Player Section
Steam Name: Laser Streak™
Age: 15
How long have you been Roleplaying? (can be any game): 4 Years.
How long have you been playing Serious GMod RP?: Two-Ish-years.
Character Section
Authorization(s):
Advanced Knowledge of Human Tech (NOT COMBINE)
Advanced Hand to Hand Combat Skill
Tactical Knife
Name: Zak Dunn
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Resistance
Write a detailed in-canon back-story how your character obtained these authorizations.
As Zak pulled in to his reserved parking space outside of the Aperture Technology Development Sector, the red morning sun slowly crept up the horizon. It lit up Aperture beautifully. He locked his car, retrieved his briefcase from the trunk, and headed towards the entrance of the building. Today was not another ordinary day at the office; it was quite a red letter day. Zak and the other scientists were putting the finishing touches on the Human-Computer Intelligence being created to run the facility and conduct tests.
Zak strolled up the stairs at the front of the building and the security guard greeted him. “Morning, Doctor Dunn. Have a nice day" Zak replied, "You too, Al," And continued inside. He signed in at the secretary's desk and picked up his lab coat. Dr. Dunn continued on his way to the elevator which led down to HCI's observation room and main floor. As he entered, one of the main scientists working on the GLaDOS Project quickly followed him. "Morning, Doctor Rattmann. Are you prepared for the big event?" Dr. Rattman nodded and smirked, seeming very nervous. The elevator glided down the shaft and halted abruptly at the observation room. He stepped out and the elevator once again lowered, having Doug Rattman appear a few seconds later below him in the HCI's chamber.
"Ah, Zak, You made it!" The Head of Technology Development said, continuing to stare down upon the final parts of the HCI. "This is the Genetic Life and Disk Operating System, more commonly known as GLaDOS. We have Caroline's mind uploaded and we are awaiting the last few parts to be added." Just as he finished his words, Dr. Rattman waved up to them and gave thumbs up. A worker near GLaDOS walked up the support walk and flipped a large switch on the GLaDOS personality core.
A panel slid and covered the switch, and the HCI powered on. Its female toned voice came through the speaker system. "Hello, and welcome to the Aperture Science Computer Aided Enrichment Center." The Head of Technology laughed in triumph. "Ha ha! Old Mr. Johnson would be prou-" He was cut off by a sickening scream from a scientist down below. Both the Head of Tech and Zak's heads snapped to the source of the scream. A scientist was being literally melted by a Thermal Discouragement Beam. The man fell limp as the Head of Tech screamed in to the intercom system. "Rattman! Shut that damn thing down, now!" As Dr. Rattman and a few other scientists dove for the power complex shaft, GLaDOS began to chuckle. Hm hm. I've tapped in to the Neurotoxin vents. I suggest you take a very deep breath... and hold it."
The Head of Tech looked over at Zak with a pale face and a look of grim horror. "T-today is b-bring your daughter to w-work day!" Zak froze with the claw of cold terror gripping at his heart, thinking of the children in the Office wing, and how it was a major possibility that they would lose their lives if GLaDOS was not shut down. Dr. Dunn was so distracted that he didn't notice that the scientists down below had finished shutting down the HCI System and that the Head of Technology was standing in the elevator waiting for him. "Hello, are you listening?" He said. "We need to go down there, NOW!" "Oh- Sorry!" Zak stammered, and quickly walked toward the elevator. The white doors slid closed and it slid down its shaft, stopping at GLaDOS' chamber. The Head of Tech stormed out, enraged, and grabbed Rattman by his collar. "What the hell was that?" He yelled. "That's not something Caroline would have done! What the hell did you program that thing with?" Doug looked at the Head of Tech, paralyzed. "I... I've got no..." "Fix that thing!" The head of technology threw Dr. Rattman up against the nearby wall and stormed back to the elevator.
Zak walked up to the service platform below GLaDOS. He brushed his hand over the cold, white, smooth metal plating surrounding the central visual module. "What have we created?" Dr. Dunn whispered to himself. He spun around and started towards the other scientists. "Dr. Rattmann. Go up to the office wing and evacuate the children." Dr. Dunn said. Rattman walked coldly and sadly to the elevator, drifting inside and pressing the button. As the doors slid closed, he took one final look at the HCI.
"Surely you can't be planning to power that monster back on AGAIN, Dr. Dunn!" Dr. Morgan said to Zak, who was examining the HCI Log on the computer screen near the elevator. "Jessica, we've spent trillions on this project. Not to mention our deal with OpsY Tec. What was Founder Johnson's dying wish? For this HCI to exist here." Dr. Morgan stared at Zak with disgust in her eyes. "Do you really think this is the first time we've activated it? We've been at this all night. Every time we activate it, it takes one nineteenth of a Picosecond before it tries to kill us." Dr. Dunn slammed his fist on the desk and walked in the elevator, on his way to the office wing.
He exited the elevator, walking down a few hallways. Zak stopped for a moment, staring coldly at the science projects to his right; Potato batteries, mini volcanoes, usual child's experiments. For a second he thought he had heard a child's scared whimpering. "Rattman must have left their souls here." He whispered to himself. Just then, he caught sight of the little girl hiding under a science project. She looked to be about 8."Come on out of there! We need to get you out of this facility." She didn't move. Dr. Dunn extended his hand, beckoning for the girl to come out. "I'm not going to hurt you," He said. "But we need to get you out of here. My friend was supposed to have taken you outside with your father. Will you tell me your name?" "Christina," The girl said. "Demokrazi." The little girl took Zak's hand and crawled out of her hiding space.
Dr. Dunn held on to Christina's hand and took her over to a Science Emergency Contact Telephone, and called the station at GLaDOS' Chamber. "Hello?" Dr. Morgan's voice came through. "Jessica, put Dr. Demokrazi on the phone." After a moment of silence, Dr. Demokrazi's voice came through. "Dr. Dunn? What is it?" He said. "Your daughter is still in the building. I have her here with me. Come to the office wing near the Neurotoxin development center." "I'll be there as fast as I can." Dr. Dunn replaced the phone and waited silently for Dr. Demokrazi.
About ten minutes later, Dr. Demokrazi walked in through the hallway Zak came from. "Christina! Thank god you're alright." Christina ran from Zak to her father, and Dr. Demokrazi looked up at Zak with a worried look on his face. "They're going to turn her on one more time," He said, his voice shaking. "This time they're not going to turn her off if she tries to kill us again. They're going to leave her on, but with a limited neurotoxin supply. Dr. Naransky thinks that she won't actually go through with her plan to kill us." "You've got to be kidding me," Dr. Dunn responded. "He can't really be going through with this! We need to get out of the building, before it's too late. Follow me, I know the quickest route to the surfa-" He was interrupted by the blaring of the Announcement System. "Warning! Neurotoxin emitters priming; Return to your official Science Neurotoxin Response positions immediately." Zak's face paled, yelling "Come on! We've got to get to the surface right now! Before she closes the exits off!" Christina, Dr. Demokrazi, and Dr. Dunn sprinted down the empty, seemingly abandoned hallways towards the Surface Evacuation Elevator. They reached it and bolted inside, but the power was instantly terminated by GLaDOS. "You're not going anywhere, but for now I have to go deal with your schizophrenic friend. “The doors of the elevator ominously closed, trapping the three of them inside.
"Dr. Demokrazi, there is another exit, not controlled by Her..." Dr. Dunn said, anxiety straining his voice. "But..." Dr. Demokrazi responded. "It's on the opposite side of Old Aperture." Zak stammered out. "How do you know if it still operates?" "I was down there with Dr. Morgan and Dr. Naransky a month ago, searching for the uploaded copy of Caroline's consciousness. Some good news, this elevator, being an emergency escape elevator, has a shutdown survival kit. And if I’m right-" Zak said, kneeling down to the floor of the cramped room and uncovering a hatch. "And I am, we can get out of this elevator before being killed." Dr. Dunn popped off a metal plate on the side of the elevator, revealing the specific tool to open the escape hatch. He hastily popped open the hatch, swinging open to show an elevator shaft leading down for miles. There was an insignificant looking ladder going down the side, all the way to the bottom.
"Well," Zak said, starting to climb down to the ladder, "Here we go." Dr. Demokrazi followed, clinging on to Christina as they dangerously shuffled on to the rickety ladder. "Christina, hold on tight to the ladder. Be very careful." He said nervously as he slowly let go of her on the ladder. The small group carefully gripped the ladder as they crept their way down, hesitant to go too quickly. "At the bottom of this shaft," Zak said, between breaths. "Is the Gamma wing of Old Aperture. We're going to have to go quite a ways to get to the old testing tracks. We're heading for Shaft 5, a completely deserted track with an old testing sphere blocking the main entrance." Dr. Dunn explained, still leading them down the ladder.
As the three of them stepped down off of the last few rungs of the ladder, about three miles below the surface, some dim lights lit up the surrounding mounds of rubble. "Well," Dr. Dunn said. "This is Old Aperture." The three of them gazed around them at the massive underground space. "It's... Bigger than I expected." Dr. Demokrazi stuttered. "This room is one of the smallest. We'd best get going; it's going to take quite a while to get out of here." Dr. Dunn said, climbing over some rubble. Christina and her father followed quickly, careful not to get left behind in the mounds of broken steel. They continued on their way, until Zak stopped suddenly. "Hmm..." He mumbled to himself. "Is there an issue?" Dr. Demokrazi said nervously. "No, I'm alright." Zak said uncertainly, continuing to lead them along the piles of rubble.
After another few hours of walking, they came to be able to see one of the old testing shafts in the distance. "Good, We’re on the right track," Dr. Dunn said, leading Dr. Demokrazi and Christina down to the side of a massive fallen testing sphere embedded in the remainder of a canyon area. "Most of the important walkways and tests were vitrified in the late 80's." Zak said, as they continued down the piles of fallen rubble. "Down here we'll be able to get inside the test sphere, but we're going to have to complete the test to get out on the opposite side. Lucky for us, this specific testing sphere doesn't require the A-S-H-P-D." He said as they continued climbing down the hill of twisted metal and stone. The three of them finally arrived on a flattened out chunk of metal placed on the edge of a pit which led down farther than the eye could see. On the opposite side of the pit was the massive sloped wall of the fallen testing sphere. A large chunk was missing from the wall of the sphere, leading in to jet-black darkness.
"You can't be expecting us to jump that pit! It's at least five feet wide, and god knows how deep it is!" Dr. Demokrazi nervously said. "Trust me, Dr. Demokrazi, I've done this before. Inside that hole is an observation deck for one of the old testing tracks; I forget what this sphere's test was, but I'm sure we'll be able to get past it." Zak said, turning to stare in to the dark hole "What was that?" Christina said, clinging to her father. "What was it, Christina?" Dr. Demokrazi said, holding on to his scared daughter. "Something green went past the hole!" She said, fear splitting her voice. Zak mumbled something to himself quietly. "What was it, Dr. Dunn? What was that thing?" Dr. Demokrazi demanded. "Nothing,”
~~~~~NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE COMPLETED VERSION! This is a segment of backstory from the book I'm writing about Zak, titled "Aperture." This explains how he escaped Aperture with the character Christina Demokrazi in 2000/2001, when GLaDOS turned rampant. Please contact me through Steam immediately if any further information is required about this.~~~~~
~~(Hand to hand Combat Skill + Tactical Knife)~~
Zak stumbled backwards, coughing and clutching his chest. He had just taken a direct hit from Nashlonson, and old friend and associate in the resistance. "C'Mon, Zak! Fight back!" He said jokingly, a wild grin on his face. "Then teach me how, dammit!" Zak said, coughing up the words. "So be it!" Nash said, extending his hand down to Zak in an effort to help him stand up straight. Zak ignored it, fixing his posture and watching Nashlonson, paying close attention. "Punch me. Uppercut to the ribs." Nash said, his expression straightening. Zak threw an immediate uppercut at Nashlonson, as Nash grabbed the knuckles of Zak, slightly twisting and pushing back. Zak was lifted back a few feet by Nash's strength, jaw dropping. "Now. Imitate that, or get hit. Plain and simple." Nash said, quickly and swiftly aiming an uppercut towards Zak's chest. Zak attempted to stop his fist the way Nash had stopped his own moments before, failing and getting hit in the chest hard. They repeated this a few times, as Zak eventually began to start getting the hang of it. "Good, good, you're starting to understand it," Nash said. "Now. Aim for my face."
Many different attacks and defenses and bruises later, Nash unsheathed the Tactical Knife he had on his shoulder. He flipped it around, extending it towards Zak. The handle was worn down, used for months. It had three small cuts in the polished steel, and Zak didn't ask about them. "Knife time. Come at me with it. But please, Don't kill me." Zak swung at Nash swiftly, nearly cutting open his throat (But stopping before he made contact). They fought for hours, honing Zak's hand to hand combat skill. "Keep the knife. You probably have more use for it than I do," He said, tapping the hilt of the sword on his hip. "Don't mind if I do..." Zak said, admiring the sleek form of the blade. He unsheathed his own old cleaver blade, tossing it on the ground and sliding the new blade in to the sheath.
What will these authorizations give your character in regards to perks or defects?
Perks
Ability to solve complicated physics issues
Ability to design small technological devices (With proper materials, of course.)
Ability to modify technology and/or repair technology.
Ability to slightly understand Combine Tech, though not much.
Ability to perform better than most in hand-to-hand combat situations.
Boosts effectiveness in Hand to Hand situations.
Defects
If the Overwatch finds out about Zak's previous affiliation with Aperture, it would make him a high priority target.
He will sometimes get vivid and horrifying flashbacks of the day he escaped, zoning him out of everything for periods of time.
Depression
Memory Loss (As per drinking Breen Water, he loses about 10% of the knowledge he had, along with memories of his escape aside from Christina)
Slightly less skill with a firearm
What do you plan to do with these perks/defects?
I plan to assist the local Resistance groups with technology, helping them with any technology they find and/or want my help to create. I don't plan on LOLCreating Magnusson bombs for them, unless I had a shit load of resources and a LOT of time. I personally ENJOY roleplaying the creation of things part by part, instead of fading in and out. Zak wouldn't be suicidal depressed, because he found a girl recently. And as for the OTA finding out, the only people that know of his background in Aperture are Christina Demokrazi, Giovanni Russo, Leonidas Dunn, and Paula Seer.
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):
Garry's Mod
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