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Brandon Cole

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Brandon Cole Empty Brandon Cole

Post by Henry Travers Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:10 pm

Name:
Brandon Cole

Age:
28

Gender:
Male

Appearance:
Brandon is a well-muscled, mixed race man in his physical prime.  Standing at an even six feet in height he weighs a healthy 185 pounds of lean muscle.  Though his body structure is toned, indicating a man with a great deal of respect for his own health and fitness, of particular note are his back and shoulder muscles.  These areas, crucial in properly drawing a heavy bow, are particularly well-developed and give the man a rather intimidating edge.  Despite keeping himself fully covered on assignment, he maintains a natural tan stemming from his half-Cherokee heritage on his mother's side.  Having no tattoos or piercings, the only notable marks on his body are the occasional small faded scars here and there on his hands and feet (products of repeated heavy bag sessions and long runs).  

His dark black hair (possessing a slightly blue sheen) is kept cut short in a rather unassuming middle ground a bit longer than a crew cut but too short to be called a true "mop top".  Despite this, it is still short enough to leave no easy handholds for hostiles.  In terms of facial features, Brandon is rather smooth.  His jawline is a bit pointed but well-defined and along with his heavy brow, Cole presents a no nonsense, rugged demeanor.  His ears are a bit on the small side, sitting low on his head (a fact accented by a thick neck and his short haircut).  His eyes are dark blue but between his near constant scowl, they are rarely shown off to friend or foe.  Lastly, Brandon possesses a few dimples on either side of his mouth, revealing themselves during harsh frowns or (far more rare) happy smiles.  

Spoiler:

While not on missions, Brandon has no outlandish outfits to speak of.  Simple black slacks or dark jeans are sufficient for him and often paired with a matching dark t-shirt with either short sleeves or none at all.  He prefers a slightly tighter fitting shirt devoid of logos if at all possible.  Rounding out his normal off-duty look is a pair of black running shoes (though for basketball be prefers an all-black pair of Air Jordans) and occasionally a light warm up jacket colored black with red trim.  Somewhat interesting is that he’s developed a habit of always keeping an archer’s shooting glove in his back pocket.  

During assignments from VWAT, Brandon relies upon full camouflage gear to assist him.  On his feet are black, weather insulated lace up military issue combat boots allowing for maximum protection and comfort when paired with high quality athletic tube socks.  Moving on to his lower body, we have a pair of black cargo pants woven from a durable polyblend to allow a breathable yet sturdy piece of clothing.  Next we have the upper body covered by a long sleeved black turtle neck made from cotton.  On his hands Brandon wears a pair of black leather SAP gloved, double stitched and loaded with lead shot to add additional weight to any punches he may need to throw.  Covering his face is a full black facemask and a set of shatterproof goggles treated to prevent fogging.  Strapped across his chest and waist, Brandon uses a pair of Kevlar utility belts to hold additional ammunition, weapons and various other tools of his trade.  

Spoiler:

Equipment:

Primary Weapon:
Brandon Cole’s primary weapon is a personalized, high tech compound bow tailor made to his specifications upon his entry into VWAT and the dramatic shift in his targets.  Cast in gun metal grey with black accents and measuring 35 inches from axel to axel, the high grade titanium weapon has heavily reinforced limbs containing a complex system of cams and automated pulleys to allow for normally impossible draw weights by human standards.  The string of the bow is likewise reinforced with a powerful Kevlar weave to accommodate the requirements of hunting vampires.  The bow is equipped with several suppressors on the string as well as the frame of the bow, effectively eliminating what little sound is produced by firing the weapon to create a truly silent assassination tool.  Though a bit odd to some, Brandon does not utilize artificial sights on his bow.  While some may swear by sights, Cole believes that artificial sights do not allow one to properly account for the grey areas in between the sights.  To overcome this, Brandon has trained himself to shoot instinctively, maintaining his depth perception and accuracy at any range.

Without the assistance of the machinery built into the bow’s limbs, the technical draw weight of the weapon is a staggering 450 pounds, roughly three times heavier than the average draw of a modern big game hunting bow.  With this monstrous draw weight, Cole’s arrows are propelled at around 900 feet per second (comparable to a low velocity bullet).  Without the aid of the machinery in the bow’s limbs, this weight would simply not be possible for a normal man, even one as fit as Cole.  Thanks to the mechanical aid, Call is only responsible for about 150 pounds of the draw, a manageable number that Brandon’s pre-VWAT bows also used.

Spoiler:

In combat, Brandon relies upon a small number of customized arrows to get his jobs done.  All of the shafts are constructed from strengthened titanium, allowing for greater kinetic force and penetration power on impact and are left at full length to accommodate Brandon’s 32 inch draw.  While he prefers feathers as a rule of thumb, they lack the durability for continued use with his weapon forcing Brandon to make due with more durable plastic fletchings.  When dealing with human targets Brandon employs quad bladed, steel broad heads which (along with much of the shaft) is packed with powerful plastic explosives.  Each explosive broad head contains an electronic primer in the front end.  When drawn back, the primer is activated upon passing over a sensor built into the arrow rest on the bow.  The trigger to the explosives is located in the grip of the bow so with a simple press of a button, Brandon can detonate individually primed arrows after they impact their targets.  When assigned to hunt vampires, the only change in these arrows is the shift to broad heads with a thin silver plating and blessing.  

Backing up these highly lethal broad heads, Brandon employs tear gas dispensing, blunt arrow heads as well to blind and herd his targets in a manner of his choosing without killing them outright.  Once again tailoring his arrow heads to his targets, when going after vampires Brandon will swap out the tear gas heads in favor of an anti-midian variant which releases a small cloud of blessed silver shavings to be inhaled by the target leading to uncontrollable coughing and other advantageous discomforts.  Much like his explosive arrows, the tear gas and silver shaving arrows have electronic triggers which are primed during the drawing process and detonated with the push of a button in the grip of the bow.  

Safely secured on his back, Brandon relies on an automated quiver to hold his arrows while on missions.  Holding a total of 50 arrows, Brandon carries 5 tear gas/silver shaving arrows and fills out the rest of the quiver with explosive variants.  Using an automatic feed system, as one explosive arrow is drawn, the next one in line is cycled over to the position that Brandon’s hand naturally falls to when reaching for an arrow.  The nonlethal arrows are stored in the center of the quiver, separate from the continuously cycled explosive broad heads so Cole always knows exactly what type of arrow he is reaching for.  

Spoiler:

Sidearm:
Holstered in a tactical thigh holster on the right side of his waist, Brandon makes use of a matte black Berretta 92 chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum rounds.  Brandon utilizes standard lead ammunition and carries one additional magazine (15 rounds) for the weapon along with a screw-in suppressor in his utility belt.  Though the bullets may not be silver, they are all blessed (because blessings are free).  

Spoiler:

Additional Equipment:

Grenades – attached to the chest strap running diagonally across his vest, Brandon carries a small number of grenades on his person.  One of them is a standard fragmentation grenade while the other two are smoke grenades to allow for quick visual cover.

Throwing knife – sheathed on the left side of his utility belt, Brandon uses two blessed, carbon steel, double edged throwing knives.  Despite being balanced for accurate throwing, they are large enough to be used as a last ditch close combat option though if ever pushed that far Brandon’s mission may already be well out of his control or area of expertise.  

Spoiler:

Chemo – developed by VWAT with Brandon in mind, this specialized body spray instantly masks all odors coming off the users body, clothing and equipment to essentially make them a walking ghost.  Relying heavily on surprise to achieve success in his missions, Brandon applies this substance before each assignment so that he can move freely without fear of discovery due to supernatural senses of smell.  

Stealth Vest - the most noteworthy piece of his entire uniform is without question his customized vest.  Utilizing many small Kevlar plates of the highest quality, the vest offers some resistance to bullets and knives while still allowing Brandon a comfortable range of motion.  While the protective benefits are much appreciated, the vest’s primary purpose is to suppress sounds internally.  From a practical perspective, this means that Brandon’s heart beat and other natural bodily functions cannot be heard even by those of the supernatural inclination while also suppressing his heat signature.  

Personal Effects – While off duty, Cole prefers to use a Samsung 4S with a dark blue case to stay in contact as needed.  His ring tone is “Space Jam”.  Rather than leather, which is surprisingly common with his coworkers, Brandon uses a velcro, nylon black wallet to keep track of his personal identification.  Last but not least, Cole will frequently carry a basketball will him.  

Race:
Human

Abilities:
Though only a mortal man, Brandon received extensive combat and survival while serving as a member of the United States Army Rangers.  Specialized in scouting and assassination, Brandon made it a personal goal to master the art of moving without being seen in absolute silence.  After years of practice, Cole eventually attained his desired status as a ghost, easily moving through crowded military bases without detection and even sneaking up upon supernatural targets (when backed by certain technological advancements).    Bolstering his nearly unequalled skills in stealth, Brandon is a talented survivalist capable of living off the land for extended periods of time.  

While impressive in their own right, Brandon’s talents are not limited to stealth and survival.  Proudly standing as one of the most effective soldiers ever produced by the Army Rangers, Brandon is highly trained in the United States’ military close combat system which focuses on quickly and efficiently bringing targets to the ground and killing them as well as knife work.  An accomplished striker and grappler, Cole is a very no-nonsense fighter.  If forced to engage in CQC be it barehanded or with a knife, Brandon will not hesitate to immediately apply skillful and lethal force against his opponents.  

Forced through high intensity physical training, Brandon is a very fit individual with nearly peak human endurance, capable of keeping up a blistering rate over a multiple mile long run across country.  That being said, though he is rather strong and fast, he is by no means superhuman in these categories.  The only other notable physical trait he possesses is a set of highly tuned senses.  Through a series of self-created exercises to sharpen his visual perception, Brandon has developed a nigh inhuman spatial awareness and depth perception.  His eyes have become sharp enough after this intense training to properly track and maintain a bead on targets with medium supernatural speed without much trouble.  His focus on wilderness training and scouting has also pushed him to sharpen his hearing which is almost as powerful as his visual prowess.

Moving on to his signature skills, Brandon is a masterful marksman with a particular specialty in archery.  While quite accurate with small arms and throwing knives, when using a bow and arrow Cole is almost without equal.  Capable of such feats as splitting a drop of water or lodging an arrow in the barrel of a gun (not to mention frequently keeping track of supernaturally fast targets), Brandon’s accuracy allows him to hit targets on demand with frightening precision.  Though obviously not as surgical as his normal shots, with proper time to concentrate on his target, Brandon can even hit targets with acceptable accuracy using his sense of hearing alone.  Having spent a great deal of time growing used to the weight of his bow, his maximum rate of fire is 29 arrows per minute, all the more impressive considering the draw weight he is dealing with.  

Outside of combat, Cole is a highly distinguished basketball player.  Self-taught, he is very skilled at tricky and evasive maneuvers prominent in “street ball”.  This skill transfers over to a natural sense of balance and coordination which is often applied to another pass time of his, videogames.  Specifically, Cole is fond of Action/Adventure games as they require a greater time investment and thus entertain him for a while longer.  Though he is a passable cook, he is notoriously messy in regards to his room and is a terrible teacher.  

Organization:
VWAT

Personality:
Amazing as it might be, Brandon is a cynic through and through.  Having spent years working as a top grade assassin for one of the most powerful nations in the world, his outlook is understandably shaped primarily by the constant killing he has been forced to engage in.  That being said, despite his somewhat negative outlook on life he does possess a respectably sharp wit which presents itself in his commentary regarding the rather outrageous antics of his targets and allies.  However, behind that dry wit, Cole is burdened with a near constant hunger for excitement.  He is confident enough in his abilities to call himself one of, if not the, greatest archers in the world and because of that talent he has a specific skill set and advantages many soldiers do not possess.  However, throughout his training he was never able to find a proper challenge or a true spark of motivation.  Possessing undiagnosed depression, Cole continues to go through the motions of service searching for something, anything that can excite him and push him to truly exert himself.  Because of this, he is rather lethargic and dreary to be around for extended periods of time.  

Obviously not a social butterfly, Brandon does not have a large number of friends and hesitates to trust people regardless of their background or position.  Though not quite to the point of paranoia, he makes it a priority to carefully study newly met individuals in an attempt to better understand them as soon as possible.  It is a necessary precaution that Cole relies on to hold his own in a largely superpowered organization.  Despite only being a regular human, Brandon is continuously going over strategy and tactics to overcome supernatural opponents, including those serving alongside him should the worst ever come to pass.  Despite this apparent mistrust, Brandon does care a great for his country of birth and the advantages that he has been able to receive serving it.   That being said, he does have a slight grudge against officers who have not properly served in the field.  To Cole, authority is a right that must be earned, not bestowed.  

Rank:
Soldier

Biography:
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the beginning of Brandon's story is just how ordinary it really was.  Born the only son of a middle class couple working in the insurance business.  He was an above average student throughout grade school and high school, competing in track and field events as much as time would allow.  Though he was a decent athlete, his performance was never really good enough to secure a worthwhile scholarship to a private university.  Money had always been a slight issue in his household and the lack of funds was finally making itself known.  His parents had always been relatively patriotic and taking after them, Brandon showed his country the proper respect he believed it deserved.  The decision to join the military seemed like an intuitive one.  However, his grandparents being the overprotective people they were, did not take kindly to the idea of their only grandchild crawling about as a meager infantryman overseas.  Pressuring Brandon and his parents, his grandparents lent them the money to meet the application fees to the esteemed West Point Military Academy.  Cole's grandfather had the great fortune of having briefly served with a Congressman before his rise to politics and so Cole was giving the support needed to enter the school by the skin of his teeth.  

Presented with a wonderful opportunity at the school, Brandon tried his level best not to let it go to waste.  He kept up respectable grades in the class room and soon fully grew into his body to truly shine in the physical education and training programs he was instructed in.  However, despite what appeared to be a natural talent, Cole never showed good marks in leadership.  He had the skill but none of the drive to be an officer.  Deep inside, Brandon simply didn't feel right leading others.  It was an unwanted responsibility that forced him to socialize with others as a superior, not an equal.  He would go on to graduate without honors as an unsatisfied officer.  

Faced with a crisis of conviction, Brandon nursed the terrible fear that perhaps the military life had been a mistake.  Why had he done it anyway?  If he was honest with himself it was because the military was simply there; another period of time where he could go through the motions without having to worry about the real world.  He needed excitement, he needed an escape.  And that was when he discovered the Rangers.  The Army's elite, the finest scouts that their branch of the Service could produce, Brandon put the last of his hopes on their tales of excitement and applied for Ranger school, accepting a single rank demotion to do so.  Finally, Brandon found a place that not only pushed him, but inspired him to push himself.  The survival training, the lateral freedom that came with scouting and the absolute precision required was daunting and yet strangely enticing.  Finally within his element, Brandon shined like never before, quickly rising to the top of his class.  

However, with success, came the familiar fear of stagnation.  He was conquering the Ranger challenges left and right but what now?  Was it supposed to be harder?  What was he supposed to do?  By chance, he found the answer during a wilderness survival training session in which students were instructed in making bows in the wild.  After completing the task, Brandon asked another recruit to toss a canteen in the air on a lark.  Brandon hit it dead on.  Encouraged by the success, he asked the recruit to toss up a dog tag.  Brandon nailed it dead on.  Every time, every target, he caught them straight on.  It was empowering, the knowledge that not many people could pull off shots like this.  It felt...right.  His continued fascination with the bow did not go unnoticed by his superiors who, seeking to increase their number of specialists in rare fields, allowed him to continue to carry a proper bow as a scout after completing the Ranger curriculum.  

Sent overseas, Brandon found himself in a strange jungle in a backwater country hunting terrorist cells.  He was young, skilled and over confident.  In his arrogance, he became sloppy and allowed one of the targets to uncover his position.  Cole was able to evade the reinforcements that were called in, the rest of the team he was assigned to was not.  The terrorist cell descended upon Cole's team, left unawares as their resident scout was unable to warn them beforehand.  Cole was the only survivor, the one responsible for the loss of his team all because he'd missed.  Because his fear of failure had finally come true.  Rather than sink into depression and self-destruction, Brandon held off on calling for evacuation from the site.  Instead, he turned his attention back to the terrorist cell and one by one, he hunted them down through the jungle.  Not a single one of them survived Brandon's response.  He didn't miss this time.  

Despite his counterattack, Brandon was demoted again and removed from active duty with the Rangers.  At least, that was the public decision.  The brass had come to realize the Brandon was a useful tool but one with a very specific purpose.  He was at his best while working apart from larger forces.  He was most useful when operating unseen in the shadows, an ideal assassin.  In a way, Cole welcomed the change in assignments.  He'd never been a people person, never been comfortable giving orders or taking them from those he didn't trust and respect.  Now, he had the freedom to operate relatively autonomously.  Get the target anyway that you can, just get the job done.  That was a job description Brandon could get behind and he quickly found that he had a true talent for it.  He was one of the best that the U.S. had to offer.  When 1999 threw the world into chaos with the revelation on the extent of modern vampire activity, it was a short time before his reassignment came.  He had a new breed of target to deal with now.  Orders were orders.  

RP sample:
Saturday at 8:55 A.M. it should be here any minute now.  Brandon sat alone on a guard railing along the railroad tracks waiting for his exercise equipment to get there.  At least, he wished he was alone.  Beside him, a neighborhood kid had decided to take a seat, kicking his feet back and forth in thin air, unable to properly reach the ground.  "You've been coming here for a while now, mister.  I walk by on my way home and I never see you do anything but stare at the trains," the young by commented, examining the toes of his sneakers.  Cole checked the clock again, 8:59, he could feel the rumble of the approaching train.  It was just about time.  

"Because that's all I do kid.  I stare at the trains," the soldier replied, watching in silence at the passenger train sped by at a blistering speed, little more than a blur of motion as it passed on the way to the nearest big city.  The kid had joined in, squinting at the train to try and uncover the hidden secret of the train.  "You didn't wave back," Brandon said casually, confusing the child even more.  "The little girl in the third car, second seat back in the Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt.  She was waving at you," the archer explained.  

The child looked dumbfounded, doing a double take at the man beside him and the train fading into the distance.  "H-how'd you see that?  It was moving so fast!" the boy asked, waving his arms rapidly to try and replicate the speed unsuccessfully.  Brandon held back the smirk tugging on his lips and ruffled his own hair a bit, rising to his feet and heading for the parking lot where his car was waiting.  

"Watch the trains, kid.  You'll get it soon enough."

-------------------------------------
Combat Sample
------------------------------
"One...two...three.  Three it is." the man in black reassured himself, surveying the warehouse from the safe seclusion of the treeline.  Spotlight sweep pattern didn't reach this part of the perimeter and there was a small hole in the bottom of the fence just big enough to work with.  All he had to worry about were the three guards stationed at the rear maintenance entrance.  Primary target was inside the building.  Done deal.  Moving carefully, Brandon shifted his position without greatly upsetting the foliage around him.  No rookie mistakes like cracking a fallen stick.  Gotta play this one tight.  Sliding his way down from his vantage point on the hill, the archer crouched low in the shadows waiting for the best time to move.  Clouds were coming in, a few more seconds and that damn moonlight shining down on the open lawn between his position and the fence would be temporarily blocked.  He'd have to make it count.  With one eye on the clouds the assassin readied three arrows on his bow held horizontally.  The heavy heads would help keep them stable but he'd still need to keep his upper body still.  

"Here we go," Cole told himself, breaking silently from his position as the moonlight disappeared.  His full black suit made his a shifting pool of black mercury racing across the grass with his bow in a half draw.  He was almost in range to pull this trick off, the fence was ten yards off but the middle guard was turning back from his conversation.  It'd have to be now.  Pulling back the string of his weapon, Brandon went into a power slide across the wet grass and let the arrows fly.  Three precise arrows soared through the holes in the chain link fence and found a mark in each of the guards.  The three men hit the dirt just as Brandon leaned back in the middle of his slide, the bottom rungs of the fence hole scraping over his vest as he slid through the barrier and came up in an athletic position, one hand reaching back for another arrow just in case.  No sign of additional guards.  That fancy slide shot had gotten him into this blind spot just in time to avoid the resurgence of the moonlight.  

He let out a silent exhale of relief.  The easy part was over.  The hard part would be getting to this guy without alerting the other guards.  Without warning a soft buzz came into his ear, the comm device in his ear had gone off.  Reaching up, he depressed the single button to take it off mute now that he had a moment to drag the bodies flush against the wall and recover his arrows, taking care to unprime their charges.   "Yes sir?  Kind of in the middle of something," the archer asked in a hushed whisper.  The boss had to have something important to say to interrupt him in the middle of the job.  

"Change of plans, Cole.  We're taking the whole damn camp.  I want you on support for the bash bros coming in.  Over." Cole's boss said, cutting off the connection before Brandon could respond.  As if on que, a heavily armored military humvee can roaring over the hillside, automatic gunfire and cheers loud an clear as the more "special" members of VWAT drew the attention of the entire camp their way, including the security chopper that Cole had taken care to avoid at all cost.  His head slumped down for a moment and he let out a sigh as the gunfire grew louder and the shouts from guards in the camp became manic at the ridiculously unexpected all out assault.  He could just barely pick up the whir as the gattling guns on the chopper hovering in the center of the camp began to rev up.  Without looking, Brandon raised his left hand holding his bow with a freshly nocked arrow and drew back the string, immediately releasing it upon reaching a near full draw.  The arrow flew straight and true, the heavy broad head planting itself into the rear tail of the chopper before exploding at the press of a button on Cole's bow, taking the chopper's fuel tank (and the entire vehicle) with it.


Last edited by Father Alexander Anderson on Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
Henry Travers
Henry Travers
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Character sheet
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Brandon Cole Empty Re: Brandon Cole

Post by John Smith Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:14 pm

Approved before. Just as nice as I remember it. So copied from Hawkeye original, too.

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http://boblogical.tumblr.com/

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Brandon Cole Empty Re: Brandon Cole

Post by Zulu Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:20 pm

Issues to be said!

Mind putting your stealth kevlar vest into equipment? Since it has special qualities of it's own, it qualifies as part of the equipment, but feel free to leave it in the appearance section, fluff parts are fluffy.
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Brandon Cole Empty Re: Brandon Cole

Post by Henry Travers Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:52 pm

Done and done.
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Brandon Cole Empty Re: Brandon Cole

Post by Eleanor Harkness Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:21 pm

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Brandon Cole Empty Re: Brandon Cole

Post by Zulu Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:22 pm

Looked and punted.

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Brandon Cole Empty Re: Brandon Cole

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