Update: May 15, 2008 ID: Simon Shirota Age: 32 Education: B.S. Information Science Source: Training PL: 5 Points: 45 Brief Background: Part of the Department of Energy's law enforcement arm, Simon Shirota has found himself involved more and more heavily with metahuman-related casefiles in recent years. Things often go badly, but his skill at containing the damage has led to his star rising in the division. Now he's been given the job of trying to get metahumans to cooperate directly with the DoE. Good luck with that.... Brief Powers Description: No powers, he's a PL5. However, he has studied martial arts for the mental discipline, hence his Strike power. Stats: STR 10 INT 14 DEX 12 CON 12 WIS 14 CHA 10 Att 3 Def 3 = 24 Skills: Bluff 2 (+2) Computers 8 (+10) Diplomacy 2 (+2) Gather Information 8 (+8) Knowledge: Business 1 (+3) Knowledge: Civics 6 (+8) Knowledge: Earth Sciences 1 (+3) Knowledge: Physical Sciences 1 (+3) Notice 6 (+8) Perform: Oratory 1 (+1) Sense Motive 4 (+6) = 10 Feats: Benefit/2 (Law Enforcement Powers, Security Clearance) Defensive Roll/1 Equipment/2 Luck/1 Well-Informed = 7 Saves: Fort +1 Tgh +1 (+4 with DefRoll and armor) Ref +1 Will +2 = 0 Combat: Attack 3 Defense 3 Damage +3 Melee (+3 pistol), Initiative +1 Wealth: 8 Caps: Default PL5 Powers: 1) Strike/3 (Mighty) Source: Training (Martial Arts) %xhStrike 3%xn (Training; %xhStunt:%xn Mighty; %xhCost:%xn 1/Rank+1; %xhTotal:%xn 4) Equipment: 1) Masterwork Laptop PC (secure satellite linkup, shielded against EMP, ruggedized, etc) = 1 EP 2) Light Pistol (Blast 3) = 6 EP 3) Undercover Shirt (Protection/2, Subtle) = 3 EP Stats 24 Skills 10 Feats 7 Saves 0 Powers 4 Drawbacks 0 -- Total 45 Complications: I'm With The Government, I'm Here To Help: He really is there to help, he's interested in cooperation rather than coercion. But no one seems to ever believe him. Maybe it's the fact he looks like one of the pre-Will Smith "Men in Black". Maybe it's his personality...anyone that guarded has to be hiding something about his motives. Award a HP when he can't get someone to act in their own best interests because they simply don't trust him. By The Book: Agent Shirota believes in the rules. He follows the rules. Of course, he's not insane, and if he has evidence that The Book is wrong he'll try something else. But he's generally going to need first hand proof that The Book is wrong. This, of course, can synergize unpleasantly with his first complication, making him seem even less trustworthy. -----BACKGROUND----- Family Background The Shirota family first came to America around the turn of the 20th Century. Simon's paternal grandfather and grandmother met in one the many internment camps set up during WWII, but despite that experience harbored no bitterness towards the U.S. government. They were proud when their son enlisted in the Marines and went to Vietnam, but a little less proud when he came back with a Vietnamese bride. Early Years Simon was born the youngest of three children in 1981 and spent most of his formative years in a largely white suburb, although he has a few dim memories of early childhood in San Francisco. Whether it was due to his mixed heritage early on, or simply being non-white later on, Simon felt enough racial pressure to make him a very introverted child. School of Hard Knocks When he hit high school, he started to attract the attention of bullies, and quickly found that the system couldn't protect him. Rather than become disillusioned, he decided that the system needed his help, and he set out to fix it. Which, unsurprisingly, got him beat up even more, since few teenagers like a narc. His father pushed him into taking martial arts for self defense, and Simon found he liked the mental discipline they involved, continuing his studies long after he moved on to college and left the old bullies behind. College Days Simon reasoned that if he were going to fix the system, it'd be a good idea to know as much as possible about it and position himself to become a part of it. So he majored in Information Science (aka Library Science) with a Pre-Law degree focus and a minor in Computer Science. Thanks to his grit and determination (not to mention a lot of summer classes) he actually graduated in only four and a half years with his Bachelor's degree. Along the way, he tried to address his shyness by joining the campus Toastmasters organization, and while he never became what you'd call an inspiring speaker, he at least broke out of his shell and learned to make himself heard. Into The Service While he toyed with the idea of going on to law school, Simon was able to get a good internship his senior year with the Department of Energy, so he took the Civil Service exam and scored well enough to get a good job right out of college. He was a little surprised to find that the DoE had an enforcement arm, but once he knew about it he started angling to move into it. After all, enforcement was about making the system work, right? Have Subpoena, Will Travel Well, the enforcement arm of the DoE isn't exactly glamorous. It's mainly about serving summons and doing inspections of DoE-funded facilities. On the one hand, Simon's training to date did make him well-suited to the job. On the other, he couldn't help but feel he was so deeply buried in the system that he'd never be able to make any changes that would percolate to the surface. He wished something would shake things up a bit. Be careful what you wish for.... Wish Upon A Falling Star When comet Crucible-1138 hit, Simon's life was changed. Oh, he didn't realize it at first, and it took a while for the changes to kick in, but the comet was definitely the source of his new life direction. You see, the Department of Energy's mandate includes research on alternative energy sources, and it's hard to get more alternative than metahumans! Simon found himself on projects overseeing research into metahumans in general, and the Crucible Element in specific, and suddenly his life got a lot more interesting than he'd really wanted. The fact that the projects often ended in large explosions didn't hurt his career, though, as he always managed to contain the damage one way or another and come out of it smelling like a rose (albeit a slightly radioactive rose at times). After the latest of these averted disasters, his report suggested to his superiors a new job for him. Welcome to Port Liberty, Hope You Survive The Experience! The Department of Energy would really like to get more cooperation from metahumans capable of generating exotic forms of energy, as well as with any of those "super scientists" running around. Agent Shirota seemed to have a knack for digging up information, and for surviving contact with metahumans. So why not assign him permanently to Port Liberty with a mandate to secure the cooperation of as many metahumans as possible? It seemed like a really good plan. Of course, most of Simon's information-gathering skills involved something other than talking to people, and his knack for survival was as much luck as anything else. When it comes to actually talking to suspicious metahumans, he's out of his depth. But at the same time, he sees an opportunity to make sure the system doesn't fail again, so he's going to give it his best shot. Hopefully someone doesn't take their best shot at him first. -----APPEARANCE----- A slender man of Japanese descent with a severe haircut and usually wearing a dark blue or black business suit that pretty much screams "I'm With The Government". He evokes the image of the sinister "Men in Black" of conspiracy theories, before Will Smith turned it into a joke. His expression is generally tightly controlled, his movements precise, to the point that his coworkers joke that he's really a robot. He stands about 5'10", weighs 145 lbs, and has brown eyes often covered by sunglasses. While he's not sure they'll do much good around metahumans, he carries a small automatic pistol and wears light body armor under his suit while on the job, at the insistence of his superiors. The only item he wears that isn't drab or concealed is a simple gold ring on his right ring finger. -----OTHER NOTES----- Diplomacy: No, he's not very good at this. He knows he's not very good at this. He's not sure he has the knack, though. Knowledges (Business, Earth Science, Physical Science): Not formal education, just stuff he's picked up on the job. He's heard about a lot of things, but doesn't necessarily understand them. Benefit (Law Enforcement Powers): These are fairly narrowly-defined, he's more of a regulatory enforcement guy. But they're just barely enough to let him deputize metahumans under Safe Streets and similar laws. Benefit (Security Clearance): He's cleared for "Secret" (the lowest level) in general, and "Top Secret" for things concerning the Department of Energy. Where a given metahuman might fall is up to GM plot convenience. His laptop is a smallish tablet PC that he can keep in a slightly oversized pocket inside his suit coat. It's not invulnerable, but it'll take more than a few nearby explosions or being pushed into a wall for it to be destroyed. He carries a pistol because The Book says he should be armed when going into potentially hazardous situations, but he's pretty sure it won't do him much good. The Book also says to wear body armor, and while he's also pretty sure anything available to him won't stop a powerbeam, every little bit helps. And if the armor chafes a little, he'll cope.