Octavius Ahala

Art by Raik Arglack, commissioned by Conquistador

### Occupation

Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman/ Battlefield Medicine Specialist with the 127th Legion, Search and Rescue Division

### Education

* Turian Hierarchy Combat training
* SERE school
* Quick deployment training
* Advanced Combat Medicine training
* Private University Bachelor's degree in culinary arts with a minor in food science

## Physical Description

### Identifying Marks

* Green, orange, and yellow markings
* Left mandible is chipped slightly.

## OOC Info

### Status

Active

**Octavius Ahala** is a battlefield medicine specialist and a member of the Council Recovery Corps.

## Biography

Octavius was born on July 31st, 2157 on the Citadel. His father, Arius, was a security consultant, while his mother, Maecia, handled logistics for the local embassy. This multicultural environment introduced Octavius to how other species expressed themselves. As a result, the child was very fascinated with learning about others' ways of life. As a child, he was a bit shy and shut-in. His inability to socialize alarmed his parents, who were worried that this would negatively impact him later in life. To compound this even further, as an only child, he spent most of his time around his parents instead of his peers. Arius and Maecia worked dutifully to get him to be less shy, however difficult the progress may have been. Although he didn't understand at the time, Octavius would become grateful for their help

By age nine, his parents were still working to get him to get out with others. Maecia came up with the solution to try to socialize him at places he enjoyed- the many Museums aboard the Citadel. Maecia had contacted the parents of other embassy kids who had similar issues to come to meet at the local ancient history museum. Octavius had initially wanted to be a veterinarian when he was very young, so it was easy to coax him out to see the various fossils and simulations there. The results were mixed, but that much progress went a long way to help him in the future.

As of 2168, Octavius was making a bit more progress being less shy, but still not there completely. In school, he kept mostly to himself, except during social studies, where he was most outgoing. He made his first real friend, an Asari named Lyn, who also enjoyed the subject matter. She was one of the few people Octavius felt comfortable expressing himself around, and the two frequently interacted after school.

Octavius continued to do fine in school as he entered his teenage years, though he would hit a rough patch. In 2170, Lyn’s parents had made the decision to move back to Thessia for business matters. This was one of Octavius’ first exposure to real loss, as that had been his closest friend up until that point. The two had sworn to talk to each other, but due to time differences and such, they rarely did so, and eventually stopped altogether. Every time he had visited one of the museums on the citadel, or rather, anywhere, he’d sometimes think of her.

In 2171, Arius convinced Maecia to move the family to Palaven to get Octavius better acclimatized with the more structured way of life on their homeworld. Although Octavius felt heartbroken to leave his home, he ultimately accepted the need to move on. A year later, in 2172, he was shipped off to the start of his training.

Octavius' arrival at bootcamp was rocky at first. His parents were strict at times, but it was there that he truly learned discipline. This also marked the first time he was surrounded exclusively by other turians, a problem his fellow recruits hardly related to. His naturally polite and reserved demeanor made him calm under fire, so he avoided the problem of straightening out as other recruits did. Thankfully, his interaction with the various instructors, combined with team building exercises, helped him improve his communication skills.

He adjusted far better to the latter stages of training when they began to transition to more specialized roles for the recruits. Having spent significant time with the other trainees, Octavius felt more included than before. The training also introduced Octavius to a new passion: fitness. Never having an affinity for cardio, he took very quickly to weightlifting. Much of his time off was spent at the gym with the on-site instructors, who helped him mold his body. His weightlifting coach, a veteran instructor named Gaius, served as an early role model for him. Octavius admired his dedication to his passion, which he wished to emulate.

The discovery of this hobby was a much needed boost that gave him more confidence in other areas. After putting on significant weight, some instructors even suggested a squad support gunner specialization, which he refused. Octavius had a greater desire to help and rescue people than he did for a strictly combat role.

Now an adult as of 2174, Octavius and his fellow trainees began to look into more specialized roles. One day, a group of corpsmen visited the trainees to showcase careers in the medical field. Immediately, Octavius strongly felt like he should pursue a role with them. Being young, he held a romanticized view of them- from their uniforms to their goal, to the nurses they brought out that he was partial to. Upon meeting them, he noted their generally warmer attitudes (to him at least) than many other specialists that had visited.

That same year, he signed up to join the navy to pursue a combat medic specialization. His training wasn't especially hard for him, as he found the information easy to compartmentalize and apply practically during simulations. Upon completing his initial medic training and rotation the next year, he was offered a pay raise if he would join a higher tier of operators. His training proficiency in marksmanship was alright, but his exemplary fitness and teamwork abilities shot beyond most recruits. Octavius believed that, if anyone needed help the most, it was those downed without any friendly units close enough to extract them. Mulling over his options, Octavius committed to advance his training with Combat Search and Rescue. As a requisite to his entry, he shipped off to SERE in 2175.

Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training was a program shared by all operators whose job entailed deploying deep into unknown or hostile areas. It was a multi-week course that left little free time and is divided into three portions. The first few weeks were mainly academic in nature. Octavius and his peers learned advanced land navigation, classes on living off of the land, and methods developed to escape in the rare instances in which the enemy managed to capture you alive. It also included a litany of physical tests that he managed well.

The more significant part of the training occurred two weeks later when Octavius was partnered up with a team of five, one of which, another young turian named Lucius Alnion, was also set to join the same division of CSAR as Octavius was. Octavius considered Lucius the type of person almost anyone could get along with, so the two naturally formed a friendship early on. Their group was given the task of surviving at least one week in the wild with minimal equipment, and with trainers actively trying to catch them. Using their newly acquired skills, Octavius and Lucius led the group through the forests of their training site. During this time, Octavius and Alnion helped set up traps to catch small game. This was his first serious exposure to cooking with fresh ingredients, which sparked his fascination in the subject. Their group managed to evade capture for nine days before finally getting cornered at a river crossing they had no safe route across. Regardless, they had succeeded and would go to the final phase of SERE.

The group was broken up for the final phase of training-Resistance and Escape. Octavius didn't anticipate how intense their final portion would be, running on absolutely minimal rest and nutrition. Their instructors had taught them to bend, but not to break, giving the enemy irrelevant or false information to stall interrogations or for when they needed reprieve at their breaking points. This last phase was especially hard on Octavius, as the instructors, all of whom had personally been in these situations, did not take kindly to his friendly demeanor.

Through determination and applying his new skills, Octavius managed to not wash out of their last week of SERE. Although he was certainly proud of the accomplishment, it further ingrained his beliefs that violence should only be applied when absolutely necessary. He didn't believe anyone should have to go through that, but if he did, he was thankful he might have a shot at surviving. The graduation ceremony was discrete, with all the successful trainees getting their SERE patches and certifications. With that phase of required training complete, Octavius and Lucius advanced to CSAR training.

Octavius entered into CSAR training in 2176, hoping to pass the program to join a rescue team as their medic. Going in, he and Lucius got assigned to a new team they would stick with from training to through their deployment period. The notable members consisted of Camus Bario, a stoic but caring natural born leader. They also met Valetra Helus, another fitness enthusiast who was the group's land navigation expert. Others came and went over the years, but they were the three that stuck around the most during Octavius' career. The training was spent mostly in the field, engaging in different rescue scenarios from a civilian ship being downed over a hazardous planet, to rapidly deploying to hot zones where military personnel had been trapped. Octavius developed a deep sense of respect for those around him, his team especially, as he saw them as the only thing standing between those in need and imminent danger. Upon completing training, a grander ceremony had been held. Both his parents and his old trainer Gaius attended, proud of Octavius having made it this far.

Octavius and his team began their active duty as CSAR in 2177, with their rotations mainly occurring in the Terminus systems. He would see action quickly, as, within the first two months of their rotation, they had been tasked with locating and evacuating the survivors of an Asari merchant ship that had downed over the planet of Garvug. Octavius' Search and Rescue division made headway to the planet. Upon arrival, Octavius' team shuttled down to the surface, tracking down the ship's emergency beacon. The wasteland-like planet proved to be a harsh environment, but they managed to reach the vessel only to discover a vorcha raiding party attempting to enter the shattered ship's safety isolation area. Camus positioned the team on a hill overlooking the impact area, engaging the enemy from a superior position. Although the engagement was brief, it was impactful for Octavius. Most Vorcha fled after they were caught in the open, but those that had fought back were killed. This marked the first time Octavius had actually taken a life. He knew it was necessary to save the civilians they had been tasked to rescue, and took zero pleasure in the activity. Soon after, he stabilized the wounded on board and returned to their Cruiser.

His next major operation took place two years later in 2179. While in another rotation in the Terminus Systems, they had received word of a major policing action that would involve their unit. Alongside a detachment of marines, they were rushed towards Korlus to rescue merchant ships that had run into engine troubles. What had started as a dispute over repair costs escalated into a local gang attempting to seize their cargo as compensation for their "protection" while on location. With a supplement of Blue Sun mercenaries, they entered into a standoff that was creeping closer and closer into a massacre of the ship's crew. CSAR's objective was simple: extract the crew, and if possible, their cargo, with minimal collateral damage.

The over one hundred man operation bogged down almost immediately after they had breached their atmosphere. Upon reaching the area with the Asari ships, they encountered intense resistance from the local gangs and Blue Suns. What had turned into one difficult objective quickly morphed into two, as one Marine transport was forced to make a hard landing after taking serious engine damage from enemy fire. Camus received orders to go after the Marines first, and the Asari second. The team fought through a half mile of urban decay, outnumbered but not out skilled. Upon reaching the crash site, they found both pilots dead, but most Marines survived, although two of them needed immediate stabilizing. Octavius then stabilized the two's bleeding and helped defend the site from numerous gang members until CASEVAC arrived.

After this, they regrouped with the main force and pushed towards the Asari ships. The Blue Suns put up stiff resistance but were ultimately driven back by a concentrated thrust from CSAR and the Marines. Finally, after taking considerable casualties, the criminal elements pulled back and allowed enough time for the ship's personnel and vital cargo to be lifted off world. Octavius and his team remained until the last civilians had been evacuated before pulling out. All members of their team received commendations for their service and were pulled out and stationed back in Turian space for the time being. Octavius felt much closer to his team after this event, as this had been the first real test of their team’s effectiveness in intense combat. Although Octavius was a bit bashful when congratulated, Lucius and Valetra convinced him to indulge just slightly in the celebration of the operation.

Octavius had a bit more free time now that they were not on constant alert. Wishing to expand his opportunities, Octavius decided that he should enroll in university to find another career once he left the military. He wasn't sure at first, but Lucius and Valetra encouraged him to pursue cooking, a hobby that he frequently brought up in between missions back in the Terminus system. He enrolled in a private college that he'd spend the next four years with. He took to the subject as he had with fitness- quickly and passionately. Octavius became infatuated with the world of cooking and soon excelled with dextro cuisine. His education even brought him to Thessia, where he learned how to prepare some levo dishes (albeit with extreme care that he had to train to obtain a license for).

The lack of conflict for those four years also allowed him to pursue his other hobbies more passionately. With his other classes, he focused more on the humanities (IE, the arts, social sciences, culture- not humans) as a side area of interest. He also continued to pursue fitness more, even making time to participate in his Legion's weightlifting team. He got to spend more time with Lucius and Valetra as well, the former of which he had now considered his best friend. As for Valetra, the two of them grew closer over their shared interests and time together, eventually entering into a relationship. Though, for professional reasons, this was kept discrete and strictly off-duty. Just in time for graduation with this degree and minor, he and his unit were once again rotated into the Terminus systems by 2184.

Their stay in the systems was a tense one. The political situation surrounding the Genophage cure worried Octavius, who believed the Genophage to be too cruel to impose on any species. Equally so, he was cognizant of the potential for crisis given the intense polarization of the topic. After the attempt on the Primarch’s life, his unit was on  constant alert status, waiting for their next assignment. Already nearing the end of his mandatory service, he was worried that he would be called back to duty if the situation spiraled out of control.

His CSAR team was put on high alert with the outbreak of war in 2186. They were assigned to go after ships suspected to be victims of Confederate raids on merchant shipping. Over the next year, they responded to over a dozen emergency hails, rescuing crews captured or downed near Confederacy space. One of the most significant of which was their attempted rescue of the crew of the Alliance Civilian Medical Ship *Mary Seacole* on the planet of Erinle*.* The *Seacole* had been forced to land on a Confederacy outpost warring with the local Salarian colony, to whom the ship had been trying to deliver supplies.

The ship had gone down and in such a manner that proved extremely dangerous for the survivors and Octavius' team. Split apart and scattered over several miles from each bundle of debris, they had a significant amount of ground to cover. They suspected the middle hull with the crew quarters to have the most survivors, so that was where they were headed. When they arrived at the site, they witnessed several Batarians and even some Krogan trying to pick through the crash site, trying to locate survivors to kill and ransom. Octavius and his team cleared out the site, but not without taking casualties.Their squad lead, Camus, got a sucking chest wound after his armor and chest failed from a high-powered rifle shot.

The assortment of wounded complicated the mission, as Octavius had to first stabilize Camus, checking for any major damage beyond the entry would. The shot had gone through but had thankfully missed anything major. He applied a chest seal, stabilizing his breathing, before looking after the survivors within the ship. Unfortunately, few survived the impact; fewer still were left untouched by the Confederate scavenge team. Setting up a triage, Octavius awaited CASEVAC before taking both Camus and the survivors back. Lucius, taking temporary command, led them to the next two crash sites. No survivors were found at either, but they didn't allow any of the scavenge teams present either to loot the bodies present.

After their actions at the *Seacole*, they were rotated back to Turian space for recovery after their series of missions. Octavius was hoping to get out of active service once the civil war settled down, but his hopes were soon shattered by the arrival of the Reapers. His team was immediately sent to Invictus to help fend off the invading forces. Octavius had fought in a war before, but this was on a scale he had not yet seen.

For over a month, the team had been assigned to retrieving downed Hierarchy aircraft, which were always at or beyond the front line. Others were with them of course, sent right before they reached the planet, but few survived until the end of the campaign. In some instances, Octavius and his team were physically unable to reach downed pilots given the concentration of enemy forces. Even worse, many of the personnel they reached were DOA, making it body retrieval at that point. Their missions became more difficult as increasing casualties tested their capabilities. Octavius went entire days without sleep, and when he did get sleep, it was a couple of hours at most. The stress of the campaign began to take its toll on the unit. Octavius tried to keep up his friendly demeanor, but that was done more so out of concern for morale than how he actually felt. All four of them were experiencing combat fatigue as the increased need for their sorties rose higher throughout the campaign.

Nearing the end of the battle of Invictus, the group was sent out around midnight to recover a close support aircraft that had gone down in one of the contested areas of the city they were in at the time. The pilot had gotten lucky, as he survived the crash and was able to maintain radio contact with the group on a secure channel. The team lifted off from their base and proceeded to the crash site, which had a number of husks. Inserting quietly, the team managed to extract the pilot from the lobby of a building their aircraft had slid into. However, on their way back to their transport, Lucius had accidentally stumbled into a husk under a piece of street debris. It alerted those nearby, forcing the team to make a fighting retreat to their exfil site. Camus, however, had his shields drained by a pair of well placed Marauders nearby their shuttle. A well placed shot breached his armor, blasting open his carotid artery. Although Octavius tried to clamp down on the artery to stop major blood loss, the wound was too grevious for him to save Camus. He died before even reaching the transport. In the days to come, G.U.A.R.D.I.A.N. and allied forces won at the battle of the Omega Four Relay, ending the battle of Invictus in turn.

After Camus' death, Octavius and his team grew distant from one another. Lucius, who Octavius had known for a decade by this point, required serious mental health treatment for his trauma. Lucius had gone so far as to accuse Octavius of not acting quickly enough to save Cam, though Octavius suspected this might have been part of the trauma manifesting. Still, he grew apart from Lucius after this, as Camus had been quite close to him, and the notion that Octavius had somehow been at fault made him quite resentful, even if it did make Octavius ask himself if Lucius was right. Valetra and Octavius had a hard time continuing their relationship after what they had gone through and found difficulty in rekindling their feelings for one another. They decided to break up once their overdue active service contracts ended, but tried to still talk to one another occasionally. Octavius often wonders if Valetra ever blamed him for what had happened, but hasn’t been keen to ask her.

His required service period up, and his extended wartime service of three years also over, he returned to the Citadel. Both his Mom and Dad survived the war, and he briefly stayed with them as he got a job as a chef for two years. Although he enjoyed the chef's life, he began to see it as too cushy. The galaxy had a long way to go to recover. He considered reenlisting, but upon hearing of the CRC, he was hooked. Octavius had been hoping for a more humanitarian role that meshed well with his skill set. In 2190, he joined the CRC straight off of the citadel, putting in for a position as a medic.

## Personality

Outwardly speaking, Octavius is quite an approachable and amicable person that is almost always in a good mood, even with the circumstances at hand aren't the best. He's usually optimistic and resistant to pessimism or panic. Octavius usually addresses people by their honorifics. Although he's sometimes stiff in social conversations, he's a decent listener and isn't too shy. He can be a bit blunt sometimes, both with compliments and things he should maybe avoid commenting on. Some friends describe him as a bit naive at times, as he's quick to trust almost anyone so long as they're outwardly kind.

Octavius can be described as a gentle soul. He avoids unnecessary violence as much as he can, though he recognizes that it's required to protect people's wellbeing in many cases. He is very civically minded, and actively seeks out ways to help other people. Many have noted how protective he can be, especially around people he is treating or has been assigned to protect. He likes to believe he has a very strong moral compass that he tries to stick to as best he can.

He is self-conscious and concerned with how others perceive him. Being a combat medic, he wants people to see him as someone they can always approach and rely upon. Because of this, he thinks his public image is quite important. The turian is also known to be quite bashful when receiving compliments and is very prone to mandible flares even in simple social situations. He has other weaknesses as well. Octavius enjoys the finer things in life, enjoying jewelry, fine dining, and other luxurious activities he is more prone to than he'd like to admit. It never interferes with his duties, but in the back of his mind, he often questions if he has too much excess.

### Hobbies & Interests

* *Culinary arts* - To say this turian likes to cook would be a grave understatement. He doesn't just enjoy cooking, he lives and breathes cooking. Outside of the medical field, it is the most important thing in his life in terms of what he is passionate about. He has more or less mastered dextro cuisine and has an affinity for asari cooking as well. He hopes one day to move on to more esoteric areas, like krogan or drell cooking, but he's in no rush. Octavius sees the hobby as a way to test his own abilities and uses it to help measure his growth as a person.It serves as a roundabout way to help his own self confidence and fulfill his abilities.
* *Anthropology and the humanities* - Since he was raised in a multicultural environment, Octavius has the privilege of being exposed to different forms of media and ways of expression. He enjoys seeing how other cultures express themselves through art, language, governance, and their social relations. Being a gigantic nerd, he has esoteric interests in their governance, societal problems, histories, and general ways of life. This coincides with his joy of travelling, as new places mean new people with their own unique ways of life.
* *Fitness* - Octavius is a large individual. Octavius views his enjoyment of fitness in a similar way that he does to cooking, that being, that fitness shows he has some control over his life. This stems from the fact that he wasn't the most emotionally secure person growing up, and used it as a way to boost his confidence. From then onward, he simply kept it up. He is particularly interested in weightlifting itself, not so much body sculpting (though it's not like he isn't sculpted).

## Physical Description

Octavius is a tall, athletic turian in his thirties. He has green eyes, a colorful face paint pattern of greens, orange, and yellows, and has a white/brown carapace. His face is clean for the most part, though his left mandible has a notable chip in it that seems to have healed years ago. Despite his birthplace, Octavius speaks with what is the turian equivalent of a rural accent on account of his parents. His voice typically sounds very uplifted, if not excited at times. His posture, like any good turian, is nigh always on point. He has a variety of different outfits for different situations, with a stark contrast between his casual ware and his very utilitarian on the job outfits.

When on duty but not in an immediate combat setting, Octavius typically wears a white doctor's coat with a military-style sweater underneath. His tops are typically matched with light grey work pants. This serves to uphold professionalism while also having a practical set of clothing that he can operate in without issue during his medical and more benign duties. He can almost always be seen wearing a silver pilot’s watch. When on duty in a combat setting, Octavius dons a weathered grey set of turian combat armor. The armor has a multitude of attachment points that carry field-grade medical equipment used to treat injuries on the battlefield. His armor is otherwise unremarkable. During off duty hours, he typically wears a tight fitting turtleneck and cleanly pressed dress shirts. These are typically paired with white or grey colored pants. He also seems to be a fan of jewelry, typically wearing metal bracelets and timepieces. Octavius tends to avoid wearing sportswear except for when he is working out. During workout sessions, he usually wears a blue and pink tank-top stating "Suns out, Guns Out" and sweatpants.

### Armament

* Phaeston Assault Rifle with a low power optic
* M-3 Predator

### Abilities

* Tech Armor
* Barrier
* Sentry Turret
* Cryo Blast