CLEA DATA FILE
Identity:
- Conor Brennan (current pilot)
CLEA Classification:
- Robot
Special Skills and/or Abilities:
- Since Red Ronin is mirroring it pilots movements Conor is in no direct danger of getting hurt (although he does “feel” via feedback sent to his suit so is aware when Red Ronin is being hit).
- Red Ronin is capable of far move acrobatic moves than the average human – these are programmed as subroutines that Conor can activate since he cannot mirror the actual moves. Control during these “special” attacks is taken over by Red Ronin and then handed back to Conor upon completion of the manoeuvre.
- Red Ronin has more strength and speed than humans so can jump greater distances and lift around six tons.
Limitation(s)/Weakness(s):
- Vulnerable to electric/EM based weaponry.
- If the data uplink/downlink connection is broken Red Ronin switched to “return home” mode. During this phase he is not only vulnerable but an an enemy can also track the robot back to it’s base.
- Need sregular recharges which limits the time in action.
- Conor’s feedback suit can be overloaded by too much data sent. This technically is the only way he can get hurt.
Rap Sheet/Criminal Traits:
- N/A
Notes/History
The Red Ronin is a highly specialised combat capable robot that mimics the movements of its human operator Conar Brennan who wears a special suit lined with sensors. The robot was a development of “Outreach” designed by Kyo Nomura, who came up with the radical new idea of using robots to perform tasks in dangerous environments. Kyo was aware that whilst automatons could be programmed to do any number of tasks they lacked “judgement” which humans excelled at. Usually such work benefited from human dexterity which was not really possible with remotely operated machines using human operators who performed every task on a keyboard whilst monitoring visual information sent via cameras.
To that end he set about building a robot that could follow the movements of a special suit. Once the wearer donned the suit they would see through the “eyes” of the robot and however they moved the robot would follow. To give the operator the artificial feeling, micro servos would provide physical feedback sent back from the robot. If everything worked correctly Kyo intended to give the human operator the experience of “being there.”
Rather than rush into creating a full prototype of untested ideas, Kyo decided to start smaller and create what essentially a “wearable robot”, an armoured exo skeleton. Though this would still put the wearer in danger and was not a true robot, Kyo hoped to solve some of the complex issues of creating a working sensor grid. To this he developed an “inner suit” which would provide the operator with real sensual data enabling them to experience the world as if they were wearing not surrounded by a metal exo skeleton.
Though operators complained that the suit was cumbersome overall Kyo’s design was a success. He made further refinements to address the complaints and upgraded it for military use but the military was not interested in his mobile armour. As far as they were concerned the expense did not justify the means. The Meteor armour was therefore placed into storage (ironically to find its way into civilian use year later) and having learned to build a working sensor array Kyo returned to his original goal of making a remotely operated automaton.
Unfortunately for all his brilliance Kyo could not get the interface and software working that linked the operator to the machine. With progress stalled the project looked doomed until he heard about disgraced designer Mark Ryce (who would later become the Mechaniac). Though Ryce had a bad name, Kyo had heard the rumours that he had been set up by his old partner and since Ryce was prevented from establishing his own company, Kyo decided to give him a job in his. From the outset he hoped Ryce would be able to identify something he had missed and thus get the prototype robot named “Outreach” working. Just as Kyo hoped, Ryce found a number of bugs and oversights which once fixed made the whole system workable.
Though a technological breakthrough “Outreach” was expensive and for the second time in his brilliant career Kyo had a viable product but no market. Annoyingly for Kyo, whilst plenty of interest had been shown when he first came up with the idea, when it came to parting with money the people with the money decided that it was still cheaper to put actual people in dangerous locations.
Just like with Meteor before, Kyo had no option but to move on and since his company was hovering above bankruptcy he was forced to concentrate on cheaper projects and contracts that had guaranteed buyers. He believed with Mark by his side they could accomplish great things in the robotics field but their working relationship fell apart when Mark could not get his obsession for revenge against his old partner out of his mind.
That left Kyo with no option to dismiss Mark from the company. Kyo then continued rebuilding his company and business reputation by developing and building cheaper robots for use in laboratories and industrial applications. Never one to give up an idea in between orders he set about building a better version of “Outreach” which he thought he would be able to sell to the military. This he knew was a risk since Meteor had failed to sell and that was cheaper. However with a healthy profit in the bank he decided that this would be third time lucky.
As this second prototype neared completion, Kyo could not help but notice the Drone Lords (the Mechaniac’s soldiers) in action. He was already aware that Mark had become the Mechaniac and had decided not to get involved with the authorities trying to capture the villain. However when he became aware that the Drone Lords were using an upgraded version of his interface, Kyo felt some responsibility. Nobody was going to use one of his inventions to terrorise ordinary people.
Since the second prototype was not quite ready, Kyo removed Outreach from storage, and the next time the Drone Lords appeared, Kyo donned the suit and went into action, hoping to use the data to make final adjustments to his other prototype he had named Red Ronin. Outreach survived the encounter and Kyo got valuable data. Rather than sell Red Ronin to the military Kyo changed his strategy and decided to use the machine to disrupt the Mechaniac’s plans, enough to buy enough time for him to invent some sort of device that would put a stop to all of Mark’s creations.
Not willing to chance Red Ronin before it was “perfect” when the Drone Lords next appeared he used Outreach again, and that was Kyo’s undoing. The Drone Lords managed to capture the robot and took it back to the Mechaniac who was then able to extract data as to Kyo’s location. It was then only a matter of time before they came and eliminated him.
Always aware that there was a chance that this would happen, Kyo was intelligent enough to take precautions in case he was ever killed. He made sure that the Red Ronin was stored away from the main business premises and at a storage location only he knew. That save Red Ronin from getting destroyed when the Drone Lords followed up on their murderous mission and completely devastated Kyo’s workshop and factory. Ensuring Red Ronin would survive though would not be enough so Kyo had taken the time to select a ‘pilot’ in case things turned bad which they had inevitably done.
The man he had chosen was Conor Brennan someone Kyo had encountered years before he had ever met Mark Ryce. Conor, from Ireland was a military man who travelled the world with a black ops unit that performed assignments for a couple of military units working out of Europa.
The pair met after Conor had finished an assignment and along with his unit had stopped of a New Tokyo on the way home. Finding a cheap club the comrades had intended on having an all-night drinking session when it was unexpectedly cut short by an explosion that tore through the building.
Thrown by the blast Conor got separated from his friends and having been knocked out, in the smoke and the confusion they could not locate him and had no choice but to get to safety before they became victims of the chocking atmosphere. Kyo who was also in the nightclub with friends when the fire started saw the helpless man lying face down and rather than just escaping he chose instead to pull the injured stranger to safety.
After recovering from his injuries Conor tracked down the man that had saved his life and the two became good friends. Over time due to work and assignments their friendship became lost in the annals of time, but Conor never forgot the promise he made to Kyo and that was in return for saving his life “if ever he needed a favour he would be there for him.” The last thing Conor ever expected was to receive a message from Kyo via a detective agency that had tracked him down.
The message, written by Kyo, explained that if Conor was reading it then he was dead and that it was probably at the hands of the Mechaniac. The message continued with Kyo wanting Conor to put a stop to the villain and stating that he would be given the tools for the job. At the bottom of the letter there was an address and the last thing the detectives did was hand him a set of keys, which Conor presumed was connected with whatever was at the address.
Since the address was just outside New Tokyo, two days later Conor found himself on a plane out of Europe heading for whatever mystery awaited. Once at the address he found what appeared to be an old warehouse but on the inside it was pristine and clean. In the centre there seemed to be a large circular chamber or room which was accessed by another key. There he found the Red Ronin and a host of video messages explaining how the suit functioned and how he could repair the robot.
Listening to the messages he understood that Kyo had been consumed with guilt in giving the Mechaniac the tools to create the Drone Lords and he wanted Conor to “correct” his mistake by stopping the villain. Kyo’s recorded message stated that he reckoned that since he could not be there to stop the Mechaniac by creating tech then the only other way to stop him was by fighting. Kyo stated he believed Conor’s military training along with the Red Ronin might be enough to distract the Mechaniac’s plans long enough for somebody else to invent technology to shut the villain down permanently.
Having spent most of his life fighting for somebody else’s cause, Conor felt it was his duty to fulfil Kyo’s final wish. After all he still owed him that favour. In strange way he was glad of the “assignment” because now that he was retired from military service and without family he found his life was without direction. At least now he had gained a purpose that he had been sadly lacking.
Just as Kyo had asked, Conor set about disrupting the Mechaniac where ever possible. Red Ronin soon came to the intention of the Knight’s Forge. After realising that the machine could be a valuable ally in the fight against criminals and terrorists, the Forge tried to open a dialogue. Since they were unable to find where and who was operating Red Ronin, they made contact with Red Ronin itself and offered its “owner” access to resources stating in return for the chance to study the machine they hope that data learned could be used to supply “heroes” with tech to remain one step ahead of their enemies.
At first Conor flatly refused to acknowledge the request since responding would effectively eliminate his anonymity which so far had kept him safe. In time though, despite Kyo’s tutorial videos Conor began having problems maintaining the robot. He was a soldier not an engineer so if he was to continue he knew he needed help. Conor therefore came forwards to the Knights Forge and accepted their offer and they in return supplied a small number of trusted staff to keep Red Ronin in keep condition.
