GM Sappy's Infiltrators - Dirty War

Game Master Sapiens

Name: Aedan O'Connell
Age: 26
Gender: Male

Appearance: Compared to most, Aedan is smaller than average, standing at just 5'8". However he weighs in at a stocky, muscular 152 lbs. His hands and forearms are moderately scarred from his youth spent bare-knuckled boxing and other 'kids scraps'. His face is pleasantly handsome, in a 'bit o' rough' sort of way and his piercing green eyes miss absolutely nothing. Aedan seems to have an almost preternatural sense of awareness honed over multiple years of dodging bobbies and fellow criminals.

Personality: Aedan is pugnacious and extremely passionate in almost everything he does. He is smart, skilled, and possesses an almost supernatural ability to blend in to the background. He's a born scrapper without an ounce of quit in his entire body.

In his youth he was a much more passionate person, but his time in the Laundry, as well as the various tragedies that befallen him (see History), have left him much colder. Oh, he is able to 'put on the personality', but underneath he is cold, calculating, and merciless.

However, even despite the darker turns in his life, there is still a spark of humanity that remains, mostly stoked and cared for by 'his Jenny', the powerful shard of crystal that resides within him.

Background: Aedan Michael O'Connell was born into a large family of Travelers in North Ireland. From a very early age he displayed a startling intelligence and grasp of the inner workings of machines. He was forever taking things apart, putting them back together, and in the process, making them run better than before. Unlike many of his fellow Rover children, due to a combination of gifts, and a very strong willed mother, Aedan was sent to a proper public school, rather than being home taught as many of his fellows were. While in school he was exposed to the wonderful world of education, studying, and most of all, The Library! It was love at first sight.

Throughout his school 'career' Aedan devoured books on Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy, Chemistry, Physics, and any other of the hard sciences he could get his hands on. Despite his strong intellectual bent he was also a passionate and physical boy. This led to several scraps and brought him to the attention of the school authorities. It also brought him to the attention of a young girl names Jenny who, despite their relatively young ages, found herself intrigued by and drawn to the wild Rover boy. The two quickly became inseparable.

As an outlet for his 'aggressive tendencies' he was encouraged to play sports...primarily the rough and tumble sport of Rugby. Outside of school his Father encouraged the boy to involve himself in the bare knuckled boxing that his two older brothers and father were so proficient at. To keep up an air of respectability, he also took 'proper boxing' lessons after school. As a lark, he started teaching Jenny the 'gentlemanly art' as well. Both children excelled at the sport and though only Aedan could do it 'officially', their mutual progress was almost identical and they continued all throughout primary and secondary school Between the various activities, Aedan had an outlet for his more aggressive impulses and was also able to earn enough 'pocket money' to fund his tinkering habits...and also take Jenny out for the occasional ice cream or picnic.

The other thing it did was to create and cement stronger emotional bonds with his two older brothers, whom Aedan was already incredibly close to. His only other friend, outside the Family anyway, was Jenny, and as the years progressed the two grew closer and closer. Though they never officially 'courted' in all their time together, neither ever even gave thought to being with anyone else either and they could almost always be found together when they weren't otherwise busy. Aedan was very careful to keep her separate from his Clan life and and illegal activities his Family was involved in, however. Jenny was a 'good girl' from a local working class family, and Aedan didn't want her even peripherally involved in The Life.

While he'd been growing up and going to school, The 'Family' had expanded their criminal enterprises while the two were away at school. Aedan had largely kept out of that side of the family business...his parents wanted him to keep up his 'respectable' status, so as to give them someone legit to front their various enterprises. Aedan, knowing this, but also not actually wanting to be part of that side of Rover life anymore, had gone along while privately vowing to get out of the life altogether after school, with Jenny at his side, of course.

Unfortunately, under the direction of his two older brothers, who had taken things over when their Da 'retired', the Family had begun getting into more, and more serious crime. Now, instead of the odd bit of money laundering, or protection schemes, they were into smuggling, robbery, cons, extortion...all were fair game and Aedan's brothers were hip deep in all of it. The only thing consolation that he had was that they hadn't gotten the Clan involved with the IRA, unlike many of their fellow Irish, domestic terrorism. As far as the Travelers were concerned, while the IRA might have noble goals, many of the methods they espoused were too much for the Families, especially when they ended up hurting innocent civilians...notably children. However, again, Aedan was officially 'kept out of the loop', so, in general, life was good.

Unfortunately, it was not to last. Three months before graduation from Secondary school Aedan got a frantic call from Jenny. She had suspected for years that Aedan's family were involved in shady activities...after all, 'everybody' knew about the Rovers. And now several 'shady characters' were in her Father's pub, busting up the place and hurting people.

Aedan rapidly made his way to Jenny's family pub and got the shock of his life when he found his oldest brother, a couple of cousins, and a few other Clan members breaking up the pub and beating a couple of the patrons. Aedan's brother was, in fact, standing over Jenny about to bring down a chair on the girl, who already had a split lip and torn shirt. Without thinking Aedan practically flew across the room, snatching a chair out of the other boy's hands and dropping him with a quick rabbit punch. In a furious, unbelieving voice Aedan began demanding answers. He was shocked even further when his father came out of the back room, dragging the bloodied form of Jenny's dad and a bag from which wads of cash and bags of white powder were practically spilling out. The man had obviously been severely beaten and was, at best, half conscious.

With an inarticulate cry Jenny sprang at Aedan's dad, only to be brutally smashed aside. Red rage descended and, unthinkingly, Aedan charged his father. Unlike Jenny, Aedan had not only training, but killer instinct on his side. The two traded brutal, punishing blows for several minutes while the rest of the family looked on in mixed anger and confusion. Aedan, feeling betrayed by the evidence that, not only was his family obviously involved in drug dealing, but his Da's brutal assault of his best friend...a girl...now young woman, whom he realized in a blinding moment of insight, that he had far more than 'friendly' feelings for, pushed Aedan far past him limit. He wasn't pulling punches and was using every iota of his hard won skills. Such was his blind fury that he was actually winning against him vastly more experienced, and much more ruthless, father.

Aedan had managed to stun his Da with a brutal blow to the solar plexus. When his father went down, Aedan snatched up a nearby chair, intending to bring it down on the man. He only intended to knock him out, but Aedan's rage and near homicidal state triggered far more than either was prepared for. Where Aedan's hands touched the wooden chair leg, minute bits of crystal 'grew' from the wood and the simple chair became something much more deadly. Unfortunately for all concerned, it was at that point that Fate stepped in. Aedan's oldest brother, a decent fighter in his own right but nowhere near as good as his little brother, darted forward into the fray. Whether he planned to help Aedan, his Da, or just stop the fight would never be known. Aedan caught a glimpse of his charging sibling and tried to pull his blow...unfortunately his momentum was such that it didn't entirely work. The crystal impregnated chair caught Aedan's brother on the side of the head and a soundless, heatless 'micro-explosion' of psychokinetic force enhanced the blow, spinning the boy around with a horrifying crack. The older boy dropped like a stone, blood flying.

Aedan immediately dropped to his knees beside his downed sibling, crying frantic denials and trying to determine if his brother was still alive. Before he could do more than reach out, however, he was snatched back by his shirt collar and a powerful fist slammed into his temple, sending him into black unconsciousness. He woke an indeterminate time later, beaten, bloody, and with several broken bones. Beside him lay the limp form of Jenny. With a weak cry he scrambled to his knees, feeling for a pulse. Thanks be to God it was there...weak, but there! Looking around Aedan discovered he was in a dark building...one of his family's series of safehouses. Being rather familiar with their layout he discovered that they were being guarded by one of his distant cousins but that noone else was there at the time. However, he also found quite a bit of drug paraphernalia, bags of compressed heroin, and other 'tools of the trade'. The profound sense of betrayal broke something deep within the boy. With a heavy heart he incapacitated his cousin, took several weapons, a small bag of necessities, and a large bundle of cash from the safehouse. With Jenny in his arms he fled into the night.

Three weeks later the two young adults...Aedan had just turned eighteen and Jenny was less than a month from her birthday...wearily disembarked off the boat in France. They had lost themselves in the streets of Dublin, but Aedan knew that, so long as they remained in Ireland...hell...anywhere in Great Britain...he and Jenny were vulnerable. So with a few healthy bribes the two were able to acquire false identities and made their way to the Continent. It had taken a fair amount of convincing on Aedan's part, aided, unfortunately, by the death of Jenny's Da at the hands of Aedan's - her Mum had passed when Jenny was a child and it had just been the two of them running the pub, but eventually the girl had agreed. At some point in their running the two had finally plucked up the courage to express their true feelings and were planning to get married once they reached safety. Now, it seemed, they had managed it. They looked to start over...a new life in a new country, and hopefully being able to forget the horrors of the old. Despite the rumblings that were being heard about the rise of facism in Germany, neither could imagine something like actual War breaking out.

Four years later things had improved for the two young people. They'd been married in a quiet ceremony at the local protestant church within a couple months of arrival and found a small apartment to share. Aedan had managed to get Jenny and his real educational accomplishments attached to their false identities, and with the money he'd taken from the Family, he had enough to afford to send them both to college at the Sorbonne. Jenny studied acting and dance while Aedan followed the path of his beloved math and engineering. Both graduated with degrees in their chosen fields, and job offers began to arrive. When they'd arrived in France Aedan had made a vow to his Jenny that he was done with a life of crime and was going to devote his life to her, and he had stuck fast to it. Life was, in general, good for the two young lovers.

While the two had been in the bubble of school, the world had moved on. Hitler had invaded Poland and the rest of Eurpoe responded. However, in school, in the heart of France, the War was far from their thoughts. One of the offers Jenny had gotten was from a small theatre troupe based in Paris, and with Aedan's encouragement, she was quick to accept the offer. Aedan found work with a company that support material for the military, headquartered in Paris. The two were able to continue to afford to live in Paris, and, despite the horrors going on in the world around them, one early Summer night, Jenny announced to Aedan that she was pregnant. They began making plans for a future for small family. Life was, despite the odds, truly beginning to look up.

Unfortunately Fate wasn't quite done making Aedan it's chewtoy. Unbeknownst to them, the owner of the theater group was actually a Nazi sympathizer and spy. One night while waiting to walk Jenny home from a rehearsal, Aedan noticed that something was 'off' about the man. Long buried instincts began to pluck at the young man, and without stopping to think about it, he followed the man. Those same instincts caused his footfalls to be cat quiet, and drove him to keep to the shadows. What he saw, when he got to the man's office, shocked him to the core. Two other men were there, and all three were speaking German!

Aedan listened to the conversation...he'd picked up a fair proficiency in the language as part of his studies...and was appalled by what he heard. The men were planning an attack on several government buildings. Aedan knew he had to get the information to someone and started to back away. It was at just this moment when Jenny came bouncing happily down the hallway. Her rehearsal had gone exceedingly well and she wanted to share her minor triumph with Aedan. Aedan tried to stop her, but before he could do so the door to the office was ripped open, exposing the three men...who had guns drawn. Aedan immediately leapt on the offensive. Despite his vow to leave his former life behind, he'd never stopped boxing, using it as his preferred way to deal with stress and stay in shape while in school and working. He dropped the theater owner like a poleaxed steer, but both of the other men had managed to fire their weapons. One shot his Aedan in the are and the other missed. The young man moved forward and managed to knock out the second man, but the third fled before Aedan could stop him.

The young engineer turned towards his wife...only to stop in horror at the sight of her, collapsed in the hallway, blood staining her dress and pooling underneath her. Aedan leapt to her, cradling her in his arms and begging her to be ok, and trying anything he could to staunch the horrible wound in her chest. Though she lingered for a few moments, even had time to whisper her undying love for him, she died there in his arms. Rage and pain swept through the young man, desperate for an outlet. He found it when he heard stirring behind him. The German, the one who'd 'missed' him was waking up. Aedan slid out from under his Jenny, grabbed a nearby stool, and allowed his rage to explode!
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Later, when the authorities arrived, they found him once more sitting on the blood soaked floorboards, Jenny's lifeless body cradled in his arms, and he mindlessly crooning an old Rover lullaby to her. Behind him the room was like a charnel house. Two corpses...only identifiable as two due to the number of limbs scattered about the room...charred, melted, with other incredible, unexplainable wounds on their dismembered bodies. Aedan was arrested and taken away quickly.

Some indeterminate time later...weeks, months, he couldn't recall, he found himself sitting in an interview room in prison, across from a man in a three piece suit...a man with an impeccable Oxford accent. The man explained that the French police were able to find evidence of the man's plans and Aedan was going to be released. However, the man, who identified himself as 'Mr Smythe-Wentworth', had a proposition for Aedan. He said that his 'department' had registered some interesting facts about the crime scene. Notably the levels of sheer destruction, as well as some of the...odder wounds on the corpses. Aedan, not really caring one way or the other, just sat, staring dully at the man, not answering.

With a sympathetic look the man handed Aedan a business card and a small silk bag. Smythe told Aedan that if he 'wanted to put some meaning into the meaningless, and maybe repay some of the bastards who were truly responsible for Jenny's death', that Aedan should call the number on the card, then left. After several minutes Aedan opened the bag and into his trembling hand fell a small gold ring, a glittering diamond set within. When the guards eventually came to escort him from the prison he was still staring at Jenny's ring with tears burning twin tracks down his cheeks.

It was less than five minutes after his release that he dialed the number.

*****

Just two years the man secretly known as Aedan Michael O'Connell sat down at a small cafe in <<CAMPAIGN CITY>>, enjoying a rare sunny day and sipping at a cup of tea. That call had led to a job offer which would 'more properly utilize his unique skillset for the benefit of his native country'. Training, studying, and many hard months had followed. But Aedan had learned to harness the Power within him that he'd only managed to access accidentally before. He'd once more become hard, distant...and infinitely more deadly.

When he first started training, Aedan's instructors had found that his access to his powers was...sporadic, at best. It was frustrating to all concerned. It all came to a head one night when, while in a fast paced sparring lesson designed to force him to bring forth the psychic powers his handlers knew he was capable of, he'd instinctively grasped the ring dangling from a chain around his neck. The weapon grasped in his other hand had suddenly sprouted deep amethyst crystal grains and, when it hit his partner, exploded with power, nearly killing the man.

Continued experiments with the ring...more specifically the diamond within, had proven that Aedan could use the stone to access his powers and apply them to any weapon he was holding, but only with the two were in contact. In an effort to make him more efficient, Aedan decided to have the stone permanently grafted to his flesh...a piece of Jenny, always with him. Laundry healers implanted the stone at the base of his skull, and he had the gold, along with his own band, which he'd never stopped wearing, melted down and merged, then turned into a single ring that he now wore on his right hand. A plain, heavy band to always remind him.

With his control firmly established Aedan quickly advanced through training, then into the field. In no time he became one of their most successful assassins. He was almost universally assigned to German targets, and almost always those who were known to, or suspected of, dabbling in the dark arts of magic. In the months following the implanting of the diamond, Aedan began to once more hear Jenny's 'voice' deep within his mind. Eventually that 'voice' spoke to his conscious thoughts, advising him, bearing him up when he was down, and being a balm to his tortured soul.

During his time working for the Laundry much of Adean's humanity had been stripped away, and probably would have been lost completely if it hadn't been for one thing...or more precisely, one amazing woman...one who'd defied all the laws of Heaven to be with the man she loved more than life itself. At least, that's what Aedan believed.

And in the end, that's all that mattered.