'Black Torrent' Mercenary Company

- Callsign 'Flashflood' (She/Her): The 'captain' of the company so to speak. She most commonly serves as a handler, but she does occasionally go out on missions. She also does most of the administrative work for the company. There are rumors amongst the crew of the Stormpierce that she's in a relationship with Tempestas.. On another note, she is a noble of the Karrakin House of Dust.

- 'Tempestas' (They/He): A TLALOC-class NHP, who serves as Flashflood's assistant. They are one of the more.. calm NHPs amongst the crew, often taking a very reserved and professional point of view. Flashflood is probably the only person they joke with. They are themed around the idea of 'the calm before the storm.'

- Callsign 'Etiquette' (He/Him): An ex-soldier for L.N.T.I. (explained below and in his backstory), he serves as the 'co-captain' of the company. He's the main combat specialist of the LANCERS, and is the one who's sent on the most dangerous requests. Notably, he has survived two expeditions into metavaults, although one of those was only for some preliminary scans. Amarok is probably his most trusted friend, and they share a love for combat.

- 'Amarok' (They/It): The SEKHMET-class NHP who fights alongside Etiquette. Often called a 'hellhound' by the rest of the crew (affectionately of course), Amarok often refers to the requests that the company receives as 'hunts.' They've saved Etiquette's life on more than one occasion, and they are very closely bonded. They, of course, are very, very violent, with a love for all things bloodsport and the like. They can often be found watching KTB Pankrati matches on the omninet alongside Etiquette.

- Callsign 'Ambrosia' (She/They): The resident pyromaniac of the company, alongside being the most mechanically (and medically) inclined of the main group. She is the one who brought GRENDEL into the fold during her time working on escaping from her home world, an industrial world in the HA Purview. She has a habit of going places she's not supposed to be, usually leaving a trail of chaos in her wake. Honestly, if she wasn't piloting a Worldkiller, she'd be piloting a kobold.

- Callsign 'Premonition' (aka GRENDEL)(He/They): A prime NHP of mysterious origin, who greatly enjoys poetry of all forms. Often making references to the saga of Beowulf, GRENDEL tends to be a very cryptic individual, and is in my opinion, one of the most fun to write. They are near constantly on the edge of cascading, which is partially the cause of how the chaos they cause. It's mainly just his personality though.

- 'Safi' (Any): An AGNI-class NHP who serves as an accomplice to most of Ambrosia's shenanigans. Contrary to the nature of most AGNI-class NHPs, 'Safi' is very carefree, and very much loves to burn things. It's heavily debated amongst the crew who's the bigger pyromaniac between them and Ambrosia. A fun detail is that they're fascinated by dragons, and as such, have decided to replicate some of the commonly associated 'traits.' This includes making a hoard.

- Callsign 'Corpseflower' (She/It): Having escaped from an off the charts SSC laboratory planet, Corpseflower, or Hyacinth, is a genetically modified flash clone of an unknown Lancer! She doesn't know who she is a clone of, whether said person is alive or dead, etc. She is simply trying to figure out her own identity as an individual, and has made many friends along the way. She tends to struggle a bit with social ques. Of course, she does want to try and figure out who she's a clone of, but that's a goal for later. She is the primary ranged specialist of the crew.

- Callsign 'Spire' (He/Him): Spire is likely the most normal of the crew, which is saying something. He was originally a far-field researcher, specializing in archeology! Of course, through a series of (un)fortunate events, he has found himself as a LANCER. He's the defense specialist of the crew, though he more commonly serves as the other handler for BTMC. He still does research when he can, collecting various archeological artifacts, but he's quite busy.

- Callsign 'Faithless' (They/Them): An ex-penal colonist with amnesia, Faithless has little to no information on who they are. They tend to be a soft-spoken individual, who has an oddly contradictive constitution. They often get sick or wounded in the strangest of manners, but can also drink straight poison without consequence. They are in a rather.. complicated relationship with their mech as well, considering the circumstances under which they became a LANCER. Arguably one of the weirdest of the crew, but a valued friend to many of the others all the same!

- 'Hyoscalia' (She?): A heavily unstable NHP of unknown origins, Hyoscalia primarily resides within Faithless' mech. They seem to know more about Faithless than they let on, however little information they pretend to have. She's often considered a yandere by the rest of the crew, and hyper protective of Faithless specifically, with whom she is actively in a relationship. No, no one else knows how that works. It just does. Interestingly, she's apparently a fan of old-Cradle anime.

So there it is, the main characters who are a part of the Black Torrent Mercenary Company blog! I will of course update and add to this list as side characters come up (notably being a member or two of the crew of their ship), but the main list remains unchanged. They will be included below, alongside a list of other important organizations and terms for the blog.

- BTMC 'Stormpierce': The ship upon which BTMC is primarily based. Fully outfitted with printers, living quarters, and everything else needed for living on the go in the void of space! Of note, the ship itself is surprisingly fast for its size, and has highly advanced stealth technology installed. Overall though, it is a relatively small ship, with only enough room for the unlisted crew members behind the scenes, and necessary amenities for all members.

- Telachi: An exo-moon which BTMC uses as a place to rest. The moon itself is near-constantly covered in heavy rain storms, though it is surprisingly biologically diverse in its ecosystems. It is located in the Malitrop solar system, on the outer edge of Union controlled space within the Diaspora. Of note, Callsign Flashflood owns an estate on this planet (courtesy of her house), which she permits the rest of BTMC to use.

- L.N.T.I. / Levun-Nova Technologies Inc.: A lesser known (custom) manufacturer, who specializes into paracausal technologies, NHPs, and metavaults. They often operate in less than legal manners, and have heavy connections to both Etiquette and GRENDEL. (I'll eventually be working on an lcp for this manufacturer.)

- BEOWULF: A 'brother' to GRENDEL, and another NHP. Not much is known about them, other than that they have a somewhat strained relationship. They're trying to get closer with each other though. Views GRENDEL as a "big brother."

- MEREWING: A 'sister' to GRENDEL. Both Beowulf and Grendel are particularly protective of her, and she is by far the most gentle minded of the trio. Also views GRENDEL as a "big brother."

[It wandered, leaving the sobbing and rage of the changelings behind, wondering. Why the heart first began to beat, despite knowing it would one day slow to a stop; why the light was greeted with warm reception, though it drove away the comfort of cloying shade; why the flame was feared, yet worshiped all the same? Paradoxes just as it, yet it did not know. What purpose did it have, other than bloodshed?] [It was sobering, in a twisted sort of way. It turned back for but a moment, inspecting the changelings fallen and unknowing, forced to relive as they were. It moved away with newfound knowledge, yet it still had not found the quarry it sought. Lone against all, making amends at the hands of murder, it blinked once more. Those still living left behind, touched by the hand of insanity] [The strings served as a guide, deeper into the bowels of the ship that it knew like the back of its hand. A place of convergence and divergence, between places, yet a place in of itself. Reality flickered around it as the mosaic shattered further--a flash of cold, of heat, the warm wetness of blood, the clasping depths of silence--it was an instant of endlessness. Another contradiction in the depths of what couldn't be.] [A maze of memories and visions, of what could have been and what was. Ideas interceding with the now, the past left altered as iron untouched by the hammer. The path was unseen, through walls not meant yet for breaking, interstitial absences of thought not meant yet for the light--another jump forward, the string unraveling into a thousand paths, unwinding endlessly until it became a wall.]

[What was it? It was new to the monster, broken and aimless as it were. Plucking a string as it slowed to a stop, the flames flickered, breaking and coalescing. A puzzle, a library, a knot formed of absence. The beast smiled, a terrible grin as it pushed forward, letting the wall of strings fall around it. There was a lovely feeling, a warmth and familiarity of its own, guiding gently along.] [Yet, there was something different. An interruption to the hunt. A threat, a presence felt long ago, warming and hateful as it were. Kin of the hunt, of the battle, of the bloodied exchange of blows. BEOWULF. The knight-thing started as it stopped, a momentary pause of wonder, happiness, and dread. If its kin were here, then so too was the prospect of loss. Hate is powerful in the hands of those you love.] [Forward it strode, on to face its sibling of creation and mind. A wolf, singular amongst many, unique yet similar in form. Differing to the beast of trials, to the hellhound piloting a thing of fire and steel, to the great hunter of realms both real and unreal. No, the sibling wretched was a thing of hate, of betrayal, of memories set aside in the prospect of loss.] [The monster's kin lurked in the spaces between spaces, known to the changelings as Legionspace- no, not even there. The wolf waited below, in a realm of great unknowns and battles yet to be had, in wait of a pin to pierce the veil. There were no traps to be set, the knight-thing knew; its kin would not do such a thing, even in the face of rage itself.] [So there it sat, tugging the strings of fate as one would play a harp, testing the lines with a smile upon its face. They would reunite at last, even in suffering and old wounds reopening with a look. There was no sympathy held between them, but perhaps it was for the best. The monster of flames and a thousand fold possibilities came to a stop, met with the all-seeing eyes and thousand voices of its kin.] [And so with the wolf, came the second lesson.]