User:Axel Nagant
From The Skybrary
| Axel Nagant | |
| |
| Small Arms Designer | |
| Born | 7 Nov. Jordan |
|---|---|
| Died | N/A |
| Species | Fox |
| Affiliation | Blue Faction |
| Wing | USSR |
| Profile | |
Axel Nagant is a pilot that has made himself a reputation for being a skilled combatant in spite of his overall lack of flight experience. He makes most of his income by looting pirates, and trades on the side to supplement his income. He is a member of the Azure League and works a bit in an Islo arsenal to help develop weaponry for defense. Aside from his career as a pilot and small arms designer, Axel is well known for being a militant trade unionist, and has been involved in several strikes and a clash with the police. He has also recently become known for getting involved in Azure League military operations, and in addition to flying against the Armada, he recently served as a partisan sniper during the Armada's occupation of Islo, attaining 28 kills in the process.
Axel has a major weakness in getting along with other people due to socially awkward behavior. He may be intelligent and focused on his interests and goals, but it is common knowledge that one cannot get anywhere alone in this world, and here lies his weakness.
Axel is now engaged to his long time best friend and girlfriend, Janice Stark. Both of them are very close to each other, and their affection toward each other sometimes borders on obsession. Most of his spare time is spent with Janice, and they are often seen holding hands and cuddling wherever they choose to hang out.
Axel's motive for taking to the skies is to get revenge on The Blood an Iron Movement, a fascist gang of pirates that attacked his home and displaced his parents (Whereabouts unknown. Missing and presumed dead.), in addition to destroying the arsenal he worked in, killing many of his friends and co-workers. These are his primary goals, and his long term goals besides this revenge motive are vague and a bit unknown. When it comes to long term goals outside of his flight career, he has only expressed an interest in marrying Janice and eventually raising children with her. The couple is considering adopting an abandoned baby Lynx they found at Tortuga.
Contents |
[edit] Status in the Azure League
Axel joined the Blue faction, as he believes it has a leadership that gives a good deal of independence to its members, it shares his interests in science and technology, and he believes that the Red Faction is too militaristic and totalitarian while the Green Faction is a faction of a small wealthy elite. He hopes to contribute to the technological contributions of the Azure League, hoping to see a massive development of society guided by the Azure League. In addition to his work as a pilot in the Azure League, he has signed on as a small arms designer in at the Islo Works. This work is done sporadically and on the side, due to his revenge motives and devotion to Janice. Axel is again working with N.K. Prokopovich, providing assistance on weapons development and ambitious projects. The projects are of a purely theoretical character, and have not produced any results. Old texts are the basis of some of these projects, including development of devices that can provide a countermeasure to Unobtanium weaponry and radiation, stealth aircraft, and naval vessels capable of carrying and launching aircraft. A staff of hundreds is working on these projects, and due to focusing on firearm development and his sporadic appearances, Axel plays a relatively minor role in these projects.
Compared to other members of the Azure League, he is far more militant, and he is not afraid to use force to accomplish his aims for the Azure League. Many Blues sharply disagree with Axel on these things, and he does not enjoy mass support for his militant stances. Axel's militancy first became known to the Azure League when he landed at Islo and helped found a partisan movement that effectively harassed the occupying Armada forces, reestablishing Azure command in territories strongly held by the Armada. This partisan movement struck without mercy, and sapped the Armada's morale by resorting to irregular warfare methods such as hit-and-run attacks, ambushes, traps, sniping officers before attacking a troop column, and persuading civilians to spy for them.
Ideologically, Axel is pretty left leaning, but he has never publicly clarified his political stances.
[edit] The Cerulean Shield
After the defeat of the Armada at Islo, some partisan commanders and fighters joined with Axel to form a militia group known as the Cerulean Shield. The intentions of this militia are not generally known, but it appears that the militia occupies several rather insignificant skylands and is primarily engaged in fighting far-right wing gangs and pirate groups. The infamous fascist gang, The Blood and Iron Movement, has taken heavy losses to the militia, and are reduced to their holdings in the lawless settlement areas of Tortuga. The Cerulean Shield are currently waging a war against the fascists in these settlement areas.
The size of the militia is not generally known. Estimates vary, but the militia is generally believed to be composed of around 600 to 1200 fighters. In spite of its small size and relative lack of prestige, the militia is armed with the latest weaponry and is well trained, contributing to many successes and few losses. Axel goes as far to claim that his plans for future weapons development are based on experiences in the militia.
The structure of the militia is very irregular, lacking hierarchy. Officers are elected and subject to recall at any time, and the distinction between ordinary members and officers is not large. In fact, officers and troops eat in the came canteens and saluting does not exist. There are no ranks in this militia, just the distinction between elected officer and soldier or pilot. Major decisions are also voted on and discussed.
The Cerulean Shield is divided into an air division and an infantry division, and is capable of quick mobilization at a moment's notice.
Militias are generally shady in some areas, but The Cerulean Shield, in spite of having unknown intentions, does not draw negative attention, as it has defended civilian areas all over Skytopia from pirate raids.
The Cerulean Shield is not officially aligned with any faction, but clearly borrows from the organizational methods of the Azure League.
[edit] Basic Statistics
Name: Axel Nagant
Sex: Male
Age: 22
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5'10" (approx. 1.78m)
Weight: 154 lb (approx. 70 kg).
Build: Wiry
Interests: Science, music, politics, economics, philosophy, history, firearms, aircraft
Mental Conditions: Highly intelligent, but has Bipolar disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. Axel also displays a somewhat solitary attitude, and tends to “come fully out of his shell” only for good friends and loved ones.
[edit] Family
Mother: Sonia Nagant
Species: Fox
Age: 44
Height: 5'8' (approx 1.72m)
Weight: 132 lb (approx. 60kg)
Eye Color: Green
Build: Average
Personality: Intelligent, friendly, affectionate, kind hearted, family oriented, "neat freak"
Occupation: Dental Hygienist
Status: Missing and presumed dead
Father: Rodion Nagant
Species: Fox
Age: 45
Height: 5'11" (approx 1.8m)
Weight: 220 lb (approx. 100 kg)
Eye Color: Blue
Build: Muscular
Personality: Outgoing, intelligent, affectionate, family oriented
Occupation: Librarian
Status: Missing and presumed dead
Relation to Parents
Although Axel was born when his parents were very young, causing a bit of strain at times, there was an immensely strong bond of love and affection between them.
Siblings: None
Children: None
Significant other: Janice Stark (Fiancee)
Species: Fox
Age: 22
Height: 5'9" (approx. 1.75m)
Weight: 131 lb (approx. 59.5 kg)
Eye Color: Deep Green
Build: Average
Personality: Highly intelligent, obsessive, kind hearted, affectionate, fiercely loyal to family, loves children
Occupation: Chemist (temporarily off work to accompany Axel)
Mental Conditions: High functioning autism (Asperger's Syndrome) - Extremely intelligent, but also highly obsessive. Displays extreme focus and obsessive tendencies toward: Family, fiance, studies of topics of interest, martial arts. Unlike some individuals with high functioning autism, Janice does not display socially awkward behavior. She just gets absorbed in her fields of interests and spends as much time as possible with loved ones.
Interests: Science, martial arts, history, philosophy, politics
[edit] Historical Background
Axel was born on Jordan to a small, closely knit family, being an only child. He had shown a thirst for knowledge form an early age, and his parents started home schooling at an early age. They later moved on and enrolled him in a public school to help him develop social skills.
Axel has always displayed odd behavior that sometimes alienates him from people to this very day. He has a strange walking pattern, always moving at a fast pace with large strides and his subjects of interest are of a rather narrow field, his efforts being focused heavily on only a few areas of interest.
In school, Axel was always having trouble communicating with other people and staying within assignment parameters. He often spoke too quickly in complex terminology for others to understand him, and his assignments contained far too much detail. He also had a very odd behavior pattern – there would be periods of immense creative energy being used, followed by a slump period, when he was not having that creative focus. This slump period also was accompanied by moody behavior, ranging from short attention spans, irritability, and sometimes depression. He was assigned to a counselor that would correspond to his parents to help cope with his differing needs. His childhood and adolescence were marked by this behavior.
He was a difficult burden to bear for his parents at times. He loved his parents dearly and was dearly loved by his parents, but he would have odd mood swings; at times, he would be an ordinary loving son, at others, he would get irritable for no real reason, saying some hurtful things to his parents in the process, only to have another mood swing, coming back to his parents, crying hysterically due to feeling guilty and ashamed for what he had said earlier, not knowing why he was so mean to them in the first place. His parents brought him in for psychiatric analysis, and he was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and Asperger's Syndrome.
His disorder caused many students to be hostile toward him. When he was in a manic state, he was called a “nerd.” When he was in a depressive and irritable state, he was called a “psycho.” He went through a lot of stress due to this, but he still maintained good grades and the principal had him skip a grade when he got into high school. It was recommended that he also be assigned with students with problems like his in class.
Axel met a female fox his age named Janice that was also advanced a grade. She was placed in this program as well, as she herself was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and displayed obsessive tendencies. She happened to be very intelligent, patient and kind hearted. She was able to understand Axel's fast and complex speech, and he learned many social skills with her. They quickly became best friends and eventually fell in love.
Axel and Janice had graduated a year early from school, and immediately enrolled in college. Axel studied mechanics and physics, hoping to become an engineer of some sort. While studying in college, he went back home to see his parents during a break, coming to a scene that scarred him for life – the city where he grew up lay in ruins. A pirate group had attacked the area and hoped to use it as a fortress to take parts of Jordan, especially the ore mines. They reduced the city to rubble, killing and displacing citizens. They held the city for several days, but were later driven out by the rifle brigades and air corps. Axel asked around for days about his parents, but they were never found. They went missing and were presumed dead. He spent the inheritance on finishing college, and relied on Janice even more for love and affection with his parents gone.
Axel Nagant tried interviewing at several places and was employed at an arsenal in Jordan. He worked with the famous lead engineer of the arsenal, a bear named N.K. Prokopovich. Prokopovich displayed a high focus of interest on few subjects like Axel, and they became good friends, in spite of the huge age gap between them (Prokopovtich was so obsessed with his work that continued to work at the arsenal in spite of being 82 years old.). Axel added some finishing touches, including an improved bolt and bore rifling to Prokopovich's P31 prototype rifle. It then entered service as the PN31 rifle, one of the most accurate and rugged designs in Skytopia.
Axel actually made a fair deal of friends at the arsenal. It was an interesting change for him, but he still continued to have difficulty in getting along with most people.
Axel lived a moderate distance from a pharmaceutical lab where Janice worked after getting her degree in Chemistry. He spent a good deal of his spare time traveling to that area to see his sweetheart, even though it hampered his work. New ideas he had never got beyond the drawing board, but he was content with being with Janice, especially since besides his parents, she was the only person he ever knew that could help him cope with the depressive cycles that came after the Manic ones.
When Axel had gone back to work, the arsenal came under attack from a fascist pirate gang that wanted the arms and ammunition stored at the arsenal. The arsenal was destroyed in the fighting that ensued, the arms and supplies were mostly taken, and many of the workers had been killed in the fighting. Prokopovich himself had survived thanks to being absent from work on a personal day. Axel was wounded in the attack and had to spend time in an infirmary. He learned from a doctor that those pirates he encountered at the arsenal were the same ones that caused his parents to go missing.
After healing, Axel decided to get revenge on these pirates for killing off many of his friends and co-workers, in addition to revenge for his parents. He attempted to enlist in the rifle brigades, but was rejected on grounds of his unpredictable mood changes and the fear of huge mistakes they would cause on a battlefield. After being rejected, he decided to take to the skies, using his meager savings to buy a used CR-4P airplane. He visited Janice and told her of his plans to get revenge and his hope of possibly tracking his parents down. She understood this was important to him, and said she would support him and even accompany him in the future after she was less busy with work.
[edit] Craft
AN-17 (CR-4P)
This was Axel's first craft, purchased on meager savings. The craft was rather old, proven by its faded paint. The seller painted "AN-17" on the plane, indicating the buyer, Axel Nagant, and plane #17 sold. Axel never really thought of the plane as much, and he sold it off as soon as he could get another plane.
Storm Rider (Phantom)
Axel upgraded to a Phantom from his CR-4P, and he loved this craft. It was slow, but it really fit his desire for combat. Axel amassed large amounts of kills in this plane, and the recklessness that kept him out of the rifle brigades was often displayed. Axel often flew in hazardous, stormy weather, hunting pirates down, flying at his enemies at full speed, letting out a maniacal laugh. After taking down a pirate convoy in such weather, he named this craft the "Storm Rider."
Flying Coffin (Cyclops)
Axel decided to try flying a Cyclops, noting its extra cargo space. He ended up regretting this choice. The plane proved to be sluggish in combat and vulnerable due to its exposed long tail. Even when he won a battle, he shelled out lots of money for repairs. The final straw came when a pirate attack severely damaged the plane and injured Axel in the process. A combination of Axel's wounded state and hatred of the craft and Janice's obsessive affection and worry toward her fiance led to his naming of the craft of the "Flying Coffin," in addition to the subsequent selling of the craft.
Hydra (Seahawk)
Axel replaced his Cyclops for a Seahawk for a small loss on a trade. He came to love this craft, and although he lost some encounters, he managed to achieve many kills with this craft. The slow speed was the only thing he hated about it. He decided to try a faster plane for his next craft.
Starstreak (Nova)
Axel spent many hours flying the Starstreak. Although the plane was a bit cramped, Axel loved the thrill of speeding through the skies and dodging enemy fire. He added air diversion plates and a bored out engine to this plane to make for an incredibly low stall speed of 58 km/h. Gargantuan amounts of kills were amassed in this craft, and Axel only sold it due to being irked with the low ammunition capacity of the Nova. He has fond memories of this plane.
Reason in Revolt (Hades)
This is Axel's current plane. Janice loves the roomy interior of the plane, and some nice furnishings have been added. Axel's crew are also fond of having their own roomy quarters. The Reason in Revolt has been upgraded to the status of an Apollyon class combat platform, and it is very capable. This craft now mainly serves as an Airborne Early Warning craft for the Cerulean Shield, capable of detecting hostile craft at long ranges with an advanced radar dome and capable of long range radio communication and message interception.
[edit] Crew
Sneaky Chim of Juliet
Sex: Female
Species: Cat
Height: 5'9" (approx. 1.75m) Weight: 130 lb (approx. 59 kg.)
Build: Average
Age: 20
Position: Mechanic
Outgoing and witty, Sneaky Chim headed out of Juliet looking for work after finishing her studies and work at a trade school. Axel talked to her for a bit and immediately hired her, noting her outgoing personality and knowledge in her field. Chim was a bit focused on work and not too talkative at first, but she has gotten to know Axel and Janice better, and Chim now considers them as good friends.
Kyon Gil of Lhasa
Sex: Female
Species: Cat
Height: 5'8" (approx. 1.73m) Weight: 127 lb (approx. 58 kg.)
Build: Average
Age: 19
Position: Navigator
Axel recently met Kyon Gil in Islo after working a shift in an arsenal on Islo. Axel was just hanging out in the tavern with Janice and Chim, and Kyon Gil took notice of Axel, hearing of his large amounts of kills. She shares a good deal of interests with Axel, and after a bit of discussion, she was hired as a navigator. She is still learning, but she has already greatly assisted Axel in taking down more pirates and increasing income from looting them.
She has a bit of a heavy focus on a few subjects of interests and displays intelligence far beyond her young age, but unlike Axel, she is very sociable and laid back.
Aleksei Kalinin of Alpha 2
Sex: Male
Species: Elephant
Height: 6'8" (Approx. 2.03m) Weight: 340 lb (approx. 154.5 kg)
Build: Muscular
Age: 26
Aleksei Kalinin is a friend of Axel's from the Jordan armory. Axel had no idea that Aleksei had survived, and instantly hired him when realizing that his old friend needed work as a diplomat. Aleksei is shrewd, bold, and outgoing. His massive muscular build alone has intimidated people to give better deals on a fair deal of mission payouts, and he is able to quickly change his field of focus. Aleksei also has a similar revenge motive for the destruction of the armory and loss of many co-workers and friends. When he is not doing diplomat work, he is manning one of the Reason in Revolt's guns, and has a fair deal of kills in his name.
[edit] Rumors
Little information exists on Axel's activities as of late, and consequently, rumors have been spreading around about him. Some of them are at least plausible, with others being unknown:
Very little information on Axel Nagant has come to light ever since he recently disappeared from public life, with the exception of his work at the arsenal in Islo, participation in the victorious armorers' strike at the Islo Works, and sometimes being seen at a small tavern, carnival, or restaurant with Janice. He is generally involved in the Cerulean Shield for unknown reasons.
It has been rumored that Axel is involved in a classified weapons development project. The fact that he is N.K. Prokopovich's protege and his limited appearance with the public hint at this. He has been involved in studying failed prototypes of self loading rifles produced by other designers, and a notebook of his was found stating "...the current designs are too complex and too prone to fouling. A more simplistic, yet extremely rugged design is needed."
Some have remarked that Axel is now more "firmly under Janice's paw," and that she has become very protective of him. He has engaged in reckless behavior at times, and given Janice's obsessive nature, this is plausible. She always seems to be keeping a close eye on him, and outside of militia operations, Axel is no longer seen alone, but with Janice.
Axel has been noted to make long flights, starting from Grottopolis and ending at Uurwerk. His motives are unknown, and some believe that he is purchasing advanced machinery and hauling it back to Grottopolis. Rumor has it that Axel may be involved in clandestine weapons production. He was in fact once noted to have flown from Uurwerk with a load of machinery to a small skyland known as Xi, where the Cerulean Shield has a stronghold. Other Skytopians believe an opposite charge, noting that the Cerulean Shield does distribute consumer goods in poor neighborhoods and areas plagued by pirates. However, the fact that Axel has been distributing arms and ammunition to anti-pirate resistance groups at Tortuga reinforce the belief that he is indeed involved in weapons production and distribution.
Some claim that Axel and some of his friends are offering unsanctioned flight training, given that some pilots are starting to appear in the skies without strong backgrounds in the Flight School. This charge is unconfirmed, but an increasing number of people that just show up at the Flight School simply to get a license without taking classes cause some suspicion toward Axel amongst some Flight School instructors.
Axel has been seen exploring very small pieces of skyland that hover at low altitudes. These places are negligible in size, but some of them can sustain a small population. Reports of people getting stranded on such small skylands exist, and rescues of people from these small isolated areas are confirmed. Displaced people have crash landed at these places, and it is not ruled out that Axel believes his parents may be stranded on one of these small isolated areas (they could have survived a crash landing with the radio equipment being destroyed.). Other rumors hint at clandestine militia bases being situated in these small areas.
[edit] Literature
Axel has recently taken to writing. Several works of his have recently been published:
A History of Skytopian Small Arms (Written in collaboration with N.K. Prokopovich)
Theoretical Advancements in Rifle Design - The Self Loading Rifle (An essay published as a short book studied in the Azure armories, complete with citations from pre-Great Upheaval texts, discussing the possibility of production of self loading rifles sometime in the future.).
The Ideological Foundations of the Crimson Armada (Written in collaboration with Azure historian, Robert Simmons) - A highly controversial book employing many citations and excerpts from historical archives, in addition to interviews with veterans that have fought the Armada.). This book argues that the Armada is a totalitarian organization engaged in the falsification of history. A chief point is that the authors claim that Fuseli really came to power by means of a coup d'etat against his old mentor, not because he "championed democracy." Historical evidence of societies with the military having prominent political positions being totalitarian is frequently employed. Totalitarian orders and captured Armada writings found during the siege of Islo are also photocopied and shown. A special appendix has been included, showing original Crimson Armada propaganda and historical excerpts and rebuttals are placed afterward. This book has become popular in Azure territory, with the occupation of Islo being a recent memory. It has also enjoyed some popularity in certain Green and Flight School controlled areas. Fuseli's followers dismiss the work as a "forgery" and some are rumored to host extreme intolerance against the authors and supporters of the book.
Axel Nagant has also written a small number of progressive pamphlets, newspaper articles, and bulletins. These works are controversial in the eyes of some, and are illegal in territories held by the Crimson Armada.