Courtney Jane Strong's Metropolice Force Application

OOC Name: Grom

IC Character Name: Courtney Jane Strong

1) Please write a minimum of 3 paragraphs OOC'ly detailing why your character wishes to join the Metropolice Force and what lead your character to do so.
Courtney's post-invasion life has been fairly unremarkable. She has kept her head down, assisting the CCA where possible in an attempt to fly 'below the radar'. Coupled with her respect and deference to authority, Courtney is in many ways an ideal citizen - she listens, follows orders and stays out of trouble.

Keeping her head down wasn't enough to ensure a peaceful existence, however. When a friend was stabbed and left to die by another citizen over a handful of tokens, Courtney was appalled by the injustice of the situation. Senseless violence seemed inherent amongst the citizen population, leading Courtney to wonder what could be done.

Recently, Courtney witnessed a Combine Civil Authority raid on D2 wherein several units were engaged by anti-citizens in a firefight on the bridge. After escaping the firefight and returning to her apartment, she found an MPF unit lying wounded and offered to help by providing her jacket as a makeshift bandage. Reinforcements and a member of the Citizen Healthcare Providers service arrived to assist, and Courtney was sent away.

Roughly twenty-four hours later, Courtney witnessed another raid, this time observing an OTA team proceeding into D2 and observing the hardpoint established by MPF personnel to facilitate the raid. The unit on point at the clamp site was the unit she'd assisted the day before, and after turning in a note found in the UCH, was encouraged by the unit to join the MPF.

2) Please detail your characters traits. (Eg, Pure, Lawful, Trustworthy)
Courtney possesses a submissive and somewhat introverted personality, meaning she's likely to take orders well and unlikely to talk back. She has a strong sense of justice. She tends to defer to authority figures and as a citizen has avoided trouble, and views vices such as gambling and drugs as distasteful.

3) Please provide 2 paragraphs about what you are expecting the Combine Civil Authority to be like for you and your character.
Having roleplayed a CCA unit before, my expectations are similar to what I've already experienced. CCA roleplay provides ongoing roleplay in the forms of training and comradeship that isn't necessarily available outside of the CCA. I expect to form bonds with other units through patrols and activities and to interact with citizens in a variety of ways, whether I'm handing out rations or beatings. Generally, CCA roleplay allows mature players a chance to heighten the atmosphere of the server, adding to the dystopian feeling present on the server.

On the other hand, I'm aware that some of the misconceptions regarding CCA roleplay are generally exaggerated or fabricated. I'm not expecting to engage in shootouts with rebels every two days or to spend my time cybering inside the Nexus.

Within the CCA, I expect to find a group of mature, like-minded roleplayers who desire to create an atmosphere similar to that in the game for the general playerbase and a group of close-knit officers who take the time to interact with their comrades on patrol or while off-duty.

4) Please provide a detailed back-story from an out-of-character perspective on your applying character. This section must be detailed and consist of a minimum of 300 words.
The third of three children, Courtney was pushed to excel by her father who passed away when she was nine. Raised by her mother and grandfather in a lower-class neighborhood, Courtney was determined to escape from what she perceived to be a life of underachievement and violence. Eschewing the lifestyle her older brothers embraced, Courtney avoided drugs, alcohol and gangs in favour of education and hard work. The work paid off, and she was offered a scholarship to a local college - to most, this would barely be an accomplishment, but for Courtney it was both proof that she could rise above her upbringing and a chance to escape.

Courtney was studying to be a teacher when the Seven Hour War broke out, and in the aftermath and during the Combine invasion she watched governments collapse and mankind descend into anarchy that was only halted by the establishment of Combine-controlled cities and the relocation of the population to urban centers. For Courtney, life was uncomfortable but not entirely unfamiliar – life in the Union-controlled cities wasn’t particularly different to her pre-college life, and in some ways the constant presence of authority made it an improvement. Criminal gangs were stamped out, violent offenses were uncommon, and ration cycles and assigned housing guaranteed citizens who cooperated would be cared for.

Courtney settled into her new life with a sense of pragmatic acceptance. Participating in work details as mandated, she lived a relatively solitary life with limited contact outside of her roommates and work colleagues. For a time, she attempted to find out what happened to her family, sending letters through approved channels, but eventually these efforts ceased. Like many citizens, Courtney simply continued to exist – life became little more than work and sleep, with the routine performed in something of a daze.

Before long, Courtney was relocated to City 18. She had been relocated before, and didn’t expect this city to be any different from the others she’d lived in. This wasn’t to be the case. In her brief time in the city, Courtney has seen one of her roommates murdered, witnessed a firefight between MPF personnel and anti-citizens and – in her mind – saved a unit’s life. Her eyes opened, Courtney decided – at the unit’s prompting – to make something of her life. She would join the MPF.

5) Have you ever had a MPF character here at Catalyst Gaming?  If so, explain why it was removed.
Not that I can remember.


OOC Details

1. How long have you played on role-playing servers in general?
Six years. Probably closer to seven.

2. How long have you played on serious servers?
Probably approaching seven years now. I've also participated in forum-based roleplays for around nine years.

3. How long have you played on Catalyst Gaming?
I've been registered and have played on and off for around a year and a half.

4. What Time zone are you in?
GMT+10

5. In what country do you live?
Australia

6. How old are you?
21.

7. What�s your most memorable quality RP experience?
In HL2RP, probably a prolonged sequence of roleplay on Pubgamer where CCA forces attempted to track down an anti-citizen figurehead. As a Civil Administrator, I made numerous speeches discrediting her and was heavily involved in attempts made to draw her out of hiding through instituting crackdowns on rations and appealing to the public to sell her out.

Outside of HL2RP, I played a bounty hunter on Infusion Gaming's Fallout roleplay server and had the privilege of capturing DrVengeance's raider character. After being doublecrossed by the New California Republic and refused payment, I hung around with him for a while before selling him to a bartender. The entire series of events as well as the roleplay we shared during his captivity was fantastic.

8. Do you consider yourself a good listener?
Yes. I was an admin for a period of time at two roleplaying communities (PubGamer and Infusion Gaming), and listening was a large part of the job.

---

IC Section

Full Name: Courtney Jane Strong
CID: 63943
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 2"
Hair Colour Black
Eye Colour: Brown
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Weight: 105lb
Mental Distinctions: Reluctant to accept praise; often tries to deflect credit for achivements to others.
Mental Defects: None recorded. Family history of late-onest Alzheimers. Aunt and mother diagnosed with clinical depression at age forty.
Mental Advantages: Above-average mental faculties. Intelligent. Possesses good memory and developed communicational skills.
Notable Qualities: Keen attention to detail and developed observational skills. Loyal and trusting with strong respect for authority.


1. Have you ever been detained or apprehended for a Sociostability Infringement before? If so, explain?
No.

2. Do you regularly eat Combine Civil Authority Issued Rations?
Yes.

3. Are you willing to give your life to the cause of the Universal Union?
Yes.

4. Do you as a Citizen and future Civil Protection Member accept ALL actions performed by you and those under your command as your OWN responsibility?
Yes.

5. Will you remain loyal and faithful to the Universal Union as long as you live?
Yes.

6. Why do you want to join the Combine Civil Authority?
To better serve the Union and to assist in its efforts across the city. I believe joining the CCA would allow me to contribute to the city’s wellbeing in a meaningful way, protecting citizens from unruly elements and helping the Union maintain a secure, stable rulership of the city.


Please sign the attached oath using only blue or black pen.

Player Section

Steam Name: Grom
Age: I'm eighteen going on nineteen and currently at university.
How long have you been Roleplaying? (can be any game): About six years, give or take. I started with text-based roleplay at a number of sites.
How long have you been playing Serious GMod RP?: Five or so years now. I've played at a few communities, such as PubGamer, Necropolis, InfusionGaming and a few others besides.

Character Section

Authorization(s):
This character would be a former member of the British Special Air Service, or SAS. The British SAS have served as a model for special force units across the world, and are some of the most highly-trained soldiers in the world. Trained in close-quarters and ranged combat, survival techniques for most environments and mental and physical endurance, the SAS are some of the world's most elite operatives in the fields of combat and infiltration.

This application will also be for one of the SAS's distinctive sand-coloured berets, which will serve as an heirloom rather than a piece of physical attire, and a combat knife. Clothing in muted colours would also be appropriate, such as a brown jacket or undershirt and some appropriate boots. Any other weapons I intend to acquire while on the server; I have no wish to start out with an AR2 and three RPGs.

Name: Richard Fulton
Age: Thirty-two yers of age.
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Resistance

Write a detailed in-canon back-story how your character obtained these authorizations.
Born to a colonel in the British Armed Forces and his civilian wife, Richard spent much of his childhood and early teenage years travelling from military base to military base depending on his father’s transfer orders. Although many would find this a lonely childhood, Richard was never particularly friendly with anyone at any of the bases he attended; he regarded many of the children with contempt, and spent much of his time alone. A talented sportsman, Richard played several spots throughout his life, though most were extremely physical – rugby, boxing and fencing to name a few.

Groomed from an early age for a career in the military, Richard was fast-tracked into an officer’s course when he was of age, and proved a competent strategist, though his lack of concern for the men under his command constantly worried instructors. Granted the rank of lieutenant, Richard was deployed during the Iraq War and performed during several combat operations. He gained recognition for being a keen strategist and courageous soldier, though several of his superiors viewed his penchant for destruction and ‘glorylust’ – their way of describing Fulton’s fixation with violence and desire to inflict harm – as detrimental to his command.

Richard’s valour in battle, and his father’s position, saw him face selection for the British Special Air Service. Along with a handful of other men, he underwent intense training, both physical and mental, before being chosen to serve in the 22 SAS Regiment. He was assigned to A Squadron, and served with some distinction in several ‘black’ operations and a number of conventional conflicts.

Prior to the Seven Hour War, Fulton was assigned to a training detachment on tour in central Europe as part of an international instructional conference. During his stay, the Black Mesa incident occurred and the subsequent conflict rocked the globe. Called to service, Fulton instead chose the path of least resistance; he deserted during the night and was quickly captured, along with most of the world’s population. Richard assumed the name of his younger brother, who died during childbirth – now James Fulton, he spent several months as one of the faceless multitude, the citizens enslaved by the Combine.

He spent his time preparing, continuing to train when he could – simple exercises, such as pushups or laps of abandoned courtyards, kept him in shape, while he traded tokens for maps of the area surrounding the city and wider countryside and excess food. After months of preparation, he made his escape; through the sewer tunnels of the city and to the canals. A number of refugees accompanied him, ferried by the ‘underground railroad’ – on his third night in the canals, Fulton abandoned them, electing to make his own way to freedom.

On his twelfth night outside the city, Richard came across a pair of citizens who had elected to kill to survive. He had found the bodies two days prior, their throats slit during the night and their corpses stripped clean. This time, the murderers were caught unawares. While they reclined at a fire, laughing and eating the supplies stolen from those they preyed upon, the ex-commando slowly crept up on them, a screwdriver his only weapon. The first men only managed a strangled scream as Fulton stabbed at his throat with the improvised knife, lodging it deep in the man’s larynx. The second man did not die as easily; a prolonged fight, made all the more difficult by the man’s weapon – a finely-honed combat knife – ended when Fulton stove the murderer’s skull in with a rock plucked from the riverbed. Fulton had killed his first man in months, and it gave him joy like nothing else.

Hiking through the wilderness and free from the Combine’s iron fist, Fulton stayed in the wilderness, seeking out national parks and expanses of mountainous forest where he could avoid detection from the air and from on foot. In the forests, he relied on his training to avoid contact with everyone – citizen and Combine alike. His supplies were rationed carefully, supplemented with flora and fauna from the surrounding area. He seldom relied on fires, eating food raw or cooked over only the lowest flame on the cloudiest nights. He camped in only the most difficult terrain, often camping on narrow ledges set into high cliffs and in dense shrubland and frozen tundra. Armed only with a knife and his wits, Fulton evaded detection for several years.

Eventually, Fulton found himself unable to remain alone in the wild. Any game had long been hunted to extinction, either by him or by the unnatural predators that stalked the forest by night. His supplies had run low, and he was forced to move, heading for more populated areas. Military camps and prewar installations, scattered around the country, would prove to be hotbeds of resistance activity, which Fulton had anticipated. Moving by night, a few miles a day, the commando made his way towards the nearest base and back into the pages of history.

What will these authorizations give your character in regards to perks or defects?
Perks
As a former member of the British SAS, Fulton would be an expert in hand-to-hand combat as well as fieldcraft, marksmanship and infiltration. A life of dedicated training, both physical and mental, would put him in peak condition pre-war. Fulton would also be very level-headed in stressful situations, and accustomed to blood and death. Service in the military would grant him knowledge of a variety of firearms, and he would be relatively proficient with many of them. Post-war, his physical abilities have degenerated due to malnourishment and the inability to practice many skills; he has, however, tried to maintain his skills as best he can with what he has onhand.

In short:

- Proficient with a variety of firearms and close-combat weapons.
- Adept at surviving in numerous environments, including forest and tundra areas.
- Heightened reflexes and endurance, maintained through constant exercise and training.
- Skilled infiltrator, able to operate in a variety of conditions.
- Excels in ranged and close-quarters combat.

Additionally:

 - Armed with a well-kept combat knife.
- Carries an SAS beret, which he keeps as a memento out of sentimentality.

Defects
Fulton is not a perfect man; far from it. He is, first and foremost, focussed on his own survival - he will do whatever it takes to save his own skin. Until now, that has meant staying away from urban areas and any locations the Resistance would likely have set up, including military bases and wartime installations. As such, he has few friends and little desire to make any, and tends to avoid human contact. Should allying with a group provide him with an edge, or ensure his survival, he would likely do what he could to gain their trust and acceptance. He would also turn on them in a heartbeat should it prove the most effective course of action.

Richard is also, for all intents and purposes, a psychopath. During childhood, he was selfish and often left alone, partly due to his antisocial tendencies and partly due to the life he led as a child of a serving military man. Even at an early age, Fulton found himself compelled to violence, largely as a show of power; he exerted his strength over weaker children, and was branded a bully and a danger to others. As he grew, Richard learned to control himself and to channel his violent nature towards more accepted outlets – he boxed for a time, before serving in the military. In the post-invasion world, Fulton spends much of his time alone, and with few outlets for his violent tendencies he is often agitated and prone to anger. Weakness infuriates him, and he sees those that refuse to stand up for themselves as cowards and fools who deserve to be oppressed; who deserve to be kept beneath the fist of the strong. He does not make friends easily, and many distrust him – for good reason. Fulton is paranoid, calculating, and often cynical; all traits that lead to many seeing him as a bastard, which, of course, he is.

Naturally, as a trained soldier, Fulton would also be a high-priority target for the Combine. Should his identity or background be discovered, he would likely be shot on the spot or converted into a transhuman unit, which would, ironically, grant him what he desires – survival and free license for violence. Whether he would appreciate the irony of the situation in his augmented form is left to the imagination.

What do you plan to do with these perks/defects?
Rather than create another highly skilled ex-military Resistance member with a heart of gold, I plan to make Richard an interesting and unique character through his background and his abilities. He’ll be an immensely talented fighter, a skilled soldier and a competent tactician, but he’s also a selfish, self-centered man with violent tendencies and a superiority complex that rivals that of Stalin. He’s hardly a hero, and there’s one word I can think of to describe him: flawed. Without his defects, he’d be a champion of the Resistance, a man capable of great feats, but with them he’s lost and dangerous. He’s a ship without a captain, but with guidance, he could be truly great.

I believe in creating roleplay as well as experiencing it, which I believe I can also achieve with this character. Though he won’t be seeking out those in need to save them in their time of trial, he’d have an enormous amount of knowledge he could impart. He’d be able to teach Resistance members and citizens alike, provided he could be found and convinced to aid them.

Will anyone else need these auths? (If so, list OOC and IC name(s))
No.

Which server does this apply for?
Outlands

Extra Notes (optional):
The main thing I’m trying to avoid is creating a Combine-hating killing machine, and I think I’ve managed that with this pitch. I’m more than capable of handling the responsibility that would come from such a character, having played several Resistance members and high-trust characters, such as a Civil Administrator, Civil Protection officer and blackmarket arms dealer, at other communities in the past. I’m sure there’s a few ex-Pubgamers that will vouch for me, but hopefully their word won’t be required – I hope this application has made enough sense and seems to be written by a person you’d deem mature enough for the responsibility a character such as this would need. If there’s anything you think needs clarification or changing, don’t hesitate to let me know.