APAGear - Volume 5, Number 5 - August 2003

Atabeg Reshef: A Liberati NPC

Josh Peters

The Liberati movement on Caprice has very few advantages over their CEF opponents. However, those advantages they do possess they exploit to the utmost. Aside from having an intricate familiarity with the terrain both inside the Cat's Eye Trench and beyond, the Liberati have perfected the art of non-linear planning-by-opportunity. Weapons and equipment caches are hidden all over Caprice. Sympathizers can be called upon on a moment's notice. A bit of information gleaned now is saved and disseminated for who knows when. A Liberati operation may rely heavily on a huge chain of events, none of which are directly linked to the other. Somehow the Liberati are able to discern a means of capitalizing on seemingly random occurrences, be they a captured CEF truck, a sympathizer who works at the Vega Starport or even a heavy meteor shower.

That they are able to plan operations in such a non-linear way is due in part to the nature of the Liberati themselves. As nomads living in a harsh environment, they have raised the phrase "be prepared" to new heights. However, a large amount of credit must be given to Atabeg Silvan Reshef.

Silvan Reshef is a young man in his thirties who grew up in the Cat's Eye Trench. He held a middle management position in a small distribution company that went out of business after the CEF occupation. Down on his luck, the Liberati recruited him as a sympathizer. However, it was realized that Reshef could better serve the Jund if he was quickly promoted. Reshef soon proved himself to be something of a logistics genius. He is now a senior Atabeg, responsible for over fifty Liberati cells operating all over Caprice and in the Loki system. Due in part to his talent for non-linear planning, the Liberati have tricked the CEF into thinking that the resistance to the occupation of Caprice is disorganized and sporadic.

Attitudes

Reshef is not a typical Liberati. Born in Gomorrah, he now travels with a Van Daar caravan in the Highlands. Despite his tireless years of working for the Jund, he is still an outsider –or at least he feels that way. It really can't be helped. Atabeg Reshef's mind is constantly working on at least a dozen different high-priority Liberati operations. He is known to break off in the middle of a conversation -or even a Van Daar elder meeting- to scribble something down on a data pad. The Liberati have long since recognized his eccentricities; it is Reshef alone who continues to exclude himself. However, since becoming an Atabeg, Reshef has had to take on a more direct leadership role. This has placed a great amount of strain on his self-image, but despite his misgivings, he has taken to the rank and responsibility quite well. He can be quite short with colleagues who are slow on the uptake. This is especially true during briefings, where he expects total focus and professionalism. Those not paying attention are obviously a hindrance to the Jund, after all.

Combat Reactions

Silvan Reshef was never a Liberati guerrilla. However, he has learned how to handle himself in combat. As an Atabeg, Reshef must lead through example, and he does just that. Combats have been few and far between, and a bodyguard or two is always in close proximity to this valuable asset to the Jund.

Appearance

Atabeg Reshef is a slim, withdrawn man with red hair, freckles and a constantly furrowed brow. He often doesn't bath or shave for weeks, being too preoccupied with formulating any number of nascent Liberati operations to worry about such mundane trivialities. He speaks in a very calm quiet manner, though when angry or annoyed his tone takes on a very icy edge that can be very unsettling.

Interests

Silvan Reshef loves to play any sort of strategy game, and has developed a special love for chess, which he plays as often as his busy schedule permits.

Plot Hooks

As a Protagonist: Atabeg Reshef is a Liberati commander who is responsible for a few score Liberati cells. He is often the one who will inform a Liberati Amir of any number of opportunities or resources available for a specific situation. He generally does not involve himself in battles, but he would conduct himself intelligently in combat.

As a Resource: Atabeg Reshef is the kind of individual who could provide player characters with all sorts of information. He can also put them on the trail of any number of valuable resources, including ammunition caches, weapons stores, contacts, vehicles and especially operations.

As an Antagonist: Reshef is a difficult personality. However, Liberati and their Black Talon allies respect him for the logistics and planning genius that he is. CEF forces on and around Caprice are finding him a very difficult adversary, mainly because they don't know he exists.

Age: 38 years
Height: 1.75m
Weight: 76kg
Hair Colour: Red
Eye Colour: Blue
Handedness: Right

AGI: 0
APP: 0
BLD: 0
CRE: +2
FIT: +1
INF: 0
KNO: +2
PER: +1
PSY: -1
WIL: +1

STR: 0
HEA: 1
STA: 30
AD: 4
UD: 4
System Shock: 6

Bureaucracy: 3/+2
Business: 2/+2
Combat Sense: 1/+1
Computer: 1/+1
Dodge: 1/0
Earth Sciences: 1/+1
Etiquette (*CEF): 2/0
Foreign Language (Liberati Highland): 2/0
Human Perception: 1/-1
Investigation: 1/+1
Law: 1/+1
Leadership: 1/0
Literature: 1/+2
Melee: 1/0
Hand-to-Hand: 1/0
Small Arms: 1/0
Notice: 2/+1
Psychology (*Military): 1/+2
Security (*CEF): 3/+2
Small Arms: 1/0
Social Sciences: 2/+2
Survival (Highlands): 1/+2
Tactics: 3/+2

Equipment

Atabeg Reshef usually carries a 9mm pistol with two extra magazines, in addition to usual Liberati attire and his pressure suit and oxygen rebreather. He also has an electronic data pad with stylus as well as audio recorder/transcriber for when inspiration strikes. He also carries a miniature chess set, which he indulges in as often as he can (often playing against himself).