Sparrow

Name: Malika Okoro

Blood type: A-

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Nicknames: [N/A]

Pastimes: Studying, video games, reading

Scorecard:

Physical

Combat skill

Psychological Strength 2/5 Accuracy 3/5 Intelligence 5/5 Endurance 3/5 Reflexes 3/5 Bravery 2/5 Agility 4/5 Weapons versatility 2/5 Resilience 4/5 Constitution 2/5 Battlecraft 4/5 Wisdom 5/5 5=Exceptional 4=Specialist 3=Trained 2=Average 1=Poor Overall role: Exceptional Researcher

Bio: Born Nigeria 1986 June 9. Raised in a poor village in the north Sparrow spent most of her childhood before school helping out the family. Not having much time outside of her household duties left her with little to no friends which could be viewed as a mixed blessing with the volatile nature of the neighbourhood. As a result the free time she had was spent in books her family managed to find. At the age of 5 however Sparrow was already set on the path to becoming a brilliant scientist.

By a series of random events Sparrow’s parents came into the possession of numerous textbooks varying from elementary science to theoretical proposals. Before being able to sell them Sparrow developed an absolute fascination for the contents of the books studying them whenever she had a free moment. Beginning her schooling she was quickly sent into higher years and finished secondary education at the age of 15.

Still eager to advance her knowledge and desperate to find somewhere she could study in peace she applied for a scholarship. Finding it was quickly accepted within the week she was escorted to the capital by a security detail. The long drive gave Sparrow plenty of time to look over her tortured country and in numerous traffic jams to observe withered faces presented with the ordeal of day to day survival that she felt all too well.

The project she was assigned to for her scholarship was to study and treat unknown contamination in certain water supplies after a 6 month course. It was here she also met her security advisor Ricus Clark who was in training as an operative at the age of 21. It wasn’t long until Ricus and Sparrow discovered they both sought out to provide a better quality of life for their fellow countryman and quickly found each other as friends as well as colleagues.

Spending most of her time focussed on her studies her free time was spent with Ricus who taught Sparrow how to shoot after she insisted he teach her. Being no stranger to the instability of the country she knew the importance of being able to defend herself. Over the months she became a competent shooter if not great one over numerous weapons platforms.

During this time her drive to help others grew exponentially with the time she spent with Ricus. Whether they were eating, shooting or relaxing if only for a moment Sparrow would try to explain the science behind her ideas to improve the quality of life for others while Ricus went through counter insurgency tactics and battlecraft to make the land safer for everyone. While they argued occasionally about the effectiveness of each other's methods both enjoyed debating and fine tuning their ideas.

By 16 Sparrow was already in a field scientist role working a promising job which promised to later become a government position. Preparing to move towards one of the flagged water sources with Ricus’s security detachment the force stopped on Ricus’s command as he demanded a sweep of the area. Soon after the first man of the detachment fell.

Another shot cracking past sent Sparrow into a panic diving into the ground. Though she was no stranger to the sound of gunfire thundering through the air she never underwent a form of trial by fire. Scrambling to a ditch and folding out a personal defence weapon Ricus already had the force falling back to their vehicles. Recovering everyone and taking off the unknown aggressors made no pursuit.

On reporting the incident Sparrow’s project was immediately terminated without any statement or debrief. Upon hearing the town that used the flagged water source as it’s supply was quarantined and cordoned off from the world both Ricus and Sparrow sought out answers. Returning to the now dry water source Sparrow collected a soil sample while Ricus planned to infiltrate the cordon alongside his squadmates.

Finding help from other concerned officials and soldiers it wasn’t difficult to be provided equipment on the side to complete their objectives. Everyone wanted answers and Sparrow and Ricus seemed to be the only people willing to search for them. Provided with a laboratory and hazmat equipment Ricus penetrated the cordon while Sparrow researched her samples.

What she found was baffling. The sample reacted with micro organisms in that it rearranged them into something else entirely but had no apparent quality that would cause something so drastic. Infuriated she continued for hours on end looking for some variable that would be causing the phenomena she eventually witnessed the forces at work.

Taking a step back with pen in hand it hovered above her note book unsure what to write. Looking back at the microscope she dared not to look again. She wasn’t sure what she witnessed but something primal instructed she should be afraid. Going back to the notepad words failed to form in her mind to report her findings. Frustrated she closed her eyes and let her hand do whats was instinctual opening them to find an infinity symbol carved into the paper.

Wracking her mind over what it could mean trying to break down the resistance in her head that pleaded not to look over the edge for an answer she was interrupted by one of the officials alerting her that Ricus had returned. Moving through the building Sparrow found him wounded and alone in shock looking at the ground dead eyed. Trying to get his attention met limited success and questioning what he saw only earned a string of stuttering as he tried to describe what had transpired. With a spark of intuition she showed him the infinity symbol.

With a flash in his eyes he quickly grasped her notes in panic breaking through his stutter with great difficulty only to stutter ‘the depths’. Shortly after Ricus was escorted to a quarantine bay where Sparrow ran the same tests on his equipment finding the same results. Ordering a blood sample from him found the same results again.

Still unsure what exactly the contaminate was Ricus remained in quarantine for a week until it was determined he wasn’t infectious. Now calm Sparrow pursued further questions about what Ricus had seen only to be met with the same stuttering. Regardless of his inability to recount what he witnessed he did state it must be destroyed, regardless of the cost.

The following year the two covertly went about searching for more information about the unknown contagion that saw a village wiped off the face of the earth. For Sparrow it was simply to figure out what happened to her friend while to Ricus it became his only motivation in life. He could not allow what he’d seen to be witnessed by others. Those became the only words Sparrow would ever hear from him day in day out.

What he saw was constantly on Sparrow’s mind. Even with all her knowledge she watched her friend constantly throwing himself back into the wild to find something to destroy. It wasn’t frustration or depression that caused her to hesitate in her attempts to help though. Each step forward was accompanied by that same primal fear of witnessing the microorganisms rearrange. Unable to describe exactly what was causing it but apart of her held a shattering revelation waiting to be unveiled.

At the age of 17 with the report of another village going dark Sparrow joined the task force put together by Ricus acting as first recon. Driving to the village there were no traffic jams, raiders or animals, only a void of life as the village was visible in the distance. Reaching the outskirts and disembarking they immediately came under fire. Still unaccustomed to being under fire but surviving previous firefights Sparrow quickly found her feet though the creatures that came from the buildings tested even the most hardened veterans.

Unimaginable beasts once men charged forward unrelenting in their advance, uncaring for the fire saturating them. The only common factor between them being a red coral that burst from any wound inflicted once someones suit was penetrated. Eventually the creatures were brought down.

Terrified the soldiers quickly fell back to their vehicles now they were given the chance to escape the nightmare but Ricus had already charged forward into the village. Chasing after him Sparrow quickly found herself in the middle of a firefight between two unknown forces. Moving under fire she found Ricus clearing out a building of operatives only to be mortally wounded.

Trying to stabilized her friend as he rasped for breath more operatives entered the building. Prepared for the end she noticed they were unlike the others Ricus felled and began assisting both Sparrow and Ricus back towards a NH90 helicopter. Exfiltrated from the village bombardment burnt it down to look like a purge as they flew over the horizon.

Reaching a shadowfall base Ricus was taken away for emergency treatment and Sparrow given a debrief. The forces at work were explained to her and the treatment they would attempt to provide Ricus. After going through her file provided by an officer it was evident the force had been looking to recruit both her and Ricus for quite some time while they were doing their own work. Putting the file down the officer laid out the situation to her.

Sparrow was provided a irrefusable offer to become apart of their organization and enter a community of the scientific elite. In this organization she could go beyond her previous expectations and save the world rather than just help her country. She would be given the opportunity to research a field completely untouched by anyone to date for the betterment of mankind.

Though the opportunity was incredible she accepted reluctantly struggling even to agree verbally. Listening to the officer and what was to come filled her with an overwhelming primal fear that she was about to discover irrefutable facts that would bring forward the revelation barred away in her mind. With Ricus’s death days later as they failed to venerate him in a reaper unit it only brought to mind what devastating effect her discoveries would have on her mind and the world at large.

Pushing through regardless she allowed her thirst for knowledge drive her forward. At the very least she owed herself to find the answer as to what her friend endured. As to what so many others had to endure. The mystery of infinity would be uncovered, even if it meant losing her mind in the process.