forms and proceeded down to Accounting.
Arriving at their destination, our heroes were horrified to see a gigantic line-up in front of the Accounting window that seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. Jenissa, however, had had quite enough of waiting and immediately strode to the front of the line, with Zeke trailing behind her to get in on the line-cutting action. Arriving at the desk, Jenissa interrupted the guy who had formerly been first and demanded that her forms be processed immediately. Both the Accounting clerk and the guy she had cut off tried to protest, but Jenissa was not to be swayed, and nor was her daddy. With a great deal of pushy whining, she quickly got her way and the accountant reluctantly stamped and signed her forms. The first guy in line was outraged - apparently, he had been at the front of the line waiting for his form to be processed for half an hour! Zeke took this moment to join forces with the guy, saying how he shouldn't just take that kind of thing lying down, and demanded that their forms be stamped at once. The beleaguered accountant caved in under the pressure and soon our heroes had returned to Doug and finally managed to put in the orders for their squadrons' equipment.
By this point, it was time for lunch, and the hungry PCs made their way to the Academy Cafeteria. Upon their arrival, they noticed that one side of the room appeared to be for the regular soldiers, and the other was reserved for officers like themselves. And waiting for them right at the door was none other than Hal Johnson. Johnson informed them that although the regular soldiers were eating regular cafeteria fare, he wanted their commanders to 'set an example' for their troops. As such, he had taken the liberty of arranging an Officers' Buffet that consisted exclusively of all-you-can-eat coleslaw. Jenissa in fact approved of this heartily, as it was consistent with the advice of her personal nutritionist. Zeke, however, was less than impressed, but didn't dare say so under Hal's enthusiastic but watchful eye. After taking his coleslaw and pretending to eat some, he glanced over and saw some guys with wheel insignias on their jackets who were carrying a beer cooler and standing in line on the other side of the room. Recognizing his own men, Zeke cheerfully went over to discuss their itinerary, make fun of the Special Forces, and most importantly, cut in line. He soon arrived at the counter, where the soldiers were being served an appetizing beef stew. Despite protests by the sous-chef that the officers had their own line, Zeke managed to use the impatience of the hungry men behind him to obtain his bowl of stew, and then sat eating and drinking beer with his men. Meanwhile, Jenissa sat chatting with Cetina on the caloric intake of their respective diets, while Varin sat on his own, trying his best to choke down the hideous coleslaw. However, meal time is all too short in the military, and before long, the four officers were required to report back to Captain Wincester for their third - and final - briefing of the day.
The walk back to the briefing room was dominated was Jenissa and Cetina's chastisement of Zeke for skipping out on Hal's coleslaw. This latter, however, maintained that he had simply been out raising the morale of his troops. It seemed that there was indeed no end to the rivalry between the military divisions, but fortunately, our heroes arrived back at their classroom soon enough.
The last session of the day was very simple: a one-on-one live field exercise, pitting the different commanders against each other. Varin was slated to go up against Cetina, and that left Jenissa and Zeke to face one another. In due time, the two commanders were swiftly leading their respective units into battle. Jenissa's Outfit, resplendent in their Deluxe Uniforms with PK-33 handguns strapped to their side, marched out in tight formation and saluted their leader. Zeke's Wheel, on the other hand, came racing out randomly firing their Hacksaw Shotguns into the air and waving their combat daggers. However, despite much bravado on the part of the Wheel, Jenissa's crack Special Forces broke their opponents with a single precise shot, and from their, the battle was extremely one-sided. Zeke's forces went down to defeat, bringing only a single one of Jenissa's men with them.
Wincester congratulated both commanders on the battle, although he seemed quite pleased that the Special Forces had triumphed. Jenissa too was very pleased with the performance of her well-groomed troops, whereas the non-chalant Zeke was certain that the 'training' battle had simply been rigged, probably by Jenissa's daddy. Wincester told them that they had one last duty for the day, and that was to report to the gym once more for a final fitness test.
Arriving at the gym, the PCs found Varin and Cetina waiting for them. Cetina was musing that perhaps she shouldn't have selected two sets of Deluxe Uniforms and was wondering if she could trade one in. However, waiting for them as well was Hal Johnson. The fitness trainer congratulated them on getting this far, but also warned them that combat would be a part of life out in the field. As such, they had one final test ahead of them: to take on Hal himself!! After recovering from the shock, Zeke and Varin raised their fists, Cetina drew her sabre, Jenissa stood back and watched, and the battle began.
Despite the pain of being Hal's Jogging Buddy and being paralyzed by a sudden Health Attack, Zeke waded in with his fists swinging, laying some heavy hits on Hal. Cetina, meanwhile, did not prove so resilient, and after a few mostly ineffective attacks with her sabre, went down from a single bout of heavy jogging with Hal. Varin was really laying on the pain with his Martial Arts, but was having trouble doing any real damage due to Hal's Perfect Health. Even Jenissa reluctantly joined the battle, negligently tossing psi-globes of pure pink energy. Things seemed to be going well, until in a sudden display of power, Hal Body Broke Varin over his knee, taking the Conventional soldier out of the fight in a single blow. Awed by this display of fitness strength, Zeke let it all out with one mighty kick that sent Hal slightly staggering backwards. The television icon still didn't look hurt - but to Zeke's relief, he laughed and declared that they had done well enough. It seemed our heroes had passed the test, and more importantly, survived the Body Break. Surely, they would now be fully prepared for all that they would face in the field...