This is a list of characters that have appeared so far in The War of Drekis.
Sentinels of Liberty and Justice
Abbreviated as SLJ, or simply referred to as The Sentinels, The Sentinels are Khazan's most renowned, premier superhero organization, and possess a long history of defending the Nexus from all manner of threats. Naturally, as the menace of the Drekis Empire looms over the horizon, The Sentinels were among the first to respond to the call for heroes - however, the legions of Drekis would prove to be an unprecedented foe, the likes of which have not been seen since their battle against The Fallen under the leadership of Quietus.Tropes applying to The Sentinels in general
- The Alliance: Has close working relationships with Khazan's government agencies such as the police and military, and can call on their resources and personnel for support.
- Big Good: Comes with being Khazan's #1 superhero organization.
- The Cape: Though not all of them fit the bill in terms of outfit, their expected code of conduct and public etiquette places Sentinels squarely in this territory.
- Good Is Old-Fashioned: Their emphasis on chivalry and maintaining a prim and proper superhero image has often been mocked as outdated by their more antiheroic counterparts, the Maniacal Heroes.
- Heroes "R" Us: Is bar none the most well-funded and publicized hero organizations on the face of Khazan, is of the heroic organisation variety. For every costumed super in the SLJ that's out on the field, there are plenty of non-powered (or those whose powers are unsuited for combat) agents in support roles such as administration, public relations, finance, etc.
- Ideal Hero: What the values of the SLJ embody.
Noteworthy Sentinels
A list of SLJ-aligned characters who play a notable role in The War of Drekis.Uberman
Overview: Not a native of Khazan, Uberman was originally a Jewish scientist who lived in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. In an attempt to fight back against the Nazi forces, he and his son secretly smuggled materials to construct for himself a suit of Powered Armor. Things went badly, which resulted in his son dying and the scientist being paralyzed from neck-down courtesy of a bullet piercing his spine - turning what was originally intended as a suit of armor to be modified to become a life-support device for him as well. In his alternate timeline, he was able to capture Adolf Hitler alive and bring him to justice. After the war, Uberman (as he would come to be known to the public) would go on to become a career superhero in the United States, before eventually finding his way to Khazan where he rose through the ranks of The Sentinels to become their current acting leader.
- The Ace: Is an excellent fighter and astute tactician, a Reasonable Authority Figure who cares deeply for his subordinates, and on top of that a brilliant scientist.
- Arm Cannon: Has a pair of these as the main weapon of his Powered Armor, fires off potent blasts of pure force - and when up close and personal can double as a Power Fist by surrounding his fist and forearm in a field of energy to increase the already impressive striking power granted to him by his suit's Super-Strength.
- The Captain: Is the acting leader of The Sentinels.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Averted, despite being at this point more machine than man Uberman hasn't lost any of his compassion or sense of justice and ability to empathize with others.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Hasn't been called by his given name in ages, to the point he'd mostly forgotten what it was. So everyone simply addresses him by his hero codename, Uberman.
- Flying Brick: His mech suit grants him Super-Strength, Super-Toughness and flight, plus the ability to fire off Hand Blasts by way of his arm cannons, making him a tech-based application of this trope.
- Genius Bruiser: Part and parcel of being a Science Hero who's outfitted with a powerful mech suit that grants him Flying Brick-esque abilities.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Delivers one to Timothy Shinestar when he goes into full-tilt Idiot Hero mode.
- Heroes Fight Barehanded: His fists are all he needs.
- Handicapped Badass: Is paralyzed from neck-down, and in recent times doesn't even possess a flesh and blood body inside that mechanized suit of his. As such, his suit serves as his home, life-support system and prison all at once.
- Hollywood Cyborg: Of the Man in the Machine variety.
- Large and in Charge: His Powered Armor stands at a staggering ten feet tall, putting it closer to Mini-Mecha territory, and naturally towers over his (mostly) human-sized subordinates.
- Old Soldier: Having been fighting villains on Earth since World War II, and currently serving on Khazan as the leader of its premier superhero team, The Sentinels. Whether it's Nazis, supervillains or the Drekis Empire, it's all another war for him.
- Powered Armor: His ten-foot tall Uber Mech Armor skirts Mini-Mecha domain.
- Science Hero: He's a scientist who designed and built his own Powered Armor.
Timothy Shinestar
Overview: A conflicted 20-year (at the start of the story) old with mysterious silver hair who knows next to nothing about his past, with the only clue about his backstory being a Cool Sword that he inherited from his father, who was allegedly a great hero who once fought Drekis' forces and scored a major victory over the Avatar of Chaos. He has two main motivations in life - to find out the truth behind his father, and to walk in his footsteps as a hero.
- Ancestral Weapon: The Cool Sword he possesses is a family heirloom left behind by his father.
- Always Someone Better: Sees Raea as this, as she'd managed to accomplish things he'd struggled with - such as making it into the ranks of the SLJ at eighteen while he's still struggling to qualify two years later at the age of twenty.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Whenever his feelings get the better of him. See: Leeroy Jenkins below.
- Childhood Friend: With Raea Shalhalla, whose family adopted him after he was orphaned.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Has romantic feelings for Raea.
- The Chosen One: Is seen as this due to the weapon he possesses, and the legacy he inherited from his father - namely the role he played in a previous conflict with Drekis.
- Disappeared Dad: Hasn't seen his father since forever, and scarcely has any memories on what he looks like beyond his reputation as a legendary hero.
- The Hero: Is the main character of the story.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Is never seen without his heirloom sword.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Largely due to him having large shoes to fill, and feeling that he falls totally short of being the man his father supposedly was.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Despite having his father's sword with him his whole life, he still hasn't figured out how to utilize the full extent of its abilities, which is also a major cause of his insecurity.
- Idiot Hero: Initially has shades of this due to his struggles to compensate for his insecurities, often manifesting as Martyr Without a Cause tendencies. Grows out of it as he gets better.
- Leeroy Jenkins: See Idiot Hero above.
- Missing Mom: Knows nothing about his biological mother either, beyond the fact that she died shortly after giving birth to him.
- Mysterious Past: Knows next to nothing about his biological parents, and a good part of his personal plot within The War of Drekis is finding out the truth behind his family background.
- Mystical White Hair: To emphasize on his Mysterious Past and role as The Chosen One.
- Power Glows: When his sword starts to glow, bad things tend to happen to his enemies.
- Power Incontinence: Because he has yet to master his sword's powers - whenever he actually uses it, it is under moments of severe emotional duress.
- Power-Strain Blackout: Often overexerts himself due to his lack of mastery over his powers.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the red to Raea's blue.
Raea Shalhalla
Overview: Timothy's Childhood Friend who shares similar dreams of becoming a hero, having grown up alongside him when her family adopted the then-orphaned Tim. Originally enlisted in the Khazan Military, at the age of eighteen she'd barely served for a year before her application to join the ranks of the SLJ was approved, leading to her being honorably discharged from the military to allow her to join the FPL. She fights alongside Tim, and provides a cooler head to his often conflicted mindset.
- Action Girl: As an ex-soldier and frontline member of The Sentinels, this much is to be expected.
- Almighty Janitor: Holds the mere rank of private in the Khazan Military, but as a Sentinel she is in a position that would make even high-ranking officers of the Khazan Military envious.
- Badass Normal: Has no superhuman or supernatural powers to speak of, just her military training and a cool suit of Powered Armor.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Has a crush on Timothy Shinestar.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Raea displays shades of this whenever Timothy is seen in the company of another attractive female, stating that as long as he's with one, she isn't letting them out of her sight for one moment.
- Fiery Redhead: Has an energetic personality to match her hair color.
- Improbable Age: Became a Sentinel on the same year she enlisted in the Khazan Military, at the age of 18. Justified by her Teen Genius capabilities.
- Powered Armor: To compensate for her lack of superpowers.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Timothy's red.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Whenever she's outside of uniform.
Vincentzo Maiinverno
Overview: Also a non-native of Khazan, Vincentzo originally hails from a Sword and Sorcery fantasy world where he was the prince of his own kingdom, but a millennia before the events of The War of Drekis, their enemies cast a powerful spell which banished his entire kingdom to another dimension, a dark realm where they were under constant invasion by demonic forces. Desperate to find a new home for his people, through a miracle he and his adoptive brother managed to escape the dark realm, where they have traveled the multiverse in search of any means to rescue the populace of his kingdom and locate them to a new home. As the self-appointed ruler of Araelis, a state-kingdom whose government has recently collapsed through an undisclosed series of events, Vincentzo works to rebuild the nation into a state fit for his people to call their new home. But as fate would have it, Drekis' ambitions would put a damper to his plans.
- The Archmage: Is a prodigy at arcane arts, and the main reason behind his Insufferable Genius tendencies.
- Freudian Excuse: If you were trapped in a Crapsack World dimension for a thousand years, coming out as a Jerkass would probably be the least of its consequences.
- Good Is Not Nice: The only reason he joined the Sentinels was because A) his adoptive brother was in the organization, and B) they were the only group in Khazan he didn't find "brutish". Vincentzo generally isn't a particularly approachable person, thanks to his Insufferable Genius tendencies and his self-entitled Royal Brat attitude. Though that being said, his heart is generally in the right place, being motivated to rescue his people and do his duties as a wise and just ruler to the best of his abilities.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Patience is not one of his virtues, and is portrayed to be rather quick to anger.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Vincentzo - Despite being quite the Jerkass that he is, (see: Good Is Not Nice above) he's also shown to be a man whose heart is in the right place, as he routinely displays a strong sense of Noblesse Oblige and cares about the well-being of his citizens, in addition to possessing a genuine respect towards Woose's abilities despite the latter's personality often grating on him.
- Narnia Time: Implied to be the reason why he and his people spent over a thousand years Trapped in Another World without visibly aging.
- Older Than They Look: Is biologically (est.) in his mid-20's to perhaps early 30's, but is chronologically over a millennia old due to spending over a thousand years Trapped in Another World. It's not explained how and why he doesn't age while he was inside the other world.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: See Jerk with a Heart of Gold above.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With his adoptive brother, Roberto.
- Tsundere: Can be seen as a male example of such whenever his softer side shows itself.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Woose Brain.
Trent Young, aka. Captain Khazan
Overview: Before he became the superhero known as Captain Khazan, there was a man named Trent Young, a typical everyman who works as a middle manager in an accounting firm of no particular note in Khazan City. All of that changed one day, when a deranged supervillain set off a nuclear bomb at the building where he works, destroying his workplace and devastating everything within a 10 mile radius of the explosion. 12 million died that day... save for Trent, who soon discovered that instead of killing him, something inside the nuclear explosion changed him, granting him with Super-Strength and Nigh-Invulnerability. It became apparent that he could never go back to his normal life as he and his family struggled to cope with his newfound abilities, culminating with his wife filing for divorce and winning custody of the children. All alone in this world, Trent found himself Driven to Suicide but was unable to take his life on account of his Super-Toughness, where none of his suicide methods could harm him. In his darkest hour, he turned to The Sentinels, who took him under their wing and trained him as a hero. Due to his former background as an average Joe, at their suggestion he took on the codename Captain Khazan, to reflect on his everyman roots and to act as a symbol of justice and hope to the common citizens of Khazan.
- The Cape: His entire gimmick.
- Captain Superhero: It's all in his name.
- Cursed with Awesome: Initially sees himself as this.
- Despair Event Horizon: Initially crosses this when he finds that he could never return to a semblance of regular civilian life.
- The Everyman: Prior to the incident that would transform him into Captain Khazan.
- Flying Brick: His power set plays this trope straight.
- Immune to Bullets: Thanks to his Nigh-Invulnerability.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: There are very few things in Khazan capable of piercing his skin.
- One-Hit Kill: Takes out the very first Deminite to appear onscreen with a single Megaton Punch.
- Radiation-Induced Superpowers: Got his powers from a nuclear explosion.
- Refusal of the Call: Tried to go back to his normal life as Trent Young at first after being discharged from hospital.
- Shooting Superman: A gang of robbers tried doing so in his character sheet. Works as well as you might expect.
- Would Hit a Girl: Had no problems knocking Jayme Lloyd out cold with a single uppercut.
Yagami Shinsuke
Overview: A member of The Sentinels, Yagami Shinsuke was initially put on the SLJ reserves due to a relative lack of major villain activity in the region he was assigned to. All that changed when the forces of the Drekis Empire began to make their move, and the Sentinel found himself being transferred to join the rest of his fellow Sentinels on the front lines, having made it his life mission to combat evil in all of its forms, no matter where it's encountered. Another veteran of the Sentinels, Shinsuke was originally a pyrokinetic whose power to generate green flames was tied to his emotions and passion. However, after being nearly killed in the line of duty he was subsequently resuscitated through an experimental medical procedure that was long, arduous and torturous. The extreme strain of the procedure left his body more fragile but also gave him enhanced senses and inhuman agility; his mind also nearly broke as a result, leaving him an emotionless shell of his former self. As his green flame powers were tied to his emotions, an additional side effect was that his power 'mutated' from pyrokinesis to cryokinesis. For the most part, he appears to take it all in his stride, believing that his new, transformed state gave him a new perspective on life which allows him to become more focused than before in his crusade against evil and injustice.
Maniacal Heroes
The go-to Anti-Hero organization of Khazan, though they're not officially an "organization" as they have no government backing or sponsorship of any kind - and unlike the Sentinels they do not possess a central leadership, instead opting to operate in regional "cells" not unlike terrorist organizations. The embodiment of Good Is Not Soft, these are the Darker and Edgier elements of Khazan's heroes who take it upon themselves to enforce justice through more violent means. Although as long as they don't get too extreme in their methods, they are for the most part tolerated by law enforcement and The Sentinels.Tropes common to the Maniacal Heroes
- Anti-Hero: Typically of the Pragmatic Hero variety. Thou Shalt Not Kill is a good thing, but a common sentiment among the Maniacal Heroes is that sometimes it's better to kill one to save a hundred.
- Combat Pragmatist: A popular strategy of the Maniacal Heroes is to make use of every possible advantage they have.
- Good Is Not Soft: A prerequisite of being a Maniacal Hero is the willingness to get one's hands bloody. While Sentinels would typically see the use of force as a regrettable last resort, Maniacal Heroes on the other hand think it's the best way to instill a fear of God into evildoers by giving them a well-deserved righteous beatdown.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Their core philosophy, although they have limits to how far that can go.
Maniacal Heroes of note
Veda Lexine
Overview: A traveling swordswoman who currently resides in Karia prior to the outbreak of the war, years ago she sustained severe injuries while battling an evil esper known as Dementia - which were largely psychic nature that left their scars upon her mind, eventually ending up under the care of a powerful psychic known as The Great Mentalist, who for all his power could not fully reverse the damage Dementia had done. In the process of his attempts to treat Veda Lexine, he found out that Dementia's attack upon the swordswoman's psyche had inadvertently awakened abilities in her that Veda never even knew she possessed. Under The Great Mentalist's tutelage, Veda Lexine learned how to use her newfound abilities, namely the ability to channel her pain into her sword - a katana - that allows her to not only damage her foes physically, but mentally as well. Using a technique called the Shen Si Jian, she is able to drain her enemies' psychic fortitude to strengthen her own. Joined the Maniacal Heroes because she's a firm believer that killing wrongdoers is a necessary evil if the situation calls for it.
- Anti-Hero: Par for course with any member of the Maniacal Heroes.
- Blessed with Suck: Still bears the psychic scars of her past encounter with Dementia that continue to torment and cause her pain to this day, but on the upside, she's learned how to channel this pain to wield as a weapon against evildoers.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Has her mind torn apart by a rogue mentalist, spent years recovering from the trauma and even now she still bears the scars upon her psyche.
- The Determinator: A prerequisite for being able to live through the lingering aftereffects of a Mind Rape.
- Establishing Character Moment: Showcases the Maniacal Heroes' brand of frontier justice in her first battle by cutting off a Marauder's arm.
- Katanas Are Just Better
- Knight Errant: Wherever she goes, she finds wrongs to right.
- Mind Rape: Received one courtesy of Dementia years ago; and thanks to The Great Mentalist's training she can inflict upon evildoers her own brand of the same too, where they will experience the same pain and trauma she had to endure when her mind was torn asunder by Dementia.
- Rōnin: Evoked by her tendency to wander, usage of a katana and code of honor.
- Technical Pacifist: Dislikes violence and bloodshed, but when push comes to shove she generally has little qualms about using lethal force to end an evildoer's reign of terror.
- Terror Hero: When she isn't outright slaying evildoers, she'd be making them feel her pain to scare them straight.
Tropes common to Khazan's Finest
- A Day in the Limelight: See Elites Are More Glamorous below.
- Armor Is Useless: Most of their frontline personnel are issued with varying styles of body armor and Powered Armor. But due to their status as a Redshirt Army, and they're about as effective as tin foil at stopping the fangs, claws and magic of Drekis' minions.
- Badass Army: Toyed with. Drekis and his generals often allude to how Khazan's militaries are among the most well-equipped, highly-trained and well-disciplined fighting forces in the known universe. But it ultimately matters little in the face of his legions' overwhelming numbers, relegating this trope to Informed Ability territory.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Named characters with significant screentime, exposition and Character Development invariably hail from one of the elite units rather than from regular outfits.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Nameless personnel who are killed onscreen tend to be killed off in rather gruesome ways, such as having their faces melted off by acid, or burned to charred skeletons by magical fire and generally torn apart and mutilated; although the PG-13 nature of the fic's content means the author refrains from going into the graphical details.
- Humans Are Warriors: Humans appear to make up the bulk, if not entirety of rank-and-file law enforcement and military personnel in Khazan.
- Men Are Generic, Women Are Special: All female personnel who've appeared thus far are named and have varying amounts of conversation lines and are generally spared of Red Shirt status - see: Men Are the Expendable Gender below.
- Men Are the Expendable Gender: Any nameless Red Shirt who's killed onscreen is always, invariably male.
- Redshirt Army: A significant portion of the screentime they have is dedicated to nameless troops dying left and right to showcase the overwhelming power of Drekis' legions and its generals.
Noteworthy Units
Below is a list of units that have notable roles and/or significant screentime during the story, includes tropes related to the unit in general, and various key personnel within their ranks.Khazan Rangers
An elite unit within the Khazan Armed Forces that specialize in stealth, deep reconnaissance and counter-insurgency operations, the Rangers are experts at conducting intel-gathering and search-and-destroy missions deep within enemy territory, often operating in very hostile terrain located outside of Khazan's cities.Tropes that are common to the Khazan Rangers
- Army Scout: Their entire gimmick in a nutshell.
- Elite Army: Has earned a reputation as one of the Khazan Military's most badass units.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: They're trained to scout out and hunt down villains and insurgents who set up their bases of operations on some of the most inhospitable wilderness regions of Khazan, often known and dreaded for their Death World-like conditions, so this is pretty much a prerequisite.
- Schizo Tech: In a world where ultra-tech weaponry like laser pistols, rail guns, plasma rifles and particle beam cannons are commonplace, the signature weapon of the Khazan Rangers is the repeating crossbow. Subverted however, since the Ranger crossbows are outfitted with ultra-tech augmentations that make them far more rugged, more precise and deadlier than any Earth-manufactured crossbow.
Khazan Rangers of note
A list of noteworthy Khazan Ranger characters.Louis Freebird, aka. "Scout"
Overview: A grizzled veteran of the Khazan Rangers, Louis appears to be born for this role as he was born and raised in a village located deep within the jungles of Khazan - where even before joining the military he was raised to have keen knowledge of how to live off the land. As a child, his village came to be attacked and occupied by a terrorist organization looking to establish a base of operations. It wasn't until months later, that his hometown would be discovered and liberated by a strike force of Khazan Rangers. Inspired by their heroism, Louis enlisted with the military to become a Ranger himself, where his innate knowledge of field craft and wilderness survival allowed him to quickly climb the ranks to become a highly-decorated leader of the Khazan Rangers.
- A Father to His Men: Comes with being a Reasonable Authority Figure.
- An Arm and a Leg: In his backstory, at one point during his career he and his squad were beset by Spot The House Pet, a Kaiju-sized giant scorpion, and managed to subdue the beast by an extremely ballsy move involving him shoving a block of C4 down the monster's throat, which ultimately cost him his own arm.
- Artificial Limbs: Got a cybernetic arm to replace the one he lost. (See: An Arm and a Leg above)
- Colonel Badass: Holds the rank of colonel in the Khazan Rangers.
- Custom Uniform
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: How he customised his uniform.
- Doomed Hometown: The home village where he was born and raised was attacked and occupied by a terrorist organization.
- Friendly Sniper: Has deadeye accuracy with his crossbow, and is an all-around Nice Guy when off-duty.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Risked life and limb to subdue Spot The House Pet, it was a miracle that he lost only an arm. Thankfully, he gets better.
- I Call It "Vera": Names his Ranger repeating crossbow "Little Nikki", after his younger sister.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Is this even by the standards of his fellow Rangers.
- Tarzan Boy: Was implied to be this during his youth, long before his military enlistment, which explains how his abilities as an Army Scout are unmatched even among the Khazan Rangers.
- The Straight and Arrow Path: Uses his Ranger repeating crossbow way more extensively than any other Ranger despite having any kind of ultra-tech arsenal he can ostensibly have at his fingertips if he were to requisition for any.
- Up Through the Ranks: How he got to his current position within the Rangers.
Khazan Army 478th Mechanized Division
The most prominently-featured Khazan Military unit in the story, the 478th are a squadron of ace pilots in the Khazan Army that specialize in mechanized warfare, piloting powerful war mechs, they form the backbone of the Khazan Military's heavy weapons support whenever they make an appearance. (Due to individual characters in the 478th getting very little screentime - I.e. They're always shown together, the 478th's entry will treat the squadron as a single character.)Tropes of the 478th Mechanized Division
- Ace Custom: Each and every pilot within The Squad has their own, customized war mech - none of them are standard models, and no two war mechs in the 478th looks identical.
- Ace Pilot: Their entire shtick.
- Action Girl: The female pilots on the 478th, Lt. Cecelia Angelhart, Sgt. Katie Atatsuya and Sgt. Ratilda Cole.
- Army Scout: The Stormbringer fulfills this role due to being equipped with the best sensors of the 478th's war mechs.
- Black Knight: Cpl. Arlington's Stormbringer is designed to invoke this trope.
- The Captain: Kitazawa Takuma holds the rank of captain and is the commanding officer of the 478th.
- Chicken Walker: 2Lt. Carl Dezzman's Fortune is designed along these lines, and was noted to be an archaic model compared to the humanoid-framed war mechs on the 478th.
- Fragile Speedster: Lt. Angelhart's Derringer is the smallest and lightest-armored war mech in the squadron, but possesses the most agility and maneuverability.
- Humongous Mecha: They won't be the Mechanized Division without these.
- Killed Off for Real: See Mauve Shirt below.
- Mauve Shirt: 2Lt. Carl Dezzman is the only named character with talking lines and exposition to be killed off thus far.
- Meaningful Name: Overlapping with Bilingual Bonus, for the Senki. One way of translating it from Japanese is 戰記, which means "war chronicles".
- Mighty Glacier: The Senki is described as such; possessing heavy armor and impressive firepower but lacking in maneuverability.
- More Dakka: The specialty of the Senki, piloted by Sgt. Major Paul Graham.
- Not Enough to Bury: Invoked during the military funeral for 2Lt. Dezzman, where his squaddies know his casket is just an empty box, as the Fortune was so badly destroyed that there was barely anything left of the mech, to say nothing of its pilot.
- The Squad:
- Capt. Kitazawa Takuma is The Leader, and his war mech the Gemini is a Jack of All Stats.
- Lt. Cecelia Angelhart and Cpl. Arlington, piloting the Derringer and Stormbringer respectively provide two different flavors of the Point Man.
- Sgt. Major Paul Graham, piloting the Senki, is The Big Guy.
- 2Lt. Carl Dezzman is an Old Soldier who pilots the Fortune and serves as their sharpshooter.
- We Need a Distraction: When the heroes of Khazan needed to infiltrate Drekis' lair in the Endless Caves, it was provided by the 478th. It involved lots of Stuff Blowing Up.
Khazan Mobile Police
An elite contingent within the Khazan Police Department, the KMP is the KPD's crisis response specialists. Outfitted with sophisticated police mechs known as the MARS. (Mobile Armored Robot Suit), the men and women of the mobile police are who the KPD turn to in the most extreme of crisis situations such as an Alien Invasion, terrorist attack, mass rioting and the like. Unlike the war mechs used by the military, the KMP mechs represent a revolutionary breakthrough in the form of possessing an onboard Artificial Intelligence that possesses sentience, making each and every KMP officer's MARS not just a war machine, but a partner. With the threat of the Drekis Empire brewing, the KMP have thus been deployed to bolster the ranks of the Khazan Military's mechanized division.Common tropes of the Khazan Mobile Police
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted, the AI of the MARS units are often every bit as competent and level-headed as their pilots, if not more so.
- Androids and Detectives: The bond between a KMP officer and their MARS unit is intended to invoke this trope... If the "android" is instead a 20-foot tall law enforcement mech.
- Humongous Mecha: The MARS units piloted by the KMP.
- I Call It "Vera": A longstanding tradition of the KMP is for officers to give their MARS units their own unique names.
- Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: They're essentially a SWAT Team that pilot Humongous Mecha.
- Sapient Tank: They may be bipedal humanoid mechs, but nonetheless fulfill the role of this trope.
- SWAT Team: If SWAT teams piloted law enforcement mechs.
Khazan Mobile Police officers of note
A list of noteworthy characters aligned with the Khazan Mobile Police.Officer Jennifer Chase
Overview: A born and bred native Khazanian, young Jennifer Chase had a fairly typical and unremarkable life growing up, being the only child to a very average but workaholic couple who spent more time in the office than with the family. While today she looks back from time to time and misses the fact she lacked a proper childhood of going on holidays or celebrating birthdays with her parents just like her friends, in hindsight she's grateful that this also taught her to grow up at a young age gave her plenty of freedom to be her own person - which was what led her to believe that law enforcement was the path she wanted to take in life. Thus, while most of her friends enrolled for college or searched for employment upon graduating high school, Jen instead made a beeline for the KPD Academy, where she passed with flying colors... Only to find her dream job wasn't all cracked up to be - far from living out a cop show, she instead found herself passing her days handling police calls and filing reports; which was no different from the white-collar corporate life her parents led. All that changed a year into her (boring) job when she was approached by an officer acting as a recruitment scout for the Khazan Mobile Police, who'd been looking for promising young officers in the force. With her outstanding record from the academy and exemplary performance, Jen fit the bill perfectly. After three months of grueling training, she would be one of the 36 cadets out of over a hundred hopefuls to make it through the training course to become a KMP officer, where she would be assigned to her own MARS-550 unit which she christened as Metalneck. Originally stationed in Khazan City, her impressive record prior to the outbreak of the war would see her and Metalneck get transferred to Xaelon in an attempt to halt the advance of Drekis' legions.
- Ace Pilot: One of the most hotshot MARS pilots on the force.
- Action Girl: Conducted herself admirably during the ill-fated defense of Xaelis. Despite the city eventually falling into enemy hands, Jen and Metalneck distinguished themselves in combat, even going so far as destroying several of the much-feared Bio-Fighters on their own.
- An Arm and a Leg: Not Jen herself, but Metalneck gets this treatment courtesy of the missiles in his shoulder-mounted missile launcher getting detonated by a Bio-Fighter.
- Bash Brothers: Forms this duo together with Metalneck.
- Book Dumb: Implied to be the reason she chose not to go to college; she never had the patience for books.
- Jumped at the Call: Wasted no time at signing up for the Mobile Police when presented with the opportunity.
- Machine Empathy: Is often said to "understand" her MARS unit in ways most of her fellow KMP officers aren't capable of.
- Macross Missile Massacre: Unleashes one during the battle of Xaelis.
- Wrench Wench: She's quite adept at doing field repairs on Metalneck should the need arise.
General tropes pertaining to the Drekis Empire
- Airborne Mook: Two flavors; the common Ptera-Deminites, and the rarer but far deadlier Bio-Fighters.
- Always Chaotic Evil: Par for course for The Horde.
- Big Bad: Drekis' now long-dead general, Oblivion was assumed to be the one leading the empire during the last conflict, which was what earned the event its current name, the War of Oblivion's Fall.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: If a world provides especially stiff resistance, Drekis is not above proposing alliances with some of its factions with the promise of dividing up the spoils of war, only to betray them once they've served their purpose, as The Marauders learned the hard way in Zel'Mier.
- Demonic Spiders: The Bio-Fighters are a non video game example - an arthropod-based creature shaped vaguely like a modern-day fighter jet, with all the speed and firepower of one. They fly at supersonic speed, possess bio-energy blasters that fire fast and pack hell of a punch, and on top of it, have a Healing Factor that allows them to bio-regenerate from light to moderate damages, which means that even a damaged Bio-Fighter can return to the fray given enough time unless it's completely destroyed. As such, their arrival almost always elicit an Oh, Crap! reaction, and a reputation as being one of the most deadly creatures in the Drekis legions.
- The Dreaded: Is well-known and much-feared throughout GDF-administered space, having a reputation for devastating some 32,000 known worlds.
- The Empire: Is this In Name Only, while Drekis' minions often refer to themselves as the Drekis Empire, they function more like The Horde.
- Enemy Summoner: Tanker Beasts, also known as Deminite Crawlers. Due to their status as living troop transports for the Drekis Empire, the arrival of a Crawler invariably means it'll be bringing more Deminites to join the fight.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: In addition to its hordes of monsters, the Drekis Empire isn't above recruiting the absolute scum of the multiverse such as space pirates, necromancers, etc. to act as secondary commanders, and Drekis' generals come from diverse walks of life.
- Forever War: In backstory, the last major conflict known as the War of Oblivion's Fall lasted a century.
- Giant Mook: The Devonox beasts are described as "walking siege engines", being 20-foot tall monstrous bipeds with enough Super-Strength to batter down fortifications and tear apart tanks and war mechs with their bare hands.
- The Greatest Story Never Told: The War of Oblivion's Fall.
- The Heavy: What Drekis' generals are, due to Drekis being The Ghost, most people who've engaged with the Drekis Empire would assume his generals are the ones running the show.
- The Horde: Overlapping with shades of Horde of Alien Locusts.
- Leeroy Jenkins: The beasts that make up Drekis' legions are known for relentlessly attacking with no regard to their own self-preservation.
- The Man Behind the Man: Drekis was this to Oblivion during the War of Oblivion's Fall.
- Mook Commander: Hive Guards possess an aura that cause Drekis beasts under its influence fight harder.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Implied to be the primary reason Drekis stayed on the sidelines during the War of Oblivion's Fall, leading to the GDF to dismiss his existence as a mere legend and assuming that Oblivion was the brains behind the entire campaign.
- Touched by Vorlons: The process of becoming a general of Drekis' legions, also overlaps with Claimed by the Supernatural.
- We Have Reserves: Individually, the Mooks of the Drekis Empire aren't particularly powerful; their greatest threat comes from the sheer number of bodies they can throw at their enemies.
Drekis
Overview: (Self-Demonstrating Article) So this is what you humans call "TV Tropes"? Intriguing... and because you asked and since I'm feeling generous at the moment, allow me to grace you with some knowledge about myself. As you already know, I am Drekis, the undisputed ruler of the Drekis Empire and mastermind of this very conflict that's engulfing Khazan. But what of my origins, you ask? To be honest, my own backstory are a mystery even to myself. And needless to say, I've invested a significant portion of my timeless existence scouring the arcane libraries and forbidden archives of worlds my legions have brought to heel, just so that I may learn more about myself. The accounts vary from civilization to civilization, but one consistent point among all state that back when the universe was young, there existed a race known as the Aelsheans, supposedly the first species to evolve sapience. Having millions of years' worth of a headstart over other sapients, it was said that at the height of their power, the Aelsheans were seen as an empire of demigods by lesser races. But even as more primitive civilizations looked up to them as deities, the Aelsheans themselves are very much mortal... and fallible. As with all great empires that followed, the Aelsheans became a victim of their own greed and arrogance. The exact details have been lost to time, but as the myths about the Aelsheans go, all of this eventually culminated in a catastrophic civil war that in a scant two hundred years all but destroyed what took them millions of years to build. Lacking a proper government at this point, they turned to religion for leadership and guidance. And that would be where I begin to come into the picture. The high priests and prophets of the Aelsheans believed that the only way to save their species from extinction would be to somehow gain mastery over the eight Cosmic Precepts of their religion - an eternal balance between the Altar of Light, which is further divided into Peace, Love, Bliss and Order and the Altar of Darkness, divided into War, Hatred, Sorrow and Chaos. They embarked on an ambitious, grand experiment to attain apotheosis, to ascend volunteers chosen by their prophets to become physical avatars of the cosmic precepts - then, they believed would grant them the powers of creation at their fingertips.
Telissa Ravan
Overview: One of the last few surviving members of a human-like race known as the Thal'Vri, a highly-advanced civilization of Perfect Pacifist People whose society can be best described as a Utopia. At the end of Drekis' genocidal campaign against the Thal'Vri, their numbers dwindled down from billions to less than five hundred. Fueled by a thirst for vengeance, Telissa would go on to sign up for a Bounty Hunter agency known as the Seekers, in hopes of finding any leads on the whereabouts of Drekis. Her relentless quest would eventually lead her to Khazan, but she would find that things are about to get a lot bigger than just her quest for revenge.
- Action Girl: Having spent years hunting down Drekis' minions and searching for leads to his whereabouts turned her into one.
- Broken Bird: Is rather cynical and prone to snarks due to the events that led to the destruction of her homeworld and set her on her course to become a revenge-driven Bounty Hunter.
- Deuteragonist: A significant part of the story is dedicated to her quest to hunt down Drekis.
- Doomed Hometown: Her home planet was completely destroyed by Drekis' forces.
- Good Is Not Nice: While not as prone to Jerkass tendencies compared to Vincentzo, Telissa nonetheless displays moments of stubbornness and impatience, and is prone to talking down to overly optimistic characters.
- Hitman with a Heart: In her sector of space, bounty hunters apparently have a bad rep as scum-of-the-earth murder-for-hire who are willing to commit any crime or atrocity as long as the price is right. On the other hand, The Seekers buck every stereotype the sector has regarding hired guns with their strong code of ethics and willingness to work alongside legitimate authorities, accepting only bounties on known, dangerous criminals. Which is why they hold long-term contracts with the Galactic Federation, making them much closer to Private Military Contractors than Murder, Inc..
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She nonetheless possesses a kind and cheerful side.
- Racial Remnant: The Thal'Vri used to number in billions, and by the time Drekis was done only 326 were left and of them only 43 females. Might be for all intents and purposes be considered a Dying Race, as with such small numbers the hopes of revitalizing their race via Adam and Eve Plot would be slim due to the fact that there's not enough genetic diversity to prevent their race from becoming inbred within a few generations.
- Moveset Clone: Of sorts to Raea Shalhalla, being both Badass Normal Action Girls outfitted with Powered Armor who use a wide variety of high-tech firearms in battle.
- Took a Level in Badass: In her backstory she was called a typical "daddy's girl" prior to the destruction of her home planet which led her to sign up for the Seekers.
Tiara
Overview: An apprentice to the Powers That Be of Khazan, the enigmatic but powerful entities who can best be described as the invisible hands that turn the wheel of fate. Acting on her masters' orders, she has been instructed to locate Timothy Shinestar and ensure his safety, due to him playing an important role in the conflict with the Drekis Empire.
- An Ice Person: A secondary effect of her powers, but is nowhere as potent as the ice powers wielded by the likes of Yagami Shinsuke, Toc Darkone or Tundra.
- Barrier Maiden: Is acting under the orders of one of the Powers That Be to protect Timothy Shinestar, so that he fulfills his prophesied role.
- Blow You Away: Her main power set, which also overlaps with An Ice Person; Tiara is an adept at controlling the winds both in a combative and utility capacity, and her winds carry an icy chill to them, freezing their targets as it buffets them with hurricane-force gales.
- Cool Big Sis: Her protectiveness towards Tim sometimes causes her to show shades of this, which sometimes extends to Raea as well.
- Dragons Are Divine: Can be considered low-level divinity, and has an ice dragon familiar, thus fulfilling this trope.