Koschei's Freelancers

Koschei's Freelancers are a secret Deathless MESCOM project to develop spec ops assets that go beyond human limits.

## Colors of Madness

The details of Koschei’s Freelancers are a mystery to all but the highest ranking DCS officials, to those outside that small circle, these individuals are only known as “assets” or by their color codenames. Their existence is one of misery and mental degradation and their purpose to accomplish a goal and be disposed of if they cannot do so. Often a Freelancer is molded out of broken material; a crippled soldier with no hope to recover, DCS personnel who have broken the ToS, super criminals, partially burnt out psychics, serial killers and worse. When more broken material is unforthcoming the blank slate of an orphaned child will also suffice.

The handlers of these agents are ruthless, their remedial training regimes are designed not merely to teach skills relevant to their tasks but to practically erase the asset’s sense of self and personality. Such handlers have usually quite ominous codenames, like the Liaison of Shadows, and share their Freelancers duties with others. If the asset was former DCS their name is stripped from them, if they never were they never acquire one, in this way they become the antithesis of what it is to be Deathless. They are not a soldier, they are a gun.

## Role in Magnum Opus

Koschei’s Freelancers are also part of a long-standing project inside the Magnum Opus Super Soldier Project. Its purpose is to fulfill Objective 6 of the program, the objective to create the perfect special operative. MESCOM Gestaltist team Telep and Bio have both contributed to the project over the years, along with recommendations and special assistance from  The Honorable House Serpens and The Trilliant Ring.

Generally, the role of the Gestaltist begins when that of the Handler ends. They further enhance the mental trauma caused by the Handlers with both biopsionic modifications and more mechanical ones. Sometimes they will increase the aggression of a subject, maybe add in a dopamine injector designed to supply the subject on the accomplishment of a task or kill. Often the equipment and modifications of a Freelancer will be completely different from all of their fellows due to efforts by the Gestaltists to tailor those modifications to the skills and maladies of the asset in question.

Research and training is done within the Cobalt Basement. This facility located deep underground Koschei and the MESCOM annex is the primary laboratory for Objective 6. Most of the agents are also housed and “treated” here.

## The Assets

Freelancers aren't considered employees, personnel, or even human, they are simply referred to as "Asset" or "Agent" beyond that their identity and humanity has been stripped from them.

### Agent Blue

Gender: Male

Height: 5’ 4 ft.

Weight: 190 lbs.

Was: A killer for hire for a ganger of Hong Lu. Particularly dangerous Telekinetic and Telepath, enjoyed skewering their targets with telekinetically thrown knives.

Acquired: When DCS personnel discovered him in a hovel, discarded by his master. He had as an untrained psychic practically burnt himself out at this point and suffered noticeable psychological damage.

Treatment: Partial burn-out mostly fixed through extensive biopsionic alterations. Psychosis further enhanced with telepathic indoctrination and surgery to test the uses and drawbacks of the mentally insane.

Result: Dangerous berserker whose emotional state is either mouth-frothing rage or severe detachment. Subject now utilizes his telepathy to subject others to his rage or to send fractured impressions of his life to them.

### Agent Red

Gender: Male

Height: 6’2 ft.

Weight: 254 lbs.

Was: Mech-suit boxer in the underworld.

Acquired: After a career ending wound to the ribs, and at the request of a VP, who was apparently quite the fan.

Treatment: Biospionics employed to reconstruct bones, revenant wiring, implanted with a RAGE Implant that will throw him into a frenzy after taking damage and given an advanced set of powered armor with fist weapons capable of launching a tank 10 feet up in the air.

Result: An unrelenting brawler capable of much destruction.

### Agent Teal

Gender: Male

Height: 5'6 ft.

Weight: 160 lbs.

Was: Terrorist who specialized in spike drive accidents and drone attacks.

Acquired: From Gleipnir Inc through Imperial Connections

Treatment: Extensive cybernetic enhancements to allow him to better interface with computers and drones, an implant designed to reinforce his personal belief that he is a machine that has no past or agency only the directives of his handlers.

Result: An extremely obedient and efficient hacker and drone master.

### Agent Black

Gender: Female

Height: 5’8 ft.

Weight: 140 lbs.

Was: Notorious Serial Killer

Acquired: From a contract to find the Serial Killer.

Treatment: Facial reconstruction surgery, Implantation with a bomb, periodic enhancement to the subjects agility using bio-psionics and the addition of implants designed to conceal blades throughout the subject’s body.

Result: An efficient and relatively obedient assassin.

### Agent Bronze

Gender: Male

Height: 4'3 ft.

Weight: 140 lbs.

Was: Dishonorably discharged Aquila Spec Ops.

Acquired: After he failed Basic on Thorg.

Treatment: Extensive cybernetic modification and indoctrination, both telepathic and not, to make his personality more workable.

Result: A competent agent with an unusual taste in weapons.

### Agent Green

Gender: Female

Height: 5’5 ft.

Weight: 165 lbs.

Was: Former legendary MESCOM agent who used her talents of precognition and telekinesis to eliminate many targets with her sniper rifle. Her career was ended when her position was carpeted bombed to eliminate her.

Acquired: as a bloody mess, severe mental damage barely alive and a shadow of her previous self.

Treatment: Extensive Cybernetics, biospionic reconstruction treatment and telepathic therapy designed to coax her back into sanity.

Result: Although still a mere revenant of her former self she dispenses death again from the shadows.