BMDR - Maleev


Name: Dr. Dante Maleev PhD (Engineering), Gunnery Sergeant / Scout Sniper US Marine Corps Gender: Male, Hetero, widower Age/DOB: 40/1975? (dates approximate) Origin: Black Mesa / Repurposed Earth, born Los Angeles CA Family: unknown, deceased parents; Rashani Maleev, sister, alive? Alana Maleev-Mahoney, wife, deceased; Caleb Maleev, son, missing; son Victor with Veronica, Clarity daughter spliced with Cobalt around RY6 Other: Has been looking for his son for years, now that the Rookery exists he might have a chance to find him as well as Rashani. Height: 6'1 Weight: 200, muscular and long limbed, considerably stronger than he looks Hair: Black, tightly in 'cornrows', has been known to shave his head completely, wear afro style in military cut, but during Black Mesa / College stay allowed it to grow, braids usually to shoulder Eyes: Eerie clear yellow-green, often commented on by those who get near him; anyone with Vortal senses knows this is also the color of his aura, faintly visible since his Vortal powers are latent. (Almost the color of the pulp of a lime.) Appearance: Dark red-brown skin, of Arabic-African features, has tattoos from different eras of his life (a gang glyph across his collarbones, Marine symbols over both shoulder joints, the Black Mesa corporate logo on left shoulderblade which is being modified to reflect the Rookery) all in black ink. Usually wears as shown, even while working at Black Mesa. Has an assortment of uniforms from his Marines days, plus lab coats and ties for formal occasions and work. Prefers stompin' boots, belts which can support his katana, and keeps his dog tags at all times.	Image Credits: DollWizard (closed site)
Genetic Abilities: Though it's not obvious, Dante has a very strong Vortal ability with angles, lines, distance, and math. In other words, it's no wonder he got into the Sniper school - he was too good to waste that talent as a mere grunt. He's able to turn those abilities into a functional job at Black Mesa, or anywhere that requires a steady hand and a good eye. See below for future improvements.
Icarus Processing: None, though by the time he's at the Rookery he very well might let Melissa do this on him. She claims he's got excellent 'genetic tags' for it, and would likely become truly savant at his skills. Around RY 3 he does decide that this would be best in this new world. It very clearly has a strong effect Vortally, causing those latent skills to bloom into powerful, if confusing, visual Vortal sight. Where he had merely 'guessed right' about any given angle or jump distance, now he can actively see a lattice of probabilities, Vortal ley lines, all of them moving and changing. He did have to have additional skill downloads to make any sense of this stuff, coming from both Chet and Melissa. A minor and localized telepathic power did show up too, more a mix of the Vortessence around him attempting to reach out and touch other minds. The Vorts find this absolutely fascinating.
Skills or Profession: Physical training, weight and strength skills; Running, Jumping, Climbing, Evasion, Breaking and Entering... um. Military order and structure, tactics and organization skills. Ranged Weaponry - sniper rifle, automatic rifle, shotgun, hand guns (does not have particular expertise nor the disposition for heavy weapons or those which require semi-permanent emplacements). Knives, martial arts, swordsmanship (practiced with a sensei at a local Black Mesa dojo and achieved a brown-belt level skill). Artistry (gang tags and tattoo designs count, don't they?). Math (from basic to extremely complex formulae), chemistry, engineering (mechanical, aeronautic, explosive). Office Politics (not so great at that). Could easily gain functional skill in Civil Engineering but isn't interested in plumbing... Assorted other skills which benefit from his Vortal background include Cartography, Billiards, Darts, Beer Pong... In other words, he wouldn't be owing Gordon a beer - it'd be the other way around.
Personality: Dante is a force of nature. At times he can be very passive and observant, which helps him to clear his mind and study or watch an area for particular features. At others, he is a focused path of damage in the form of a sweeping kick, a quick sword arc, or the path of a bullet. He is extremely hard to anger, preferring to think his way around trouble. That's not to say he doesn't get into trouble! Dante's enjoyment of all things competitive has certainly led to him taking on challenges or dares that he couldn't quite explain to the cops. At least during his time in the military, his common sense was better developed and he knows not to bite off more than he can chew these days. He's more apt to become educated on something or give himself preparation time in order to achieve a goal, instead of just jumping in head first. In that way, he's going to do a lot of planning and consultation, before he heads off looking for his son and sister.
Events or History: Dante has several radically different sets of skills, all of which equate to periods of his life. However they also coincide with his Vortal latency. Early life included gang activity, where he learned how to fight, was expected to tag with spray paint and has an extensive knowledge of gang hand signs and painted symbols. His family did not approve overall of his activities, his older sister Rashani had headed to college early and had little contact with him for years. He remained in a gang but also was quite good at his school work, however little he managed to make it to school. Once he crossed the law too many times, however, he was offered the chance to join the Marines in an early-admission (he was 16 at the time) program, or face prison time for theft and property damage. This led to his physical training, body strength, tactical education, and more importantly his raw skill with ranged weaponry. It was clear he had what it took to become a sniper, but he also enjoyed allowing his intellect to flex more than his muscles. He is incredibly smart, and nowhere was this more obvious than when he passed all of his written and verbal testing to become an Officer. He declined to do so, however. He prefered the hands-on activity and daily life of a soldier, tasked with special forces duties on a regular basis. By the time he was in his early 20s, Dante was deployed to the Middle East where he was able to secure a number of outposts with well placed shots. The officers in his chain of command continually begged him to head to Officers school and he repeatedly declined. When he was in his mid-20s, he was stationed in New Mexico, where he met the woman who would become his wife, Alana. She was a Black Mesa scientist, and somehow they clicked. They had a long-distance relationship for several years. During his stays on US soil, he worked up the courage to be given a college education, and took to it easily. He mastered Engineering quickly, and got a PhD in it by the time he was 28. He retired from the Marine Corps when he was 30, the same year he and Alana married. Though she would never quite be accepted by his more traditional mother (as a 'white girl in a black man's house'), Rashani and Alana got along very well, and it was Rashani who asserted her brother should go to work at Black Mesa. With his skills, he was placed with Dr. Mars Walsh in her ballistics and testing lab, where he enjoyed continuing his sniping skills as much as his design and troubleshooting. His son Caleb was born within a year of their marriage. When the Resonance Cascade happened, he was on a vacation with his family. They spent a few years trying to get back home (all the while knowing that Black Mesa itself would be completely off limits - in fact they were pursued by a variety of government sources in order to be questioned)(that is to say, killed), and no sooner did they do so, then the Combine came. Captured and separated, he does know that his wife was killed by the invasion forces, but he is sure that his son was alive. He's not sure what happened to his sister, but he knows she's smart and resourceful, and though not as physical as he is, he feels confident she's okay somewhere. Now... Now he wants to go looking for them properly. With a dragon, that just might be possible. He had only tangentally come across that 'man in black' Lane due to working with Mars (he'd seen them having coffee or whatever during breaks) but it seemed that he'd made an impression on both of them. They came looking for him, to return him to Black Mesa. Much different in some ways, but he knows the place is where he belongs.
Dragon Name: Indrobiiz Gender: Male Size/Shoulder/Length: Medium-large, 11' s, 55' l, 58' wingspan Colors: violet black, indigo, starfield iridescence, violet to lilac fades, bright yellow-gold, lime green eyes (that match Dante's?) Features: four legs, long talons, 5 fore digits, 4 hind with heel-claw, scaled and armored hide, very long tail, plentiful teeth, chin point, two long curved horns, neck ridge similar to Ryslen, tail spikes, large sharp tail spade, 3 fingered webbed wings, thumb at wrist with large claw. Powers: Verbal Speech - can speak in English, several forms of Draconic, voice is manufactured in throat and not mouth. Telepathic communication - strongest with bond and dragons with other forms of telepathy, exceptional range, can single out individual minds with ease, is better with projecting thoughts than receiving (less than half range for incoming). Can 'see' through Dante's eyes, as he also allows his bond to see through his own, and with this in mind they can triangulate exceptionally well for visual pinpoint accuracy. Winged flight - obviously, huge wings allow for powerful takeoff and distance, tends not to glide, prefers to actually power through an area and only when tired will land. Is surprisingly delicate when landing, hardly disturbs an area. However taking off is another story... Dark Spark Snipe - Indrobiiz is able to produce an incredibly hot but very brief 'spark', a breath weapon that he can use to produce anything from a lantern-light spark, to a 2km distant snipe explosion. The physical size of this spark is around a basketball sized orb, for the biggest effect, but can be as tiny as a firefly glow. He can project this with basically a 'cough' motion, so if all he wants to do is light a campfire he'll just open his mouth a little; if he needs to actually snipe, he will line up a shot very carefully depending on the distance and do a full on 'dragon firing keep back 400 feet'. The most powerful of these bursts can immolate a target of about 300 lbs worth of mass, be it rubble, humanoid, mechanical, or anything else in the way. The spark, along its path, will ignite any easily flammable objects or gasses, so if he's aiming toward a single soldier in a ruin with toxic pits in the way, those pits will most definitely be burning by the time the soldier falls. This does cause a bit of concern, because the flame happens in a direct line straight back to the snipers... Parentage: unknown, unrelated to any but those neck ridges sure do look Ryslenesque. He is among those selected by Melissa for a special project during the Hallowed Silk flight. In addition to that amazing splice, he has sired a clutch with Tork (which also meant Cobalt and Dante hooked up...) and their amazing first-hatched Lonukiz has broken ground on many fronts; Mokiz and Inyekiz, Thillekiz etc Origin: deadpuff@Deviantart, lines by Taluns Other Info: Overtly similar in appearance to some others, it is possible that he comes from the same general 'universe', but is unrelated. Voice: Just take a listen to this clip and tell me Indrobiiz isn't the sexiest dragon alive. Because that is absolutely what he sounds like. Indrobiiz is a very smooth dragon, and has a fan following among the females (and probably some of the males) in the Rookery. When needed, he can instruct younger dragons or those who need refreshers, on attack accuracy and rangefinding, as those are his specialties. He is also able to help out pairs learn to 'see through' each other's eyes if they cannot or are less adept. Though he is clearly suited to attacking and sniping, Indrobiiz is remarkably patient with other dragons, and tries not to talk down to those who are less capable, preferring instead to accentuate their good points, and make sure that everyone is included or living up to their own potential. He has been known to snap once or twice at those who continually refuse to obey orders or screw up, but in the end he's more pleasant than could be expected out of a soldier's dragon.