RIPLEY

Ofanite of the Sword

Description in Vessel (Courier):

Twenty-one or twenty-two years old, 5'11" tall with a somewhat disorganized but short mop of hair, which is often hidden under his bike helmet. He is very wiry, and in excellent condition -- definitely handsome, with a rakish attitude which is accentuated by his bike shorts and tunic, with windbreaker over. His bike shorts, windbreaker and helmet are all emblazoned with the corporate symbol of Docu-Sent -- a personal document courier service, for when facsimilies and digital ink just aren't enough. He perpetually has a backpack over one shoulder, where he stores most of his assignments, and a long map-tube on his back. Where the windbreaker is open, you can see the silver crucifix at his throat. Sometimes he does have blueprints or maps in there, but mostly the tube conceals his longsword, disguised as the tube core. When popped out, he can snap out the crossguard with a button -- he prefers having a mundane sword handy as the Fiery Sword attracts attention and generates Disturbance. In his backpack he also has a pistol. He rides a collapsable Schwinn-Century Twenty-Two Urban racing bike -- a bicycle of composite fibers designed to flex around corners and absorb the shock of hard landings -- a bike courier's best friend. He's rigged up the trigger guard of the bike for fast collapsing and reassembly, and is a master of the sudden stop or walk.

Description in Vessel (Temp Pilot/Courier):

Wearing the greys and green and black of the TriOp Corporate Security, with the green pilot's wings crossed with his trainee's stripes and the courier's insignia on his shoulder, Officer John David Ripley is about twenty-one, with regulation-short (but still indefinably unruly) hair and a quick smile. He's likable as he's seen sprinting corridors with Need To Sees and Confidential Pouches, getting to know the people on his route swiftly. A handsome man, his one unregulation affectations being his crucifix close on his neck and his Jaycees ring.

Ripley is a young angel, having Fledged in 1982 after some decades as a Reliever (and perhaps an overly enthusiastic one) in the Service of the Sword. His enthusiasm translated into an Ofanite's fire, and he revels in his state as one of the bold young Knights of the Heavenly Host.

After training and working in Heaven for a considerable length of time, Ripley was first given Earthside service in the early ninties. He distinguished himself by having the rare talent of interacting well with humans, generally making good impressions with the people he met. While he didn't have a Mercurian's facility, he was definitely far better than most Ofanim at human relations. This led Ripley to more and more Earthside assignments, often as a kind of bike courier.

Bike couriering is among Ripley's favorite activities as well as his preferred Role. He can feed his thirst for speed and the personal sense of challenge he brings to every assignment, inside the kind of structured order he prefers. In a way, his assignments with the Sword tend to be similar -- a careful sense of structure that gives him great latitude in execution. Ripley is passionately idealistic for the Sword, often combining a sense of almost archaic formality with a boundless enthusiasm.

Ripley's skill at movement led to his petitioning for the Mercurian of the Sword attunement, which allows him to play at this strength in combat. And Ripley dearly loves combat with the infernal. He is convinced of the rightness of Heaven's cause, and believes that any Demon in Trauma is *not* a Demon spreading lies and bile on Earth. He hasn't been around long enough or extensively enough to really shake the training of his early biases -- as has often been said, Ripley knows *intellectually* that some of the Sword might have different opinions from Laurence's, but *emotionally* he can't wrap his brain around that.

Ripley's youth and enthusiasm may be seen as blessings and curses, but one thing is certain -- while he might be frightened, he has never shown the slightest sign of cowardice. When he was among a series of War Servitors on a mission (he had to get a message in to the mission team in the middle of a fire zone, then was instructed to assist as needed), the mission was successful but the Angels were engaged. The War Servitors, unable to retreat without incurring dissonance, fought and died. Some Angels of other Words escaped, covered by War -- and the Michaelites thought no less of them. But Ripley stayed and fought, and ultimately received his first Trauma, rather than leave. When he emerged from the brush with death, he got a stern talking to for being in over his head. He also was honored by Michael himself with Michael's Ofanite attunement, and a Colonel of the Sword gave Ripley a minor Fiery Sword for bringing honor to the Sword in one small way.

Today, Ripley is still enthusiastic and still excited to be doing Laurence's Work and the Lord's Work in Heaven and on Earth. He is a devout Catholic, truly believing rather than simply following the Forms for the Sword. He is content to work the Courier racket in a given city, acting as part of the Sword's support staff, with an occasional use as one of Laurence's Soldiers in reserve.

Addendums since Campaign Start (2070+):

• Area Knowledge(Citidas Station+Saturn Area)/1 added. (via training)
• Piloting/1 added. (via training)