Asrai

*“It’s tough getting assigned to the deep water patrols. Yes, it’s taking the fight to the enemy, but the first few weeks of orientation are like crashing and rebooting. Here are all us warriors, with battle honors won fighting the Enemy ashore, and we’ll dropped in the water with our new body armor, floated to keep us from sinking like stones if we stop swimming, and then we’re made to look like we’re floundering anyway, flailing and kicking in the water while the Asrai instructors slide, shimmy, and glide among us like seals or sharks, urging us to try to keep up with them, and taunting our failure. Frustrating to say the least, and some of the more fire-souled of our warriors actually got angry after they were humiliated for what seemed the thousandth time in exercises, sent flipping end over end by a high speed pass by one of the Asrai. However, seeing the battle recordings of combat against the Deep Enemy put it all into perspective. Mighty land warriors we Shemarrians might be, but in the water, where our Horune opponents and their horrid mechanical minions had virtually evolved, the enemy had the advantages of speed and maneuverability. We would have to adapt and fast, if we were to emerge from the depths victorious. THAT is what our Asrai were teaching us, and they did so well, if I may boast of our eventual prowess.”*

*“Damn! Ripped another thong! How soon do you think we can go hunting devil ray, or maybe shadow shark? I need a new wardrobe!”*

*“We’re going after the Devil Kraken in four days. Can it wait until then? We land that monster, you’ll have enough material for the rest of the year.”*

*“Yeah, but then EVERYBODY will be wearing kraken leather! Shadow Shark’s got a certain look and feel I like better.”*

*“By Poseidon’s blue-green block ‘n tackle and Davy Jones’ secret magazine stash, those deep maidens possess muscles that drive them through the water faster than a torpedo! And with those sea mounts on them too! Oh, but many a man of the waters would sell their souls if they could be rescued from watery death by those lifeguards! To be wrecked between those thighs, arrrrr, and to be beached on those reefs, aayyeeee, that’s the surefire cure for seasickness!”*

*---Captain Danny ‘Punch-Eye’ McShane, Privateer*

*“WHAT!?! We lost ANOTHER Strike Ship?! No, don’t tell me....those damn Shemarrians, right? Halsa the Fire-Eyed, but I hate those pests! I used to ENJOY raiding this coast!”*

## Darkwater Asrai Elite

aka ‘DeepWatch’, ‘DarkBaywatchers’, “Cyber-Selkies’)

The Asrai are a subset of marine combat specialists that came about when the Darkwaters began pursuing open ocean operations against the Horune and Splugorth. Initial efforts to fit their Warriors with thruster-propulsion aquatic armor with flotation equipment proved only mixed successes, so it was decided that a more specialized class of warriors, more agile in water and possessing a skillset more appropriate for deep water combat was necessary.

### Description

The Asrai were modified via Upgrade from the Berserker chassis (and once Progen became more common, they started appearing as Progen-born), so they tend to have slim, but muscular, builds, with skin that has a faint oily or waxy sheen to it, though many also sport controllable luminescent tattoos that resemble the biolights of certain deep sea creatures. Their hands and feet can deploy webbing between the digits, and they have adjustable internal buoyancy organs similar to fish swim bladders that allow them to change their buoyancy, from bobbing like a cork to sinking like a stone. They are incredibly string swimmers, able to outpace many underwater sleds and vessels, even without augmentation like hydrojet propulsion packs. Extra senses are built into them, including sonar and motion detection. Their workings are reinforced to survive great pressure. Their programming has been expanded to accommodate a comprehensive knowledge of marine operations and combat hardware.

Though Asrai can wear streamlined medium cyborg combat armor (175 MDC) reminiscent in style of Amphib Body Armor (see Rifts Underseas, pg. 101) or Coalition Navy suits, they just as often strip down to skintight bodysuits or swimwear made from megadamage plastics or treated megadamage fish/sea monster skin (20-50 MDC) and equipment webbing, the better to feel the waters and attain maximum agility in the water. Many wear respirators and SCUBA gear even though they don’t need the gear to breath, in order to fool observers.

### Use

Asrai came into their own during the Shemarrian Nation counteroffensive against the Splugorth that helped drive the monsters off the North American continent. The Asrai practically took up permanent residence in Atlantis East, the covert Darkwaters underwater base located off the Jersey shore, and effectively WERE the sharp leading edge of the Shemarrian power projection against the Splugorth until the Hawkmoons could ramp up their air campaign into high gear. Leading teams of other Darkwaters warriors on aquatic WarMounts, or deployed in formations of other Asrai, these submarine warriors proved the bane of even the notoriously amphibious Horune.

### Asrai in Shemarrian Star Nation

In the Shemarrian Star Nation, Asrai aren’t as common as they were in the SN back on Rifts Earth, owing to the changed focus from submarine combat to spacial combat, but the Asrai are still a very important part of the Darkwaters community, making up most of the DeepWatch that maintains permanent deep sea facilities and forces on Shemarrian worlds.

## Abilities

The Asrai are fitted with a number of systems designed to allow them to function under water.

### Sensors

#### Sonar

The Asrai has built in sonar with a range of 3 miles.

#### Underwater Motion Detection

This consists of a skin network of temperature and pressure sensors that pick up changes in the immediate surrounding environment. As long as the gynoid is wearing little or nothing in the way of coverings that would interfere with the sensors, they give the Asrai a +2 to Initiative, Dodge and Roll underwater.

### Special Systems

Buoyancy Regulator

The Asrai can control their own buoyancy through the use of special internal varying-state gel ‘organs’.

Depth Gauge

A depth gauge cybernetic implant is installed in the Asrai.

Webbed Hands and Feet

The hands and feet have retractable webbing between the digits.

### Weapons

Blue-Green Frequency Wrist Lasers

The wrist lasers are designed to fire both under and above water, otherwise identical to those on the Berserker, or any other lasers installed (no penalties for firing underwater).

### Programming/Skills

The skills of the EShemar Asrai depend on their origins and their level of experience.

Progen-born Asrai will start with the full base hand to hand combat programming of the Shemarrian Berserker, but retain/add W.P. Energy Pistol. W.P. Energy Rifle, W.P. Heavy MDC Weapons (all at 8th level), replace W.P. Axe with W.P. Harpoon & Spear Gun, W.P. Targeting with W.P. Grappling Hooks. W.P. Polearm with W,P. Tridents (all at 9th level).

ADD:

 Scuba
 Wilderness: Undersea & Sea Survival
 Pilot: Water Skiing & Surfing
 Pilot: Boats (Two of choice)
 Pilot: Military (Submersibles OR Warships/Patrol Hydrofoils)
 Pilot: Water Scooters
 Demolitions: Underwater

Can acquire
additional skills as normal for an Ecotroz Nueral Intelligence.

### Combat

Same skills and attacks as Berserker, plus any from levels.

## Options

The Darkwaters use a variety of weapons adapted for marine operations; spearguns, blue-green lasers, Splugorth and Horune weapons, all acquired from other sources, until they could adapt existing Shemarrian equipment or create their own.

Once the Darkwaters had their own small arms works up and running, they quickly adapted their heritage designs to underwater operation; traditional Shemarrian long arms have been refitted with streamlined, neutrally-buoyant housings, lasers have been adapted to use blue-green frequencies for maximum penetration through water, rail guns have been provided with super-cavitating ammunition copied from Kittani rail gun rounds, Shemarrian spears have been fitted with lanyards to serve as harpoons, and spearguns have been fitted with warheads adapted from high-tech arrowheads (reduce blast radius for explosives by HALF).

### Sharkskin Suit

A special skintight wetsuit (25 MDC) of synthetic ‘sharkscale’ material that improves streamlining; +2 to Swimming Speed (another +2 if also wearing a streamlined helmet), but the suit interferes with the Motion Sensors (no bonuses from the system). The suit also reduces the noise
from swimming at maximum speed by a third.

### Shark-Blades

 Damage

Armored Vambraces and greaves can be worn, fitted with additional fin-like vibroblades to add damage to a punch or kick (the blades do a follow-through to the initial kick/punch).

### Ion Katana

 Range2
 Damage
 Damage2
 Damage3
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Modified from the shoulder weapons of the Orca-50 Deep Sea Power Armor. It’s effectively a Shemarrian Cavalry Saber with an ion blaster built into the hilt. Later models will incorporate copied Naruni Enterprises ripper-blade technology for extra damage. The Ion Katana is popular as a backup weapon among Asrai.

Weight: 6 lbs

MDC: 37