Backbeat
Oct 5, 2021 4:06:14 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2021 4:06:14 GMT -5
Name: Backbeat
Age: Act’s like he’s a 20 something, quite older.
Gender: Male
Species: Cybertronian
Faction: Decepticons
Original Occupation: System’s technician for communications towers.
Occupation/Specialization: Logistics division. Backbeat’s a logistics specialist and supply procurer.
Appearance: His armor is colored rusty brown and bright hazard yellow. Height is about a head taller than a standard Vehicon. Armor rating is Medium, but it's somewhat compromised at all by the many hidden compartments on his frame.
Backbeat’s arms, chest and lower legs are where most of his bulk from his vehicle mode ends up in robot mode. The areas of bulk are broken up by thinner sections of body mass. This gives the effect of a thin person wearing armor too large for them. His bulky arms become his alt mode’s turbines. His hands are his vehicle mode’s rotors, forming into rather sharp claws. More traditional hands can be folded out of the inner sections of his arms. Backbeat’s chest is formed out of the cockpit of his chopper mode and the armored wing plates fold into his chest as armor. Backbeat is also covered in various compartments, either for storage or hidden weaponry. The robot mode legs are made of the back end of the aircraft, folded together, and compressed. Backbeat wears a faceplate and has green optics. He also has a secondary battle visor that he almost always prefers to leave resting on his forehead. The visor’s mismatched lens is colored red and is mostly used to protect his optics from the elements. His helmet has antennae sticking out of the side.
Altmode: Heavily modified Bell XV-15 Tiltrotor VTOL aircraft
History: Originally a system’s technician for communications towers in Cyberton’s remote regions. Years of budget cuts, pressing deadlines, and other disasters had slowly stripped Backbeat of all love for the current regime. Still, through various backroom deals and unofficial “trades” he had ensured his assigned towers remained functional. Despite what seemed like a coordinated effort by every living thing on Cybertron to break the blasted things. It was here he started his path of bureaucratic darkness…
When the Decepticons started out, he was one of the many who helped propagate its message for a small bribe or two. Not one quibble about philosophy, Backbeat’s resentment at the old government led him to join the ‘Cons. When he formally joined the Deceptions, used his skills to develop a rather comfy spot in Decepticon hierarchy. He situated himself in Decepticon middle management, becoming a skilled logistical specialist and supply procurer. Over the many years, Backbeat’s built up a rather large personal stockpile of supplies via a little embezzlement and a thriving side market in distributing media taken from dead planets the Decepticons conquer. In times of logistical difficulty for the movement, many of the more intimidating Decepticons of his regiment “request” that Backbeat donate anything he’s squirreled away in his personal stock… Repeatedly, and often with blunt objects.
Backbeat’s recently been assigned to Earth, accompanying a delivery of Energon regulator pumps and ammunition. His arrival by Spacebridge was mostly a non-event. Due to the abrupt nature of his transfer, Backbeat’s been forced to stew in the fact those idiots are probably diving up his stash. All those cool weapons he’d stashed away gone. His only conciliation being that he’d managed to smuggle a couple items in. He’d quickly modified the shipment manifest to include a four extra crates, each labelled as purple paint. It was honestly a very dumb trick, but no one ever questions why there is a request for more purple paint on a Decepticon ship.
Personality: Backbeat’s rather laid back for an “Evil” Decepticon. Content with amusing himself via off-world cinema, pirated Autobot broadcasts, or “borrowed” Decepticon personal files. This translates into the approachable nature he holds in his work. Backbeat is the Decepticon to talk to for extra ammo or that equipment you heard was backordered. He’s easy-going for the most part, but this hides his more devious and dangerous nature. Unknown to most, Backbeat’s an accomplished blackmailer, often taking information as payment in his trades. Backbeat delights in learning anything he deems entertaining. But should he be micromanaged or interfered with, Backbeat has the habit of morphing into a petty and caustic individual until the issue has been resolved. Until, that is, he’s taken revenge on the perceived enemy. Normally working to use any rule or bit of red tape to ruin the lives of his potential rival. This ranges from allocated supplies “disappearing” or funding being “redistributed”.
Preferring to avoid direct combat as much as possible, Backbeat often focuses more on ambushes and clever tactics. That is, until the fight starts. In combat, Backbeat’s a one bot force of chaos. Barely aiming his shots and wildly swinging his rotor hands around. Backbeat’s unpredictable in his fighting style is mostly due to his lack of actual combat talent.
Unlike many of his fellow Decepticons, Backbeat enjoys interacting with the various species of the universe. An appreciator of non-Cybertronian art and culture, Backbeat often immerses himself in a planet’s culture while stationed there. A skill easily curried into intergalactic trade and negotiation. Backbeat’s latest fascination is with Earth’s television and cinema, often distracting himself with it while he flies. Backbeat’s a quick study and is often captivated by anything “new”. Which changes rather quickly.
Likes: New things, exact words, and the element of surprise.
Dislikes: Fair fights, being unprepared, and being in other’s debt.
Strengths/Weapons:
Backbeat Guarantee: Backbeat’s a rather skilled negotiator who prided himself on being able to easily scrounge what his clients need.
Trope Overdosed: Constantly studies and collects a media he can get his hands on. Giving him a rather good (not perfect) understanding of earth culture.
Mayhem Requisition: Has a general knowledge of most ammunition, weapons and supplies used by the Decepticon war machine. Backbeat also has an intimate knowledge of Decepticon supply and requisition procedures.
Rotor Claws: Armor penetration: Medium. Backbeat’s rotor blade/claws can spin at high speeds and are made of a durabyllium-steel alloy that allows them to cut through most substances. The blade/claws can either spin in rotor mode, or act like a makeshift drill when brought together.
Missile Pods: Armor penetration: Medium. Backbeat’s legs contain side-mounted missile pods, loaded with about ten small explosive rockets each. Each missile has a small blast radius. Once empty they require a restock of ammunition. They are designed to overwhelm a foe’s defences through numbers rather than individual yield.
Surprise Party: Due to a lack of pure combat skill, Backbeat is a master of ambush tactics and setting traps.
Silver Vocal Emitter: A rather friendly and harmless facade hides a skilled blackmailer and manipulator. He can easily find a loophole in most agreements, and often will exploit exact words.
Whirlwind Assaulter: On the battlefield, Backbeat is difficult to predict… Mostly because he rarely knows what he’s doing.
Hover Mode: When in robot mode, Backbeat can spin his rotors to allow him to hover for a short time. This can cause the motors for the blades to overheat quickly.
Additionally, Backbeat is covered in various hidden compartments:
Explosive Accessories: Hidden in his chest and side of his upper legs are compartments filled with explosive grenades. About 3 in each leg and 2 in his chest. Armor penetration: light, and blast radius is 15 feet. These grenades are more focused on doing damage to an area than to an individual target.
Laser Light show: His shoulders contain small pop out Photon blasters. They are Photon based and emit a short-range laser beam that can be used to cut weaker metals. Armor penetration: Light. They take 15 to 20 minutes to recharge depending on usage.
Options Included: He also has storage compartments in his legs and torso used for storing plundered objects.
Note: These hidden weapons and compartments are accessible in vehicle mode.
Weaknesses:
Retreat!: Backbeat relies on ambush tactics to mask his lack of combat skills. A fair fight spells trouble for him. His morale can crumble if his initial ambush doesn’t succeed or if he’s run out of ammunition and he will flee unless directly ordered to.
Office Politics: Loyalty is mostly transactional. If complications in a mission or unwanted interference from teammates occurs, Backbeat can often be found to engage in petty and counterproductive behavior.
Whirlwind Atta… Scrap: Backbeat’s rotor blades dull extremely easily when used in their drill configuration. As well the motor driving the rotors can overheat if spun for too long in robot mode, as the vehicle modes cooling systems are absent.
Overheat: The Photon Blasters are short range and energy intensive. As well they can overheat easily if fired repeatedly.
Out of Order: Leg mounted missile launchers rarely have extra ammo brought into the field. So, Backbeat runs out of ammo quickly.
Spray and Pray: The leg mounted missile launchers are also highly inaccurate, more suited to general area than a specific target.
No Refunds: Backbeat’s habit of ignoring chain of command when trading supplies can sometimes bite him in the aft if a deal to replace the traded item falls through.
Pack Mule’s Pain: Backbeat’s armor is covered in hollowed out storage, meaning should something penetrate his armor, there is a chance of damaging whatever is stored within. His various compartments can be jammed shut if they are damaged via blunt force.
Talk TV?: He often references alien media most other Decepticons don’t know. Resulting in confusion from his allies.
Air Mail Fail: Often flying into buildings or other fliers due to the nasty habit of monitoring local television broadcasts while flying. His vehicle mode’s flight speed is also slow due to added weight.
Oops: Due to preferring his Rotor claws to his normal hands, Backbeat can sometimes damage objects he’s trying to hold.
Buying a Friend: His transactional worldview can mean that he will often be compelled to return any kindness or hostility shown. But it also means that he can be caught flat footed by genuine kindness and compelled to return it so as not to owe anyone.
Loot and Pillage: Sticky fingers and liberal definition of abandoned means that Backbeat has been known to abscond with anything he thinks he can get away with taking. Items left unattended or unmarked tend to go missing around Backbeat.
But I NEED it: Obsessions with objects and information not in his possession can sometimes overpower his reasoning. Causing Backbeat to become easily distracted with whatever he is chasing.
Special Skills:
Walking storage bay: Either bristling with hidden weapons or ready to be filled with whatever is necessary for the mission, Backbeat maintains a distinct knack for being able to scrounge extra supplies when called upon.
Rotor blades: Durable and can cut solid rock or Autobot armor. They can be used as a spinning melee weapon in close combat.
Patch Work-in-Progress: Backbeat is skilled at making patch-job repairs to most technology. These are stopgaps at best and the item does require actual expert repairs later.