Savage Rifts: The Tomorrow Legion:John Carter

A character in Savage_Rifts:_The_Tomorrow_Legion.

Background

• Race: Human (Mutant Superhuman Subspecies)
• Iconic Framerwork: MARS Personal Concept Option - Stranded Superhuman Space Spy

The man known as John Carter was originally known as John-2000, since he lived in Module 2000. That's how names worked on Freedom Station[1], one of the handful of orbital communities that managed to survive the apocalypse. Part of the sizable percentage of the station's population that are mutant superhumans, John's power first manifested in his early teens. It turned out he was born with the ability to manipulate any matter within physical contact at the quantum level, which he discovered quite spectacularly when he phased out of his spacesuit while he was trying to take it off. Intangibility was only the first application of his power that he mastered. He soon learned to alter how matter interacted with photons, as well as how to amplify the strength of molecular bonds to make things more durable. While impressive, at the time John didn't think his powers would change his life much beyond making some things more convenient. Little did he know that they would end up influencing his fate quite significantly.

Growing up John had always planned to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor. He managed to get as far as Medical School, where he was proving to be a natural, when something occurred that changed everything. Not just for him but for everyone in the colonies. The Arkhons had returned. First encountered a few years before John was born, it seemed that a second wave of the invaders had arrived on the trail of their breathren. The Moon and the various Orbital Nations immediately put aside any conflicts with each other and joined together to oppose the common enemy.

Wanting to do his part in fighting the aliens, John volunteered for the Freedom Station Defense Force. He had intended to serve as a doctor so he could use what medical skills he had to help the cause but the higher ups had other ideas. Due his mutant powers being deemed ideal for infiltration, John was soon transferred from the Medical Corps and put on the fast track to become a part of Special Ops. He received training in combat, sabotage, and bunch of other skills pertinent to the position. He soon proved to be adept at sneaking around and defeating security systems as he was at medicine. After a rapid but intense and thorough training regimen he was put in the field.

John's activities during the war mostly involved secretly entering enemy ships and bases and gaining access to sensitive areas in order to gather intelligence and commit acts of sabotage. Many times his mission was to neutralize sentries and defense systems to prepare the way for other troops to breach the area. He was quite successful at his assigned tasks. He wasn't as good as other members of his teams in straight up fights but then the entire point of his role was to avoid straight up fights. Shooting people from behind and setting things to blow up unexpectedly were more his speed. He also got handy at healing his comrades by combining his power over matter with his knowledge of medicine. Of course, that same knowledge came in handy for temporarily incapacitating foes by disrupting their nervous systems.

Then came the mission that would change his life forever. Intelligence reports said that an Arkhon scout ship was going to be sent to The Graveyard to retrieve something of value. What it was exactly was unknown. That was where John came in. His mission was to secretly board the ship and ascertain what was being retrieved, then sabotage the ship's drive and defense systems on the return trip so it can be boarded and its cargo taken intact by FDF forces.

Unfortunately it turned out the scout ship's mission wasn't to retrieve some valuable tech artifact from the debris field but to rendezvous with another ship that emerged from a Rift. A ship of totally different aliens, who definitely weren't Arkhon or Fallam. The whole thing turned out to be a meet to work out some kind of deal. At least that was the gist John got from his translator's interpretation of the Arkhon side of the conversation. In any case, negotiations between the aliens broke down quite spectacularly and hostilities commenced.

It ended in a draw, with both sides badly hurt. The mystery aliens managed to retreat back through the Rift they came from. Meanwhile the Arkhons' life support systems were badly damaged. The crew realized their only minute chance at survival lay in making an emergency landing on the planet below. Their hopes turned out to be in vain. Despite their best attempts to evade the Killer Satellite Network set up to contain Earth the ship took even more damage, causing all systems to fail. The ship ended smashing into a Kansas cornfield and causing a spectacular explosion. Of course, thanks to John's power he was able to survive the crash and emerged from the ensuing fireball none the worse for wear.

Of course, that left him with the problem of being stranded on Earth in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately for John he had spotted a settlement during the ship's fatal descent. After burying his armored spacesuit because he thought it might be too conspicuous to the locals, he started walking in the direction he thought the place was till he eventually reached the Free City of Wichita several hours later. Despite his attire not matching local fashions he didn't get as many looks as he expected. It turned out when you lived on a planet with Rifts spitting up strange aliens from all over the universe and beyond a vanilla looking human in strange jumpsuit didn't merit much notice. That and the fact they spoke American so there wasn't any language barrier meant John didn't have that hard a time carving a life out for himself. He chose the alias John Carter and set up shop as a freelance repairman. His tech skills proved valuable enough that he was able to earn a good living in town.

Of course, he wasn't aiming to settle down on this primitive mudball. He had a home among the stars and a war to get back to. He used the money he earned fixing things to buy what he needed to cobble together a transmission booster in order to contact his superiors. They were surprised and elated that he was still alive and able to give a report. Sadly there was no way to retrieve him. Even if they opened a safe corridor through the Earth Containment Network to send a ship down it wouldn't be able to take off again. An Arkhon ship with anti-gravity technology could but the few ships they had managed to capture intact were too valuable to risk on a mission to Earth to retrieve one man. Better to keep analyzing them with the hope of reverse-engineering their technology to help win the war, then attempt a rescue.

But just because they couldn't come down to rescue him didn't mean his superiors at the FDF couldn't help him at all. Thanks to satellite reconnaissance provided by them John was able to locate the hideout of a gang of notorious bandits who had been plaguing travelers between Wichita and Topeka. John went over there and thanks to his skills, powers and the tactical maps provided by his friends in high places he was able to get the drop on them, killing two and capturing the remaining four, one of which was their leader.

The bounties he collected amounted to enough to buy a replacement set of armor. Armor he'd need for his new mission. The FDF figured that as long as he was stuck on Earth he might as well gather as much information as he could about its current inhabitants. Till now the only intelligence the space nations had about Earth was from orbital surveillance and eavesdropping on stray transmissions from The Coalition and NGR. A man on the ground was considered a unique opportunity. They'd be able to learn about potential threats that could come from the planet. Of course, that meant John would have to travel and explore, which would be more dangerous than just holing up in some city. On the bright side, there was always the chance he'd come across a spacecraft or some other way to reach orbit, so going on this mission could potentially help him as well. In any case, the FDF was willing to give whatever aid they could spare to help him succeed.

Of course he'd have to establish some sort of cover. If his true origin somehow got out he'd become one of the most hunted men on the planet. The Coalition would jump at the chance at capturing someone from space if they ever learned the space colonies existed in the first place. They'd want to thoroughly interrogate the prisoner to wring all they could about the orbital defenses which kept them grounded on Earth. Which was why he needed a plausible reason to be traveling and investigating things, as well as companions who could help keep him free and out of the hands of psychic interrogators who might stumble upon his secret while rooting around in his mind. When heard about the Tomorrow Legion it sounded exactly like the type of organization that could serve his needs. Besides, they were all about opposing the Coalition and any group who kept those nazi assholes from expanding was worth at least checking out. So he found the nearest recruiter and offered his services.

Stats

Attributes

• Agility-d8
• Smarts-d8 (+2 When Resisting Tests)
• Spirit-d10 (+2 When Resisting Tests)
• Strength-d6
• Vigor-d6

Skills

• Athletics d4 (+1 to climbing in Urban Areas)
• Common Knowledge d4
• Electronics d8
• Fighting d6
• Focus d10 (+2 When Using Healing)
• Healing d4+2
• Intimidation d6
• Notice d8
• Persuasion d6
• Piloting d4
• Repair d6
• Research d4
• Shooting d6
• Stealth d8 (+1 in Urban Environments)
• Thievery d8+1

Derived Stats

• Pace 6
• Toughness (armored): 3 (5)
• Parry: 5
• Strain: 0
• Max Strain 6

Edges

Arcane Background (Gifted)

Concentration

Connections (Freedom Defense Force)

Healer

McGyver

New Powers 2

Power Points

Rapid Recharge

Strong Willed

Thief

Mutant Superpowers

Healing - 3pp

Intangibility* - 4pp

Invisibility* - 4pp

Protection* - 1 (1 free Modifier)

Stun* -1

• Reduced Power Point Cost due to Touch Range

Hindrances

Driven: To find a way to get back home (Minor)

Secret: Spy From Secret Space Colony (Major)

Vow: To the Freedom Defense Force (Minor)

Gear

NG-S2 Survival Pack (Weight: 20; Cost: Starting Gear) Survival Knife Wooden Cross Wooden Stakes

Urban Warrior Tactical Medium EBA (Armor: +5; Toughness: +2; Min Str: d4; Weight: 11; Cost: Personal Concept Option Starting Gear)

Wilk’s 320 Laser Pistol (Range:15/30/60; Damage: 3d6; RoF:1; AP: 2; Shots: 20; Min Str: d4; Weight: 2; Cost: Starting Gear) 2 E-Clips

Tool Kit (Weight 5; Cost: 200)

Holo-Display Communicator (Weight 2; Cost: 10,000)

SatCom Tight Beam Transmission Booster McGyvered from a Communicator and a NG-33 Laser Pistol (Weight: 4; Cost 10,000)

Lockpicks (Weight 1; Cost: 200)

Hand Held Computer (Weight 1; Cost: 250)

Infrared Distancing Binoculars (Weight: 2; Cost 1,200)

350 Credits worth of Pre-Rifts and New Movies on Hand Held Computer. Of course, that's by Freedom Station standards. Could be worth more down here.

1500 Credits

Hero's Journey

MARS Fortune and Glory: Choice - Smart and Learned

MARS Fortune and Glory: Choice - Spiritual and Determined

Heroes Journey Education Roll: 1d20 4 Talented Medic - Healer's Edge and Healing d4

Heroes Journey Training Reroll: 1d20 1 Combat Training - +3 Skill Points that can be spent on Athletics, Fighting or Shooting in any combination.

Heroes Journey Underworld & Black Ops Roll: 1d20 20 Player's choice. Gifted at Larceny - Thief Edge without concern for requirements and +1 Skill Point to spend on Athletics, Stealth or Thievery

Narrative Hook Roll: 1d20 11 From Out of a Rift