Kasis Artok

Kasis Artok is a Council SPECTRE who frenquently lends assistance to the CRC when more militant operations become unavoidable.

## Biography

Before his birth Kasis Artok, first child of Ren and Shae, events already conspired to make his life interesting. Ran had always been an intelligent man and had made his living maintaining the environmental systems of Shia, third largest of the domed cities across Kahje that had become home to the Drell after the devastation they had caused to their own homeworld of Rakhana. His mother was a shorter, kindly woman who acted a shuttle pilot transporting citizens from one city to another. This is how the two met as Ran often found the need to trade supplies and assist other city technicians quite often. Polite banter became friendly rapport, which itself led to teasing and finally towards the two dating. They were besotted as young people often are and married in 2150 after years of courtship. In July of 2152 their love story nearly came to an end when a disturbed passenger sabotaged her shuttle mid-fight in what later seemed like a dramatic attempt at suicide. With the shuttles small mass effect core damaged they were forced to crash into the ocean being only barely saved when Shae's distress call was answered by a passing frigate carrying off world cargo. The man had survived with minimal injury and was arrested, though Shae had a number of small fractures and had become gravely sick from eezo exposure from the damaged engine. Thankfully making a steady recovery under watchful care Shae and Ren received an additional surprise: Shae was carrying their child. Overjoyed if shocked by the timing of the news the couple returned to their lives to prepare for the change to come. Not long after Kasis was born, an unlikely child that had already survived dire circumstances.

The first sensation Kasis could remember was cold. The memory itself was vague having occurred when he was very young bit somewhere in the back of his mind he could still feel that dark, all encompassing moment of dread. His family had told him later that while on a picnic near their home just outside the domed city of Shia the young Kasis, curious and prone to exploration as toddlers are, had found a moment when his parents had been distracted and climbed over a safety railing into the sea below. Drell were not known to be adept swimmers in the best of circumstances. Prolonged exposure to abundant moisture left them uncomfortable given the arid nature of their ancestral homeworld. Logically this led to few Drell willingly learning to swim, even living as many now did on an ocean world. Neither of Kasis' parents were able to dive after the struggling child in the moment of dread and horror. Thankfully for the child, an onlooker was. In the years after when he would ask his parents about the woman who saved his life neither of Kasis' parents were able to tell him much. She was a Drell, presumably from Shia given the proximity of the city, and had vibrant green skin and violet eyes. They had never met her before she dove into the sea to rescue their child and after a tearful moment of thanks and gratitude she had left their company never to be seen again, by them at least. Kasis' mother Shae looked for the woman several times in the years after but was never able to find any evidence a woman of her description had ever lived in Shia. The mystery of this moment, the sheer altruistic bravery that had saved his life lit a spark inside of Kasis. So was born a child's dream: he would be a hero.

From as early as he could remember Kasis strove to be a person who could protect and save those around him. He became furiously protective of his younger sister after her birth and more times than he could accurately recall had been disciplined for fighting in school when other children were being bullied or teased. It was in these childish altercations that Kasis' biotic potential became evident, his emotionally heightened state bringing his unnurtured power to bare. Suspension from his education, punishments from his parents, even broken bones did nothing to quench the young drell's drive to do good. As he grew Kasis strove to better himself. He would exercise furiously to strengthen his body and despite the issues his antics caused to his academics he studied furiously, especially legendary figures from the past in an effort to learn whatever he could from their great deeds. His single-mindedness did cause rifts between him and the other children as he spent little time socializing. His father worried his son's zeal was causing him to make trouble and become distant but his mother tempered her husband's fears. She did not approve of Kasis' often aggressive approach toward problem solving but saw something admirable in his goal. As her children grew Shae did what she could to support her son's nature while nudging him occasionally towards a less naively direct mindset.

Years passed and Kasis' neared maturity. The young man had become athletic and nimble, altruistic and self sacrificing. A perfect candidate for service to the hanar. Honored when approached to offer his service to the Compact he readily accepted without a thought much to the chagrin of his family. While they were happy to respect his decision and honored he had been asked they feared that Kasis' reckless habit of endangering his safety and social well-being would only be amplified if applied to situations of actual danger. Undeterred and feeling in his heart of hearts that this was the first true step toward his goal the young Drell bid farewell to proud but willing parents and a sobbing sister who had never known life without her brother's watchful eye. Basic psyche testing made it clear Kasis was exceptionally well suited to combat while unlikely to be overly proficient at pure espionage. Kahje's militant force was a small one and made primarily of willing Drell agents and spies supported by maneuverable stealth bombers rather than vast warships. The hanar's nature as a people had always been using skill and ability to compensate for biological shortcomings and their militant structure, even aided as it was by the drells' presence the last several centuries, reflected this strongly. Large numbers of disciplined troops were not their way. Well trained weapons were.

Growing up Kasis' household had not been particularly spiritual. His father Ren did pay service to the old Drell gods but, as with many Drell in the modern day, had never been exceptionally devout nor did he force his children to be. This and his own core philosophy left Kasis with a respect for but little reverence toward his peoples' ancient faith. He had not in his idealized perception of what being trained to fight would be like expect this faith to crash into him. At the age of seventeen after excelling at a long year off basic physical conditioning designed to bolster his stamina and physical condition, at the end of which he was implanted with a biotic amplifier to make use of his talent, Kasis began his grueling training as a Hunter. Warrior monks of Amonkira the God of Hunters began to show the young man a fragment of reality. Everyday was a beating, every hour a test, and everynight largely sleepless. Trained in the Way of Five Souls, an ancient fighting style first devised to depend against the vicious predators of their homeworld, the monks pushed him further by the day. The body was an imperfect tool wielded by the soul, the true self. Pain was irrelevant for the soul was beyond the body's petty grievances. Limitation was irrelevant as the soul itself was boundless. He must learn to move as five souls in one body. To see as five men might see. To transcend the imperfection of his vessel. The first step was to break the mind. To shatter belief and reform it into new understanding. But weeks past followed by months and, eventually, years had gone by. Broken and shattered, beaten and left bleeding over and over Kasis' mind refused. His will refused to break. He was loyal and patient, cooperative and understanding but no matter what the monks inflicted Kasis would stand again. The body was a tool? Of course it was. The soul itself was but another. His life prolonged past what he saw nature's intent he had devoted the essence of his very existence to service all life. For the greater good in the horizon he would not, could not falter. He mastered the Way his own way. His strikes became lightning, his dodges the eb of the waves. Now twenty years old, holding the greatest respect of his master's, his training continued.

Weapons training came less naturally to Kasis. While he had long since made peace with knowing that violence was occasionally necessary to prevent greater violence, in his drive to become a savior he never conceded the possibility he might be required to kill. Even after three years of brutal training he had always viewed the Way as a method of defense and submission rather than one of killing. Heavy pistols could be used for little else. Marksmanship wasn't really the problem. While not the top rated of all trainees Kasis had capable aim at midrange and excelled at close quarters integration. It was his mind that betrayed him, for everytime in training runs when faced with holographic adversaries rather than faceless targets he hesitated, always wounding rather than eliminating. Biotics training went more easily. It felt as though all his life he had been restrained, incomplete, and was now finally let free. His aptitude was nearly unprecedented but it was his tireless ability to continue channeling his abilities long after he should have collapsed from exhaustion that left his trainers freighted of Kasis. I took time, but the young Drell came to a realization. His hesitation, his indecisiveness, they were just another hurdle. Another imperfection to be conquered. His exhaustion? What did that matter in the face of someone's life? The life of an enemy? For every soul he reaped thousands would be spared. No weakness would be allowed to harbor inside him any longer. If he was too slow he would become faster. If he became too weary, he would become bolder. If he was to be a weapon for society to wield against barbarism...he would be the finest ever forged.

Five long years of training and preparation passed like sand in an hourglass before Kasis was assigned to duty. His unique nature saw him placed in the hanar's small detachment towards the greater Citadel peacekeeping force. Teamed largely with turian squads Kasis spent the next several years charging rashly into engagements on the Terminus frontier. Slavers, rebels, terrorists, pirates, to the Drell they were all the same. Blights staining the world with their wasted lives. He followed orders, approached things as tactically as he could but when the inevitable chaos of true battle erupted Kasis charged headlong into death's embrace and visited her displeasure on those who stood against him. And even as bullets ripped through his body and blades tore his flesh he fought on in a cold rage until he collapsed or all fell before him. Those he served with looked at him like a madman but their objectives were always achieved, though he often found himself in lengthy periods of recovery after every mission early on. It was worth it he knew. Pain was an illusion of the body and did nothing to make him regret the lives he saved by eliminating those that would abuse and take without remorse. His family didn't quite understand him he knew. They worried for his life and he could not blame them. He knew what he did was dangerous and even reckless. But he believed it needed to be done regardless. Believed that if he did not stand and offer his service those that took his place would be inadequate. He did not wish for death but had already cheated it twice in his first years of life. Kasis had a responsibility to earn what he had been gifted. A duty he could not turn from or alter.

The crazed Drell soldier that charged headfirst into battle became something of a curiosity among the professional community. As the years past so to did his injured become less frequent, less severe. Experience began to hone raw talent to a deadly edge. Kasis did not escape controversy in his career. His reckless tendencies were often blamed for endangering his follow soldiers and his direct approach to conflict often left political loose ends tied up in conflicts ignored and exasperated afterward. He learned a degree of temperance in time. Became more aware of how to take advantage of presented opportunity. He saw openings, took initiative, and ended threats before they could truly escalate. Squads he was assigned to began providing him with Intel and allowing him to spearhead assaults, his brashness directed effectively. Rumors started to become a legend and Kasis became a useful asset in hostile war zones rather than a demented liability in the eyes of thise above him. On request, the hanar released Kasis from his obligation to serve and allowed Council officials to approach him directly. Little functionally changed but to the Drell man it was symbolic of the growing extent of not only his responsibility, but of how he viewed himself. He had become a harbinger. Some men shielded the innocent from the dark. Kasis had learned a different way. The dark had to be uprooted at the source, scorched and salted never to grow again.

Mission after mission, battle after battle he fought. His mind never wavered, his ideals never faded. But his reach was limited. Operations too infrequent. He trusted the soldiers he worked with and appreciated all he had learned from them but to wipe out corruption he needed freedom to act, and the resources to do so. He didn't need to wait much longer. Out in the Terminus the unrest and chaos became a thunderhead of misguided abstinence. Full on war as the displaced regions declared themselves the Terminus Confederacy and began to invade territory in the Attican Traverse. Kasis suddenly found himself very occupied as all across the galaxy battle raged. He stood there on the front lines, moving from planet to planet, city to city. He stormed encampments of batarian soldiers. Held off krogan battlemasters for refugees to evacuate. Rushed in to reinforce defensive positions. Day after day he went above and beyond the call and earned countless allies among the armies of the Milky Way for his aid. As the war drew to a close and a greater threat seemed to loom over them all Kasis had his valiant efforts recognized. By the petition of countless officers speaking highly of his prowess on the battlefield and of his indomitable will the Drell was called before the Citadel Council in 2187 and became only the third of his race to be named to the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, an accomplishment that will filled him with boundless pride. Now gifted the authority to fulfil whatever task he deemed necessary, and resources to see them done, Kasis spent the next three years roaming the stars, assailing warlords and common thugs alike. Whispers of golden demon spread through the underworld, relentless and deadly. One day a letter was passed to Julian Stoker, director of the recently formed Council Recovery Corps by a sympathetic bureaucrat. Attached was contact information for a certain Spectre sympathetic to altruistic causes. Should the director ever believe himself or his organization in need of aid, perhaps Kasis Artok would serve this greatest good.

## Personality

It wouldn't be entirely wrong to call Kasis a bit eccentric. Some would venture so far as to call the man distrubed. From a certain perspective he might even agree, though he would likely find no real fault in the fact. If Kasis was described in one word it would be driven. Driven to route out evil in an effort to preserve the good. Despite well over a decade of near constant fighting and grievous injuries the Drell man has managed to hang onto an almost childlike naivete regarding what he sees as the greater good. Spiritual training has left him with the belief that his body is little more than an instrument and so he rushed headlong toward the frontlines while maintaining a cold calmness of purpose. He sees battle as a means to an end rather than an enjoyment, little more than a side effect of his end goal of maintaining a greater peace.

Despite his zeal Kasis isn't without his comforts. He may believe he lives to be of service but live he does and in his fleeting moments of quiet he prefers simple comforts. A good meal and a well written comedy are things even the most emotionally stunted can enjoy after all. There have been complications to the drell's very nearly single-minded approach to life, namely his social acumen is laughably underdeveloped as even at an early age Kasis did little else but strive to achieve his desire to engage in heroics. The whole is something of a self sacrificing recluse, personally separated from the life he strives to protect.

### Exceptional Skills

* **The Way of Five Souls**: Exceptional hand to hand and general close quarters combatant, trained heavily in an ancient martial art developed by monks dedicated to the god Amonkira and has since gained proficiency in various other styles.
* **Really should have seen that coming...Oh wait.**: Highly trained reflexes and battle prediction. Constant years of combat and careful focus have allowed him to read his opponent's movements and react at a level near precognition in the proper scenarios.
* **When worlds (of spice) collide:** Deep love of the culinary arts with influence of various races' cuisine.
* **I think I have one of those:** Semi avid collector of various pieces of pop culture memorabilia.

## Physical Description

Bright orange is not a particularly advantageous skin tone for an espionage agent but the golden sheen does give Kasis an enigmatic silhouette. Of only average height the Drell man has taken advantage of his frame by developing a dexterously athletic build lending him a sense of speed and agility. Walking with a certain tension to his stride Kasis has been disguised as twitchy by friends on occasion due to his habitual tendency to dart his eyes across every new room he enters and to reflexively dart away from physical contact. He attempts to maintain a certain level of grooming whenever possible but often loses track of this priority when in the midst of his work to his constant personal chagrin. Neither of these things lend much to personal skills but Kasis rarely seems overly bothered by this.

If you were to ask Kasis to describe himself he would likely imply that he finds himself to be a plain featured man and has little interest in being otherwise. The validity if this is of course in the eye of the beholder though he would likely be considered to have a fairly average face by other Drell, if admittedly mired by a rather prominent scar across his mouth from a knife injury taken in his youth. In fact under his body armor Kasis is blanketed by various blade and bullet scars garnered from a reckless approach to a dangerous lifestyle. In time he is like as not to add countless more to his already impressive collection. When this is mentioned to him, ostensibly as an implication that he may consider changing his tactics and lifestyle, he has been heard to reply simply by saying: "Let us hope the cumulative scar tissue doesn't slow my movement much."

### Armament

* M-77 Paladin
* Sidewinder Pistol
* M-11 Wraith
* Modified Omniblade

### Abilities

* Biotic Charge
* Biotic Orbs
* Energy Drain
* Biotic Focus
* Tactical Scan