Quartermoon
Contents
History
Attack of the Zygotes
Quartermoon began life as an experimental clone of Teleios. On his way to growing his perfection of body series of clones, Teleios considered the idea that brute strength perhaps not the best attribute to enhance and decided to try making a group of clones that had greater agility, coordination, and endurance. The initial test group was comprised of six clones. The new mutagenic agents Teleios used did indeed bestow all the required attributes to the clones but it also had the bizarre effect of turning their hair a shocking blue. Teleios nearly terminated the group right away because of this strange anomaly but decided to keep them long enough to test their performance to see if he was on the right track. But he was soon to discover that this batch of clones had another anomalous trait, a stubborn streak of individuality. He quickly deemed them incorrigible and ordered them destroyed. On their way to the gene banks, clones 4 and 5 mounted an escape. Clone 4 was killed by a warbeast just as they broke out into the Canadian wilderness but clone 5 got away and wandered deep into the woods. There he met a small group of Sasquatch that took him in and taught him the ways of their people. How to live on the land and how to hunt. His super human dexterity made him an excellent marksman and he especially preferred the bow. The Sasquatch gave him a name, Ra Kestra which literally translated means, " the moon in it's quarter phase" or the quarter moon, to commemorate the night they found him. Quartermoon lived peacefully with with his new family. Despite the mental conditioning that all Teleios clones receive, he was still only a few years old and exhibited many child-like qualities. He was intensely curious and would often tinker with interesting equipment and material he would find in old mining camps and abandoned hide-outs of various factions. Although he was careful to steer clear of anything having to do with Teleios. He also became enamored with the various recreational substances that the Sasquatch had learned to cultivate over the years. He claimed it improved his aim.
Paradise Lost
One day, after returning from a hunt, Quartermoon discovered his whole tribe had been wiped out or captured by a VIPER raiding party. Many of the VIPER soldiers had been killed in the raid and much of their wrecked equipment littered the ground. Quartermoon was confused and distraught, except for the time of his escape from Teleios, Quartermoon had never had to deal with loss or feelings of pain and anger. The only way he could deal with these feelings was to hunt. He saw the trail of the raiders and decided to follow it. He also decided that his simple wooden bow and arrows would be no match for their guns and armor. He possessed the keen intellect that all Teleios clones did and was able to fashion a high powered compound bow and a number of special arrows, some that would stun, some that would explode, and some that might even pierce the armor of the VIPER soldiers. On his way he discovered the camp of a scientist, Dr. Karl Severisen who was also on the trail of VIPER. It turned out VIPER had abducted others for their evil experiments as well, not just the Bigfoot. Quartermoon agreed to help find the others as well and was able to quietly dispatch the guards holding all the prisoners and lead them home. He was pleased to see that nearly half his tribe had survived. They retreated even further into the wilderness but Dr. Severisen convinced Quartermoon to return with him to learn the ways of other humans.
East of Eden
Dr. Severisen gave Quartermoon an additional name, Vanth after his own son who had been killed in a VIPER raid. Vanth was astonished by the beauty and majesty of Millennium City. He loved to be around all the interesting and diverse people, especially the women. The only thing he missed from the woods was hunting. But he quickly realized that with his abilities and experiences, he could easily become a hunter of those who did not deserve to be free to hurt others. He designed a battle suit and a sophisticated bow and arrow system that would allow him to deal with super human threats non-lethally for the most part. He also realized that he could make money doing this by bringing in wanted criminals for bounties. This allowed him to support himself in the lifestyle to which he would grow accustomed too. At first he hunted rarely, he preferred to spend his time pursuing wine, women and song. But gradually he became more and more disgusted by the criminal syndicates that protected their members, and he began to plan raids against their infrastructures, to try to knock the pins out from under them. Vanth also became increasingly aware of the far reaching power of VIPER and they eventually became his main target.
Ra Kestra Zulu
Quartermoon discovered that VIPER was building a secret base in the jungles of Africa that might increase their power considerably and so made plans to stop them if he could. In the days before his planned raid, he began to have dreams of fire and serpents, and the eyes of a woman that burned through his soul. For the first time in his life, he understood real fear. He designed a jungle stealth suit to improve his odds of survival. Once there he faced the most advanced weapons and armor that he had ever encountered. He penetrated far, but not far enough, he couldn't stand up to their weapons once his cover was blown. As he tried to slip away, he witnessed an armored figure cut through the VIPER soldiers like they were blades of grass. He discovered that VIPER had given this adversary the code name Halon. Vanth decided that this was someone that he wanted to know. When he returned to Millennium City he did what he does best, he hunted. It took some time but he finally found a way to contact Halon and arrange a meeting. At that time he offered to pay Halon either to construct, or help construct an actual power suit that would increase his survivability, but still allow him to use his agility and coordination. Halon saw something in Quartermoon that he realized he sorely needed, a sense of optimism and mirth, and so decided to make him a different offer. He explained that he had recently reunited with his own brother, who went by the name of Sigma, and that together they were forming a group to deal with VIPER once and for all, and that they would be glad to have him join them. And so Quartermoon did so. Together they formed Strike Team Zulu.
--LXD 02:47, 17 October 2010 (UTC)
Powers & Abilities
As a variation on the Strength of Body clone series, Vanth Ra Kestra benefits from many of the advancements Teleios had made in trans-evolutionary cloning. A high resistance to disease, aging and fatigue. His body is extremely efficient in processing food and water allowing him to last 3 to 4 times longer than an average human. He has super human strength, allowing him to lift (press) 1.5 tons. The dexterity variation of his clone series has increased his brain-muscle reaction time to a nearly instantaneous level. This plus heightened senses, hand-eye coordination and his keen Teleiosian intellect to calculate trajectories, have combined to make him an uncanny marksman. This extends to any projectile, thrown or shot including firearms, but his sensitive hearing has led him to prefer archery.
Vanth has learned a number of martial arts including: Wing Chun, Jeet Kun Do, Capoeira, Savate, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Choi Kwang Do, Glima, Jujitsu, Sambo, Aikido, Hapkido, Chin Na, Grecco Wrestling, Judo, Shuai Jiao, Eskrima, Fencing, Gatka, Kendo, and Kyūdō. In addition, he has become an expert in most modern dance forms including Ballroom, ballet, Jazz and disco.
His expanded intellect has also contributed to his mechanical and electrical genius.
Equipment
Vanth's first bow was an Elm long bow that the Sasquatch taught him to make. Shortly after that he began experimenting with his own designs and quickly learned to create a heavy laminated Bow that only he could wield. He also began to experiment with arrow designs, augmented by the scraps he found in various sites. After his introduction to the civilized world, he learned about advanced bow design and created several new designs which approach fire arm level power, with bow level silence. But with advanced arrow design Vanth can bring heavy fire power to bear including explosive, sonic, and electrostatic projectiles up to 200 yards.
Over time Vanth also began developing combat suits to improve his survivability. But his lack of electrical engineering training limited his advancements. After joining Strike Team Zulu, Vanth was able to assist Bryan Quinn in designing a new powered armored suit. It was light, allowing for greater mobility but still included stealth technology and was able to resist medium powered rifle bullets. Quartermoon now wears a variation of the STZ Light Combat Suit Mk 2. He also wears a combination jet pack/quiver for greater air mobility.
For close quarters battle, Vanth carries a mono-molecular edged, Electrum plated Wakizashi made of Kendrium.
Today is not Yesterday
