Catalyst
Real Name: Milo Mishkee
Codename: Catalyst
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Height: 5’6”
Faction: Angel Swords
Branch: Army
Rank: Sergeant
Role: Combat Alchemist / Infantry Specialist
Status: Active
Milo Mishkee, better known by his codename Catalyst, is a Sergeant within the Angel Swords Army and a specialist in the manipulation and restructuring of matter.
Catalyst practices an unusual discipline he refers to almost exclusively as alchemy, allowing him to restructure available materials into different forms while retaining the fundamental matter required for the transformation.
He has spent much of his life studying the practice and has become exceptionally proficient in its combat applications.
Unfortunately for everyone around him, he is also more than willing to explain this.
At length.
Appearance
Catalyst is considerably shorter than many soldiers within the Angel Swords, standing approximately 5’6”.
He has a lean but muscular build, pale skin, light grey hair usually maintained in a neat quiff, and distinctive purple eyes.
His comparatively smaller stature has little effect on his confidence.
Catalyst carries himself with the self-assurance of someone who firmly believes he is the most intelligent person currently present.
He suffers from asthma and chronic problems with his back, both of which can affect him during prolonged operations.
Personality
Catalyst is intelligent, confident, ambitious, and exceptionally smug.
He possesses an extremely high opinion of himself and frequently assumes that he understands a situation better than everyone around him.
Occasionally, he is correct.
This has not helped.
Catalyst has little patience for people he considers unintelligent, incompetent, or unwilling to understand his work. Unfortunately, the number of people he considers intellectually beneath him includes the overwhelming majority of the population.
His arrogance can make him difficult to tolerate for extended periods.
Despite this, Catalyst is a capable soldier and possesses genuine expertise in material science and alchemy. His confidence is therefore not entirely without foundation, even if his assessment of his own superiority frequently exceeds reality.
Catalyst particularly enjoys explaining alchemy.
Questions about the subject can result in lengthy explanations whether the person asking actually wanted one or not.
For Catalyst, alchemy is simultaneously a profession, combat discipline, academic obsession, and hobby.
He has allowed relatively few other interests to survive alongside it.
Ambition
Catalyst possesses a powerful desire to be remembered.
He does not simply want to serve successfully within the Angel Swords.
He wants his work to matter.
He wants future generations to recognise his name and understand what he accomplished.
This ambition contributes significantly to both his dedication and his arrogance.
Catalyst constantly develops his understanding of alchemy because he believes there remains something greater for him to discover.
Whether history ultimately remembers Milo Mishkee for the reasons he intends remains unknown.
Alchemy
Catalyst possesses an unusual ability to manipulate and restructure matter.
He refers to this discipline as alchemy.
Alchemy does not allow Catalyst to create matter from nothing.
Any transformation requires suitable material to already be available, and the properties of the resulting object remain dependent upon the matter used to construct it.
Catalyst describes this principle as equivalent exchange.
A quantity of material can be reshaped, separated, combined, or reorganised, but matter cannot simply appear because Catalyst requires it.
This limitation has heavily influenced the equipment he carries into combat.
Material Restructuring
Through physical contact and concentration, Catalyst can alter the structure and shape of compatible materials.
Simple transformations can be performed extremely quickly.
Complex transformations require greater knowledge, concentration, time, and suitable material.
Catalyst must understand what he is attempting to construct.
Reshaping a mass of metal into a simple blade is relatively straightforward.
Constructing a complicated mechanical device containing numerous specialised components is substantially more difficult and may be impossible without the correct materials.
Alchemy therefore does not provide Catalyst with an unlimited inventory.
His greatest advantage is adaptability.
Alloy Spheres
Catalyst carries several spheres manufactured from a powerful metallic alloy.
These spheres provide him with a consistent source of known material that can be manipulated through alchemy.
Because Catalyst understands their exact composition, he can restructure them rapidly and reliably.
Depending upon the situation, an alloy sphere can be transformed into numerous simple objects, including:
- Swords
- Knives
- Spears
- Defensive plates
- Blunt weapons
- Tools
- Restraints
- Structural supports
After an object is no longer required, Catalyst can recover its material and restructure it again.
Material lost, destroyed, contaminated, or left behind during combat reduces the amount available for subsequent transformations.
This means Catalyst must remain conscious of how much usable matter he has remaining.
Improvised Alchemy
Catalyst is not limited to the material he carries.
When suitable substances are available within the environment, he can manipulate them as well.
Metallic structures, damaged machinery, battlefield debris, and other materials can potentially become resources.
However, unfamiliar substances are substantially more difficult to manipulate effectively.
Catalyst’s extensive knowledge of chemistry, metallurgy, and material composition is therefore an important component of his abilities.
The more he understands a material, the more effectively he can use it.
Carbon Shield
Catalyst is capable of rapidly creating thin carbon-based defensive structures.
These barriers can provide temporary protection against incoming attacks and are particularly useful when conventional cover is unavailable.
Catalyst normally carries suitable carbon-rich material specifically for this purpose.
In extreme circumstances, he is theoretically capable of drawing limited material from his own body.
Doing so is dangerous and can result in severe physiological consequences.
As a result, using his own body as an alchemical resource is considered an emergency measure rather than a normal combat technique.
Limitations
Alchemy is powerful but heavily constrained.
Catalyst cannot create matter from nothing.
He cannot transform a small amount of material into an object possessing substantially greater mass without obtaining additional matter.
He cannot reliably construct technology he does not understand.
Complex transformations require greater concentration than simple ones.
Unfamiliar or anomalous materials may resist manipulation entirely or behave unpredictably.
Catalyst can also become physically exhausted through repeated or particularly demanding transformations.
Disrupting his concentration can interfere with more complicated alchemical processes.
These limitations are among the primary reasons Catalyst has dedicated so much of his life to studying the discipline.
Knowledge directly expands what he is capable of accomplishing.
Combat
Catalyst fights as an adaptive infantry specialist.
Rather than entering every engagement with a fixed arsenal, he changes his equipment according to the situation.
At close range, he can rapidly transform carried material into blades, spears, defensive structures, or other weapons.
At greater distances, Catalyst relies upon conventional firearms.
His unusual abilities make him particularly effective when circumstances change unexpectedly.
A destroyed weapon does not necessarily leave him unarmed.
A damaged structure may provide material.
A piece of enemy equipment may become a resource.
The battlefield itself can occasionally become part of Catalyst’s arsenal.
Laser Pistol
Catalyst carries a compact directed-energy pistol as one of his conventional weapons.
The weapon provides a reliable ranged option without requiring Catalyst to expend material from his alloy reserves.
It is particularly useful when employing alchemy would be unnecessary or inefficient.
Despite his obsession with alchemy, Catalyst understands the value of simply shooting something when the situation requires it.
Angel Swords
Catalyst serves as a Sergeant within the Angel Swords Army.
His unusual abilities make him valuable during operations involving unfamiliar environments, damaged infrastructure, restricted resources, or close-quarters combat.
His personality is considerably less universally appreciated.
Catalyst’s tendency to behave as though his expertise grants him intellectual authority over unrelated subjects has caused friction with other personnel.
Nevertheless, he remains an effective soldier.
The Angel Swords tolerate a considerable amount of his arrogance because, when his expertise is actually required, very few personnel can replicate what he does.
Health
Catalyst suffers from asthma.
Although modern medication and military equipment allow the condition to be managed effectively during most operations, respiratory hazards, equipment failures, exhaustion, and certain environments can still create complications.
He also experiences chronic back pain resulting from an older injury or condition.
Catalyst deeply dislikes either condition being interpreted as evidence that he is incapable of performing his duties.
He is particularly irritated by personnel who attempt to exclude him from operations solely because of them.
His irritation does not make medical restrictions optional.
Languages
Catalyst speaks both English and French.
He has been known to switch between the two languages during conversation, particularly when irritated.
Whether this is intentional or simply habitual varies depending upon the situation.
Reputation
Catalyst has developed a mixed reputation within the Angel Swords.
His technical knowledge and unusual abilities are respected.
His personality is considerably more divisive.
Personnel who enjoy working alongside him generally describe Catalyst as exceptionally useful once they learn how to tolerate his ego.
Those who dislike him usually require substantially fewer words.
Catalyst appears largely unconcerned by either response.
He expects history to remember him.
Whether his coworkers enjoy the experience is, in his opinion, considerably less important.