Siege

Siege AKA Griffin Freeman is a duty-driven Good Samaritan by day & by night. He is comfortable living off-grid but spends most of his time in the city, serving up his own brand of justice & doing what he can to better the world around him. He is a down to earth kind of guy, who tries his best to see the best in everyone. He now goes by the moniker Ranger.

Description
Griffin Freeman is six foot four with a very masculine & muscular build. He is never seen without his bushy black beard. Despite the beard & wildling lifestyle, he is quite handsome. What many would call 'rugged good looks'. Griffin's irises emit a bright golden glow. He is often wearing hiking/outdoors gear, but does wear the occasional BDU when going out 'on mission' or out on patrol as seen in profile pictures. If not in his Battle Dress Uniform, he is usually wearing functional outdoors clothing. His style is one of necessity- durable, tough, reliable. He's used to living out at the edges of civilization, and his wardrobe shows it. Black combat boots & his MEDkit complete the look regardless of what he's wearing.

Background & Origin
Griffin grew up in the SE corner of Alaska. Outside Ketchikan. His father was a wanted felon and eventually moved his family to the bush far North. There he grew up in the quiet fury of nature. He thrived there and grew into a fine man. Remembering the life they left behind, Griffin thought to strike out on his own. He decided to serve his country instead of run from it like his Father had done all his life. He joined the Army, passed RASP (Ranger Assessment & Selection Program), & then attended Ranger School at Ft. Benning Georgia. There he set a top time on the 'Darby Queen' obstacle course. While most struggled through Ranger school, he pushed on- used to the rigorous training from his days surviving with his family as an Alaskan homesteader. He remembered a few winters when their provisions didn't get them all the way through the winter. To fight off the hunger they hunted well into the nights- in the cold, the rain, and the darkness. There there was real danger- other predators. He pretended to be back home in Alaska taking care of the homestead- fighting for his life- fighting for a new life. He forgot about the 2hrs a night of sleep, and the hunger & occasionally even the drill instructors inches from his face. He refused to be broken, he refused to be beaten, instead he just focused on his duty and put one foot in front of the other. 55 days later he was an Army Ranger in the 75th Regiment. 45% of applicants dropped out of Ranger School on average- Griffin finished within the top 5. Not 5%- The Top 5 individuals of that Graduating Class. This put him at the leading edge of the 99th percentile. One of the youngest ever to be made a member of the US' Premiere Shadow Force.

He became a soldier with a service record matched by few- even got higher than Top Secret clearance. He loved his job- protecting his country and the people he loved. But at the same time he longed for his life in the bush of Alaska. He decided to do his duty but eventually return to Alaska to make himself a home.

Years later on a cross training exercise with the SAS he was recruited to be on a top secret black ops team. He thought it Delta Force. On the way to the secret black site, Griffin was briefed on what this group of Commandos were- they were the best of the best- a meta-powered strike force thanks to Project E.N.G.I.N.E. Each member bestowed their abilities by cutting edge medical science. He would go through a number of procedures, culminating in a chemical bath, intravenous electrodes would provide a steady current to his body, and then finally he'd be stuck in cryogenic animation for 6 to 9 months under intense radiation. The Agent- now calling himself Broderick, promised he'd be briefed on the day to day routine on the other side of the bath, as well as a full Honorable Discharge- as their activities would be disavowed if captured.

Each process was more painful than the last & pushed him to the brink of breaking but he pushed on eventually making it to the cold sleep chamber. Every nerve in his body was on fire- caused by the constant current running through his body interacting with the charged particles in the chemical bath.

As they put him under, the doctor said, "Hopefully this one survives the process- he's doing better than most- but I don't think that will help his odds. 7 to 1 against at least." The darkness enveloped him before the fear could, and it seemed like only moments later he awoke to a completely different scene.

A round short little man with thick glasses was inspecting him from the other side of the glass like some kind of treasure. Once released from the cryogenic chamber, the man explained that he was the son of a former Chairman who died some years back. He found his files on this defunct program and came to see what still was here. He said he never agreed with what his father did, once he found out when he found himself employed by the same group, and he hoped to make up for their work.

The report said the place was destroyed. It hardly looked like it through. Just forgotten and disused. The man introduced himself and also mentioned he was a electrical engineer, and former neXtgen weapons designer. He was a man with a grudge and a story to tell.

Personality
Favorite Quote: “ I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. '" - Muhammad Ali

Griffin is incredibly driven & willful, so he's unlikely to give up easily. Despite no longer being enlisted he is still a soldier through and through. He has a high level understanding of survival skills, both primitive and modern. Because of these traits he's happier out in the bush than in the cramped confines of the city. He stays in the city to learn what's changed in the past 54 years, & to use his abilities for the good of others. When he borrows a tool, he returns it cleaner and sharper than he received it. Same for a camp site, or any interaction he has. He is always trying to 'give back'.

This is evident as Griffin is almost always mission ready, and more so depends on his relentless training to get through tough situations. Flipping that switch is nothing to Griffin Freeman- heat is 'business as usual'.

Griffin is not always the most sociable of people- in fact, he finds few people trustworthy & calls fewer people friend. But if there is an innocent life at stake, a bully to be put in their place, or something worth fighting for Griffin is a strong and stead-fast ally to all people. This mentality is clear in his professional life, where he served as Bounty-hunter, and currently as a Hero-For-Hire with heart of gold. He is no fool though & he will charge all the traffic will bear; for hard luck cases, the little folks with big problems, often he'll charge $1 and forget to collect the dollar. The bigger the client, the bigger the fee. But no labor is too big or too small for Griffin Freeman.

The most important note about Griffin is his sense of duty and responsibility. He is highly motivated, both to the completion of their mission (has a serious a "can do!" attitude) and in the fact that the "Rangers take care of their own—no matter what." As such Griffin will always try and pickup any slack. Like any true Ranger, he will drop mission objectives, ignore orders, & even risk his own life to retrieve someone left behind or captured.

Griffin loathes the idea of taking a life in most situations, but he will readily admit that as a soldier he acknowledges that 'there are evil people in the world and sometimes they need to be dealt with handily.'

Skills & Abilities
Combat Experience: This honorably discharged veteran has military combat experience on the front lines, in tactical & strategic planning, observation/recon, special operations (working in small teams to carry out high-priority objectives with minimal room for failure in high pressure situations), and is highly proficient in the use of conventional firearms. He is also able to learn how to use most weapons quickly. Griffin is known to utilize fairly extensive knowledge in hand to hand combat which adds to his herculean meta-human abilities and is complimented by all-terrain acrobatics. His hand to hand training is a mixture of Army Hand to Hand training and a specialized form he picked up in his off time; the 'Keysi Fighting Method' which specializes in taking on multiple assailants methodically and efficiently. He generally makes a practice of studying any fighting styles that he can.He is always trying to stay at the tip of the spear.

Frontiersman: Having spent his formative years in the wilds of Alaska, Griffin is a top notch tracker, hunter and all around outdoorsman. His military training only honed his survival skills to the point that he can survive in some of the harshest climbs without his superhuman powers.

Paramedic/Field Medic Training: Combat medics are military personnel who have been trained to at least an EMT-Basic level (16 week course in the U.S. Army), and are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injuries. Combat medics are normally co-located with the combat troops they serve in order to easily move with the troops and monitor ongoing health. Griffin has taken this to a whole new level- having completed further Advanced EMT Training. Now- during his adventures he is capable of providing medical care to anyone anywhere regardless of environment.

Equipment
CommandBracer - Images/Utility Review - The CommBracer is a vambrace-style computer developed originally as a multi purpose communication and computation terminal for individual use by members of a proposed space expedition crew. The CommBracer is what allows hardsuit wearers to access the full suite of systems within their suit and despite the availability of voice-activated systems prevalent in aircraft, StarTech ultimately decided that a unit with a physical interface to be of greater reliability in the greatest number of negative scenarios.

The units are also waterproof and flexible. Each unit is equipped with a flexible cover that shields the screen and haptic projectors when not in use. A small clock is embedded in the underside of the wrist portion of the device to appear visible to the operator even when holding a weapon. Each one fitted with two haptic projectors that can operate in the visual and infrared ranges, allowing allied, non-hardsuit wearers to observe data, or to prevent enemy combatants seeing the projections, both for purposes of maintaining covertness and COMSEC. The primary projector allows data to be observed and manipulated more easily by the wearer. The system can access maps, video and voice recognition, signal analysis and decryption, and when linked to NetOps, encylopaedic data on any number of subjects. Each unit is further equipped with hardline and remote physical interface devices, allowing the operator to hack into networks protected by signal firewalls.

Unfortunately for the crew, and the designer/contractor of the CommandCuff technology- the (faux)Guild complicated matters and got the project scrapped. Griffin was given a prototype version in exchange for some 'light' Hero-For-Hire work. The device was then enhanced by his contact (Peter Milosz Chrominski-Electrical & Mechanical Engineer) so that it could stand up to Griffin's rough and tumble lifestyle- and its interface simplified to better support the time-marooned Super-Soldier.

Mobile Emergency Defense Kit - 'MEDkit': A combination vest and thigh triage kit. Rapid reconfiguration of the IFAK supports any mission requirement. In static or quick in/out operations, the Ambidextrous Medical-Utility Leg Panel provides a stable platform along with additional storage; in mounted/dismounted operations. The kit provides maximum flexibility through modularity and organization; & a full compliment of Class VIII Medical supplies augments operator IFAKs at the point of wounding or during CASEVAC. Contains 6 specialized loops for Mantlet Dropshields and StimPaks, as well as an integrated ContraGrav Device.


 * Damocles CGC-2: Mark 2 ContraGrav-Chute - Unit Controller Image/MEDkit Integrated Unit - A simple grav module capable of nullifying a portion of the individual’s body weight (but not providing motive power, as with a full Gravitronic system) is worn as part of the chute harness (Griffin's is integrated into his MEDkit.) Utilizing basic grav technology, the grav-chute is a compromise between the expense of antigravitic equipment and the basic problems of regular parachutes. Because the grav module can alter the effective weight of the jumper, it can be used to reduce the distance required for chute deployment by a factor of roughly three-fourths (thus chute deployment is not necessary until an altitude of about 50 meters). Varying the grav setting can also be used to alter the rate of descent, which is a particularly useful ability when staging a military strike. Uses a few reloadable/replacable capacitor cartridges to store the energy necessary to power the device. Note: The grav chute cannot fully offset body weight (normally) and certainly cannot provide lift; the small size of the capacitor cartridges and the nature of the simplified grav module itself will not permit this.The power pack is capable of operation for a total of five minutes.


 * Mantlet Mk. 3 Dropshield: - Image - This piece of equipment is a low power Mobile Shield Generator- 20 maybe 30 years ahead of its time. Two waldo arms extend from a disc shaped object with an activation button meant to be stepped on. Between those arms the forceshield is generated. Any solid projectiles fired will be deflected by the shield; however, plasma-based weapons fire are absorbed by the shield from both sides. The user is given an enormous tactical advantage in exchange for being exposed from behind and to the left and right, so it is wise to deploy it towards your main threat. Specially modified for rapid deployment and single use (though the devices themselves are recoverable & rechargable).


 * StimPak: - Image - Stimpak, or stimulation delivery package, is a type of hand-held medication used for healing the body. This item consists of a syringe for containing and delivering the medication and a gauge for measuring the status of the stimpak's contents. This substance only works on biological organisms, and only serves as a temporary measure. It will stop bleeding and heal minor wounds completely. More serious injuries will still require medical attention. This works through a clever combination of a specialized 'bio-gel' that acts as a scaffolding for cellular growth. This bio-gel is combined with various stimulants and a specialized serum that stimulates & prompts cellular growth. Does not heal bones. These will need to be reset before application of StimPak as it may cause improperly knit bone due to growth stimulation.

Powers
Energy Absorption: Griffin's body is surrounded by localized bio-energetic field that twists and converts a large amount of energy into something that can be stored or used by Griffin's biology. Normally, the cells of a normal human body convert energy from foodstuffs into a form of energy usable by the body. This energy is stored through converting molecules of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) in the cells into adenosine triphosphate (ATP); the energy is released when necessary by breaking a chemical bond in the ATP molecules, converting them back to ADP. Apparently he can store the energy (absorbed and redistributed by his bio-electric field) in his cells through the same, or a similar method, and release it when necessary to enhance his physical strength or evidently power his heat vision. Beyond this- with the right concentration, he has the ability to absorb a wide variety of energy and utilize it to further augment his own super-strength, speed, invulnerability, energy projection, and other powers.Extremely high-energy attacks may eventually (or in some cases immediately) overload Griffin's absorbing ability.

Superhuman Stamina: Griffin’s musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can go for at least 24 hours before fatigue toxin build up impairs him.

Superhuman Reflexes: Boasting reaction timing sharp enough to either dodge bullets at close range, Griffin's reflexes are second to few.

Superhuman Speed: After his super-soldier modification, his physiology has been enhanced on multiple fronts. Metabolism, enhanced quick twitch muscles (muscular speed), and nervous system (reflexes) have all been granted a speed that is much greater compared to that of a baseline human.

Superhuman Durability: Bodily tissues are vastly enhanced and superior to even the most robust human specimens, Griffin's skin and mass is highly durable and can deflect most small caliber artillery, explosives, fires, electricity, and physical damage. His natural energy absorption ability allows him to withstand high capacity energetic blasts of almost all types. Unlike a baseline human, his body has more than simple cohesion and adhesion holding his tissues together. The bio-electric forcefield that surrounds him & is infused within him at a cellular level, has a set tolerance for how much stress occurs before it reacts energetically in opposition to the external force. The tolerance for how much stress occurs before his tissues counteract it varies according to tissue type. His bones allow virtually no compressional or tensional strain (deformation in shape) and his fleshy tissues remain supple under soft pressure, but under stress react to restrict any further deformation in shape.

Superhuman Agility: Boasts physically superior coordination, dexterity, balance, and body motion. Griffin can perform acrobatic feats far beyond that of the finest human athlete and easily evade bullet-speed projectiles. Energy Projection:Thanks to his unique physiology he can convert stored energy into beams of highly concentrated photonic/thermal energy which can reach temperatures comparable to those produced by stars. He can use these heat beams to burn, heat, melt, weld, etc.

EMF Manipulation: EMF or Electromotive force is what tends to cause current (actual electrons and ions) to flow. Manipulating EMF will make a change in voltaic cells, thermo-electric devices, solar cells, electrical generators, transformers, and even Van de Graaff generators, ceasing them or overloading them. Electromotive Force is similar to a magnetic field. In layman's terms; one can use this to manipulate batteries, making them dead or causing them to overload. He does not have control over the Magnetic Field, just a certain electromagnetic force.