Difference between revisions of "XBF-00 Starlight"

Starlight’s creation surprisingly did not come from one excessively wealthy man with superpowers such as “no common sense” and “unlimited cash”. No, her story comes from somewhere else. The very first conversation that idealized her conception came during an engineering and science symposium in Tokyo, Japan. Scientists not only from Japan, but from UNTIL and other countries, discussed many topics, and among them a group of UNTIL officers assigned to Japan spoke of the theme of robotics. Long had it been discussed the implementation of robotic units in UNTIL’s forces, but despite the increasing numbers, there was still something missing. Some surmised it might be a lack of emotional intelligence from the machines. Others thought it might be their general lack of specialization against mystical, unknown foes such as Takofanes, or their occasional susceptibility to control or conversion by foes such as Doctor Destroyer or Mechanon. Lastly, there was an element of Human adaptability that many robots tended to lack, often built to look imposing and powerful, but in doing so causing the very population to feel wary of their presence. Versatility in the field was also something Humans had and that machines didn’t often manage to emulate decently. The lengthy conversation led into considerations, and talks about a Metamaterial that had been under study by UNTIL’s Japan division for a while now. Named “SmartMetal”, the material was being researched for the purpose of uses in robotics. A combination of incredible durability, flexible usage as well as the ability to conduct immense amounts of energy without facing lasting damage made it a fairly ideal choice for the use in such fields.

While the final idea of the project didn’t come out of the symposium, the seeds that would be nurtured into fruition did. Months later, a group of scientists from UNTIL-Japan started contacting many of their likeminded companions, telling of them about their bold, daring new project, who had just been authorized by central command for testing. Within a year, a total of a hundred and fourteen specialists from multiple fields had been gathered and briefed in the project. Separated into teams, each group became responsible for the design and study of a specific aspect of the robot’s construction. One team for flight capabilities, another for external design, one more for weapons, and so on. With each team focusing on their fields before placing their ideas together, the team responsible for the robot’s AI was the first one to effectively act. First, they had to create an AI capable of not only intelligence, but emotional and instinctive intelligence. So was born Starlight, the first of the XBF units. Born as a child-like, near-emotionless and curious entity, she existed solely as a virtual unit, created under the specifications of the design teams and placed upon a simulated environment that was meant to replicate the real world. The idea is that it would be easier to control the emotional development of such a unit in a controlled, virtual environment, rather than simply stuffing her into a new, unknown world, in a super-powered body.

During a period of five years, Starlight was designed, studied and developed within the virtual environment. The period also allowed for a lengthier study on the SmartMetal research. Finding very positive results in Starlight’s virtual development, the teams saw the robot grow from a very basic AI into a very intelligent, emotionally-complex sentient being, one who had a powerful sense of purpose and duty. Her experiences within the virtual environment shaped her into a complex individual, with her own views, wishes and preferences, although still very much interested in being the creature she was meant to be. The final trial in the simulated environment came in the form of having the AI actually discover it was in a simulated world, and made her way out of it. Upon her fifth year of life, Starlight finally reached enough of her development potential to make her way out of the simulated environment. At such a point, her body had finally been completed, in its Mark I version. Downloaded into the new body, Starlight would be assigned to UNTIL-Japan’s workforce for practice and testing, and eventually was tasked with helping the Japanese Navy with defending its waters from the occasional super-powered threat.

Three long years passed since then, and finding a generally positive reception, the project moved on to create two additional virtual units. XBF-02 Emerald and XBF-03 Violet had already been in the virtual environment for a time, and were each coming closer from reaching the point of blooming in their development. Having an idea to provide each of the sisters with additional, individual development, UNTIL-Japan contacted its fellow units in other countries, and in time they agreed to a work plan. Starlight would be sent to UNTIL-US, for training and additional development under the American branch, while Emerald would be sent to UNTIL-Russia and lastly, Violet would be sent to UNTIL-Israel. Each of the sisters would be developed with a specific specialization in mind, and each of the country branches had something unique to contribute with. In America, Starlight was outfitted with a considerable amount of changes and upgrades to adapt her flight systems and combat modules, based on several of the technologies utilized in American jet aircraft, allowing her to specialize in high-speed, versatile combat, aided by remote mini-drones. Emerald on the other hand received many Russian-based implementations in weaponry and ballistics, as well as the latest adaptations on shielding and armoring studies, making her a highly-durable unit with immense firepower. Lastly, Violet received from the Israeli branch many of their newest technologies in communications, electronic warfare and field support, making her into an ideal support unit for the team. While they would only be deployed together, or even be introduced to each other many years later, their individual training would be underway.

Having been brought from Japan for continuation of her tests and advancement on her prototype stage, Starlight has since been assigned to the newly rebuilt Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, and has been allocated to train combat tactics, flight performance and overall aspects with the local personnel as well as the 99th Aggressor Squadron. Equipped with highly advanced, experimental fighters, the 99th constantly acts as an opposing force to Starlight during practices. Having recently been joined by her sister units, XBF-02 Emerald and XBF-03 Violet, they have since shown drastically improved combat data when working as a team. Recently, the incidents where Starlight has been more regularly active in battle have consisted of the latest resurgence of the Nightmare creatures upon Millenium City, and some localized strikes from Doctor Destroyer's mechanical forces. Following this assignment, Starlight has since been aiding in matters pertaining Millennium City, as well as having gone through a deployment in order to help deter the organization known as Fumui Gumi, a group of xenophobic terrorists who seek to erase the presence of any mystical being in the world, be they innocent or not.

Following that, and with a few deployments in-between, Starlight found herself working alongside the heroes Eclipse and Fight Club, aiding them in an investigation that helped uncover an abusive employee working in an Orphanage located in Millennium City. After recent events, Starlight has finally acquired enough combat data and experience for her latest modification, the EX form of her body, to be designed. Recently outfitted with the new form, she is getting used to the changes but has so far found that the overhaul has considerably improved her previous abilities.

About Starlight

Starlight is a surprisingly "Human" android, when it comes to interactions. She's sociable, talkative, has a decent understanding of people and is even consistently seen making jokes. Her adaptive mental core allows her to observe, learn and adapt with her environment and the people around it. She can be empathic, understanding and friendly to most individuals, so long as they mean no harm to the world or to those around themselves. In combat, she acquires a surprisingly instinctive demeanor, combining the functionality of a robot's A.I. systems with the edge provided by combat instinct. The full extent of Starlight's learning ability is still unknown, but her core is constantly adapting and improving her own way of doing things, optimizing her functionality, making her a better person and a better fighter. Starlight carries a very strong, protective instinct towards Humanity as a whole, and will go to great lengths to ensure that those harming it meet no success. Due to the characteristics of several animals, especially predators, having been implemented in Starlight's learning core, she sometimes gives a somewhat "animal-like" feeling, though the form and shape of that feeling generally varies. This was done in order to implement the hunting and perception methods of those predators upon her A.I. Sometimes she finds these additional instincts to be a bit bothersome, as they can lead her into feeling more aggressive towards something or someone she dislikes. Overall, Starlight as a surprisingly humane robot, capable of incredible acts of kindness and compassion, but also able to be equally ruthless against those who would harm Humanity. When not working, she has a laid-back, calm demeanor, enjoying acting as a simple girl without any need to be nitpicky about science and such. While she has a certain wariness against magic, particularly against those used by beings of other realms, she's still often willing to give them the benefit of doubt. She has a strong sense of humor to her, and is always appreciative of listening or being the one to employ well-timed comedy, and is known to love making movie, games and book references at times. She's typically very fond of those she calls friends, and can be very protective of them. Even more so, she adores and appreciates her sister units, XBF-02 Emerald and XBF-03 Violet. Starlight has a strong competitive nature that mostly borders on rivalry, rather than outright obsession. It mostly applies towards her sisters and towards a few specific friends.

Driven by a powerful sense of duty, matched only by a comparable sense of compassion and empathy, Starlight sees herself as proof of what Humanity can achieve with enough hard work, determination and creativity. Despite having been created as a weapons platform and seeing herself as one, she also sees herself as a person first and foremost, and such a thing is encouraged by her creators and her Project. This often is noticeable in interactions with her, and her mannerisms are often humane enough to the point that most people tend to have a hard time believing she's simply a robot. While a generally good person, Starlight holds a certain spiteful side towards beings who have historically sought to harm Humanity in the past and present. Beings such as Fae, Demons or Angels, for instance, are often seen by her with some degree of suspiciousness at first, due to the many tales, stories and confirmed cases where they actively went out of their way to cause harm or suffering to Humans. While she's willing to give them a chance to prove their good intentions, she is equally ruthless against those who show they see Humanity in a lesser, prey-like mind. Against those, she holds a terrible amount of spite and often makes a point of fighting them with enough fierceness to remind them to not underestimate mankind. That protective aspect of her mentality is shared by her sisters as well, albeit in varying degrees. Despite being eight years old, Starlight's mind is that of a fully-grown adult due to the way her programming works.

Starlight Mark EX

Looking unusually organic for an android, Starlight is an experimental bioandroid built with a material named "SmartMetal". An adaptive material, SmartMetal is capable of holding a texture and aspect similar to that of Human flesh, but with the ability to change, adapt and repair itself at impressive rate. As a result, those touching Starlight will find that she is rather soft, though application of enough pressure or strength will cause an increasingly feeling of hardness, displaying that the material that composes her body typically acquires very sturdy characteristics upon taking damage. Additionally, the metal's incredibly conductive and absorbing properties allow it to be powered directly by the bioandroid's core, which functions as the basis for its "inbuilt weaponry". In truth, small modules built all around Starlight's body are responsible for materializing her own internal energy, either in raw or solid states, and then utilizing it as weaponry. Internally, Starlight has a reinforced skeleton, and a few additional organs added for improved function. She is capable of eating food, and processing all of its nutrients to break it into raw energy, adding to her own pool. Her body normally feels slightly warmer than a Human's, and she weights a little more than an average person. Her small size can be a deceptive thing, naturally. For such a small robot, Starlight can well lift many more times her own weight, and can lift up to a truck's weight without using any of her thrusters. Her resilience is another remarkable aspect, being able to easily endure blows that would normally outright disable most people.

Unusually compact for a military robot, Starlight's appearance was built and inspired with the purpose of making her appear more friendly and relatable to Humans, which facilitates things for when she's interacting with them. As a result, she is generally regarded as "cute-looking". Her curvy build tends to aid with the aerodynamics of her flight, although one can also see small wings mounted upon her body, serving the function of canards that greatly improve her agility. Beneath her feet, she's observed to have wheels, and although she tends to walk normally with short distances, she's known to skate upon them when moving for a while longer, such as from one corner of a room to another. Her primary thrusters are located under her feet, with the secondary one being her "ears". Releasing energy from her palms also allows them to act as extra thrusters. Her most recent upgrade has moved her version to one named "EX", expected to be the final major body overhaul to be done in the bioandroid. This made her taller and more slender than her previous forms, and more streamlined. Acquired data from the constant trials and missions undergone in her Mark II version have been used to project the EX version, and as such she sees considerable increase in her overall combat performance.

As far as scents go, Starlight has an odd absence of those. Her "skin" is largely painted white, with blue and dark gray stripes forming lines and curves along her form. The odd strand of hair sticking out of her main hair mass seems to act as an antenna of sorts, at times. Typically seen following her or being docked with her canards, her External Auxiliary Pods are small drones that provide aid in battle, but can also serve as additional sensors for her outside of it, or even act as extra thrusters for very long or off-world flights. Lastly, Starlight's voice has been chosen by her creators to be soft, gentle and soothing, and generally ideal for giving off a friendly impression. As such, she typically manages to not be mistrusted or given odd looks by most Humans. She has also been noted to have a knack for humming and even singing sometimes.

Powers, Skills, and Attributes

Flight- Thanks to her powerful thrusters, Starlight has the ability to perform flight so long as they are active. While her small wings are often mistaken for wings, they are actually canards, small surfaces that can adjust in flight to rapidly maneuver her in the air. As such, not only she can fly at considerable speed, but also maneuver rapidly. Her highest speed is roughly ten thousand kilometers per hour, though only in linear flight (typically utilized to travel around the world, and not practical in combat). She can both accelerate and deaccelerate rapidly using her own body as an air break, or employing her auxiliary pods. While flying or using her flight thrusters, Starlight is able to accelerate up to incredible speeds, making her temporarily reach velocities achieved only by Speedsters, if only for a fraction of a second.

Inbuilt Armament- Rather than have weapons stored within her, Starlight stores energy from her core and sends it towards her weapons modules. Her armament modules receive that energy, becoming active, and when doing so they can either release that raw energy in the form of beams and blasts, or utilize that energy to make construct weapons, such as micro-munitions, bullets, aerial mines and so on. This makes her overall internal arsenal very versatile, and easily changeable. That same energy is also utilized to produce shields and barriers to provide her with some protection against attacks.

External Auxiliary Pods- Acting like fast-moving drones, these Pods typically fly very close to Starlight, and can attach to her canards in order to provide her with extra speed and maneuverability in necessary situations. While they lack the supercharged core of Starlight, they have a reliable amount of energy of their own and can typically serve as remote weapons while in combat. In extreme scenarios, they can overload themselves and strike targets in self-destructive explosions. When lost, those Pods are eventually rebuilt by Starlight's Weapons Module. Recently, she has been upgraded with a pair of Cruiser Drones, which are heavier and more powerful version of the Pod Drones.

Bioandroid Body - Much sturdier than most machines, despite its organic aspect, a Bioandroid's body is built out of SmartMetal. As a result, it provides an incredible performance despite the machine's compact size. Even being under five feet tall, Starlight is easily capable of lifting something as heavy as a truck even without utilizing her thrusters. With the aid of thrusters, that strength can increase considerably. This added endurance also makes her a very sturdy machine, and allows her to perform high-G maneuvers constantly without suffering internal damage. She also has several inbuilt sensors, as typical for androids.

Fusion Frame - The Fusion Frame is a rather outstanding innovation in robotic technology. It allows Starlight's cores - and therefore brain processors - to connect directly not only to every part of hers, but also to her remote weapons, allowing them to operate them with far greater precision. This makes it so that weapons such as her Auxiliary Pods can act like additional eyes for her, and greatly increases the response time for her systems, as well as massively increasing her reflexes and allowing her to detect, act and react much faster than most machines. Composed of nerve-like connections built into her body, they act like a neural network for her. However, the most outstanding application comes in the form of the next topic, the Smart Particles.

Smart Particles - An unintended, but almost miraculous side effect of Starlight's unique build came from the reaction caused by Fusion energy when powering SmartMetal. The particles, invisible to the eye and harmless in its purest form, is a highly adaptable form of molecular energy, and present in the entirety of the machine's body, as well in the energy-based attacks, shields and weaponry utilized by her. By combining Starlight's signature readings, and altering the wavelength of her own emissions, it results in the particles being able to "mirror" the nature of others, particularly that of supernatural beings that do not belong to Earth, such as Fae, Angels, Demons and such. This allows the particle-infested attacks to cause genuine harm upon those entities, and allows Starlight's weaponry to even bring permanent destruction upon them. While somewhat experimental and not completely reliable yet, her scientists predict that this is what will be her greatest weapon against such threats.

Supercharged Cores - Also made of SmartMetal, and coated in a protective layer to provide it improved defenses, those twin cores are responsible for most functions as well as providing energy to Starlight. Both are located in the central region of her chest, interconnected. While both fulfill both functions, only one is necessary for her to operate, with the other typically serving as a backup or secondary power source. Those cores seem to be powered by some manner of fusion reaction, which technically makes her and sisters into nuclear-powered machines. The twin core is unique to Starlight, as her sisters have only singular cores instead. One special, unique ability to Starlight alone is the capability to synchronize the energy wavelength of her cores, which dramatically increase her power, though has been known to be prone to many failures.

EX Form - After being outfitted with a new overhaul upon her body, Starlight was given the body form her Project has named "EX Form". A considerable upgrade from her previous versions, the EX Form is meant to act as a final major overhaul for the robot, meaning that most of her future changes will either be minor or simply come in the form of electronic data, as opposed to entire physical changes. Taller than the previous forms, the EX form is regarded as faster, stronger and more durable. Utilizing data acquired from the many tests conducted during her deployment in US territory, EX Form makes her a truly outstanding foe in the battlefield. Among some of its most remarkable changes are the introduction of a "EX Drive", an experimental adjustment to her high-speed thrusters that allows her to perform something akin to short-range teleportation without causing any air displacement. She has also been outfitted with a deattachable, bladed tail, carrying an experimental edge capable of searing through even the sturdiest defenses. The cable connecting her back to the blade can stretch and be also utilized for capturing or trapping foes. It can also be retracted in order to make the blade dock against her spine, saving space.

Relationships

Lover

Starlight currently has no specific, long-term lovers. She tends to wind up having one or other fling here and there, but hasn’t so far found herself in anything like a serious, committed relationship. In the past, she had a crush on a man named William Blue, nicknamed “Bill”, as well as in a Paladin of the Catholic Church known as Logan Holmes. Currently it’s unknown if she has any further crushes.

Friends/Allies

• XBF-02 Emerald – Sister - Her first sister unit, Emerald stands as the serious, protective and diligent sister of the trio. Having a fierce nature and being a competitive woman, she sometimes finds herself at odds with Starlight, but with the passing of time she has learned to trust her sister, and both have been very supportive of each other in recent times. This still doesn’t prevent them from nurturing a healthy sense of competition.

• XBF-03 Violet – Sister - Her second sister unit, Violet often acts as the voice of reason among the group, or the mature older sister. Much like Emerald, she is very close to Starlight, and despite Violet’s occasional egocentric ways, she is still a supportive member of the team and a caring sister.

• Logan Holmes – Close Friend / Potential Crush - A Paladin of the Catholic Church, Logan is one of the great positive influences in Starlight’s life. A relatively common Human, but blessed with unwavering faith and a caring heart, the man often stands as an example of what kind of greatness even a regular Human can achieve if they dedicate themselves enough to it. A staunch ally and one of Starlight’s first crushes, she still considers him among her closest friends and the two occasionally spend time together.

• William Blue / Bil – Close Friend / Former Crush - Another close friend, Bil, formerly Bill, has been something of a road full of ups and downs for Starlight. Standing as the very first genuine love of her life, Starlight and Bill once dated, although a few things and severe changes in his life had led her to feel incompatible with him. Although the two tried again on a few occasions, the timing never seemed to be right, and ultimately Bil found his love somewhere else. Despite this, they still remain close friends.
• Eclipse / Gabriel King - Ally - A recent new acquaintance of Starlight, Gabriel is a caped hero who acts as an ally and mentoring figure for another fellow hero, Fight Club. While she hasn't known him for long, she's appreciative and fond of the man, due to sharing similar morals and views to him, such as a no-killing policy. Tends to hold a degree of concern for the man due to his tendency to reserve his feelings to himself as to not trouble others.
• Fight Club / Daniel - Ally - Another recent acquaintance, met more or less at the same occasion as Gabriel. Daniel is something of a brash, sometimes reckless caped hero, with good intentions and a wish to do good, but having so far met too many obstacles. Having sought to help him out, Starlight tries to act as a helpful ally to him when she can. She holds a soft spot of compassion and respect for his willingness to try and do the right thing despite not only being new to the hero business, but also not having any metahuman powers.

General Perception

Gallery

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  Starlight's factory version, also known as Mark I.

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  Starlight's second version and her first major overhaul, Mark II.

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  Starlight's lastest version, Mark EX.