It's 1999, and the calendar is counting down to the end of one century and the beginning of a new one. It's also counting down the days until the end of the world. But it's not computers, nuclear weapons, or a stock crisis we should be worrying about. It's the Aliens.
In 1947, an unidentified flying object crashed in the New Mexico desert, never reaching it's true destination, some faraway place between the stars. From that moment on, humanities days became numbered as we drew the attention of a malevolent intelligence from the beyond. They found us, they observed us, and they were unimpressed with what we were, but intrigued as to what we could become. The first live human being was abducted in 1955, and many more would come after.
Their first, radical experiments left no survivors, editing an unfamiliar genome is always an inexact science. Adults were too fearful, too violent, prone to physical and psychological damage, so they moved on to children, more docile and more malleable, still developing. Their inexact science became a veritable art, carbon-based life perfect for their purposes owing to it's simplicity. Batches of children were abducted, modified, mind-wiped, and returned from whence they came, collected again every few years for further tailoring to suit their creators purposes.
Now there are hundreds of abductees, scattered across the world. Ticking time-bombs meant to take the vulnerable earth by storm when the time is ripe. The conquest will be accomplished without firing a shot, mankind as we know it will be defeated and replaced by it's created successor. Or at least, that was the plan, anyway. But there are people who already know.
Called crackpots by the world at large, and a few are more than half-mad or simply obsessed, a select group of disgraced scientists, government agents, and military officers have put together the pieces of the puzzle. The abductees have finally grown up and are beginning to show their true nature. Meant to be mankind's destroyers, they may yet become humanity's last, best chance at salvation. But absolutely none of them are prepared for the trials to come, and time is running out.
-The Agency-
Started as essentially a support-group for cracked-up professionals with a fixation on aliens, people who believed due to something they had seen or heard that they couldn't let go, who were too clean-cut and generally 'respectable' to fit in with the usual crowd of excitable nerds, conspiracy theorists, and general nutcases that make up the 'mainstream' of the 'believer' culture, it's evolved into something more since those early days. While they've all been mocked, fired, and diagnosed, they still have talents, connections, an capital that give them resources above and beyond those of 'normal' people, and pooled their skills into something part-way between a think-tank and secret society.
They call themselves ESTRA. The Extra-Solar Threat Response Agency. Or just The Agency. They have a private facility nestled away in the mountains just outside of Denver, Colorado, a few dozen dedicated employees, and a mission. Unravel the cover-ups, find the proof, and convince the world to do something to prepare for the real and present danger from outside the solar system. It's run by 'The Big Three', who go by code-names internally to avoid exposure, ridicule, and alien interference, and each runs one sector of the agency.
Name:Agent David Reece
Age:46
Credentials:Former C.I.A. Special Operations Coordinator
Code-name: 'Spook'
Expertise:Espionage experience, government and military connections, access to classified information. In charge of all intelligence-gathering, investigation, and surveillance.
Name: Dr. Vivian Stanton
Age:37
Credentials:Genius-Level I.Q., eidetic memory, world-class geneticist, multiple advanced degrees. Certified M.D.
Code-name:'Mama Doc'
Expertise:All things 'smart'. Heads up the research and medical staff, and personally supervises the 'Abductee' program, identifying alien-modified individuals,their abilities and limitations. Also takes responsibility for their psychological well-being.
Name: Commander Bennett Hayes
Age:45
Credentials:Former S.A.S. Commando
Code Name:Sir(Yes, Sir!)
Expertise:In charge of the 'Threat Response' side of things, turns abductees into soldiers by any means necessary.
Abductees(A.K.A You)
In carrying out their master plan, the aliens radically modified the human genome and physiology, creating a 'sucessor race' of Humans, better than their predecessors in every way. No two abductees are quite alike, as there is a 'hard limit' as to how far the human body can be modified before it begins to reject the enhancements and break down, do the Aliens had to settle for a more specialized approach. Generally, these can be broken down into three major 'classes'
Bruisers:Meant to be the first wave in collapsing the human establishment, 'Bruiser'-type abductees have extreme strength and durability, owing to layers of carbon-nanotube reinforcement throughout their skin and bone structure. A genetically-modified pituitary gland optimizes muscular development while a collection of purpose-built organs provide a steady stream of adrenaline and natural painkillers to keep them in the fight.
Officers:Meant to coordinate the Alien takeover and serve as a new leadership upon the collapse of human society, 'Officer'-type abductees are not as physically modified as the bruisers, their strength and endurance no more than double that or the average human stock, but they make up for it in mental enhancements. Their brains are wired for efficiency, within 20% of the physiological limit, meaning each and ever one of them has a genius level I.Q, and a built-in affinity for and understanding of the esoteric working of Alien technology. Owing to their role as leaders, they have specially-designed secondary attributes to improve the effectiveness of their subordinates, such as emitting genetically-engineered pheromones to either improve the fighting prowess and unit cohesion of other abductees, or make the baseline human population more suggestible and obedient.
'Outliers': After the two primary roles were covered, Alien geneticists were given free-reign over the remaining subjects to test the absolute limits of the human genome. Abductees in this class do not have clearly- defined attributes, their abilities being extremely varied, but as a rule, they have nowhere near the strength of 'Bruisers' or the intelligence of 'Officers' unless they are an extreme version of one or the other, say, an absolute juggernaut on the battlefield with the mental acuity of a particularly clever lizard, or a nearly-precognizant super-genius with the musculature of an anemic sixth-grader. If you choose to create an abductee of this type, the only rule is that their abilities must at least loosely compatible with the laws of physics, and that there be some trade-off between their strengths and weaknesses.
Additionally, no two abductees, even within the same 'class' are quite alike, and feel free to put some personal flair into your characters abilities, I'll veto anything I don't like and approve anything that I just plain enjoy the style of. Get creative, think outside-the-box, and please-oh-please don't make a bunch of cliches.
Character Sheet!
Name:(Normal, human names please.)
Code Name:(Go Crazy, but don't be surprised if other players snicker at your lame-ass choice)
Age:(16-19, those are the current ages of all viable, combat-ready abductees)
Gender:(Duh!Or maybe not-so-duh!)
Appearance:(Image or description, as you like. Nothing too anime, if your hair is some crazy color, it better have come out of a bottle!)
Background:(The aliens abducted people from anywhere and everywhere, carefully distributed as to avoid arousing suspicion. A crash-course in the English language is included in E.S.T.R.A. orientation so you can all communicate with each other)
Abductee 'Class':(Which archetype your characters modification fall under.)
Specific Abilities:(Self explanatory, what's unique even among abductees about your character, as well as the general parameters of their 'standard' set of abilities.)
Personality:(As much or as little as you like here, just a quick overview so Commander Hayes knows what kind of worhless maggots he's working with)
Spoiler: The Facility, your new home!
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