Simulacrum
Real Name: Classified
Codename: Simulacrum
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: Late 20s
Height: 6’0”
Faction: Angel Swords
Branch: Army
Rank: Lieutenant
Role: Anti-Hell Host Specialist / Infantry Officer
Status: Active
Simulacrum is an Angel Sword Lieutenant and infantry officer specialising in combat against Hell Hosts.
Born on a Core Systems world, Simulacrum developed an intense hatred of Hell Hosts after his home was attacked by mercenaries equipped with Hell Host weapons and military equipment.
Whether Hell Hosts had any involvement in the attack was never conclusively established.
For Simulacrum, that distinction stopped mattering a long time ago.
He joined the Angel Swords at eighteen and subsequently dedicated much of his military career to understanding the faction he blamed for what happened.
Over time, this obsession transformed him into one of the Angel Swords’ most knowledgeable specialists in Hell Host combat doctrine.
Simulacrum does not possess anomalous abilities.
He does not need them.
Appearance
Simulacrum is a heavily built human male standing approximately six feet tall.
He has short black hair usually maintained in a fade, green eyes, pale skin, and a muscular physique developed through years of military training.
His appearance is generally severe and meticulously maintained.
Simulacrum rarely appears relaxed while on duty.
Personality
Simulacrum is cold, aggressive, disciplined, and intensely driven.
He is not particularly sociable and rarely wastes time attempting to make himself approachable.
Years of military service have taught him to control much of his anger, but they have never removed it.
Hell Hosts remain one of the few subjects capable of breaking his otherwise controlled demeanour.
Simulacrum possesses a tendency toward obsession.
Once he identifies something as relevant to his mission, he studies it relentlessly.
This characteristic ultimately became one of his greatest strengths as an officer.
It is also responsible for much of what makes him dangerous.
Early Life
Simulacrum was raised on a populated world within the Core Systems.
During his youth, his home was attacked by a heavily armed mercenary force.
The attackers carried weapons, armour, and equipment associated with Hell Hosts.
To the civilians caught in the attack, the distinction between the equipment and the people using it meant very little.
Simulacrum came away from the incident believing Hell Hosts were responsible.
Later investigations failed to conclusively establish direct Hell Host involvement.
The possibility exists that the mercenaries acquired the equipment independently, purchased it through illicit markets, stole it, recovered it from previous conflicts, or deliberately used it to conceal their own identity.
Simulacrum knows this.
He has never found it particularly convincing.
Hatred of Hell Hosts
Simulacrum’s hatred of Hell Hosts began emotionally rather than ideologically.
As he grew older, that hatred became considerably more structured.
Instead of simply despising the faction, he began studying it.
Weapons.
Armour.
Vehicles.
Military doctrine.
Squad composition.
Communication.
Breaching techniques.
Defensive procedures.
Command structures.
Battlefield behaviour.
Anything Simulacrum could obtain became another piece of information to analyse.
Eventually, his personal obsession developed into professional expertise.
Angel Swords
Simulacrum joined the Angel Swords at eighteen.
His aggression initially made him an effective but relatively straightforward infantry soldier.
He became known for willingly entering engagements other personnel considered overwhelming and continuing to fight despite significant numerical disadvantages.
His reputation grew through repeated combat against rebel forces and other hostile groups.
However, raw aggression alone did not earn Simulacrum his later reputation.
Experience gradually taught him to direct it.
The reckless young soldier who wanted to fight everything in front of him developed into an officer capable of understanding exactly how his enemy intended to fight.
He eventually achieved the rank of Lieutenant.
The Simulacrum Doctrine
Simulacrum became particularly interested in Hell Host infantry doctrine.
He reached a simple conclusion.
If he intended to defeat Hell Hosts, he needed to understand how they thought.
Simulacrum therefore began incorporating elements of Hell Host combat doctrine into his own fighting style.
He studied their methods of clearing structures, coordinating fire, responding to ambushes, advancing through fortified positions, and maintaining pressure during close-range engagements.
He then adapted those techniques for Angel Sword use.
The result became informally associated with his eventual codename.
Simulacrum.
An imitation.
Simulacrum fights like the soldiers he hates because he believes understanding an enemy requires more than observing them from a distance.
He wants to understand what they will do before they do it.
Anti-Hell Host Specialist
Simulacrum has become particularly valuable during operations involving Hell Host personnel or equipment.
He can recognise numerous weapons, armour configurations, battlefield procedures, and tactical patterns associated with the faction.
This does not make him capable of perfectly predicting every Hell Host soldier.
Hell Hosts are enormous, and doctrine varies considerably between branches, units, commanders, species, and circumstances.
Simulacrum’s knowledge provides an advantage.
It does not provide omniscience.
His greatest strength is recognising patterns quickly enough to act upon them.
Combat
Simulacrum is an aggressive infantry combatant who favours direct engagements.
He possesses no anomalous powers and relies entirely upon training, equipment, physical conditioning, battlefield experience, and tactical knowledge.
He is particularly dangerous during close-to-medium-range engagements.
Simulacrum maintains pressure aggressively and attempts to deny opponents the time necessary to reorganise.
His earlier tendency to simply throw himself into overwhelming engagements has diminished with experience.
The aggression remains.
The recklessness does not.
At least, not usually.
CE-34 EMP Blaster
Simulacrum’s signature weapon is the CE-34 EMP Blaster.
The weapon is designed to disrupt electronic systems through concentrated electromagnetic discharges.
Against conventional personnel, its effectiveness varies.
Against technologically dependent opponents, it can be devastating.
Powered armour, electronic optics, targeting equipment, communication systems, drones, synthetic personnel, and other advanced systems can potentially be disrupted or temporarily disabled by successful attacks.
This makes the CE-34 particularly appropriate for Simulacrum’s preferred opponent.
Hell Host soldiers frequently depend upon sophisticated armour and battlefield technology.
Simulacrum specialises in taking that advantage away.
Conventional Weapons
Although strongly associated with the CE-34, Simulacrum does not rely exclusively upon it.
He is trained with conventional Angel Sword rifles, sidearms, explosives, and close-quarters weapons.
The CE-34 is a specialised tool.
Once an opponent’s equipment has been disrupted, Simulacrum is perfectly willing to finish the engagement conventionally.
Reputation
Simulacrum developed a significant reputation within the Angel Swords through repeated participation in extremely dangerous engagements.
Stories circulated of the Lieutenant taking on large groups of rebel soldiers and continuing to advance when others would have withdrawn.
Some accounts have inevitably become exaggerated through retelling.
Simulacrum does little to discourage them.
Among personnel familiar with his actual record, however, his reputation rests increasingly upon his knowledge of Hell Hosts rather than simple battlefield aggression.
He has turned hatred into expertise.
Contradiction
There is an uncomfortable contradiction at the centre of Simulacrum’s identity.
He despises Hell Hosts.
He has also spent years studying them.
He knows their weapons.
He understands their soldiers.
He imitates their methods.
Parts of his own fighting style now exist because of them.
The better Simulacrum becomes at fighting Hell Hosts, the more of their doctrine he incorporates into himself.
Whether he recognises the irony is unclear.
Whether he cares is considerably easier to answer.
Goal
Simulacrum ultimately wants the opportunity to fight Hell Hosts directly.
Not mercenaries carrying their weapons.
Not rebels.
Not proxies.
Hell Hosts.
He has spent years preparing for that confrontation.
When it finally occurs, Simulacrum intends to discover whether all that preparation was enough.
The Mercenary Attack
The attack that shaped Simulacrum’s life remains unresolved.
The mercenaries responsible possessed Hell Host equipment.
Where that equipment originated remains unknown.
There is currently no conclusive evidence proving that Hell Hosts ordered or participated in the attack.
There is equally no answer that Simulacrum considers satisfactory.
The truth may eventually prove his hatred justified.
It may prove that Hell Hosts had nothing to do with the event.
Or the reality may be considerably more complicated.
Simulacrum has built much of his adult identity around one interpretation.
Finding the truth could therefore be far more dangerous to him than never knowing it.