| APAGear II Archives | Volume 1, Number 6 | June, 1999 |
Nick MkKoy came to Terra Nova in 6118 (TN 1913), arriving with the first wave of CEF dropships. An idealistic 19-year-old rank-and-file human filling out the ranks of a GREL-dominated infantry, MkKoy was immediately assigned to rear guard duty while the Mordred-class shock troops manned the front lines. His head filled with nationalist rhetoric, MkKoy truly felt he was helping his home planet, his nation, and his people by fighting these upstart colonials, and he was content to help Earth in any way he could.
Unfortunately, in the first cycle of the Alliance War, MkKoy's firebase was overrun in a Terranovan blitzkrieg attack. He was subsequently force-marched to an SRID prison camp, in which he spent the remaining three cycles of the war.
After the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia, MkKoy emerged from the camps a harsh, cynical young man, hardened by the innumerable tortures and interrogations he had endured. His low rank refusing him a space on the last ship returning to Earth, MkKoy found himself stranded: an unwelcome refugee trapped on a planet he despised.
Like many of his Earther brethren, MkKoy made his way to the CEF's Western Base, now re-christened Port Arthur. Once again, his low military standing saw him denied quarters in the finer, predominately human sections of town. He was confined to the poor, GREL-run districts of the new city, where the turmoil and desperation steeled him even further.
Tired of eating the scraps left him by the officer class and weary of the frequent beatings that inevitably follow when a low-ranking human lives in such close quarters with GRELs, MkKoy soon found himself assisting the Forzi cartel, fencing black-market goods. After a short time working out of Wounded Knee, MkKoy struck out on his own, becoming a free agent.
MkKoy now roams the Badlands, sometimes alone, sometimes in the company of other rovers. His employment is always criminal in nature; there are few opportunities left to an Earth soldier. When he is not laying low in some seedy town he is usually preying on poorly equipped homesteaders or waiting by the trade routes, hoping to waylay incautious merchants.
Nick MkKoy is a tall, broad-shouldered man with a vague air of desperation surrounding him. His face is rough and angular, his chin coarse with stubble. His forehead is branded with the symbol for Earth: a circle divided into four parts. This brand is a souvenir of the prison camps, acting much like the biblical Mark of Cain, causing him to be shunned by most self-respecting Terranovans.
While traveling overland, MkKoy commonly wears a wide-brimmed hat and a bleached-out duster over his water-reclaiming desert suit. As a former Earth POW, MkKoy has endured more beatings than many have had hot meals. Consequently, he ensures that he is armed at all times. When in town, he will reluctantly relinquish his CEF-issue assault rifle, but his sidearm is always within easy reach.
MkKoy is effective but unimaginative in a gun battle. He uses standard CEF rifleman tactics, often making use of available cover and laying down suppressing fire. In hand-to-hand combat, however, MkKoy truly shines. No stranger to back-alley brawling, he fights dirty and without remorse. Eye-gouges, sucker punches, back stabs and kicks to the groin are among his favorite tactics. MkKoy has been subjected to abuse for as long as he has been stranded on Terra Nova, and he is now a ruthless, murderous opponent.
MkKoy is consumed by rage. He is the ultimate foreigner; an outcast trapped in a land he reviles. Apart from the general hatred he feels for his surroundings, he has a more focused hate for SRID (who beat him as a POW), GRELs (who beat him while he lived in Port Arthur), and ultra-nationalist Terranovans (who beat him when they have a chance). He also feels betrayed by his CEF commanders, who abandoned him to this hellish planet without so much as a look back. He is alone in the world.
MkKoy tends to associate with the criminal element, and Player Characters seeking underworld contacts could do worse than to work with MkKoy. He has the connections to procure stolen goods, contraband, and hired muscle. MkKoy is tricky to work with, however. He will only help non-Earthers when it is clear that he stands to gain a great deal by associating with the PCs. It should be made abundantly clear that MkKoy is loyal only to himself, and that the people he works with are only a means to an end.
MkKoy is a dangerous antagonist. The man is completely driven by hate, and those who cross him will be made to pay. MkKoy never forgets those who have wronged him. Apart from anti-Earth bigots and everyday alley scum, MkKoy frequently finds himself in conflict with all types of police officials.
MkKoy can fulfill a variety of campaign functions. In law enforcement campaigns he can serve as a small-time crime boss or rover, while in post-Alliance War CEF campaigns he could be used as more of a sympathetic character. He could be featured in stories dealing with bigotry and injustice, as he has experienced plenty of both. If nothing else, he could be used as a fleshed-out, slightly less run-of-the-mill "bad guy" for the PCs to defeat.
| Age: 33 years* | Height: 1.8 m | Mass: 77 kg | Hair Color: Chestnut | Eye Color: Hazel |
| Handedness: Right-handed | ||||
*Not cycles -- he refuses to use cycles.
| AGI +1 | APP -1 | BLD +1 | CRE -1 | FIT +1 |
| INF 0 | KNO -1 | PER 0 | PSY -2 | WIL 0 |
| STR 1 | HEA 0 | STA 30 | UD 7 | AD 6 |
| Skills | Skills | Skills | Skills |
| Athletics 1/+1 | Drive 1/+1 | Intimidate 1/+1 | Survival 1/-1 |
| Camouflage 1/-1 | First Aid 1/-1 | Melee 1/+1 | |
| Combat Sense 2/+0 | Gambling 1/+0 | Notice 1/+0 | |
| Dodge 2/+1 | HTH (Dirty Tricks*) 2/+1 | Small Arms 2/+1 |
*specialization
Desert Suit, Memcompass, Survival Kit, 7mm Assault Rifle (3 clips), 6mm Pistol (3 clips), Small Pouch of Diamonds
| APAGear II Archives | Volume 1, Number 6 | June, 1999 |
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