Post by holymackerel on Jun 16, 2023 7:49:54 GMT
Taskforce Name: N2 Pursuit Crew “Mortar”
Some marines dedicate themselves to their cause by protecting the weak and innocent. Others discard that in favor of seeking out and destroying evil, wherever it lurks.
From North Blue comes the crew of the “Retribution”, known as “Mortar”. They are a specialized crew dedicated to the hunting and capture of select pirate crews, which they do with skillful, ruthless glee.
When military action is taken that requires more than one Marine ship, Mortar is usually tapped as an assault or flanking team, striking at key targets before enemy factions have a chance to respond.
Joining the crew is not for the faint of heart. Since they see regular heavy combat and harshly punish cowardly crew members, they have over time selected for the most strong-willed and thick-skinned Marines.
The culture of the crew is one of bravado and superiority. They are the ones who will save the world, one pirate at a time. They divide themselves into smaller fighting cells 3-5 people strong, with each attempting to grow stronger and outperform the others. Thus, the crew of Mortar never lets themselves grow weak.
Captain: Thorleif Griggs
Members:
44 total
Caliga - NPC
James Alpaca - NPC
Salvia Ford - NPC
Jeanne de Clisson - NPC
The crew is all humans, and most have various degrees of combat training besides their duty on the ship.
They have a few carpenters who can repair the ship, 2 navigators, 2 cooks besides the captain, and many seamen trained as infantry soldiers. Some are organized into commando units.
______________________________________________________________________
Named Members
First mate Caliga
Doctor James Alpaca
Salvia Ford
Name: Salvia Ford
Role: Devil Fruit Hunter / Scholar
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Rank: Seaman First Class
Physical Description: Salvia is a petite young woman who is never seen without sunglasses on her brow or a smile on her face. Her straw-blonde hair is cut into a short bob. Though usually dressed in a Marine uniform, she supplements the standard-issue set with some lightweight body armor and a bag for her camera.
General Personality: An upbeat, cheery, and wildly curious person, Salvia has become the unofficial mascot of the Mortar. A knowledgeable and excitable individual, Salvia is always looking forward to the next adventure the crew will go on. Her encyclopedic memory makes her a favorite of the Captain whenever he writes his journals, often takes pictures of cool moments the crew would want immortalized, and occasionally supports Doctor Alpaca whenever they encounter strange new devil fruits.
She doesn’t mind the ruthlessness of the crew - the pirates knew what they were doing, knowing they would suffer the consequences if they got caught. The Marines are just living up to their part of the deal.
Combat Style: Salvia fights smarter, not harder. Armed with two short swords and plenty of tactical knowhow, she uses every opportunity of a chaotic battlefield to lure enemies into disadvantageous terrain or groups of her fellow Marines. She generally tends to evade and observe her opponents skills and weaknesses before engaging, but when she does she can be as ruthless as any crew member.
Worth mentioning is her study of devil fruit abilities. She is often called upon for information work when they encounter new powers, in order to give the heavy fighters a better chance to succeed.
Devil Fruits: None
Known History: Salvia followed in the footsteps of her father Indigo Ford, who serves in the Marines as a scholar and researcher. Learning about the many kinds of devil fruits at her father’s knee, she joined the academy as soon as she was able in order to become a Marine. Her curious and energetic nature made her unsuitable for desk work, however, and she eventually ended up on the Retribution where she found people who have the same restless energy as her own.
Family Tree:
Indigo Ford - Father, researcher in the employ of the World Government.
Valentina Ford - Mother, researcher in the employ of the World Government.
Jeanne de Clisson
Name: Jeanne de Clisson
Role: Infantry / Tactical Support
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Rank: Petty Officer
Physical Description: Jeanne is a beautiful young woman. Her silver hair flows down to her waist, and her complexion is fair and unblemished. She stretches the rules of uniform whenever she gets the chance, adorning herself with jewelry, belts, sashes or skirts in order to look her best - a consequence of her noble heritage and the superiority complex of Mortar as a whole.
General Personality: A prankster with a mean streak, Jeanne never lets an opportunity to mess with someone slip. She knows better than to mess with the Captain or First Mate, but everyone else is fair game for random pantsings. She has become the de facto hazing of new recruits to the ship, as being able to dodge or counteract her sudden appearances has become synonymous with being tough enough to go out into the field.
Jeanne admires and believes in the mission of the Mortar, and thinks they can change the world. Everyone outside Mortar is too pansy to realize that to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.
Combat Style: Jeanne is an accomplished martial artist, delivering quick, powerful hand-to-hand strikes when she engages. She generally doesn’t wear armor, relying instead on her devil fruit to avoid attacks.
Her devil fruit is fully integrated into her skill as a martial artist, allowing her to employ hit-and-fade tactics as well as surprise attacks from unexpected angles.
Her duty in tactical combat is to be the hand of Caliga, quickly bouncing back and forth as the First Mate commands. She retrieves wounded soldiers, moves heavy-hitters to where they’re needed, splits up enemy group-tactics, and helps outnumber anyone that seems troublesome.
Devil Fruits: Wapu Wapu no Mi (Warp Warp Fruit)
The Warp Warp fruit allows Jeanne to teleport herself or people she touches short distances, generally only to places she can see (the power and range may evolve as she grows stronger).
Techniques:
Warp: The basic ability of the fruit, this teleports Jeanne or a person she touches a short distance. Teleporting herself doesn’t consume much energy, but teleporting others can exhaust her quickly if she’s not given time to replenish.
Vortex: An offensive technique, where Jeanne rapidly teleports around her foes, effectively surrounding her opponents all on her own. She delivers many consecutive attacks and moves to a new location the second her strike lands. The many sudden appearances of Jeanne can be a disorienting and confusing experience.
Gate: Jeanne connects where she is and another point in space she can see, opening a person-sized portal between the two places. Others can pass through this rift at will, until she breaks the technique. Using this power requires her to build up power for a bit, and her full concentration while it’s active. Holding the portal open for any length of time leaves her winded and exhausted.
Known History: Born a noble, Jeanne de Clisson was supremely bored for most of her childhood. Then, when she was a teenager, Jeanne came across the Wapu Wapu no Mi, and everything changed. She felt a renewed sense of purpose, and abandoned her duties as noble in favor of joining the largest, most powerful military in the world - the Marines. There, she intends to climb the ranks and make her mark in history.
Family Tree:
Marquis Nöel de Clisson - Father
Saemien de Clisson - Mother
Henri de Clisson - Younger brother
Ship: "Retribution"
Not literal picture, more to convey the feeling and capabilities of the ship.
The “Retribution” is a large, imposing marine vessel. There is little in the way of flair to this ship - it's all function, baby. The one cosmetic addition the ship has is an iron gibbet hung from the forespeak, where they occasionally place choice prisoners - a grim reminder of what awaits all pirates.
Otherwise, they sail with a reinforced hull and plenty of weaponry. Front-facing cannons have been mounted for pursuits, and two large harpoon launchers loom in wait to threaten underwater assailants or to pierce the hulls of ships. A ram has been mounted at water level, allowing the ship to pierce the hull of enemy ships when they crash into them.
Special cannon shots:
- Chain shot, for shattering masts.
- Grapeshot, for hitting bunched-up enemies.
- Firebombs, for destroying structures and tactical combat.
- "Thunderballs", a special kind of cannonball that explodes with a concussive blast of light upon impact. While it doesn't do much damage to structures, it pushes people and loose objects away from the impact area even as it temporarily blinds and deafens those who were in the vicinity of the detonation.
Authority:
- The ability to use basic marine manpower to achieve certain minor tasks.
- Access to most forms of transponder snails.
- Access to most arsenals owned by the marines.
- The authority to arrest, imprison, or punish those deemed enemies of the World Government.
- Access to a majority of standard marine barracks and bases.
- Access to log poses and maps as per area of operations.
- Basic funding for repairs, food, and other amenities when no marine base is within reach.
- Basic authority over the general civilian population.
- Basic authority to interrogate and evacuate civilians, and search civilian homes when on a specific mission to hunt a pirate crew.
Some marines dedicate themselves to their cause by protecting the weak and innocent. Others discard that in favor of seeking out and destroying evil, wherever it lurks.
From North Blue comes the crew of the “Retribution”, known as “Mortar”. They are a specialized crew dedicated to the hunting and capture of select pirate crews, which they do with skillful, ruthless glee.
When military action is taken that requires more than one Marine ship, Mortar is usually tapped as an assault or flanking team, striking at key targets before enemy factions have a chance to respond.
Joining the crew is not for the faint of heart. Since they see regular heavy combat and harshly punish cowardly crew members, they have over time selected for the most strong-willed and thick-skinned Marines.
The culture of the crew is one of bravado and superiority. They are the ones who will save the world, one pirate at a time. They divide themselves into smaller fighting cells 3-5 people strong, with each attempting to grow stronger and outperform the others. Thus, the crew of Mortar never lets themselves grow weak.
Captain: Thorleif Griggs
Members:
44 total
Caliga - NPC
James Alpaca - NPC
Salvia Ford - NPC
Jeanne de Clisson - NPC
The crew is all humans, and most have various degrees of combat training besides their duty on the ship.
They have a few carpenters who can repair the ship, 2 navigators, 2 cooks besides the captain, and many seamen trained as infantry soldiers. Some are organized into commando units.
______________________________________________________________________
Named Members
First mate Caliga
Name: Caliga
Role: First Mate / Lookout
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 33
Rank: Lieutenant
Physical Description: Caliga is a tall (~2m), blue-haired woman. She is slender, with piercing blue eyes and a semi-permanent scowl.
Her hair runs in a long practical ponytail as opposed to anything with flair, and that attitude extends to the rest of her clothes choices. She generally wears clothes that leave her neck and shoulders bare, since she likes to be able to feel the wind.
General Personality: Counterbalancing Captain Griggs, Caliga is quieter but no less harsh. She often stays in the crow’s nest, acting as the lookout and finding peace from the crew. Caliga and Griggs respect each other immensely, and when she comes down to lead there is no denying her authority. She is not as boastful as the rest of the crew, instead appearing as lightning in a bottle - harboring her rage deep inside, to be released every time she fires her gun.
She believes in moral absolutes, and that the Marines are on the side of good. If the Marines are doing it, it can’t be evil. She and Griggs lean on each other whenever decisions need to be made, and skulls are getting cracked when they’re in agreement.
She is charged with disciplining weakness out of the crew, and has a standing warning to the crew that any soldiers who flee before retreat is called will feel the bite of her bullets. Nobody abandons their mission, or their comrades, under Caligas watchful eye.
Combat Style: Caliga is a sniper first and foremost. She can scope out and dispatch targets over great distances, using a heavily modified rifle of her own design named "Backbiter". She often handles battlefield surveillance, using Den Den Mushi to call out patterns and direct fighting groups.
Caliga is agile and prefers a dodge-based combat style if caught in close quarters, all the while firing deadly shots at point-blank range.
Devil Fruits: None
Known History: Raised poor and refusing to stay that way, Caliga worked breathlessly to gain a position, any position in the local noble’s staff. There, she reckoned, lived the way forward. She became a castle guard in short order, but the career was short-lived. The noble was usurped by revolutionary-backed rebels, and Caliga was forced to flee as many of her castle guard colleagues betrayed their mission and joined the rebels. She joined the Marines, an organization strong enough to fight back against the tides of chaos, and big enough for her to climb to a rank where she'll never be disrespected or betrayed again.
Caliga was in the Marine Academy together with Thorleif, where they bonded over their shared sense of black-and-white justice. Later, when Griggs became promoted to captain, she made sure he would take her along.
Family Tree:
Role: First Mate / Lookout
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 33
Rank: Lieutenant
Physical Description: Caliga is a tall (~2m), blue-haired woman. She is slender, with piercing blue eyes and a semi-permanent scowl.
Her hair runs in a long practical ponytail as opposed to anything with flair, and that attitude extends to the rest of her clothes choices. She generally wears clothes that leave her neck and shoulders bare, since she likes to be able to feel the wind.
General Personality: Counterbalancing Captain Griggs, Caliga is quieter but no less harsh. She often stays in the crow’s nest, acting as the lookout and finding peace from the crew. Caliga and Griggs respect each other immensely, and when she comes down to lead there is no denying her authority. She is not as boastful as the rest of the crew, instead appearing as lightning in a bottle - harboring her rage deep inside, to be released every time she fires her gun.
She believes in moral absolutes, and that the Marines are on the side of good. If the Marines are doing it, it can’t be evil. She and Griggs lean on each other whenever decisions need to be made, and skulls are getting cracked when they’re in agreement.
She is charged with disciplining weakness out of the crew, and has a standing warning to the crew that any soldiers who flee before retreat is called will feel the bite of her bullets. Nobody abandons their mission, or their comrades, under Caligas watchful eye.
Combat Style: Caliga is a sniper first and foremost. She can scope out and dispatch targets over great distances, using a heavily modified rifle of her own design named "Backbiter". She often handles battlefield surveillance, using Den Den Mushi to call out patterns and direct fighting groups.
Caliga is agile and prefers a dodge-based combat style if caught in close quarters, all the while firing deadly shots at point-blank range.
Devil Fruits: None
Known History: Raised poor and refusing to stay that way, Caliga worked breathlessly to gain a position, any position in the local noble’s staff. There, she reckoned, lived the way forward. She became a castle guard in short order, but the career was short-lived. The noble was usurped by revolutionary-backed rebels, and Caliga was forced to flee as many of her castle guard colleagues betrayed their mission and joined the rebels. She joined the Marines, an organization strong enough to fight back against the tides of chaos, and big enough for her to climb to a rank where she'll never be disrespected or betrayed again.
Caliga was in the Marine Academy together with Thorleif, where they bonded over their shared sense of black-and-white justice. Later, when Griggs became promoted to captain, she made sure he would take her along.
Family Tree:
Doctor James Alpaca
Names: James Alpaca, “The Dissecter”
Role: Doctor
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 46
Rank: Ensign
Physical Description: James is a mature, lean man emanating a feeling of self-importance. His red-streaked hair hangs over his shoulders, and his skin is pale from many years spent indoors with strange chemicals. He generally wears dapper suits when he isn’t working, and only makes the bare minimum changes necessary when switching into uniform.
General Personality: James is a stone-cold scientist, who sacrificed his morals on the altar of progress long ago. Whatever it takes, to learn the truth. He takes pride in his skill, and feels not a small amount of glee in watching “intellectual inferiors” squirm under his knife.
James is very interested in the mechanics and effects of devil fruits. Every one of them is a new, wondrous experience to learn about.
He joined the Marines because he believes it is the smartest thing to do. They controlled the Devil Fruits once before, and they will again, he reckons. Plus, now people won’t get on his back about the ethics of his studies since he’s on the side of “justice”.
He deeply enjoys the unscrupulous and results-oriented culture of the Mortar crew, and drinks along with the best of them when the situation calls for it.
Combat Style: James is not a frontline combattant as such. He knows his way around weaponry enough to not be helpless, but he isn't on the ship to kick ass. His focus in a fight is to retreat, keep himself safe, and let the crew deal with it. When pressed, he can inject people with paralytics to slow them down, in order to make a getaway.
Devil Fruits: None
Known History: Having bounced around several jobs, taking small gigs from local nobles in order to access their libraries, James eventually got recruited to the Marines by word of mouth. His knowledge of biology and human weaknesses was a talent they valued (and wanted to keep out of pirate hands...), and he ended up on Mortar as a means of both testing his skill and because they are the ones that can be trusted to contain him. For the pirates that fear or loathe the cruel side of the Marines, Alpaca is a name they may have encountered as the face of evil.
Family Tree:
Role: Doctor
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 46
Rank: Ensign
Physical Description: James is a mature, lean man emanating a feeling of self-importance. His red-streaked hair hangs over his shoulders, and his skin is pale from many years spent indoors with strange chemicals. He generally wears dapper suits when he isn’t working, and only makes the bare minimum changes necessary when switching into uniform.
General Personality: James is a stone-cold scientist, who sacrificed his morals on the altar of progress long ago. Whatever it takes, to learn the truth. He takes pride in his skill, and feels not a small amount of glee in watching “intellectual inferiors” squirm under his knife.
James is very interested in the mechanics and effects of devil fruits. Every one of them is a new, wondrous experience to learn about.
He joined the Marines because he believes it is the smartest thing to do. They controlled the Devil Fruits once before, and they will again, he reckons. Plus, now people won’t get on his back about the ethics of his studies since he’s on the side of “justice”.
He deeply enjoys the unscrupulous and results-oriented culture of the Mortar crew, and drinks along with the best of them when the situation calls for it.
Combat Style: James is not a frontline combattant as such. He knows his way around weaponry enough to not be helpless, but he isn't on the ship to kick ass. His focus in a fight is to retreat, keep himself safe, and let the crew deal with it. When pressed, he can inject people with paralytics to slow them down, in order to make a getaway.
Devil Fruits: None
Known History: Having bounced around several jobs, taking small gigs from local nobles in order to access their libraries, James eventually got recruited to the Marines by word of mouth. His knowledge of biology and human weaknesses was a talent they valued (and wanted to keep out of pirate hands...), and he ended up on Mortar as a means of both testing his skill and because they are the ones that can be trusted to contain him. For the pirates that fear or loathe the cruel side of the Marines, Alpaca is a name they may have encountered as the face of evil.
Family Tree:
Salvia Ford
Name: Salvia Ford
Role: Devil Fruit Hunter / Scholar
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Rank: Seaman First Class
Physical Description: Salvia is a petite young woman who is never seen without sunglasses on her brow or a smile on her face. Her straw-blonde hair is cut into a short bob. Though usually dressed in a Marine uniform, she supplements the standard-issue set with some lightweight body armor and a bag for her camera.
General Personality: An upbeat, cheery, and wildly curious person, Salvia has become the unofficial mascot of the Mortar. A knowledgeable and excitable individual, Salvia is always looking forward to the next adventure the crew will go on. Her encyclopedic memory makes her a favorite of the Captain whenever he writes his journals, often takes pictures of cool moments the crew would want immortalized, and occasionally supports Doctor Alpaca whenever they encounter strange new devil fruits.
She doesn’t mind the ruthlessness of the crew - the pirates knew what they were doing, knowing they would suffer the consequences if they got caught. The Marines are just living up to their part of the deal.
Combat Style: Salvia fights smarter, not harder. Armed with two short swords and plenty of tactical knowhow, she uses every opportunity of a chaotic battlefield to lure enemies into disadvantageous terrain or groups of her fellow Marines. She generally tends to evade and observe her opponents skills and weaknesses before engaging, but when she does she can be as ruthless as any crew member.
Worth mentioning is her study of devil fruit abilities. She is often called upon for information work when they encounter new powers, in order to give the heavy fighters a better chance to succeed.
Devil Fruits: None
Known History: Salvia followed in the footsteps of her father Indigo Ford, who serves in the Marines as a scholar and researcher. Learning about the many kinds of devil fruits at her father’s knee, she joined the academy as soon as she was able in order to become a Marine. Her curious and energetic nature made her unsuitable for desk work, however, and she eventually ended up on the Retribution where she found people who have the same restless energy as her own.
Family Tree:
Indigo Ford - Father, researcher in the employ of the World Government.
Valentina Ford - Mother, researcher in the employ of the World Government.
Jeanne de Clisson
Name: Jeanne de Clisson
Role: Infantry / Tactical Support
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Rank: Petty Officer
Physical Description: Jeanne is a beautiful young woman. Her silver hair flows down to her waist, and her complexion is fair and unblemished. She stretches the rules of uniform whenever she gets the chance, adorning herself with jewelry, belts, sashes or skirts in order to look her best - a consequence of her noble heritage and the superiority complex of Mortar as a whole.
General Personality: A prankster with a mean streak, Jeanne never lets an opportunity to mess with someone slip. She knows better than to mess with the Captain or First Mate, but everyone else is fair game for random pantsings. She has become the de facto hazing of new recruits to the ship, as being able to dodge or counteract her sudden appearances has become synonymous with being tough enough to go out into the field.
Jeanne admires and believes in the mission of the Mortar, and thinks they can change the world. Everyone outside Mortar is too pansy to realize that to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.
Combat Style: Jeanne is an accomplished martial artist, delivering quick, powerful hand-to-hand strikes when she engages. She generally doesn’t wear armor, relying instead on her devil fruit to avoid attacks.
Her devil fruit is fully integrated into her skill as a martial artist, allowing her to employ hit-and-fade tactics as well as surprise attacks from unexpected angles.
Her duty in tactical combat is to be the hand of Caliga, quickly bouncing back and forth as the First Mate commands. She retrieves wounded soldiers, moves heavy-hitters to where they’re needed, splits up enemy group-tactics, and helps outnumber anyone that seems troublesome.
Devil Fruits: Wapu Wapu no Mi (Warp Warp Fruit)
The Warp Warp fruit allows Jeanne to teleport herself or people she touches short distances, generally only to places she can see (the power and range may evolve as she grows stronger).
Techniques:
Warp: The basic ability of the fruit, this teleports Jeanne or a person she touches a short distance. Teleporting herself doesn’t consume much energy, but teleporting others can exhaust her quickly if she’s not given time to replenish.
Vortex: An offensive technique, where Jeanne rapidly teleports around her foes, effectively surrounding her opponents all on her own. She delivers many consecutive attacks and moves to a new location the second her strike lands. The many sudden appearances of Jeanne can be a disorienting and confusing experience.
Gate: Jeanne connects where she is and another point in space she can see, opening a person-sized portal between the two places. Others can pass through this rift at will, until she breaks the technique. Using this power requires her to build up power for a bit, and her full concentration while it’s active. Holding the portal open for any length of time leaves her winded and exhausted.
Known History: Born a noble, Jeanne de Clisson was supremely bored for most of her childhood. Then, when she was a teenager, Jeanne came across the Wapu Wapu no Mi, and everything changed. She felt a renewed sense of purpose, and abandoned her duties as noble in favor of joining the largest, most powerful military in the world - the Marines. There, she intends to climb the ranks and make her mark in history.
Family Tree:
Marquis Nöel de Clisson - Father
Saemien de Clisson - Mother
Henri de Clisson - Younger brother
Ship: "Retribution"
Not literal picture, more to convey the feeling and capabilities of the ship.
The “Retribution” is a large, imposing marine vessel. There is little in the way of flair to this ship - it's all function, baby. The one cosmetic addition the ship has is an iron gibbet hung from the forespeak, where they occasionally place choice prisoners - a grim reminder of what awaits all pirates.
Otherwise, they sail with a reinforced hull and plenty of weaponry. Front-facing cannons have been mounted for pursuits, and two large harpoon launchers loom in wait to threaten underwater assailants or to pierce the hulls of ships. A ram has been mounted at water level, allowing the ship to pierce the hull of enemy ships when they crash into them.
Special cannon shots:
- Chain shot, for shattering masts.
- Grapeshot, for hitting bunched-up enemies.
- Firebombs, for destroying structures and tactical combat.
- "Thunderballs", a special kind of cannonball that explodes with a concussive blast of light upon impact. While it doesn't do much damage to structures, it pushes people and loose objects away from the impact area even as it temporarily blinds and deafens those who were in the vicinity of the detonation.
Authority:
- The ability to use basic marine manpower to achieve certain minor tasks.
- Access to most forms of transponder snails.
- Access to most arsenals owned by the marines.
- The authority to arrest, imprison, or punish those deemed enemies of the World Government.
- Access to a majority of standard marine barracks and bases.
- Access to log poses and maps as per area of operations.
- Basic funding for repairs, food, and other amenities when no marine base is within reach.
- Basic authority over the general civilian population.
- Basic authority to interrogate and evacuate civilians, and search civilian homes when on a specific mission to hunt a pirate crew.
