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[RFC] Beck Gale AKA Nightingale
[RFC] Beck Gale AKA Nightingale
#1
Warning: This is done IC. It is meant to be read in a very chipper tone.
{Recording Start}
Why hello there, dear little chickadees! I do hope you've enjoyed the meal I've provided, and that the wine's to your liking.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Beck Gale, and I'm the reason you're all here. Or should I say, that the reason I'm here is because of all of you?
After all, it's because fine, upstanding businessmen such as yourselves have decided to expand your markets into the great beyond that humble men such as myself can make a profit on something a simple as a little information. Who's going to be where, why, what they'll be carrying, and in some cases, how heavily guarded they will be. It's simply amazing how people such as yourselves can take these tiny nuggets of knowledge and convert them into interesting deeds.
And, because there's nothing so interesting as a little fact of supposedly little consequence, let me share one with all you.
Do any of you have any idea what I did before I became the succesful broker that I am today? No? Ah, maybe the wine was a bit too strong, you all seem very tired. But stay awake a little longer, and you all might just learn something interesting.
I was a miner. One of the many small private operations, ripping apart asteroids in the belt for profit. It was out on Hungaria 434, when the thing happened that changed my life. A Boskone ship came by, and demanded all our valuables. Which turned out to just be an excuse for us to open up our doors, actually. Seems that they had experience with people making stupid decisions when it was discovered that they were after living people too. Especially once news of the cat-girl machine got around. Lots of suicides and fighting to the last stands. No, it was apparently simpler to just say you were after the shinies on the habitat, and that you'll be escorting everyone to the brig on your ship for the time being so you can search unimpeded. Sure, you'd still end up with a lot of people that were really upset, but they'd let go of their 'valuable' for the sake of their lives.
And then they just never let them off. They'd take the un-suspecting people they'd captured, and then... Well, I'm sure you all can guess how the story ends for them.
But, I can see the question in all of your eyes. How did I survive? How did I escape the horrible fate that befell all of the other miners of our small company? Quite simple, really. All I did was hide. I was on the outside of the asteroid, and the light in my helmet had just gone out. Sure, with the right sensors it was quite easy to tell I was there. But you had to look, first. And, being in a bit of a rush, they neglected to conduct a complete and thorough search of the asteroid. They simply collected everyone in the main habitat, and were on their merry way.
I had my radio on, you know? I could hear every word of the exchange. And I just stayed in my little hole for hours and hours, hoping they'd go away. Until they did.
And then I was alone. They took our computers, a great deal of our tools, all the haulers, and only just barely missed the emergency rations. It was just me, a habitat with greatly depleted resources, a drill, a little food, and the frailest of hopes that the old emergency beacon we had would actually work.
It was the longest four days of my life. I had a lot of time to think about the little things.
Like how we avoided being noticed normally by pirates. We picked a spot out in the middle of nowhere, and would quietly work, until we had filled up our hoppers. All the while, we'd communicate as little as possible with the outside world. The theory was, if we couldn't be detected, and no one knew where we were, nobody would find us. Then I thought about young Bill Gotti, about how he'd joined our crew, stayed with us all the way out into the deepest bits of the belt, and left three days after we got there, saying he couldn't handle the quiet life. I thought about how we got hit the day after he left, and how one of the black hats sounded just like him over the radio.
It was over those very quiet four days, that I realized just how powerful a little information really was.
Ah, I'm so sorry I dragged on so long. I'd say I must have bored you all, but you all seem very wide eyed and attentive! I suppose that means you're all very smart and have connected all the dots already! Although it appears Mr. Valesci still seems a little lost. If you sit tight just a little longer, I'm sure all the pieces will fall into place for you too, sir!
... And I see your assistant has chosen to reveal that she is actually an android, Mrs. Ballentyne. Well, quite unfortuntely for her, I am a cyborg. It's a shame that she only got the one shot off, too. Why, another five bullets of that caliber might just cause slightly more than cosmestic damage to my handsome face, and maybe won life for all of you. Of course she did only get the one shot off before I cut off her hands. No points for partial work, I'm afraid. If you want a passing grade in the game of life, you need to do you homework, just like me! It's how I knew about the weakspot in those wrists of yours. It makes it very quick and easy for you to change tools, but the place where the joints meet is slightly weaker than you might think.
At any rate, Mr. Valesci, it seems you have realized the truth of the situation.
So, without further ado, let me welcome you all to my revenge banquet! I do hope you all enjoyed yourselves so far, because from this point on, it will much less comfortable for you all.
{End Recording}
From Great Justice Criminal File 19087
Name: Beck Gale
Alias: Nightingale
Age: 26
Body-type: Combat Cyborg, Delta-type chassis
Occupation: Information Broker/Assassin
Charges: Multiple Accounts of first degree murder, espionage, property damage, and theft
Notes: Following Incident 237 on Hungaria 434, Beck had a mental breakdown before friendly forces could recover him. After being rescued, he joined Operation Great Justice, and served as an intelligence agent. During his term of service, a few of his fellow intelligence officers took note of his brutality towards his enemies, but most found his easygoing manner very disarming and ended up believing his darker moments merely to be that: Brief moments that would pass. After the end of the war, he began running a small, private information brokerage, selling data to a wide variety of clients. A short time later, he lured a number of people with suspected Boskone connections to a secluded location with the promise that he would be selling some very exclusive information.
Nine people were murdered.
Although further investigation has proven that all of the victims were, in fact, either former or current Boskone executives that had evaded capture, this does not excuse his actions. He has commited several similar crimes using similar methods, and is considered highly dangerous.
Mundane Quirks:
Let Me Just Say A Few Words: Very, very talkative. He has a tendency to talk and ramble for very long periods of time, even when alone. If left with a captive audience, he will talk more. Getting him to shut up is possible, but generally requires something along the lines of a fist to his face.
Why, I'm Just Happy To See You!: Going hand in hand with his inability to shut up, is his irrpressible lightheartedness. Beck is a very cheerful and happy indivdual, and will do everything with a smile. If anything, however, this makes his darker moments all the more eerie.
Handwavium Abilities:
Boost Boots: As part of his Cyborg conversion, Beck has micro-jets embedded in his feet. This allows for rapid bursts of speed, and for some very high jumps. However it is does not let him fly, and he only has a finite amount of fuel in his legs to fuels these boosts.
Author's Note:
This may be a wee bit dark for Fenspace. I know that doing psychotic criminals generally isn't the norm, but I've been watching Durarara, which for those of you who don't know about it, is basically a show where every cast member is interesting to say the least. Beck here is brought to you by Izaya Orihara, an info broker who's out to screw with everyone.
Well, if Izaya did a fusion dance with the Punisher, anyway.
Moving on, Beck's very clearly a villain character. A first for me, really, in that while he's not twirling a mustache, he's very much a bad guy. There is no redemption for him planned. He just wants to kill a lot of people that he sees as evil. If he dies in the process, then he's still leaving the universe a brighter place than he found it.
Just to let you all know, that is a very creepy thought process. Beck feels no remorse, and is basically a conveniently aimed psychopath. Not sure what all I'm going to write involving him. If I do anything else. About all I have even the vaguest idea for, is a fight between him and Hex.
And now I really need some sleep. G'night.
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#2
Hmmmmm...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Would you (the author) be upset if someone else were to kill off this character in a non-gratuitous way?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#3
Good Villains add colour to a setting, especially those with motivations beyond twirling the moustach and doing it for the evils.

It could make for a ripping good story, especially since those who've been sent to hunt him down will understand how he feels quite well. I can think of two potential adversaries right off the top of my head, not including Hex... either one would make for an explosive chase. Either one would have a valid reason to know him before he dropped off the deep-end, a valid reason to feel responsible for his actions and a valid reason to hunt him down personally.

I want to see where you take him... because either way he goes, this could be rip-roaring fun.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#4
Reminds me a bit of The Joker, but with a better focus...

It would be a bit unfortunate if he picked on someone who'd been undercover in Boskone...
I wonder if he might end up, unknowing, in a Virtual World where he was watched by Patrol agents, mining him for data to help them track down Boskone...
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
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#5
.... You know, I might have use for this guy. Let me think on it for a bit.
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#6
I had been triing to desing a villain for one of my (half-baked) plots than did not end up a Joker copy (since he fell in a vat of Handwavium figthing Oscar). This would have happened in Knador, before the War and the construction of Marduk.

You gave me the ispiration... can I steal "young" Bill Gotti?
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#7
Quote:Would you (the author) be upset if someone else were to kill off this character in a non-gratuitous way?


That's probably what will happen eventually, but I'd like to get around to writing something with him first.

Quote:Good Villains add colour to a setting, especially those with motivations beyond twirling the moustach and doing it for the evils.

It could make for a ripping good story, especially since those who've been sent to hunt him down will understand how he feels quite well. I can think of two potential adversaries right off the top of my head, not including Hex... either one would make for an explosive chase. Either one would have a valid reason to know him before he dropped off the deep-end, a valid reason to feel responsible for his actions and a valid reason to hunt him down personally.

I want to see where you take him... because either way he goes, this could be rip-roaring fun.

Who'd you have in mind? I don't have much of a story for this yet, but I'd really appreciate some pointers.

Quote:Reminds me a bit of The Joker, but with a better focus...

It would be a bit unfortunate if he picked on someone who'd been undercover in Boskone...

I wonder if he might end up, unknowing, in a Virtual World where he was watched by Patrol agents, mining him for data to help them track down Boskone...

Why do psychopaths always bring the Joker to mind? There are other batshit people out there that are more interesting.

And considering the Head of the Snake approach that Beck employs, accidents like that are pretty unlikely. But they would still be possible, I suppose. I wonder if he'd feel remorse, or just consider them collateral damage?

Final point though... What the hell? That seems... pretty out there. Even for Fenspace. And pretty amoral for the Patrol. Would they lock him up, and milk him for info? Yes. Would they screw with his head like that? No. Especially considering that if he's captured, Beck would probably give them all the information they could want if they just asked. He can't strike against Boskone in prison, but his information might be able to.

Quote:I had been triing to desing a villain for one of my (half-baked) plots than did not end up a Joker copy (since he fell in a vat of Handwavium figthing Oscar). This would have happened in Knador, before the War and the construction of Marduk.

You gave me the ispiration... can I steal "young" Bill Gotti?

Villain creation is hard, although extremely satisfying if done right. They should be a black reflection of the setting, representing the darkest moments where good lost. If he fell into a vat, and you don't want to go the Joker route, try going the other way. A very angry cat-girl that blames Oscar for their condition. If that sounds weak, you're not thinking with the right mindset. To them, you've stolen their face. Their [/i]body[/i], and maybe even a portion of their very identity. Let the rage boil, and you have someone very determined to fuck up your day.

That said, go ahead. Gotti's just a piece of the background, that'll only become relevant if Beck ever decides to murder him.
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#8
Quote:Who'd you have in mind? I don't have much of a story for this yet, but I'd really appreciate some pointers.

Jet Jaguar and AC Peters are both cyborgs.... either one would make an interesting and 'fair' opponent, and either one would have a valid reason to be connected with him. Either one would give a different flavour to the story. Hex aswell would work swimmingly if you want to stick to your own characters (And no reason why not if you want to give them something to do).

It's just something about him reminded me of Mr. Glass' quote from the end of Unbreakable... the villain's always the exact opposite of the hero. Sometimes they were even friends.

Come to think of it, on the back burner is a story where a virtual world is pretty much used in exactly that manner.... though for the usual 'make money' motive by holding a space station to ransom.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#9
The idea I had was for a tematic piece; a fic set in Kandor in the months before Oscar began to build Marduk. Since it was Kandor, I decided to give it a Superhero bent; our villain -Wich will be named Gotti in my notes for the moment- was a minor crook, possibly stealing from Genesis Industries.

Eventually, there would be a confrontation in the main wavium storage, and there are things that you just cannot ignore when the 'wave is involved: If the protagonist and the villain fight in an industrial zone where there are huge industrial vats of mutagenic chemical substances (that glow in the dark), then the vilain MUST fall into the thing. The reason it looks like the Joker origins... well, the guy basically created the meme.

From there he would move as a nemesis; and that's where my idea stopped, waiting for furhter fleshing. What would he do later? Why would he do it, beyond revenge? The Belt is/will be the place were Genesis has its main customers. Going there to attack the belters (Hungaria 434 can be one of the belter Habitats Oscar built) and biomod then can be his twisted idea of proper revenge, while he waits for a change to do the same in Marduk city.
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#10
shaderic Wrote:
Quote:Reminds me a bit of The Joker, but with a better focus...



It would be a bit unfortunate if he picked on someone who'd been undercover in Boskone...

I wonder if he might end up, unknowing, in a Virtual World where he was watched by Patrol agents, mining him for data to help them track down Boskone...
Why do psychopaths always bring the Joker to mind? There are other batshit people out there that are more interesting.

And considering the Head of the Snake approach that Beck employs, accidents like that are pretty unlikely. But they would still be possible, I suppose. I wonder if he'd feel remorse, or just consider them collateral damage?

Final point though... What the hell? That seems... pretty out there. Even for Fenspace. And pretty amoral for the Patrol. Would they lock him up, and milk him for info? Yes. Would they screw with his head like that? No. Especially considering that if he's captured, Beck would probably give them all the information they could want if they just asked. He can't strike against Boskone in prison, but his information might be able to.
The Joker is the really well-know pop-culture murder spree psycho.  Previous generations would have someone different.
Good not too many undercover guys going to be collateral damage...
You have caught someone.  You don't believe in the death penalty.  You know they are going to escape.  And go straight back to killing.  What do you do?  Ensure they don't try to escape.  Arguably, in the VR he would be happier than just in prison, though, his freedom of choice has been drastically limited.  But, that is what society does to prisoners, mainly because they don't like some of their choices.
Sometimes the strongest prison bars are inside your head?
--
"It is the business of the future to be dangerous" - Hawkwind
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#11
Quote:Would you (the author) be upset if someone else were to kill off this character in a non-gratuitous way?

shaderic Wrote:That's probably what will happen eventually, but I'd like to get around to writing something with him first.
Then I have no objection to the character.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#12
Dartz Wrote:Jet Jaguar and AC Peters are both cyborgs.... either one would make an interesting and 'fair' opponent, and either one would have a valid reason to be connected with him. Either one would give a different flavour to the story.
And they would both see Gale as someone who kept walking down the paths that they turned away from...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Reply
 
#13
Quote:Ace Dreamer wrote: 
The Joker is the really well-know pop-culture murder spree psycho.   Previous generations would have someone different.
Like Jack the Ripper...
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#14
“It’s wrong to think that heroes have always been heroes, that villains will always be villains. That the good guys are always good, and the villains have always been bad. It’s always possible for the villain to make himself a hero, and for the hero to make himself a villain. We’re all equally capable of choosing to do good, or evil, and usually end up doing something in between. Ultimately, we are who we choose to be, and it's never too late to make the right choice."

Part of me wants to see him talked into surrendering, with a sort of "I'm the bad guy?" realisation like DFENS.

Although, it's probably unlikely.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
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#15
The writer(s) could also portay him with an attitude like the Operative from Serenity.   Trying to build a 'better world' that he knows full well has no place for him.
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"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin
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