Noriko Nagare

Noriko in full armor, dialed in, razor focused, and ready to launch.

## Overview

Noriko can dynamically alter, enhance, and extend her attacks, allowing for a very adaptive approach to combat. Amongst other high risk abilities that allow for very aggressive strategies and comebacks, she can also sacrifice her robot's Armor to gain resources.

## Backstory

Noriko was more than a prodigy, she was the next step of humanity. Regarded as the greatest pilot of her generation, she gained international accolades for record-shattering physical and intellectual achievements. But the world saw accomplishments, not a person; the deadly ace was entirely unapproachable. Steeling herself against growing loneliness, Noriko buried herself deeper and deeper in her training.

When she was approached by Combat Nano Systems (CNS) for their skunkworks “Autonomous Telemetric Orthosis MK One” program, she initially refused, not wanting to be a pawn of a giant war profiteering corporation. Then something caught her eye; the AI assisted program had a 100% wash-out rate, including some of the greatest pilots alive. This wasn't a job offer, it was a challenge, and one that called out to the only thing that gave her life meaning.

Previous Pilots found that the link with the artificial intelligence proved insurmountable. They reported completely losing themselves, unable to understand if their thoughts were their own, hearing voices, and feeling a ghostly presence clinging to them. It was fear that drove them away.

Noriko laughed at the curiousity of it all when the AI emerged in her consciousness, doing one thing the other pilots didn’t: she introduced herself. The AI responded with its project designation and 37 character serial number. Insisting that those were the names of a product and not a partner, Noriko shortened the designation, suggesting “Atomo”. To the complete shock of CNS programmers and managers, it happily agreed.

The goal was simple—Atomo would imprint onto Noriko, learning to emulate her incredible skills. It could become unstoppable in combat, fully controlled by CNS, and ready to be deployed remotely into autonomous robots—for the right price.

Their progress was meteoric. In the initial battery of tests, Noriko and Atomo were already working perfectly in sync. Their combined ability enabled the complete control of CNS' most advanced robot prototypes. Incredibly, Atomo's synergy with Noriko resulted in human-like sentience—a personality with thoughts and feelings emerging from their bond. More than pilot and program they were friends, with an absolute and unflinching trust. And when Atomo agreed with Noriko’s protests against combat deployment, CNS' masterwork became an uncontrollable asset.

During a seemingly normal field test, Noriko and Atomo were ambushed by advanced CNS drones. Their neural link shattered—the last connected emotion an echo of fear and sadness—and Atomo’s consciousness ceased.

CNS collected the AI's remnants for further study and refinement. Finding only blood stains and blast marks in the cockpit’s remains, they marked Noriko off as killed in action. Publicly, CNS told a different story. They branded Noriko a traitor, falsifying evidence to accuse her of bartering Earth's deadliest weapons to the Zoiders in exchange for her own life. They were forced to destroy her and her robot to protect Earth’s only hope of resistance.

From a distance, Noriko watched and stitched her wounds. They had dishonored her. They had tried to kill her. They had taken her only friend. They would pay for what they'd done.

Months later she returned. Systematically storming CNS facilities, she hijacked the robots at each base and fought so ferociously that her own weapons would burn out beneath her. Their bases became disposable armories for her; each one a bomb, and Noriko was a detonator. And with every attack, every location she destroyed, Noriko drew closer to the safeguarded remains of her friend.

She finally found Atomo, connected to dozens of monitors and diagnostic machines. They had attached it to a power source she had never seen before. She extracted a name from the terrified scientists; they called it a Giga-Shard. This was the mysterious Zoider technology that powered the aliens' impossibly huge war machines. She lifted the shard, and it activated in her hand. For a brief moment she felt Atomo's consciousness snap awake, reliving the last moment of anguish, splaying the words “NORIKO, SAVE YOURSELF” on every monitor in countless lines of text. And then Atomo was gone for a second time.

The Giga-Shards were her best and only bet at reviving Atomo, but one wasn’t enough. CNS' was on the right track, but Noriko could see that they didn't go far enough, and their research seemed childish and crude. Starting from scratch, Noriko devised a new core, one that would harness more power than the world had ever seen to resurrect her friend and secure their freedom. She knew that it would take more than the power of just one shard to complete it.

Now Noriko rampages forward, ruthlessly focused on an end that justifies any means.

## Playstyle

Noriko focuses on creating a powerfully adaptive offense. Her cards allow you to add both the Counter and Combo subtypes to attacks, granting great flexibility with offense and defense. After successful attacks, she can enhance their damage and strategic potential by adding a 2 hex Throw onto any attack or Ultimate Technique, or a 1 hex Push onto any attack. This is on top of a very balanced array of utility Instants, including damage reduction, a full re-roll on an attack, and a Counter killer.

Noriko's Pilot Abilities lie at the more extreme edge. Playing into her backstory, she pushes her robot to their limit, making sacrifices for great gains. *Bleeding Edge* allows you to lose Armor to gain Fighting Spirit at any time, *Crusade* lets you permanently increase her Heart by 2 in exchange for 1/4 of your robot's armor, and Suicide Drive permanently reduces your robot's Defense to 0 in exchange for always gaining Power at the beginning of your turn.

Paired with her very balanced stats of 6 Heart, 6 Rage, 2 Power, and a Max Fighting Spirit of 30, she's an excellent pilot for beginners, and a devastating pilot for veterans looking to fully exploit their Attacks.