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Well, we won't know if we don't push this button, will we?
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— Himself
Being the best of your generation on a hick colony halfway through a three century terraforming program does not make you particularly special in the wider universe. Kade is learning to live with being moderately bright, moderately tough and moderately cute and space is full of people who beat him on all three counts routinely. What most of them don't have is his sense of humor and cheerfully calm demeanor. He's a junior officer in GEAS, seeing the universe and figuring out his place in it. Think of him as a country boy in space.
Personality
Cocky, intelligent, affable and friendly. Kade is a social creature and a young man with empathy and interest in those around him. But his ferocious intelligence and self-assurance can drive people to see him as cocky or arrogant. His sense of humor is wry, sometimes sharp and often biting, though he goes after himself more than anyone else.
Background
Kade is a fourth-generation settler of a hellish colony world that was settled only for deep ocean and underground deposits of rare materials that are used in high-end technology. The world itself is a virtual killing ground between environmental conditions and dangerous flora and fauna. All of the colonists are genetically optimized to peak human levels (which is a bit ethically shady by modern standards, but literally the only way people have a chance to survive) and often have cybernetics implanted as infants to help them survive. Kade's gift for the sciences and his ability to synthesize that knowledge led him to having a chance to become a GEAS cadet or stay and help continue the terraforming work to eventually convert his home world into a livable place for future (far future) generations. Kade decided to explore the stars, which has led to a massive rift between himself and his family, who consider him a deserter, more or less.
SIGNATURE ABILITY
Just So Crazy It Might Work
Kade is a synthesist of different disciplines and ideas and he tends to think fast on his feet. When the chips are down and everything looks lost, he has a talent for finding an offbeat, weird and/or impractical solution to the immediate problem. Sure, it might cause even more problems down the road, but that's the next problem. This ability focuses on the current problem.
SKILLS
20th Century Lore - Expert Level
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The nights on Cestus IV could last a hundred hours and between literal fire storms, blizzards and the occasional radiation wave, Kade spent a lot of time with the entertainment directory of the colony. He has grown obsessive about the culture and entertainment of 20th century earth, especially 'movies' and 'television'. It's a little horrifying to most people.
Athletics - Competent Level
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Kade has had a daily routine of fitness, endurance and flexibility that all the settlers on his world maintain. This has left him even more fit than most cadets. He has particular proficiencies in running, gymnastics and climbing.
Diplomacy - Competent Level
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Kade's easy-going manner, respectful attitude and general affability makes him a pretty good diplomat. He tends to be able to find a consensus with reasonable people and talk himself out of a lot of trouble.
Energy Weapons - Competent Level
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Kade's home colony (Cestus IV) is home to many large, hungry carnivores. He grew up with a beam rifle in his hand and is a hell of a shot for somebody his age with just about any energy weapon.
Hand to Hand - Novice Level
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Kade has standard self-defense training that leaves him more able to handle unarmed combat than most civilians, but he has a way to go before he could consider himself dangerous in a fist fight.
Science - Competent Level
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Kade is well-versed in everything from astrophysics to xenobiology. For somebody his age, he is almost astonishingly well-rounded in the sciences. That proficiency is largely the reason his professors back home urged him to apply to the academy.
Kade has a positive genius for getting the most out of ship and personal sensor systems. He can get resolutions and ranges on scanners and scientific sensors that few other people can. It's part science and part art and he can't really explain his methods.
Ship Skills - Novice Level
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From basic piloting and astrogation to a working knowledge of the operation and basic repair of ship's systems, Kade has a cadet's grasp of ship's operations for GEAS vessels.
Survival - Competent Level
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From tracking and hunting to orienteering and campcraft, he grew up on a hell world and most planets don't pose a challenge for his ability to survive and thrive.
ABILITIES
Power: Enhanced Senses - Basic+ Level
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Like most of the people on his world, Kade has been fitted with near undetectable cybernetic implants that enhance his senses beyond human abilities. He has night vision, can see into the IR and UV portions of the spectrum, has excellent hearing that extends beyond baseline human range and his senses of smell, taste, and touch are also enhanced. This allows him to function in conditions most humans can't.
Power: Neural Plasticity - Enhanced Level
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Kade's genetic advantages and minor cybernetic enhancements allow him to pick up knowledge, anything from skills to languages to situational data at a very accelerated rate. Most humans find it harder and harder to acquire new skills and languages as they age. For Kade, this will never be a problem.
Power: Optimized Body - Basic+ Level
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Like all the colonists born on his homeworld, Kade has been engineered to withstand a very harsh environment. He's stronger, faster and has more endurance than a baseline human with the same level of training, but not to superhuman levels. He functions at the peak of human ability for somebody his size, age and condition. This includes a very robust immune system and quick healing (but not quite to the level of regeneration).
ADVANTAGES
As a GEAS cadet, Kade has access to a wealth of equipment, from weapons to shuttles, though he does have to justify everything he requisitions beyond a basic level.
There are certain diplomatic, legal and social protections that come from being in GEAS. Kade enjoys the responsibilities and privileges of a cadet.
Because he is a polymath with a wide social circle, Kade has professional scientific associates and fellows that would be the advantage of many professors three or four times his age. For things he can't work out on his own, he is usually just a comlink away from somebody who will know and can walk him through the problem. As long as he's willing to return the favor.
WEAKNESSES
Kade is low on the totem pole of his organization. He's not going to be pulling rank or giving orders but definitely will be taking plenty of said orders. He also has to be careful in what he says and does if he wants to keep his uniform.
He's young, he's strong, he's smart and he knows all of that. Kade tends to be a little over-confident and that can get him into trouble.
He never met a mystery he can resist. It's bad. From being a little lowkey nosey to obsessive study of new things that interest him, Kade can be easily sidetracked by a good mystery. He will tend to get so dialed in on it that he'll forget social, duty and academic obligations and need to be reminded.
His enhanced senses mean that some things are really unpleasant for him without preparation or precautions. Ultrasonic noises, flashes of UV and visible light at night, strong odors, etc can all be a problem without earplugs, sunglasses, etc.
