Starfinder Society Profile
- Known Name: Athena-VII (old Taldan numerals, pronounced Athena-7) / "Vee" (common nickname)
- Race: Android
- Age: 9
- Height: 5'2"
- Alignment: Neutral Good.
- Affiliations: Android Abolitionist Front (formerly), Absalon Buzzsaws Starstone Cup league Brutaris team (formerly).
- Belief: Weydan, the Endless Horizon
- Theme: Street Rat
- Character Class: Operative/Soldier
- Place of Origin: Striving, Aballon (The Forge)
- Player/Type: NPC
Appearance
Athena-VII's appearance is that of a beautiful young woman of average height with shoulder-length dark hair. Her face and most of her main body resembles that of normal humans, being generally unbroken fair-skinned synthskin notably lacking in the usual lights and markings common to Androids. Her limbs are a colour closer to ivory and betray her mechanical composition more by having visible mechanical joints and actuators that could easily be mistaken for high-quality prosthetics. Her most unusual features, however, are her eyes - they are slightly larger than that of standard humans with her irises being double that. Whilst this grants her the excellent vision common amongst androids, it does make her very easily recognisable and memorable, standing out significantly from the appearance styles of most androids, but obviously not human. Nonetheless, she somehow appears closer to a human with many prosthetics and augmentations than an android.
Athena commonly wears casual clothing when she's not expecting trouble - a t-shirt, pair of jeans, and sneakers being her typical look. Her standard outfit, however, is reconfigurable and she can quickly change it to a sporty tracksuit, a red ball gown, a black minidress, a body-hugging catsuit with microfibre grips for Zero-G environments, or a glittery silver-white dancing dress. She tends to travel light and is rarely in one place for long, so she is rarely seen in anything different but has been known to rent or purchase other clothing as the need arises.
When travelling or anticipating the possibility of trouble, she wears her brigandine armour, a lightweight, form-fitting black suit of blended fabrics with dark purple flexible polymer breastplate and spaulders that flex almost as well as fabric under normal use, but become rigid as steel in response to impact. The armour has been modified with mithral joints that prioritize flexibility and quickness of movement. Those who know her history or look closely at Brutaris Cup archive footage will recognise this as the protective armour Athena wore during her time with the Absalom Buzzsaws, except the once-shiny white-and-purple armour has now been painted black with purple highlights, and is visibly scratched and worn in places, showing it has been through a lot of punishment.
Background
As biomechanical entities, androids can theoretically live forever with the proper repairs. While some embrace this form of immortality, most androids live what they feel is a full life—usually around a hundred years—and then voluntarily instigate a process called renewal, in which the android's soul leaves its body, allowing a fresh android soul to inhabit it. Most people consider this a joyous occasion, metaphorically equivalent to the old android giving birth to a child, and understand that a post-renewal android is an entirely new person who just happens to inhabit the same body. Yet not all people are willing to honour this change or forgive past debts and slights, and such is the case with Athena.
Athena awoke in an abandoned storage facility on the machine world of Aballon, standing upright in a black-market renewal crèche. Around her, the place was completely empty, save for a note and a pen left in the centre of the concrete floor. Clearly hastily scrawled, the note read only: Run. Hide. Retaliate. Beware the mark. Next to the words was a drawing of a symbol—the same inexplicable design branded on Athena's chest. Yet the biggest shock was when Athena picked up the pen, as the note's writer had clearly intended—for the handwriting on the note matched Athena's own.
Confused and disoriented, with only some basic downloaded knowledge of the world she'd just been born into, Athena did as the note instructed, doing her best to disappear into Aballon's bustling android population. It was here that, among other things, she first met other androids. But the questions raised by the note continued to plague her. Who had worn her body before her? Who was she running from, and why? What was the mysterious symbol? Eventually, Athena worked up the courage to begin making surreptitious inquiries into the planet's infosphere. All of these searches failed, yet in curious ways, as if the information was being actively scrubbed and redacted. Worse, Athena began to get the sense of being watched, faces in the crowds that seemed strangely familiar. After a month of tentative forays into the city's silicon underworld, Athena at last tracked down someone who claimed to recognize the mark, but who insisted on meeting in person at a nearby virus bar.
Athena was almost to the tavern when it exploded in a massive fireball, the blast consuming an entire city block.
Thoroughly spooked, Athena fled Aballon, taking passage on a ship to the Diaspora. Yet as she worked there, quickly finding herself a deft hand at piloting rock-hopper shuttles and mining tugs, Athena's fear turned to anger. Wider Pact Worlds society proved far messier than Aballon's orderly machine culture, and Athena was first confused and then disgusted by the prejudice and jealousy androids still encountered from some humans (and other races). She met android escapees from illegal colonies in the Vast, bearing blatant symbols of corporate ownership and scars from cruel disciplinary implants, and began to suspect what her own mark might say about her origins. Incensed, Athena made contact with the Android Abolitionist Front learning to fly more combat-oriented craft, ancient martial arts, how to use a variety of weapons, how to sneak through the shadows, and to put down the enemies of their people with ruthless efficiency. Under the AAF's guidance, Athena became a black ops expert, until a disagreement with her handler over a messy job led her to go independent, although she retained ties and still did jobs for them as she believed in the cause - she just chose to freelance and decide what jobs to take and how to do them, rather than be under the foot of the handler - although this also meant losing regular access to the AAF's facilities and resources. Athena mostly spent the next few years officially hiring on with freelancer crews, typically as a pilot or gunner — and if those jobs sometimes required a little stomping someone's face into the dirt, or a bullet from the shadows, well, that was negotiable.
During her time with the AAF, she developed an interest in the popular sport of Brutaris, which she played with her few friends both for recreational purposes and for physical training. This served her well as, a while after leaving the AAF whilst doing independent jobs on Absalon Station, she saw an advert for the Absalon Buzzsaws brutaris team that were auditioning for possible new prospects. She auditioned for it and was not only accepted but soon became one of the first-string line-up and not just a reservist as had been the expectation when she applied. She enjoyed training with the Buzzsaws and had a good season with them, taking the Starstone Cup league trophy once again. Although she was not the best player on the team, mostly due to her lack of experience, she was considered a rising star in the Starstone Cup league and was starting to become famous, when tragedy struck again. Her seclusion in the Diaspora and being constantly on the move had made her hard to track by her mysterious enemy, but Athena became complacent. It had been so long since she had fled Aballon and had any issues with her mysterious enemy that Athena had come to believe they had forgotten about her. They had not. Worse, all the glitz and enjoyment of her new life had meant she had forgotten about them, whilst likely putting her back in their spotlight. Returning to her room to find a drow assassin waiting for her reminded her of the reality of her situation. Barely surviving the fight, she realised she needed to move out of the limelight and, after using some explosives to fake her own death, Athena went into hiding.
For the next couple of years, she laid low, working as a dancer in a seedy nightclub in Absalom Station and doing occasional jobs for Lhana "Diamond" Nokoriso when she needed money or favours, until her increasing paranoia combined with the boredom of her current life and the itch to travel and experience new things overwhelmed her. Seeing an Infosphere ad for the Starfinder Society prompted her into thinking that the life of a Starfinder might appeal to her - always on the move, which would make it harder for her mysterious enemy to get to her, and feeding both her religious beliefs and sense of adventure. But also, perhaps more importantly, she may make some new friends she can grow close to, trust, and share adventures with.
Although her paranoia over being hunted by her mysterious enemy makes Athena something of a loner, Athena secretly desperately craves companionship and is fiercely loyal to those few who prove themselves trustworthy. As a result of her early days on Aballon and personal experience as an android in a largely biological society, Athena questions or rejects many aspects of mainstream Pact Worlds culture, and enjoys exploring the countercultures on different worlds. Athena believes the ends often justify the means, yet strives to only take on jobs she thinks will be enjoyable or give her the opportunity to experience new things, or jobs that fit with her vague sense of morality, especially if it helps the AAF or similar causes. An initial focus on android rights has broadened into a tendency to identify with oppressed people and underdogs everywhere, no matter how alien, and to dislike any form of slavery. While Athena finds the most joy in travelling on any manner of ship or vehicle, her operative and soldier abilities remain as sharp as ever, and she has no objections to wielding them again when the need arises. Although she is sometimes sad about the constant need to look over her shoulder, as a follower of Weydan Athena enjoys travelling and exploration - the feeling of freedom, the relative safety against persecution, and is content overall. She seeks to uncover more about those that wore her body before her, both for the sense of discovery and in case it might shed some light on who her mysterious enemy is and why they want her dead - perhaps somehow being able to permanently settle the issue.
Personality
Androids are often considered to be quite unemotional and aloof by non-androids due to their flat affect - but even though Athena struggles with expressing and understanding emotions as much as any android, it is usually easy to at least determine her mood. Most of the time, Athena appears happy, excitable and gregarious - quick to laugh loud and heartily, smiling easily and commonly, and her voice tending to pitch a little high when excited or happy. Some have noted a slight accent similar to the southern regions of Cheliax on old Golarion. Most who spend enough time with her to befriend her when asked about her personality traits will add that as well as smiling a lot, Athena is a hugger, especially when happy or excited.
She is renowned to be friendly and cheerful most of the time. She enjoys meeting new people and races and is quite gregarious. For an android, she is quite self-confident too. She loves dancing and listening to music (especially live) as well as participating in sports - especially brutaris.
All this tends to make people mistake her for a "silly companion android" as there is a more serious (some would say darker) side to her that, when it comes out, typically means someone is about to have a very bad day. Born in an illegal renewal creche and "growing up" penniless, scraping to survive and on the run on the streets of Aballon, then hiding out and on the move in the Diaspora, then predominantly in various districts in Absalom Station, Athena is a survivor who knows the reality of life in the Pact Worlds. She has seen both the best and the worst of the Pact World species', and has extremely strong feelings about slavery of any form (and to a lesser degree, dictatorial oppression). Whilst she appears to judge everyone on their own merits, species with known tendency towards slavery (such as the Vesk or Azlanti) are likely to be met with wariness or coldness at first, and anyone directly associated with slavery is likely to end up in a bullet-led conversation with her. She is known to speak her mind so she is not usually the first person to throw a punch, although she is often the instigator (and the final person to throw a punch). As she prefers to avoid fighting when possible and is friendly, it is easy to forget that her formal training and most of her life has been as a black ops agent for an abolitionist group, then freelancing as a hired gun (and, sometimes, assassin). When the proverbial switch is activated, she becomes a lethal killing machine. Whilst generally seeming kind-hearted and doing what she feels is morally correct, is it quite shocking how ruthless and extreme she can be to do what she feels is the right thing.
Other Notes
Athena's name is based on the number of renewals her body has undertaken. That first letter she found, whilst fairly brief, did mention what she was and that she would be the seventh soul to inhabit her body, and was signed by Athena-VI. She kept the tradition, having no real reason at first to do otherwise (and by the time she may have had need to consider it, had been using it too long to change). Most of the time, she simply uses "Athena" but a station guard once made the mistake of pronouncing her name "Athena-Vee" by misrepresenting the Old Chelaxian numerical symbols for text, and some of her friends have come to simply nickname her "Vee" ever since. She has also been called "Theena" by some friends. Generally, when she is around with a group for some time some alias/nickname will get attached to her, and she will use that for casual usage, using her full name only for official purposes.
Combat Style
Athena is FAST. Her body is reasonably tough and strong, more than might be assumed considering its unimposing build, and she relies on this in combat to a degree - but speed and agility are her greatest assets and she knows how to use them. Whilst she is easily capable of stealth, she has a heroic nature and delights in openly fighting for causes she believes in, and so it is not in her nature to work covertly - she would rather kick a door in and charge into a room full of evil slavers, destroying them in a flurry of kicks and punches, than sneak into an area slowly and take them out quietly without drawing attention. But she is not stupid and knows there is a time for heavy strikes, and a time for soft steps.
Once combat begins, she moves around the battlefield with great agility, often taking on multiple targets at once in close combat with seemingly little regard for her own safety, easily capable of taking on two or more targets simultaneously. Whilst she does carry a small arm, and is a well-trained shooter, she typically only tends to use it when engaging with targets out of reach (such as flying targets or high-ground shooters) or whilst moving tactically towards a target too far to reach in a single charge. The moment she is close enough to reach with a charge, she typically becomes a whirling dervish of spins, leaps, somersaults and flashing kicks. Those with knowledge of fighting styles have noticed her combat style of lightning-fast strikes appears to blend elements of the whirling dances of the dervishes of the Church of Sarenrae, and bygone Golarion's Tian Xia martial arts. She runs in quick, spins and dances around her opponents whilst punching and kicking, then leaves behind a pile of bodies as she continues her dance onwards to her next target. She is a fairly dirty fighter, some would say, as she relies on feinting using acrobatics when attacking to open up the opportunity be able to deliver a more accurate and deadly blow.
Athena is used to operating alone and tends to rely on speed, mobility and confusion when fighting multiple opponents - often not factoring for her allies. This doesn't mean she's a liability to allies, just simply that she's not used to them being there and doesn't consider them much more than simply keeping an eye and helping them if they seem to need it. She's not a leader and any tactical opinions are likely to be given at a planning stage than her attempting to take the lead in combat - but she generally follows directions well from those who have proven tactical leadership (or at least seem confident in knowing what they're doing).
Although she does not carry any, she is highly skilled with basic and advanced melee weapons, longarms, and sniper rifles. Although she prefers to get up close and personal with her fists, if those she works for/travels with give her a longarm or sniper rifle and ask her to take that role, she is usually quite willing and surprisingly able. Fast melee strikes is simply a preference, not a crutch. Likewise, although she prefers unarmed combat for greater attack accuracy, she has surprised people by picking up melee weapons and using them with expertise - to those who may recognise it, her fighting style includes pre-Gap Golarion Rondelero-style fencing in addition to Tian Xia and dervish weapon styles. She feels the accuracy and power of her unarmed strikes, along with a few augments, generally makes the use of most melee weapons counterproductive for her unless she manages to get her hands on really high-quality weapons, so they are generally only used when fighting creatures against which bludgeoning damage is not effective, or perhaps to take advantage of a form of energy damage used by the weapon that may overcome vulnerabilities of whatever she fights.
Social Style
Anyone who shows compassion, or at least respect and tolerance, to others will likely easily at least get along if not befriend Athena. She is friendly but often wary towards humans due to the Android recent and ongoing history as humanity's slaves, and typically wary of the Vesk due to their ongoing enslavement of others. She respects shirrens for their shared past circumstances of slavery to other races, seeing them as kindred spirits (or at least having a common factor), and respects kasathas for their independence. She is often amused by the Ysoki, but just as often finds them exhausting. She finds the Lashunta fascinating and beautiful in equal measures, though has little overall opinion of them as a race.
Anyone who shows support for anti-slavery beliefs (whether actively championing or simply respecting and supporting) will quickly get her respect and support. But less dramatically, simply respecting others and treating them fairly and equally regardless of their species or appearance, is the most important thing to her. She will not long tolerate the presence of those who are obviously racist, xenophobic, or intolerant of others for any such reason.
Although she originally learnt to dance as part of her combat training, it has become a passion. Anyone with the ability to dance (or simply willingness to participate even if they have no skill) can easily score points with her just by taking her into dance clubs, concerts, or other places where she can enjoy dancing.
That said, many of those who befriend her are surprised to find that, although she doesn't break friendships, she often moves on and leaves little way for her friends to be able to contact them other than fortuitously bumping into her at popular places on major worlds. She is quite sad that keeping ahead of her mysterious enemy means not being able to make permanent roots with anyone, and the fear that anyone she meets could be a secret assassin can make her initially seem reluctant to get close, even if she is actively friendly.
Signature Equipment
Armour & Weapons
- Fastback Brigandine armour: a lightweight, form-fitting black suit of blended fabrics with dark purple flexible polymer breastplate and spaulders that flex almost as well as fabric under normal use, but become rigid as steel in response to impact. The armour is fitted with the leapers upgrade (microthrusters in the legs empower her jumps).
- Holdout Pistol: a fairly powerful and robust laser pistol designed as a backup sidearm. The pistol incorporates Iratha Incorporated's signature biometric lock, so it can only be used by Athena and any pre-authorised users she programs the biometrics to recognise.
Augments
- Bionic Knees: Complex actuators and servos in her knees give her the ability to make impressive leaps, also removing the need to take a running start before making a jump.
- Natural Weapons Graft: Athena's appendages have been strengthened for combat, turning them into the equivalent of natural weapons capable of inflicting enhanced lethal damage.
- Nimble Graft: Microjets in her feet afford Athena agility and gracefulness, even in low or zero gravity.
- Personal Upgrade, Mk 2 Nanite Enhancement [Dexterity]: Athena's nanite system has been upgraded and optimised her reflexes and hand-eye coordination.
- Personal Upgrade, Mk 1 Nanite Enhancement [Strength]: Athena's nanite system has been upgraded and optimised her athleticism and physical power.
- Slow Fall Graft: Athena has a system of minor gravity generators implanted in her spinal column that, when activated, creates an invisible but supportive gravitational bubble around her. She can activate this augmentation to slow her fall in an environment with an atmosphere, falling at a rate of just 60 feet per round and taking no damage upon landing.
Magic Items
- Encryption Tattoo, Agent: Athena has a magical tattoo that identifies her as an agent of the Android Abolitionist Front (AAF) when activated, which can then be checked against the AAF's anonymous agent database.
Signature Quotes
- "I will not stand by in the presence of evil."
- "It's the loneliest feeling not to know who you are."
- "Do you have any chocolate?"
- "I love it!" *then hugs the person she is speaking to*