Rat

Rat (Made with HeroForge)

One of Addie's Templar "classmates" and a close friend. Rat took up station in Denver after the Swarm's defeat, helping to train the new Vanguard troops and keep a watchful eye on the city.

## History

### Arc 13: The Denver Swarm

On September 1st, 2096, Simon offered Addie a platoon of Vanguard soldiers to aid in taking back Denver from an unknown threat. Addie took the offer, asking Simon to keep them on standby until needed. Rat was the Templar veteran chosen to lead the new Vanguard into the city on a Raptor.

When the NW6 entered the Saint Vrain Nuclear Plant on September 4th, Addie radioed Rat with her palmcorder and told him to move the Vanguard troops in. She relayed directions from John Conner, and Rat led the Vanguard into combat against the Swarm and its allies, supporting the Resistance fighters.

### Arc 14: Choc's Way Home

Over the course of September, 2096, Rat helped further train the Vanguard troops through their operations in Denver. On September 6th, Rat aided in helping Addie, River, and Jo capture Junkyard's scavenging squads picking through Denver's ruins, and brought them back to the Resistance's headquarters. At 2am the next day, Rat went on a patrol with Addie and their Vanguard trainees. He told her Vickers had taken to wearing a sack cloth robe, seemed to be taking his new condition in stride, and went to Simon to try and figure out what kind of Hex he was subjected to.

Addie confided she felt overwhelmed at her responsibilities, felt the need to be the one to find a cure for Vickers, and Rat pushed back that she needed to delegate before she burned herself out. Addie told him she'd consider it, needed to look into a lot of fronts. With some prodding, she asked him to look into OPEC's operations in the South, those trying to interfere with Sioux Delegate Rackem's shamans, and he agreed. She then asked him to help her with a project, a LARP for the kids in Denver, to which he also agreed.

Sometime after the NW6 left for Haven, Rat went off to Texas to follow Addie's lead.

### Arc 15: Chasing Coyotes

While investigating OPEC's activities in Texas, Rat was captured by Tarbaby shamans. Not long after his capture, on November 13th, Rat was taken with several other captives to Nocogdoches to be sold to Road Orc forces. There he ran into a head librarian's assistant, Hazel, whom he slipped a data slug of the information he'd gathered. He told her he was a spy for the Templars, and the Tarbabys were a dangerous enemy. He mentioned he'd sent a message to his friends for help, and asked Hazel to keep her head down, let their captures focus on him.

Their vehicle stopped, and their group of prisoners was led out by men in black. The Road Orc leader Red Fang was looking to buy the group, but seemed heavily disappointed in the quality of the 'goods'. A man with short cropped hair, black eyes, and average height told Red Fang he brought double the people, he expected double the price, and Fang growled that he didn't get to make demands of him. The man retorted that he wouldn't be intimidated, and then Rat made his move. Rat grabbed one of the guard's rifle barrels, ripped it from his hands and slammed it on his head. The trigger went off, shooting another of the man's allies, and chaos broke out. Rat escaped in the confusion, and was pursued around the area for the next couple days. He was later able to ditch his pursuers after a coyote helped him avoid their attention.

On November 16th, Rat was accidentally contacted by Addie while checking for enemy channels on the radio. Rat told her he had set up in a mountain ranger station near San Antonio. He had been chased out of Nocogdoches by Road Orcs. While trying to avoid them, he ran into a coyote that guided him safely away from the group. He fed the animal jerky, and it had been following him ever since.

Later that day, the NW6 met up with Rat at the station. Upon seeing Addie's captive Road Orcs, he showed skepticism at her keeping them alive and around, but let her in. In the room, the coyote that Rat had found sat on a chair. He gave his story in more detail: while fleeing Road Orc bikers, a fog had rolled in, despite the day being dry. The fog created confusion, and the coyote arrived at his side. He led Rat away, leading him to the station and to safety.

While King patted the coyote, he transformed into a man with Native American features. He told the group his name was Coyote. He disclosed the Tarbaby's plans to summon an elemental, and that Mercy was in Gas Town. While the NW6 moved off to take on the Tarbabys, Rat watched over the captive Road Orcs and moved around Gas Town.

Rat later showed up in Gas Town while the NW6 escaped, covering their backs.

On November 23rd, he attended Addie and River's wedding, serving as one of Addie's best men.