Ava

*<I don’t foul up like this. I’m not SUPPOSED to foul up like this. I CAN’T foul up like this. Somebody had to have done this to me, Hagan, and I mean to fix the blame on that somebody.>*

*“We all have our bad days, ARCHIE.”*

*<Not like this. According to reports, I’ve accidentally unleashed a force of insufferable GOODNESS on the land.>*

## Ava - Goddess Avatar

aka ‘Ava Seiran’

Ava is the self-designation name of an escaped ARCHIE-3 avatar prototype and test article for his ‘ARK’ scheme.

When ARCHIE-3 decided to proceed with his plans to create a giant ‘Goddess’ avatar, or ARK, he experimented with several smaller test articles, trying out various new technologies and concepts to see how they performed in the real world, and what could be adapted for use in his giant avatar.

### Origins

ARCHIE-3 and Hagan’s test subject was a Sister of the Hearth, a fairly harmless school of culinary magic that seemed harmless enough for Archie’s experiments, though not interesting enough to incorporate into A3’s AHES program (see Damon Sutton’s article, “A.R.C.H.I.E. Phase 2” in Rifter #53 for details) (and it’s not as if ARCHIE-3 would trust a mage, even a ‘pet’ one, to prepare Hagan’s meals, given his distrust of magic after the Mechanoid incident). A3’s robots had captured the young woman while she was wandering too close to one of his facilities while hunting mushrooms and other delectables in the wilderness. After torturing the woman with his experiments, A3 finally decided to dispose of her by using her to test his new mind transference system. The fact that the test subject was both magic and psychic was a bonus, as it would give A3 the opportunity to study the effects the process would have on either.

A3 figured that the woman was a harmless peasant with a few freakish talents, who could be easily intimidated and controlled if the transfer was successful; so he was extremely surprised when the prototype Ark-001b promptly escaped the test lab/compound where it was being held, blasting, kicking and punching her way through the walls of the test center, cracking several security robots like shellfish, and escaping into the wilds. Apparently the transferred persona acclimated more quickly than Archie-3 had anticipated, and was able to take full control of the prototype body despite several (wholly inadequate, A3 chargrinedly admitted to Hagan later) safeguards. Furthermore, when A3 tried to project his consciousness to take control of the Ark-001b, he found himself shut out by the transferred consciousness, and even his efforts to remotely activate the prototype’s tracking and telemetry (and finally self-destruct) systems cut off! In short order the Ark-001b had become effectively invisible to its creator, and completely slipped its leash.

Archie-3 now regrets not having installed better safeguards, or at least not testing the Ark-001b with a regular drone robot intelligence installed first BEFORE trying his experiment with the transferred intelligence. Next time he’ll consult Hagan on security procedure FIRST. However, A3 is also looking at whether there were other factors in the Ark-Proto’s successful escape; perhaps the woman possessed some unsuspected talent, or maybe the process, in combination with the test subject’s psionic abilities and seemingly harmless magic managed to circumvent the safeguards, or maybe even the accursed Republicans had messed up A3’s cognitive functions and caution somehow!

While A-3 frets and fumes over this issue, he has had what robots he can spare scouring the wilderness for the escaped prototype.

On occasion, A3 has managed to catch glimpses of the escaped Ark-001b, especially through the eyes of various Spinsters and Pariah units the Ark-001b has come across (and greeted like old sorority sisters), but has been unable to lure the prototype into a trap or otherwise capture it. Something has always come up to allow the Ark-001b to slip the noose set for it; a monster attacks, a nearby disaster calls the prototype’s attention, or meddling adventurer types trip the ambush.

### Description

The Ark-001b is a humanoid-frame robot body configured along much the same lines as the War Goddess, only slightly larger, and featuring four arms. In most regards, the Ark-001b is a super-tuned-up War Goddess, with slight increases in strength, speed, and performance. At the time, A3 was toying with the idea of a more regular Shemarrian-scale avatar with magic emulation in mind (refer to Damon Sutton’s article in Rifter #53 for details on A3’s experiments in Spell Approximation) to project the idea of divinity and great power, using special effects to enhance the mecha-puppet’s ‘charisma’. This precluded loading the test-unit down with heavy weaponry, and at the time of its escape, the Ark-001b is wasn’t even fitted with body armor or accessory weaponry. This is not to say that the Ark-001b is lacking in firepower; A3 saw fit to include a fair amount of built-in weaponry, including new particle beam cannons in the arms, eye lasers, and vibroblades. The Ark-001b also has an experimental flight system based on Mechanoid A-G systems, an up-rated electronic warfare suite, and an equally experimental compact forcefield system copied from Naruni systems. A bionic repair system could repair minor cosmetic damage and affect light repairs.

The transferred intelligence had both magic and psionic abilities, but has lost her spell-casting abilities (and most of her PPE reserves) and her psionic abilities have been severely curtailed. However, the residual PPE and ISP that remain help the illusion that the Ark-001b is truly alive, and not an advanced android. This last fact would please ARCHIE-3 immensely were it not for the fact of the prototype’s escape!

### Ava

Ava, as she calls herself, has little memory of who she was before ARCHIE-3 got ahold of her. What she DOES remember is in the way of vague recollections, dreamlike impressions, and gut feelings. Nor does she remember details of her imprisonment and the testing she suffered at the mad A.I.’s ‘hands’ aside from uncharacteristic feelings of intense dislike and fear. Thus she cannot recall or describe any details of ARCHIE-3’s test compound or the forces arrayed there (A3 doesn’t know this, but has had the facility evacuated and destroyed as a precaution). Ava knows that some dark presence is stalking her, and she’s spotted the signs of it acting through those she considers sisters, but she can’t put a name to this darkness, only that it exists.

Though she’s forgotten exactly who she is, somehow Ava has mixed up her original mission and gotten it confused with Archie-3’s harping on to his captive audience about how her ‘sacrifice’ would help him perfect his ‘goddess’ (puppet). Ava now thinks she is a divine messenger, an avatar of some goddess, come to Rifts Earth to spread goodwill and do what she can to alleviate the suffering of the downtrodden and oppressed.

Ava is currently content to wander the countryside, helping the innocent and the poor, performing the odd miracle here and there, spreading hope and happiness where she can. On more than one occasion she’s used her new abilities to slay monsters threatening some out of the way hamlet, then used her strength and vibroclaws to butcher the carcass, then cook up a feast for the villagers. She typically wanders into a village and stays for a few days, depending on what the local conditions are like, helping out where she can, and preaching a gospel of goodness, good service, and the ‘goddess’, before wandering back into the wilderness. Though she hasn’t named the Goddess she supposedly is avatar of, that worthy has been variously identified in the minds of those she preaches to as the Goddess Shemar, Ark, Isis, Amateratsu, Hestia, or any one of several other benign goddesses of the hearth, depending on who one asks. A few of the backwoods villagers have even assumed that Ava is the avatar of the Goddess Ava, setting the ground work for a cult. Already, Ava has acquired a small, but growing, following of helpers who maintain temples (of a sort) in the villages she has helped out, and a small number of the hardier adherents have taken to following her around (about 2d6 at any one time). Recently, one of her followers gave her an additional name; ‘Seiran’, from the pre-Rifts Japanese world for ‘mountain mist’. Ava has taken a shine to the nickname and started using that as her surname.

Though Ava is a pacifist who avoids confrontation and combat for the most part, she CAN readily access the combat programming of the Shemarrian robot portion of herself, as a sort of ‘alternate personality’ (her followers simply regard the manifestations of such as part of the dichotomy/dualism of nurturer/destroyer and mother-defender), though she is NOT able to perform all the skills of a regular Shemarrian android through some quirk of the transfer process. However, she will discover that she has the ability to operate computers at a high level of proficiency, spot ambushes, and instinctively knows a number of other useful skills. She also finds that she ‘instinctively’ knows how to use Shemarrian weapons, and has a working knowledge of the use of a variety of weapons, though she is most comfortable in the use of knives, especially kitchen types.

In the end, Archie-3 would abandon subtlety and go with big, bad, and intimidating for the ARK, but the escape of the Ark-001b still galls him, as he can’t figure out how he underestimated the transferred persona’s defiance, nor can he account for the incredible luck the prototype has had in avoiding his efforts to recover it. He just can’t explain it. It’s almost as if somebody was helping his prototype escape him and laughing at the A.I. god in the process.

Meanwhile, the Shemarrian dissidents have been hearing rumors of a four-armed, winged, and glowing ‘goddess’ with Shemarrian features and are wondering what the true story is. Currently the Shemarrian Civil War is taking up most of their efforts, but when they can, they’ll send a dedicated team to track down this ‘goddess’. Their previous efforts have proven fruitless, Ava slipping beyond their reach as elusively as she evades ARCHIE-3’s hunters, though the rebels have managed to bag a Pariah or Spinster or two left stunned in the wake of Ava’s happy greetings.

Frankly, the Shemarrian rebels would LOVE to recruit someone like Ava to their cause, once they figure out she isn’t some dastardly trick of the Dark One. Though they’ll be rather disappointed that Ava can’t provide them with hard intel on ARCHIE-3’s facilities, plans, or locations. Some of Ava’s abilities, on the other hand, should be worrying to the senior rebels, as it suggests that the Dark One has more unpleasant surprises in store for them.

(Ava shown with a Bloodrider NeShemar Berserker, Pariah/Reclaimed, and two GNE soldiers)

### Post Civil War

*Outside the tent holding the Reconciliation Meetings, the EShemar elders wander out of conferences during the Reconciliation meetings and find her feeding the NeShemar.*
"Did you invite her?"

"No, I thought you did?"

"How the heck is she even HERE?! I thought this conference was SECRET!"

After the SCW, Ava has been seen a few times in EShemarrian camps helping out, consoling those who had lost a cherished friend, or mate, or even cooking for the NeShemar; before disappearing after a few days later.

## Abilities

### Level of Experience

Experimental Transferred Intelligence Gynoid (WAS a 5th Level High Cook--See
Rifts #32; Erin Lindsey’s article “Mega-Steel Chef”).

### Rank

Could be considered a Shemarrian Elite; she believes herself to be the avatar or fragment-essence of a Goddess.

### Age

Appears to be
in her mid-20s

### Physical Description/Appearance

A tall, statuesque, incredibly (some would say ‘radiantly’) beautiful humanoid female with long gold-blonde hair with metallic highlights, and fair, golden skin. She has four arms, one just below the other pair on the sides of the ribcage. Ava could be mistaken for a very beautiful female Rahuman (indeed, for quite a while she WAS mistaken for a Rahu(wo)man, rather than a Shemarrian), but for the traces of circuitry along her body and limbs, the four antennae emerging from her hair, and the folded set of metallically-feathered wings on her back (in flight, these wings glow and leave a brief sparkling ionization trail). Folded, the wings can be mistaken for a metallic cowl or cloak. She also has small jewel-like implants on her breast bone/chest, shoulders, and forearms. With her holo-projectors on, she seems to radiate a soft glow, that can be intensified to blinding intensity. When performing ‘spells’, glowing ‘tattoos’ can be seen to course across her exposed skin, including the Shemarrian pentacle on her face. Seems to always have a smile on her lips.

### Disposition

One thing that has survived A3’s torture is Ava’s effervescent personality. Far from being arrogant as a self-proclaimed divinity (or avatar of one) Ava presents herself as a living example of courtesy, kindness, mercy, and goodness. Ava has a smile that lights up a room, literally if she’s got the holo-projectors going. She wants to help out others, alleviate their suffering, and spread good will through her efforts. She is good-natured, almost always smiling, and friendly to just about anybody or anything she comes across. She treats the beautiful, the ugly, the human, the d-bee, the mundane and the supernatural with equal kindness and courtesy. In times of crisis and disaster, she has a maternal ‘take-charge’ authority in organizing a response, getting people calmed down, and help moving where it should.

However, if endangered, or facing a threat to the innocents under her protection, Ava can fall back upon her ‘dark side’; the Shemarrian combat programming, at which point she seems to become a whole different person; cold, efficient, merciless in her destruction of the enemy. When accessing her Shemarrian-programmed skills she becomes emotionally focused and all business, or else seems to casually perform them almost automatically.

Ava tends to avoid any contact with obvious Shemarrian Warriors, but she readily greets Pariahs and Spinsters like long lost sisters, showering them with affection. She fears and hates the Splugorth and their minions, as well as other known monsters.

### Sensor Systems

Ava possesses all the sensor systems of an A-SHE-15/A-SHE-8RK War Goddess as produced by ARCHIE 3, and not those of the EShemarrians.

### Special Systems

#### Modulating Voice Box

Ava rarely uses this to do anything other than amplify her voice, or modulate it for singing.

#### Holo-Projection System

This is a laser-based optical projection system that Archie-3 thought could be used to enhance the aura of divinity, based on what he’d read of angels and other divine beings in literature. Normally it creates a soft hazy glow around Ava, able to illuminate an area up to 70 ft in radius, but it can be intensified in brightness to blinding levels (those without proper eye protection will be -3 to strike Ava, -5 using targeting/optical scopes, and -2 to parry her attacks). It can be ramped up in intensity high enough to blind laser-guided weapons systems (-10 to strike).

The system can also produce multiple images of Ava, up to five, in a 15 ft wide area around her. Ava can maintain these illusions for up to 5 minutes at a time, before needing to temporarily drop the illusion for a melee to let the system reset.

This system can also produce UV radiation that can be used to sterilize materials (though close and prolonged exposure can do retinal damage to eyes and increases the risk of skin cancer); Ava has used this aspect in her humanitarian work, to sterilize instruments, foodstuffs, and water.

#### EW Jammer

Another experimental system that allows Ava to distort and jam EM signals in her immediate vicinity. Based on the ‘black box’ systems in the Male Shemarrians, but effectively automated, so Ava can use it reflexively. She’s unconsciously used this system on several occasions to block out the radio transmissions of Spinsters and Pariahs she’s approached up close and gotten acquainted with. The system is somewhat more powerful than the one installed in the Male Shemarrians; 75% chance of blocking enemy communications, and enemy missiles are -5 to strike (or, by concentrating, Ava can cause one or two missiles within a 3,000 ft range to veer off to another target within range or be -7 to strike altogether).

#### Forcefield Generator

Experimental shield system, based on Naruni technology (actually it IS an N-F50A that ARCHIE-3’s agents were able to acquire). 160 MDC and can be maintained for six hours before needing an hour to recharge.

#### Nanotech Repair System

Not as sophisticated as those being installed on the EShemar, but still very advanced (for ARCHIE-3). These systems can repair 50 MDC per application. Ava can use this system up to 30 times before needing to have the nanites restocked (the commercially available MiRR/CNRRS nanites can be used to replace/restock this system). Note that the system can only repair main body/limb external damage, but cannot replace specialized or larger structures like fingers, entire limbs, eyes, antennae, or weapons systems.

The one time Ava needed more substantial repairs, she was able to coerce a Spinster to repair her, while subconsciously cutting the repair Shemarrian off from alerting ARCHIE-3 or receiving instructions from him.

### Weapons Systems

#### Arm Lasers (2)

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Ava’s upper arms retain the forearm lasers of the regular warriors. Just point and shoot. When firing, Ava’s arms light up with glowing ‘tattoos’ to suggest that the weapons discharges are possibly magic at work.

#### Arm Particle Beam Cannons (2)

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Ava’s lower set of arms features implanted particle beam projectors, patterned after those found on the Mechanoids. When firing, Ava’s arms light up with glowing ‘tattoos’ to suggest that the weapons discharges are possibly magic at work.

#### Finger Claws

 Damage

Ava’s hands feature retractable vibroblades.

#### Eye Lasers (2)

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Identical to the ’Burning Eyes of Justice’ possessed by the War Goddesses.

Bonuses: +2 to strike.

#### Chemical Sprayer System

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Not a weapon system per se, ARCHIE-3 included this chemical dispenser system after reading about the effects of pheromones as biological persuasion agents, and thought that it would be a nifty idea to include something like them into his ‘goddess’. The plan sort of fell flat when ARCHIE-3 discovered he wasn’t that great a biochemical engineer and his best efforts as a pheromone perfumer tanked (much to Hagan’s amusement when he wasn’t complaining about the smell).

Ava’s found out how to recharge the system on her own, using natural perfumes she’s made from various plant oils and flower pressings, giving her a floral aromatic aura.The system could conceivably be used to dispense CS, sedative, and other aerosol agents.

#### Spell Emulation

((refer to Damon Sutton’s article in Rifter #53 for details on A3’s
experiments in Spell Approximation) Ava can simulate a number of spell effects, just as some of her built-in energy weaponry is disguised as energy spells (via hand movements, intonations, and the holographic system projecting brief floating images of mystic symbols). Besides her weaponry, aura, and forcefield, she can also do the following:

##### Wind Blast/Rush

A bit more powerful than that described in Rifter #53; Ava can use directed thrust from her wing jets to kick up dust and debris, and knock over people up
to 60 ft away. Human-sized peoples must make a roll of 18 -20 to avoid being knocked off their feet.

##### Thunderclap

Actually merely a high-volume broadcast from Ava’s vocal system. It has a 0 ft effective range, and victims must save versus a Horror Factor 8. It also affords Ava a +5 on initiative, +1 to strike, parry, and dodge against startled opponents.

##### Befuddle

Another sonic effect, this time caused by ultra low frequency noises that effect the inner ear of most beings. Those caught in the area of effect must save vs non-lethal poison (16 or better) or be come increasingly dizzy and disoriented; -2 to strike, parry, and dodge, HALF APMs, and -15% to skills. Beings with acute hearing suffer DOUBLE these penalties. Range is 80 ft. Those with hearing protection (or without audio hearing) are unaffected.

##### Energy Disruption

By touching a machine, power armor, or robot, Ava can temporarily disrupt its power systems; in reality it’s a more powerful, but more localized, version of the EMP system in the War Goddesses. Effects: Placed in contact with a robot or cyborg, the powerful localized EM field results (in 1d4 melees) in the affected mechanism losing initiative, and being -6 to strike, parry, dodge, and reduce speed by 75% (HALF penalties, regular initiative, and reduce speed by 25% if the target is hardened against EMP). Movements will be jerky and
halting. Unprotected electronic storage media, like magnetic tapes, discs, and
hard drives, will be damaged, likely wiped.

### Magic

Ava’s original
knowledge of magic, and ability to use it, has apparently been lost to the ravages of A3’s experimentation/torture, and the mind-transference.

### Psionics

Pre-A3, Ava was a MAJOR psychic, but now only possesses half of her old powers (and those are of half range and half duration):

* Sixth Sense (2) (45 ft area)
* Sense Evil (2) (70 ft area, 5 minutes)
* Healing Touch (6) (1d8/2d4 Hit Points or 2d6 SDC)

### Skills & Programming

Ava does retain some of her skills from before being captured by A3 (mostly the skills with the bonus in brackets), but all combat and technical skills are from the Shemarrian programming.

* Math: Basic(+10%) 98%
* Cook (+20%) 80% (Professional quality)
* Defuse Magical Energy (+10%)
* Lore-Magic (+10%) 60%
* Lore: Demons and Monsters (+10%) 45%
* Identify Plants and Fruits (+15%) 65%
* Holistic Medicine (+15%) 60%
* Skin and Prepare Animal Hides 55%
* Sewing (+15%) 80%
* Wilderness Survival 60%
* Brewing (+15%) 65%/70%
* Sing (+15%) 75%
* Paramedic (+10%) 75%
* Gardening (+15%) 75%
* Housekeeping 75%
* Chemistry 55%
* Leather Working 75%
* Preserve Foodstuffs 50%
* W.P. Knife (9th level proficiency) (+3 to strike, +4 parry, +4 to strike with throw)
* (Shemarrian Combat Skill Programming) (all W.P.s at 8th level proficiency)
* W.P. Energy Pistol
* W.P. Energy Rifle
* W.P. Heavy MD Weapons
* W.P. Heavy Military Weapons
* W.P. Rifles
* W.P. Handguns
* W.P. Sword
* W.P. Blunt
* Paired Weapons
* Prowl 75%
* Climbing 98%/90%
* Swimming 94%
* Radio: Basic 98%
* Electronic Countermeasures 97%
* Computer Operation 98%
* Computer Hacking 70%
* Computer Programming 90%
* Detect Ambush 65%
* Detect Concealment 60%
* Imitate Voices and

Sounds 83% (Ava typically uses this skill/ability to amuse herself and others by imitating various animals)

* Language/Literacy: English-American at

98%/98%, Dragonese at 98%/ 65% (Ava actually knew how to read Dragonese before being abducted by A3)
Can speak and read over 40 different languages at 98%/98% proficiency

### Combat

Ava doesn't like fighting, trying to avoid combat if at all possible. But when forced to fight, usually to protect innocents, the Shemarrian combat programming kicks in, making her a cold, efficient fighter.

Body Block/Leaping Jump Attack has a 50% chance of knocking the target (up to 1,500 lbs) off its feet, losing initiative and 2 APMs getting back up.

### Saves

* Trust/Intimidate 70%
* Vs Magic +4
* Vs Psionics +1
* Vs Possession +8
* Vs Horror Factor +6

Impervious to Bio-Manipulation, Tele-Mechanics, See Aura, and Hit Point-based attacks.

## Notable Possessions/Equipment

Ava escaped before she could receive any sort of specially fitted weapons or body armor, wearing only a jumpsuit-like gown when she fled into the wilds. However, in the course of her wanderings through the wilderness, Ava has managed to scrounge up and sew together enough monster hide skins to create for herself megadamage robes (about 75 MDC). One of her followers has also made her up a suit of protective armor/ceremonial robing with 125 MDC, that she wears on occasion.

Ava has also acquired a collection of knives, cooking utensils, first aid supplies (splints, disinfectants, bandages, surgical thread, etc.), and various ingredients for her cooking and holistic remedies.

Vehicle: None; Ava
goes on foot or flies