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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8112860" data-attributes="member: 30538">General Estrella<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-Jt4L5BX/0/a807c4f7/S/fmwer8zeal741-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Born in 1937, the man who called himself Raimondo Loyola often claimed to be of noble lineage stretching back generations. After he was dead, some investigations were conducted and uncovered the fact that he had been a child of the Loyola family, but one born out of an illegitimate union between one of the family's scions and a maid. He would later take advantage of the Loyola's famous aversity to public attention to claim their family name for his own, using his political connections to further protect himself. It worked, for a while.A patriotic Spaniard and devout Falangist, he joined the Spanish army in 1955, ironically just as his nation was starting to turn away from its international isolation. The stress of basic training awakened something in him, and he devoted himself to pushing his limits with further exercise and practice. By 1957, it was clear to him that he had achieved literally superhuman levels of ability, and reported this fact to his superiors in hopes that they would put his talents to good use. The Caudillo himself observed his feats, and asked him to use these abilities to protect blessed Spain from the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy that still threatened it. With tears in his eyes, Raimondo agreed, becoming Capitán Estrella (though in fact he was only commissioned as a lieutenant, at that point.)He served as the superhuman champion of Francoist Spain for the next two decades, battling crime and subversion on the state's behalf and presenting himself as the embodiment of the national virtues.  He would later claim to have been Franco's friend and confidant, though a more impartial assessment of their known interactions suggests that the Caudillo was very careful to keep a distance between them. Franco may have recognized that the Capitán had ambitions not at all compatible with his own designs for the Spanish state.Franco's death, in 1975, and what the Capitán perceived as the weakness of Prime Minister Navarro, particularly his contemptible acquiescence to the coronation of Juan Carlos, made it clear to him that there could be no place in this new Spain for him. This was further brought home by a confrontation with a member of the Loyola family, who had apparently lost his patience with Raimondo's use of their name. Swallowing curses, he deserted from the Army and fled the country for South America, where he became a mercenary under the name General Estrella, no longer answering to any civilian name.Three years later, Pythia sought him out. He had developed his faculties enough to recognize another psychic when he saw one, and was -- for the moment -- impressed by what she demonstrated of her abilities. The tale that she told of his future, where he would apparently end up the servant of some American boxer, disgusted him sufficiently to persuade him to join forces with her, becoming the Insurgency's Director of Military Activities, charged with recruiting, training and ultimately leading the Pythonian armies. Neither of them operated under any illusions that he would not, eventually, seek to run the entire organization.In fact, that seemed to have happened after Korie's death. While struggling with the other noteworthy leaders of the Insurgency, Estrella's command of the largest body of troops and his own personal power left very little doubt who held the reins of authority. Unfortunately, for himself at least, he seemed ill-equipped to do anything with them. The victories of the early Eighties were long behind them, and while the Insurgency conducted many dramatic operations under the General's command, these were largely failures and even debacles.Consequently, in 1992, the General was forced (some might say manipulated) into travelling personally to Mars in a Vaskhane spacecraft to meet with the Insurgency's extraterrestrial allies. JSOT and its allies pursued them there and attacked the 'pyramid' where the meeting was taking place. In the battle that followed, Estrella was confronted by JSOT's Lieutenant Ken Griffin, another psychic martial artist who had crossed paths with him repeated in recent years. They proceeded to fight a duel that sent them through the pyramid's walls out onto the sands of Mars.After the conclusion of the operation, the bodies of both General Estrella and Lieutenant Griffin were recovered. It was not clear whether they had killed each other with their powers or died of exposure to the Martian environment. (Lieutenant Griffin's autopsy would suggest that the latter.) Both bodies were returned to Earth with the survivors of the expedition, and while the Lieutenant was buried in Arlington, Estrella's remains were turned over to the Spanish government. It has been rumored that they were dissected and used in super-soldier experiments there, but nothing is known for sure.General Estrella -- PL 8Abilities:STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 5 | FGT 9 | INT 1 | AWE 6 | PRE 1Powers:Aura of Might: Sustained Impervious Protection 4 - 8 pointsHovers: Flight 1 (4 MPH), Concentration - 1 pointMartial Power: Strength-based Damage 3 - 3 pointsSense Those of Comparable Power: Senses 3 (acute tracking psychic awareness) - 3 pointsAdvantages:Chokehold, Close Attack, Defensive Attack, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Inspire, Language (English, [Spanish is native]), Leadership, Power Attack, Startle, Weapon BindSkills:Acrobatics 4 (+9), Athletics 6 (+9), Expertise: Criminal 6 (+7), Expertise: Military 8 (+9), Insight 2 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+9), Perception 4 (+10), Stealth 4 (+9), Vehicles 4 (+9)Offense:Initiative +9Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 6)Defense:Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 8, Toughness 7/3, Will 8Totals:Abilities 66 + Powers 15 + Advantages 16 + Skills 24 + Defenses 9 = 130 pointsComplications:Power--Motivation. Arrogant Beyond Words. Casual Killer. Won't Use The Same Attack Twice in Succession.</blockquote>

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