PLA Characters

*"War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun."*

- An excerpt from Mao Zedong's speech to the PLA, 1965

The political leader of the communistic party of China, or Red China, he also was the Supreme Commander over the complete Communistic Chinese military. He led the revolution against the foreign oppression of China, resulting in the bitter civil war which split the country in two big parts, the Allied Nations supported National Revolutionary Army and his Soviet Union supported Communist China.

In early 1927, Mao went to Hunan where, in an urgent meeting held by the Communist Party, he made a report based on his investigations of the peasant uprisings in the wake of the Northern Expedition. This is considered the initial and decisive step towards the successful application of Mao's revolutionary theories.

China, over the next 5 years, fell into a state of civil unrest due to the ideas and ideals brought up by the Communist Party, and Mao Zedong, as their spearhead, was highly interested in uniting the country under a communist leadership. He approved highly of Joseph Stalin, who was in charge since 1922, and the both of them met over the next years often.

War soon broke out between the Communists and the Kuomingtang, a war which would last for more than 30 years on and would devastate the country. At the end of the war, Atomic China would emerge from the final attack's ashes and bring Mao before trial. Mao was sentenced to death in a disintegration chamber. His last words were: *"Who is this Emperor you speak of?"*

The answer was imminent: *"We are ghosts. Ghosts have no need for kings."*

### The Doctor

*"Trust me, comrades, I'm a Doctor."*

- The Doctor reassuring his comrades.
With Mao dead, the Red Chinese struggled without anyone to guide them. They found themselves at the mercy of Green China and were forced into hiding. However, if hearsay is true, the Chinese communists have managed to find a new leader. No one knows his name, save perhaps his closest advisers, but many simply refer to him as *"The Doctor"*.

Varying accounts give different information about him, claiming that he is a dedicated nuclear physicist who lost both his hands to radiation or that he moved to America as a youth and cheated the Mafia out of millions. Some reports even allege that he has run operations abroad that got him on the wrong side of Her Majesty's Secret Service. Other rumours tell that *"The Doctor"* has contacted the North Vietnamese in order to revive the long relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam and to receive arms and bases.

Regardless of whether or not the accounts are true, it seems Red China has a chance to reorganize, strike back at the advanced Atomic Kingdom and finally crush the National Revolutionary Army, hopefully paving the way for a restoration of communism throughout China and then the world.

## Military Personnel

### Ta Hun Kwai

 **Occupation** | • People's Liberation Army, Armoured Branch (formerly)• General of the APRC armoured division• Businessman (Part Time)

*"My tanks are almost at your doorstep! It will not be long until you hear their thunderous treads!"*

- Ta Hun Kwai, *"destroying"* a *"Guardian"* Hubbard Fixer
General Ta Hun Kwai was the oldest General during the Civil War and a great contributor to the Red Chinese Tank divisions. He firmly believed the last shot to gain victory will come from the good oiled barrel of a Battlemaster or an Overlord Tank. Kwai modernized the old obsolete tanks Red China gained from the Soviet Union to make them formidable combatants in encounters with Blue China.

He also upgraded his personal tank divisions further, creating the **Warmaster Tank** as a newer version of the Battlemaster with advanced autoloaders and improved armour near the end of the war, although those tanks never reached the phase of full-scale production. Among the newer weapons of the Red Chinese arsenal also were tanks with huge flamethrowers, as well as the monstrous Overlords.

Kwai commonly watched a battle he was attended to in his personal modified Overlord named **The Emperor**, which was the most powerful weapon Red China had in that time, excluding artillery. He was thought off as being arrogant, as he always, even of the verge of defeat, stuck stubbornly to the same tactic of throwing more tanks at the enemy, believing that he would triumph in the end. He was more than once almost killed due to this behaviour. Defence positions placed right would smash his tanks but he would just send more of them. Even among his fellow generals, this was considered wasteful.

After the nuclear fire which saturated the country, only a handful of Red Chinese outposts remained intact. The fate of General Kwai remains unknown, although many believe he is hiding somewhere, developing new tanks to fight against Green China. But truth can be stranger than fiction, and Kwai is still alive - although in an area no one would expect he'd be.

In the middle of the nuclear strikes between Blue and Red China, Kwai was actually being shuttled via a special Helix helicopter to the Endless Trenches, in an attempt to break the infamous fortifications there. Modified to carry his personal Overlord Tank, the Helix was unfortunately recently captained by a young North Korean pilot by the name of Choi *"Wrong Way"* Young Wan. When, in the midst of flying to the battle, a atomic bomb almost knocked the Helix out of the sky, Kwai ordered Choi to get him and more importantly his prized tank to the closest safe location.

What happened in between is unknown (except possibly to Choi Young Wan), but after nearly a day of solid flying the Helix, Overlord, General Kwai, and Young had somehow successfully landed in a place safe from nuclear bombs - North Korea, APRC territory. Low on gas, and seeking asylum, both Kwai and Choi begged to join the APRC, who let them in as Kwai's knowledge of tanks is rather astounding if he is rather incompetent at everything else.

Currently, Choi and Kwai are now soldiers of the APRC armoured division, where they serve with the remnants of the PLA to reclaim China. And outside of the military, as the APRC has given them mandatory vacation time, they have set up a small *"business"*, as distasteful as it is to both of them. Operating out of a small empty lot near the beach, Kwai's Most Honorable Pocket Tank Arena allows anybody who drops by and pays the ability to command modified Hubbard Do-It-Yourself Fixers and RC vehicles (changed to resemble a variety of international war machines) in fierce miniature battle against their friends or even Kwai himself. And when not commanding within a Stormtiger, he can be seen operating the Arena and sipping boat drinks on Sanya Bay.

### Tsing Shi Tao

 **Occupation** | • People's Liberation Army, Artillery Branch (formerly)• Messiah/Leader of the Atom Cult

*""No bombs?" Who could think of such a thing?"*

- Tsing Shi Tao mocking Chinese anti-war protesters while aiming an Armageddon at them
General Tao was more than any other Red Chinese General, a great friend of explosions. Whenever he could set off an explosion, it made him happy, but even better was it when the explosion caused the death of a Blue Chinese vehicle. Tao contributed greatly to Red China's artillery divisions during the course of the civil war.

He was stationed in Base Ox, Chengdu, where he experimented with the old Chinese tradition of fireworks when he was just a mere Red Guard himself. His interest sparked upon letting a few grenades explode, taking the lives of 3 Blue Chinese soldiers. Later, when he got promoted, he stayed at Base Ox and made it the main facility for explosives.

Here, he developed the Armageddon Cannon, the largest single vehicle the Red Chinese fielded during the Civil War. Its 800mm gun could devastate whole columns of enemy tanks while being out of reach of nearly everything. This design, while successful, had the flaw of being very, very slow and unable to defend versus small foes near it or aerial units at all.

Tao, however continued to research even more potent and explosive weaponry. His main tactic stayed fielding massive amounts of smaller artillery supported by at least 2 Armageddon Cannons to shatter any opposition before they arrive. He got backed-up by Mao himself, because Tao lost only once in his entire career.

Sometime somewhere, a large meteor fell from the sky. Tao was interested in the meteor, and he found out that it was fissile material. This was to be his possible downfall, for soon after Tao became obsessed with the idea of using this amazing material to create a nuclear Overlord Tank. Taking numerous samples of the fissile material and Overlord designs, he disappeared into an underground hangar near Base Rat, promising that when he came out he would have a weapon to make even Green China tremble.

Three months then past since his declaration when the hangar doors reopened and Tao exited. But now he was different.

His eyes turned unnaturally green, the same shade as the Jade, with his vein glowing with green, and Jade crystals growing out of his skin. Tao would declare that the only way China could survive and rebuild is by embracing Jade not as a tool, but as a way of life. With the soldiers who survived eagerly joining his cult, and those who refused became fuel for Jade growth.

Now the leader of the Atom Cult, and Jade mutants as a whole, Tao has carved a small fiefdom within the Red Zones, where Jade radiation was so high that it was suicidal for humans to live in, where his cult gathers strength, welcoming both those mutated by Jade and those who want a new world in open arms.

While very small the other warlords, and the Atomic Kingdom, knows he is a growing threat and have sent in forces to slay him. Only for them to turn out dead, becoming vessels for the Jade, or even joining Tao.

### Shin Fai

*"I have enough men to crush you without firing a shot!"*

- Shin Fai yelling impotently at curious clone-children
If there was only one man in the entire People's Liberation Army with limitless dedication, it would be Fai. Only the bravest and strongest soldiers served in his literally endless legions of men. Fai specialised in the deployment of infantry. Fai's infantry were well-trained and well-equipped compared to the other elements of the People's Liberation Army. Supporting his endless legions of soldiers were Gatling Crawlers that transported his soldiers to the battlefield quickly.

One might even say his troops could rival that of the Atomic Kingdom's infantry, and Fai can deploy a horrendous amount of troops to the battlefield, swarming them with elite soldiers that even artillery would have problems taking out. There is a saying of *"Quality over quantity"*, but for Fai, he has both. Quality soldiers and quantities of quality soldiers. Indeed, his expertise in using so many men in combat appealed to the Atomic Kingdom, and they did not execute him when he was finally captured in battle.

The Atomic Chinese instead flattered him with praise, showing sincere admiration for him, and after some diplomatic talks, welcomed him into the Atomic Kingdom in their goal to restore China. Where he now holds the highest amount of Starfleet Marines and the strongest clone infantry in the Kingdom.

### Leong Leang

"*Suicide is not a tactic.*"

- Gen. Leang, berating a KMT defector.
The youngest of Mao's Generals, Leong Leang was once the head of the experimental technology branch of the People's Liberation Army. Based in the mountains of Himalaya, Leang was a mysterious general, often referred to as **The Tigress** by both friends and foes. Under her watchful eye, captured technology from both Blue China and outsiders were studied, reverse-engineered if possible, and then distributed to friendly forces.

Leang was centred away from much of the action in the Chinese Civil War, her role one more of support in truth than pure assault, but the effects of her base's studies were felt throughout China. To her base came every unknown technological piece fallen into the hands of Red China - spectrum pointers, vacuum tube answering machines, breathable liquid packets, and even a Syndicate-made computer or two.

With these, Leang was able to, against great odds, create several workable weapons and improvements to vehicles and use them to augment small numbers of the PLA's forces. Though seemingly minor, each improvement put together was able to turn even the cheapest, scrappiest Battlemaster Tank into a terrifying assault vehicle - indeed, a Leang-augmented tank or soldier's kit was gifted out only to those troops that had earned Mao's personal blessing, a tribute to how rare but effective they were.

After Mao, she was the second-highest target for assassination by the Blue Chinese - yet the inhospitality of her location and her refusal to ever get into battle was enough to keep her from ever being killed or even engaged in battle.

After the bombs fell, Leong Leang did not stop fighting. Red and Blue China may have been gone, but Leang did not attain her position by being a fool - instead, operating out of her base, she became a warlord... possibly the most successful warlord of all time in the Wastes. From her hidden base, she sent out modified Battlemasters armed with radar arrays and communication devices, and at the surviving Chinese outposts under her control, full of radios and screens, she broadcast her message of solidarity to all who would listen.

Under the new **Leang Hegemony**, all manners of lesser bandits flocked. Roving bands of Battlemaster and Gatling Tanks that composed the former PLA proposed loyalty when they heard the former general speaking. Retriever Mortar Tanks surrounding former Blue Chinese bunkers stood down and former enemy Mastiffs and Whippets pledged a new allegiance to the last vestige of hope for them.

Using remote buying through hidden lines, Leang was able to procure Skirmisher Heavy Transports, Skysweepers, and Maurauder Tanks from Internation Incorporated. All manners of lesser men and tanks, from lowly Scorpions and Rangers to modifed Beagles, Retrievers, and Bulldogs to far off Saracens, Armadillos, and Rhinos flocked to the warlord Leang.

Even a few exotic pieces, like Bluejay Transports, V2 Launchers, and Helix Assault Helicopters could be found repainted in the purple and gold of the Leang Hegemony. And rumours persist of strange motorbikes and vehicles shaped like giant wheels riding alongside them, though they were long gone by the time the Hegemony warbands could search for them.

To this date, the Hegemony remains one of the most powerful warbands in post-nuclear China. A contender even to the remaining Communists and Democrats, it was held together firmly by the charisma and power of Leong. It was so powerful, in fact, that it soon drew the attention of the Atomic Kingdom... who deemed the Hegemony large enough of a potential threat that it needed to be cut off at the head. After over a month of solid searching, a Courtesan finally managed to locate the hidden facility that Leang was located in, seduced the leader, and then left.

Shortly thereafter an Atomic Bomb was dropped directly on top of the base.

Unfortunately (or fortunately to those who opposed the Atomic Kingdom). It turned out Leang had predicted this well in advance (living in the cutthroat ranks of the PLA military does that) and was actually within another hidden base, and the "Leang" the Courtesan seduced was a clone, even leaving behind a video basically telling them they must have been complete ***idiots*** to think she would fall for such a trick.

even worse (or better). Leang had used this assassination attempt to show how monstrous the Kingdom is galvanise the remaining PLA to join her to reunite China (under her rule of course). And the Leang Hegemony became the de facto ruler of the Red Chinese, a rival to the Atomic Kingdom.

### Black Lotus

*"the flowers are all around me"*

- Graffiti found on wall of abandoned Blue Chinese bunker
Like all other aspects of the Chinese Civil War, the spy games of Red and Blue China only intensified and degenerated after the renewed ferocity of 1963. Infiltration networks spread like cancerous veins to encompass dozens of cells of desperate men and women armed with the greatest inventions that Red and Blue scientists could make or grow. Saboteurs blew bridges and factories and government structures and bases even as rampant military production built them up again. Spies and assassins stalked each other under smog-choked urban skies and around bombed-out rural villages. But of the information they gained, the secrets they discovered, the kills they made and the conspiracies they wrought and unmade, there is little evidence of left. For intelligence agencies and spies do not give up their secrets or their discoveries lightly, and in the aftermath of an atomic apocalypse how much more would be lost with the deaths of those organizations and those individuals? Only ghosts are left in China, and the only spies left in China are ghosts. The Skinwearer, She Who Wore A Thousand Knives, The Under Empress, Many in One, the Helminthologist...no longer rogues and agents and officers, but names and horrors and stories told around the refugee campfires. And the greatest of them all, the one most whispered about to naughty children and around the fires, was Black Lotus.

Who was Black Lotus? Few knew back before the bombs fell, and those that did are dead now - from the atomic fires or from the hands of monsters and brigands. All that is known is that she was a member of one of Red China's greatest intelligence rings, and she was the best of all its members. She was clad in an entirely black Red Guard outfit, but her eyes and mouth and fingers constantly bled even under masks and gloves. She was reported and seen on missions all across China in lands both Red and Blue, and doubtless operated in many more areas where her presence wasn't felt at all. She procured information: information on newly developed Blue Chinese technologies, information on new equipment, information on new troop movements and new weapons systems and new vehicles. She killed to get said information as well: poisoned needles and stilettos impaled in guardsmen, researchers strangled by base wiring systems or found dead at the hands of their own freed creations, political officers decapitated and civilians quietly killed via cyanide capsules found crushed in their mouths. Her favored tactic, however, was to access the ventilation systems of whatever vehicle or structure she was targeting and flood it with canisters of potent hallucinogenic neurotoxins. Putting her black gas mask identical to those worn by the Red Guard on, she would then step openly into the structure past dying soldiers and scientists, taking her objective and then walking back out to vanish back to Red Chinese lines.

Even after the bombs fell, Black Lotus did not stop. Her actions may have become more erratic, her targets random and devoid of order or meaning, but she continued onward throughout the ruins and remnants of China. Her uniform became ripped and damaged and torn, and she patched it up with the cloth from the bandit kings and feudal lords she slew. A piece of Jade reportedly buried itself in her head, and she sprouted a crown of green crystal that so closely resembled the lotus flower she was named after. She was never seen directly...until she was, and shortly after that the end for the viewer.

She was said to be blind by the end, huffing toxic chemicals before breathing them back out in the faces of the clones that came after her, breaking off chunks of her Jade crown to use as needles against enclosing Watchman, smashing apart Jade spears and crying blood and singing an old folk song that no longer made sense. She was said to have died and then risen again, lost blood replaced with liquid Jade and her skin sprouting vines and petals, roots leeching the nutrients of fallen Atomic soldiers and rejuvenating her vitality. She was said to have killed her pursuers and walked off once more into the wastes, to fade into legend and myth.

What was the truth? There is none, for the Atomic Kingdom will not say and the other survivors of China do not know. Whether she truly died at the hands of the Atomic Chinese or whether she truly evolved into something else makes no difference in the end, for there are many monsters and legends in the Chinese Wastes and one more will make no difference. But whatever the outcome of Black Lotus, there is a different outcome for her daughters - for, whether they killed her or not, the Atomic Kingdom managed to retrieve something more precious than her body: her DNA.

Black Lotus will live on in a hundred daughters, as beautiful as they are deadly. In their skintight bodysuits, Courtesans will retrace the steps that Black Lotus walked once so long ago, to secure information and spy on China's enemies. Black Lotus will live on, in legend and in truth, and in neither case will she be any less deadly or efficient at seeing China's work done.

Though its said the the true daughter of Black Lotus is Red Lotus (whether literal or not is debated), who is the commando of the Asia-Pacific Revolutionary Compact.

Paradox-Exclusive Mini-Faction.