Little is known about Mack. She's beautiful, intelligent, well spoken, and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. As a result, she is a brutally effective face. She knows someone in just about every corner of the shadows and her finger on the pulse of the Organized Crime society. She's also been wired up, and with the right amount of lead-time, she can do just about anything as good as a professional. As it stands, her current library is impressive so she's always able to fill in any gap necessary. Her history on the scene in Seattle is relatively nill, in fact even a complex matrix search only pulls up the occasional sealed court document alluding to her trouble making early years. Apparantly, she got really wise and keeps an almost paranoid low profile. Russian-born, she speaks with a distinctive russian accent, only when her feathers have been ruffled but otherwise speaks with the tounge of a well bred woman. She has a brutal streak as well, and if you've ever seen her perform an interrogation, you'll never look at her the same again.

Manuel Aguinaldo
Born in the Philippines in 2043.
Family:
Father, Antonio, Escrima instructor
Brother, Javier, deceased
Sister, Amelia, deceased
Mother, Gloria deceased

Born in Manila in 2043. Had a fairly normal life for his first 12 years. He attended Catholic school at Our Lady of Eternal Sorrow. He studied Escrima in his father’s school, then in the back yard when the school was shut down. He knew his country was being ruled by the Japanese, and learned the normal dislike for them, but rarely gave a thought to politics.
On June 7, 2055 everything changed. Manny came home to find his brother, sister and mother slaughtered on their living room floor.
Apparently, Amelia had been the unwilling “girlfriend” of a Yakuza soldier named Hanzo. Javier found out about this situation, and went looking for Hanzo. He found him with Amelia and 3 other Yak soldiers eating dinner. He attempted to take her home, but Hanzo interfered. Javier hit him, starting a huge brawl. Javier was carrying his sticks, so it wasn’t even a fair fight. In less than 10 seconds, all 4 Yaks were out, and Hanzo was dead.
A couple hours later, a large group of Yakuza showed up at their door, killing everyone in the house. Manny went to the docks to tell his father. Antonio left him at his restaurant for a couple of hours while he took care of some business (which later turned out to be killing Hanzo’s father and 3 other Yaks, selling his restaurant and burning down his old house). 4 hours later, after an exchange of cash, Manny and Antonio were on a freighter bound for Vladivostok. They lived there for 6 months, with Antonio and Manny working in a restaurant, Manny bussing tables and Antonio cooking. They eat most of their meals there and slept there at night, saving every bit they could. From there, they rode another freighter to Seattle. Arriving on Jan 19, 2056.
Settling in Puyallup, Antonio found work in another restaurant. Manny was an illegal, another of the millions of SINless “citizens” of Seattle. He couldn’t go to school, couldn’t get a legal job, or go to a legal doctor. But, he could fight. And, in his father’s backyard classes he got better.
His skill and enjoyment of violence quickly led to joining a gang. First it was a small gang whose entire turf was 4 blocks. Then, they joined into a larger gang controlling a piece of Puyallup proper. By 16, he had come to the attention of the Triad bosses. His general disregard for other people was completely overshadowed by his hatred of all things Japanese and the Yakuza in particular.
Not being Chinese, he could never really be a member of a Tong, but he was a very useful soldier. Building a rep on sheer aggression, he became enforcer/security chief for Madam Mei’s massage parlor in Puyallup before his 19th birthday.
An unfortunate incident derailed Manny’s career in crime. On a regular night and Madam Mei’s, one of the guests attacked and savagely beat one of the girls. Manny did his job, and beat the man worse, knocking out 2 teeth, smashing his nose and rupturing his spleen. Unknown to Manny, this was Puyallup’s zoning commissioner, receiving a payoff for some beneficial zoning changes in downtown Puyallup. To fix things, the boss put a hit out on Manny. Madam Mei found out immediately and warned Manny. Manny called up some some contacts from a heroine smuggling operation he'd been involved in to hide him. He hid out in the Orc underground with Billy Mura from the Black Rain and then in the NAN for 6 months with Wishbone, a Cascade Orc shaman, until everything cooled off.
Wishbone had quit the smuggling business after seen the effects that heroine had on it's users and had started trying to make up for some of the damage he'd done. 6 months with Manny had an effect. After being forced to face the consequences of his actions, Manny knew he couldn't go back to being a thug.
Looking at his skills, he knew that he was only qualified for a few jobs. The UCAS didn’t allow illegal immigrants in the military, the Star didn’t hire known criminals and the Tongs would only ignore him as long as he stayed “disappeared”.
So, he had his friend Billy, introduce him to Lucy Chen, a small time fixer in Puyallup. Lucy started sending small jobs his way. Muscle for hire. Manny always came through. He’s got the street cred and physical skills to move up the ladder and be a real runner. He just needs a chance.

Appearance: Short (168cm or 5’6”) and very stocky (102K or 225#) Philipino man. Usually wears biker leathers and an armored jacket, with a “wife beater” underneath to show off his tattoo’s. He’s got many, and some are his own work. He’s got regular clothes for when he needs to keep a lower profile, though.

Skills: Other than Escrima, Manny learned most of his skills on the street. Shooting a pistol came natuarally, but he only took the time to get good, not great. He’s naturally athletic, and he learned stealth from years of sneaking down alleys and breaking into buildings. Since he’s turned running the shadows, all of his spare time has gone into studying electronics and high tech. He’s far from an expert now, but he will be.

Personality: Although he’s turned toward the “light side”, he still is at heart a street rat. He won’t back down from a challenge, although he’ll try to bluster his way through a fight rather than just beat some one down now. Other than that, he’s a pretty happy guy, and fun to be around. In his spare time, Manny is a decent tattooist and pool player. If he's not doing one of those he's either riding or working on his BMW Blitzen 2050. He can aften be found in the kind of bar where the girl behind the bar is standing on top of it, blowing fire from lit rum shots at 11am. He’ll be the guy by the pool table with the tattoos cheering her on.

Phillip Lacroix was born to human parents in the late 2030's in New Orleans. The family is ethnic creole and as a result of family tradition, Phillip -- or Pili (pee-lee) as he is called -- learned French and English growing up. He has an older half-brother named Alexander. Alexander is the son of an African man and Pili's mother. When intrested in his roots Alexander begain to research African languages. He found out that Pili is "Second Born" in Swahili and dubbed his little brother that early. The name stuck.

His early life was relatively easy. He joined a local youth organization and it is there that he began to learn about computers and first aid. The organization was similar to the late 20th's Boy Scouts. He was chummy with people at school but something of a follower. He was ready to get to know people but didn't really understand how to lead the groups of which he was a part -- including the youth organization. In it, he was a patrol leader for a while -- in charge of about seven boys. It was one of these young boys that first introduced Pili to Voodoo.

Growing up in New Orleans, you couldn't help but learn something about Voodoo. The native traditions of the Carribbean and the old French south had meshed with Christianity so long ago that few understood the origins of the practice, but none could deny that legends of the voodoo doll and zombies were rife in the region. Plus, since the awakening and the "arrival" of Loa spirits and the magical powers of the Hougan, the tradition began to be understood as a viable and real mystical system. Pili learned about Voodoo from Lawrence. Larry's family were Voodoo hougans for generations and he described each of the Loa to Pili. Coupling his social nature as wel as his ability to easily make friends, Pili felt drawn to Legba and Obatala.

It was during his teens when Pili goblinized from Human to Ork. Goblinization was becoming more infrequent but everyone recognized the signs. Pili was kicked out of the youth organization and lost most of his friends except for Larry. Larry and his family didn't really mind Pili's new appearance and felt that his value as a person was still the same as it was prior.

Things were okay for a while. His parents adjusted but his brother didn't want to associate with the Ork in their midst. School became more difficult as the others harassed him for this apperance, and Pili began to find it more difficult to communicate with others who were focused on what they thought he was instead of what he truly was. He was happy though -- or at least content -- to stay where he was.

That is until Larry's family was killed. As far as anyone knew, it was a random act of violence. Pili knew otherwise. Larry had told him that his family had a rival in the underworld politics of New Orleans post-awakening Voodoo politics. Pili assumed that the rivals had finally decided that Larry's family had become too powerful and destroyed them. Pili was inscensed. For the first time, he performed a ritual to summon a Loa spirit of Obatala -- defender of the weak. The spirit of the Loa possessed him and through his own newly awoken magical abilities and the power of the Loa incarnate, Pili was able to claim vengence on the rival family.

His vengence was not "complete" as others would have felt it, as the rivals were left alive. Obatala is not a fan of death and prefers a non-lethal solution to problems. As a result, the rivals knew of a rising power in Pili that could threaten their power base. They tracked Pili down and gave him an ultimatum: leave or your family dies. Pili left.

He wandered for a while, performing small rituals to the Loa in order to help him on his way. Using their powers when necessary and learning spells from other shamans that he met as he moved from New Orleans north into the UCAS and then eventually west to Seattle. In Seattle, he lives in a small 1 bedroom economy apartment. He has some connections to the Ork Underground, but prefers to live above ground. He often works as security for small businesses -- setting up astral wards or providing spirits to help when necessary. And, his friend Hugh is often ready to help out with a little muscle if necessary.

APPEARANCE

Pili is an Ork about 5' 11" (1.8m) tall. He's wiry and thin for an Ork at only 130lbs (58kg). His skin has an olive cast to it. The striking part about his are his amber/yellow eyes. His eyes were originally brown but seem to lighten to their current golden color when he goblinized.

As with most patrons of Obatala, he wears almost exclusively white clothing. The exception to this is his long coat,which is a more fashionable black. His normal clothing usually consists of a pair of white or kahki pants with a white shirt. His armored clothing is similarly colored -- just will a little added benefit for when the drek hits the fan.

As a result of all of this white clothing, and due to his generally ordered mind and logical way of dealing with things, he has developed a mild form of Misophobia -- a fear and dislike of dirt and germs. It's not dibilitating, but Pili is constantly focused on remaining clean and keeping his white clothing as white as possible.

SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES, AND RESOUCES

He's not good at saving money. But he's not the best at making it either. Most of what he earns goes into his rent, which he tries to stay ahead of by pre-paying in quarters or thirds of a year. His skills with a pistol were mostly honed in conjunction with some training from Hugh, who orginally gave Pili his gun. The magical training that Pili has received is mostly in the form of other shamans with who Pili has associated. Further, the learning that he acquired from Larry as a young man has proven invaluable.

He has increased his abilities with a computer, focusing on searching for information. He often sells this abilities to others if they needs someone to act as private investigator. He also recalls most of his First Aid training that he received as a boy in the youth organization.

He has always been a polite person so the ettiquette of the modern world was not hard for him to assimilate. Further, he's always been an intelligent person -- a fact that he has used to his advantage from time to time. Especially since others are usually expecting the dumb-fragging-tusker personality from Pili, he can sometimes put people off balance by understanding complex concepts faster than people would usually expect him to.

PERSONALITY

Pili does not like to kill. He sees it as the removal of the potential for his opponents to produce something valuable -- even if only by luck. Instead, he focuses on confusing his enemies or just fast talking his way through a situation. When forced to, he is not afraid to resort to his gun, but he usually relies on Gel rounds rather than lethal bullets.

He prefers to work in situations where he feels that his actions benefit the underdogs. Working for small business, schools, families, etc. make him feel as if he is helping to defend those who are less able to defend themselves.

He's quick with a joke and generally fun to be around. His interests in cooking -- especially with foreign and obscure seasonings help to pass some of his spare time. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to focus on these interests to the extent that he would like.

His goal is to eventually open a small restaurant. However, recognizing the shorter life span that he faces as a result of his race, he's beginning to feel the press of time and is sometimes willing to take more risks now than he was in order to try and make more money.

RUNNING THE SHADOWS

Pili runs the shadows because he feels that it is the best application for his skills. He can work around the system and work to help those that are hurt by it. Further, as an Ork, his life outside the shadows would always be frought with the common dumb-fragging-tusker stereotype. But, in the shadows, his skills are valued and often surpass the stereotypes.

Jack Summer was born John Summer to a career Delta officer and his medical officer wife. His father was killed in a counter-terror mission by a toxic shaman while he was just a baby. His mother raised him by herself, his father's Delta teammates were all his surrogate fathers in particular Uncle Marcinko.(Free Contact: Fixer). They taught him self defense, shooting and fieldcraft. He poured his energies into martial pursuits as well as investigating magical phenomenon in an attempt to find out more about his father's death.

He joined the UCAS military as an officer and represented UCAS as a sniper in the Desert Wars even winning an MVS award. He first met Cougar(Grey's charactor) during this time.

He suffered a head wound during a joint mission with Knight Errant Firewatch, where he met Clark(Free Contact: Johnson, Ares-KE Firewatch). Because of this he was sent to Seattle to oversee the security of the more sensitive parts of the Seattle Zoo. He has a DSC, a Silver Cross and a Bronze Cross with 4 repeats as well as numerous Purple Hearts.

He has a godfather in the form of Tir Prince Larry Zincan (Friends in High Places), the Prince feels an obligation to Jack as it was the life of his wife and baby that Jack's father saved with his heroism.

Skill note: RP sense, he should have a higher skill base but can be explained that his head wound damaged some parts of his brain. Hence he was sent instead to baby sit security for the Seattle Zoological Gardens.