CLEA DATA FILE
Team Identities:
- Big Sister – Isabella Young
- Various Mecha
CLEA Classification:
- Tech Augmented Human (Young)
- Robot (Big Sister)
Special Skills and/or Abilities:
- Isabella acts as the pilot on all her mecha.
- Several of her designs allow for remote operation
- Isabella has been given an armoured suit to protect her when chooses to leave her mecha during a mission. Operating outside, she in known by her alias of Big Sister. Having been trained by the Phoenix Alliance Isabella has learned good unarmed combat skills and the suits protection gives her the means to face combatants armed with small calibre weapons.
Limitation(s)/Weakness(s):
- Most of Isabella’s mecha can be stopped with EM weapons if targeted correctly
- Isabella can become distracted when remote piloting and that places her at great risk.
Rap Sheet/Criminal Traits:
- N/A
Notes/History
When Isabella created her first mecha, a sixteen foot tall metal monster biped she called “Big Sister” (from which she would eventually use as her own codename, never in her wildest imagination could she have dreamed of creating something that would see her become regarded as a hero.
Having an interest in engineering she transitioned through several jobs but none held her interest for any great length of time. This changed when Pacifica Pleasure Craft approached her with a job offer she could not refuse. Up until that moment in her life she had only one passion and that was anything to do with the sea, particularly water sports. Having not much money meant buying anything new for her hobby was out of the question so instead she bought used equipment and using her engineering skills modified it until it met her requirements. Around the marina she was well known and if she had the time she would help others. The fact that most of her innovations worked well was what brought her to the attention the PPC.
The company was looking to expand into building underwater submersibles having seen there was a lucrative market. Though Isabella was far from a qualified marine designer the PPC board reckoned with the right encouragement and training she could be exactly the type of designer that would take them to the next level.
Aware that it was very much a gamble and it would take time before their plan came to fruition the PPC board offered her a job and she jumped at the challenge. After learning the basics she spent her early years with other PPC designers coming up with various designs of “exciting” pleasure boats. Unlike other designers though she was not simply prepared to hide in an office and would often visit the workshop and take a hand on approach in ensuring each of her designs would function exactly as she had promised.
Seven years on and she was finally ready to design the much desired undersea personal submarines, toys for the rich and famous. She spent several long months working practically around the clock to create two prototypes, a small one man craft and a larger four person submersible. The board considered both models and suggested a few alterations before production and tooling could begin. Isabella though had a surprise for she had come up with a third design she reckoned could be sold to companies specialising in undersea exploration. Her proposal was to build a large humanoid shaped submersible, which would be piloted from inside the chest. She described it as her dream project and though the design would provide all the dexterity of a human working under water, albeit a lot larger, it was very unconventional.
Rather than dismiss the idea altogether, the PPC board decided to let Isabella build a prototype providing it did not interfere in the production of her two other submarine designs which now had solid orders. Due to the restrictions work was slow in “Big Sister” as she nicknamed her aquatic robot. It therefore took two years before it was ready for a test run.
By this time PPC was in trouble due to a down turn in the market and competition from rivals. Despite this she managed to complete one test dive in Big Sister and found it functioned almost perfectly. The company though was not recovering from its dive and a couple of weeks after Big Sister made its maiden voyage, the gates of the company were locked and the receivers called in.
Isabella, naturally, was saddened by the loss of her dream job, but to add insult to injury, from her apartment she could see the PPC yard and her life’s work Big Sister simply sitting there, gathering dust and getting weathered. In time she moved on and found new work, most of PPC’s assets were sold but the building remained empty and Big Sister languished outside after failing to attract buyers, so like the premises it was a silent reminder of the past.
She never thought she would ever pilot the craft again until two years had passed since PPC had folded. One night in the early evening she heard an almighty commotion outside and when she looked out of her apartment window she could see the Drone Lords rampaging through the docklands area. Clearly they were looking for something or someone but it was equally obvious that their “pilots” did not care who got hurt of the collateral damage.
In amongst the chaos she witnessed civilians desperately trying to escape the huge robots. This was followed by the sound of a jet as Team Zodiac arrived on the scene. Since there were people in danger the team became preoccupied getting them to safety, unable to free up resources to tackle the source of the problem. It was then that Isabella had a crazy idea.
Quickly she left her apartment and ran down the five flights of stairs until she reached the road outside. Once there she crossed and approached the locked and sealed PPC facility. Having maintained her fitness via continuing her water sports she found it easy to climb the mesh fence and get into the yard. She approached Big Sister and hoped after all this time there would still be power when she hit the button at the base of its left leg.
Sufficed to say, Isabella was surprised when Big Sister began powering up. As part of its protocols it opened its chest cavity before lowering one of its hands. She stood on the hand and allowed it to carry her to the opening, where she boarded her creation. Everything checked out okay although the power levels were at minimum.
Still thinking she was making a terrible mistake she piloted Big Sister out of the yard, demolishing the fence in the process, and then she headed towards the Drone Lords. Despite a total lack of experience using Big Sister in an urban environment or on land for that matter Isabella engaged with the “enemy”. Four against one would never work in her favour but she felt it was better she did something and perhaps give Team Zodiac an opening rather than do nothing and regret it later.
She punched her way past one of the Drones and grabbed another one and threw it. The Drone Lords now recognised her as a threat and surrounded her, pounding Big Sister’s hull. Being designed for deep sea diving meant it was strong but Isabella knew that she was not exactly safe from the Drone Lords other weapons.
She need not have worried though for Team Zodiac had finished clearing out the other civilians and could now deal with the mechanical threat. With the tide of battle turning against them the Drone Lords bugged out.
In the confusion, Isabella took Big Sister back to the PPC yard and slipped away. The Pacifica police quickly realised that Big Sister had engaged the Drone Lords and wanted to learn who its pilot was. (Those officers that had not seen Big Sister in the PPC yard were able to trace the path of debris back to the compound so either way the robot itself was not a secret). The press hailed the robot and its mystery pilot a hero and also tried to find her. Both would fail, which suited Isabella because she wanted anonymity. However the day after Andrew McCabe of MCI would call in person at her apartment.
She was confused at the appearance of such a prominent person until he explained he was with Team Zodiac (as Leo) and had traced her using CCTV footage and facial recognition. (Having a computer hacker on the team helped). Impressed at her willingness to help when others would have simply ran he made her a proposal, if she wanted to “serve” the people of Pacifica as a hero by using Big Sister he would give her the financial and technical support and infrastructure needed as well as an income so she would not need to be bothered with money concerns.
Never one to back down from a challenge she accepted (figuring she was perhaps being impulsive…again!) Within a couple of months MCI purchased the PPC yard. To the casual observer when the construction work was finished MCI had built a new R and D lab in a new two storey building after demolishing everything that once stood there. What in fact happened was MCI’ construction engineers had sunk a hangar for Big Sister below the building and created a tunnel which led out to a hidden cove so the huge robot could arrive and depart unseen.
In time once Isabella settled into the role as a protector of Pacifica and McCabe became involved with the Knight’s Forge, Big Sister would receive numerous upgrades to allow it to keep abreast of technology criminals were using. Isabella herself would receive an “upgrade” via the Knight’s Forge when it became apparent that is certain instances when civilians were in trouble, sometimes she had to leave the safety of Big Sister. In such situations she became as vulnerable as the people she was trying to protect so the Forge donated a special armoured suit to protect Isabella.
Eventually she figured she could work effectively by becoming a “team” with Big Sister. Both her suit and Big Sister were given further upgrades so that it could be piloted remotely when needed. She also received training with the Phoenix Alliance so she could be an effective fighter outside the protection of Big Sister. Though it took time to gain skills in hand to hand combat, Isabella eventually prevailed, at which point she adopted the name Little Sister.
The team though was not destined to last when the Drone Lords returned to carry out an operation in Pacifica for their master, the Mechaniac. Knowing that Big Sister was the major threat they specifically went after the mecha first. Unlike the last time they encountered and were taken by surprise, this time Isabella was not so lucky. Though Big Sister had been upgraded so had the Drone Lords. She barely escaped the battle with her life but her creation was not so fortunate and was reduced to scrap metal.
The loss of the machine was actually upsetting for her and Isabella felt she could not go about building another like it. Instead she decided to use her loss as a means to start over. Big Sister had originally been designed for deep sea work and carried no weaponry which had made it vulnerable. Her new creations were destined to overcome those shortcomings.
Her first new design was a squat but significantly armed walking design. Unlike Big Sister which was humanoid in configuration, the new mecha was akin to a hull with legs. Its small size led her to call it “Baby”, later with the help of workers from the Knight’s Forge,, Baby would be joined by others of the same configuration but getting bigger each time culminating with one she named ‘Papa’.
Her original mecha though still lived on for she started to use the name “Big Sister” as her own callsign when going into battle. Papa though would not be the last
Project Nightingale
One of the main problems with her Mecha, Isabella had never addressed was the ability to get mecha to any location fast. Since Big Sister the mechas had to literally walk to locations. The Drone Lords by comparison would be dispatched to temporary base and launch a strike from there using rocket motors to make the flight. This meant that outside of Pacifica, Isabella could do little else in terms of dealing with threats of a “mechanical” nature. Though initially she had accepted her role as a protector of the city with the appearance of other Mecha criminals, she wanted to do more.
A quick fix was to use aerial transportation but Isabella was aware that by the time a cargo transport was loaded and a chosen mecha moved to the location the criminals were often long gone. She figured out that a novel solution was to turn a mecha into a mode of transport. Such a complex design could not be built wih her expertise alone so she approached the Knight’s Forge.
They liked the idea but even they did not have a budget and suggested that they and Isabella propose the idea to CLEA as a new form of fighting vehicle. This became Project Nightingale. CLEA provided the backing for a prototype and the Knight’s Forge provided extra help with the tech. By the time the project was launched they had aquired alien technology which allowed for super strong folding joint systems and panels which could collapse.
After three years of work the first model was ready and painted in a trial CLEA paint scheme. Though the model worked and could transition from an aircraft, to a walker, to a full upright mecha, CLEA felt that it was too complex for them to use and maintain. Whilst they still owned the unit, having paid for it, the organisation decided to permit Isabella to use it in her work against crime on the proviso that they could call her in on joint missions.
Whilst Isabella still uses her older Mecha models, Nightingale has become her primary weapon. Over time she has added more improvements culminating in the latest upgrade consisting of a control system interface built into a helmet. This allows her to control the mecha without using physical controls in its walker and upright modes. It also provides an outside view from the mecha’s “head” POV which had previously been shown on video displays inside the cockpit. The VR view was a vast improvement. Also until the advent of the special helmet design, Isabella had found maintaining the mecha’s balance when moving in such configurations “challenging” which was one of the other reasons CLEA were not keen to use it as a weapon. Helmet itself been upgraded to make it compatible with her older mecha units for greater control flexibility
