Name: Sweepy the Vortigaunt

Gender: Male

Age/DOB: ~180, born on Xen

Origin: Rookery dimension Xen; currently in Rapture

Family: None, among the younger 'recruits' so he never got a chance to even bond with anyone but his keeper

Other: Though many feel sorry for him, Sweepy has contented himself to his life

Height: 5'2" in normal hunched posture, can stretch to around 6' but rarely does

Weight: around 200, though that's with the implanted shackles

Hair: none

Eyes: two of his four eyes are still functional, and typically strong crimson red with a brighter red pupil; however the other two have been seriously damaged by gunfire, and are scarred and grey

Appearance: a mottled bunch of yellowish-green grey, pinkish grey, and brighter scarring across numerous parts of his body including face and eyes; because he's injured he rarely moves faster than a slow shuffle, and always has a submissive posture. He does not speak often, usually single words if that

Genetic Abilities: he had been a normal Vortigaunt until the invasion of Earth, but between the military presence, humans chasing them off, and later the Combine, he has lost any external abilities that he may have had. He cannot connect to the Vortessence properly - others claim that they can still detect him, but his presence in the darkness there is flickering and half-seen at best - he cannot Flux Shift, and thus he can no longer participate in Vortal conversations; he can no longer produce externally directed energy, but he still can heal himself or energize items that are quite close to him

Icarus Processing: no, though... of all the Vortigaunts who have ever heard of such a thing, he would be the only one to accept it - wondering what the outcome might be, since he's been stripped of his normal abilities, but they're still obviously present in his genome

Image Credits: Valve

Skills or Profession: Originally trained to attack as a front-line troop, and little else. He didn't get much of a chance to prove his abilities, and has had to simply do whatever has been asked of him ever since. He takes instruction well, but can't really do strenuous tasks or things that require quick movement - he has extensive scarring both externally and internally preventing running or lifting of very heavy items. While he can understand basic instructions, he doesn't grasp a lot of technical terms, so when Laszlo or Rhea is trying to explain things they're doing with him, Sweepy just stares and shrugs. He claims not to mind the work he's doing now, after all there's plenty to clean up here in Rapture.
Personality: sullen, though not grumpy particularly, Sweepy keeps to himself and can be found wandering the airlocks and passageways of Rapture with his broom and equipment. While one might think he's 'not all there' mentally, he certainly is, and just lacks the ability to properly communicate thanks to the experiments and injuries he's sustained. If he had ever been more self-assertive, he may have killed himself long before now, but he was always the 'easily controlled' one - whether it was his keeper on Xen, an army Lt barking orders in a language he really didn't understand, or the Combine itself, he just does what he's told because there's nothing else to do. Some have tried to help get him to entertain himself with watching videos or listening to music, but he doesn't really understand what he sees on Earthly televisions, and is confused by most music.
Events or History: Sweepy was doubly enslaved: first by Nihilanth with the shackles to control his Vortal presence, and then with implanted Combine technology that cut him off completely from the Vortessence - there are scars from it. Trained only briefly as a throwaway soldier in Nihilanth's many armies, and hardly given any other outlet for knowledge or ability. He had succombed to a kind of blood lust that was an extension of his floating keeper's, and when that keeper was shot down, this Vort lost all sense of self. He stopped attacking, and thankfully wasn't outright killed when he was found. Like many people in the aftermath of the Portal Storms on this world, he was shuffled with humans and other Vorts into the Cities, where he was assigned a menial task, cleaning floors and drudgery. He did not complain, he was already in shock and couldn't feel his kinfolk even when they were standing right next to him. He was among a group captured near City 17 and experimented upon by the Combine - he does not consider himself a lucky survivor, he almost envies those who perished to the cruel treatment in the Citadel. They implanted circuitry and 'Combine Conversion' would have begun in earnest, though all other attempts at this had failed he seemed to be able to take the commands that the chips sent out. But he was in no condition to be of much use as a soldier, so once more he was set to perform menial tasks such as cleaning and moving trash. At some point, a group of rebels decided to liberate him - it's entirely possible that it was his implanted technology that allowed the Combine to home in on the Shorepoint facility. But in the attack, the newcomers, dragons and Vortally strong Humans seemed to knock out the connection between his command chip and the Combine. Since there were already others - dragons and humans alike - who had been half-way to Combine and rescued, the Pantheon decided to help disable that technology inside his skull, and set him on a path toward health again down in Rapture. While he does sit for Rhea and Laszlo's odd experiments, and they're not harming him, he has yet to see a big difference in his own health or Vortal welfare. At some point, he hopes to regain those senses, but... he doesn't really think he ever will. So he continues to sweep.
Outside the glass walls in the depths of Rapture's seabed home, he has found some amount of comfort in the form of a ghostly dragoness he calls Illumination. She seems to be the only creature that can easily commune with his broken mind, and tends to lurk just outside any habitat that he's working in. For this reason, some of the shapers in the place have put together a little 'outside home' for him, a glass enclosure that's quite safe, where he can rest and she can be near him.

Dragon

Name: Illumination
Gender: Female
Size/Shoulder/Length: Large 53' l (will grow continually to around 80)
Colors: White, glowing, mottled with slight grey or transparent to the water
Features: Based very loosely off of the elbow squid which was recently discovered off the side of a deep sea drilling operation, Sea Phoenixes are deep-sea dragons (despite their names) which have six elbow-jointed limbs that trail glowing hooks. Their wings are large fleshy membranes used to propel them majestically through deep, heavy water, while their two tails possess thorned suckers all along the base. Hooking smaller prey on their trailing limbs and defending themselves with their tails, these dragons are generally peaceful, though their ways of thinking are quite alien to most. Their flesh is rubbery and somewhat transparent, especially in thinner membranes.
Powers: Water Adaptation, has gills and can breathe under water. It can not survive in shallow water for more than a few minutes, and collapses when brought above water. Illumination can specifically swim with grace and care, but also seems to be able to mimic other things like jellies and squid; she is not remarkably fast in the water, and will defend herself where she is, rather than pursuing prey or attempting to evade a bigger or more dangerous attacker.
Empathic Telepathy, Communicates direct emotions and feelings, may be accompanied by sonar-based telepathic noises; Sea Phoenixes do not think in words though they are sentient.
Charm, when 'on' will cause a sensation of comfort, ease, and even attraction the closer the Sea Phoenix is. She has come to realize that the world she's on isn't where she started out - her territoriality might not be as strong as some others in her breed, for this reason
Extended Lifespan, Sea Phoenixes can live for hundreds of years barring injury or sickness.
Parentage: Unknown, Sea Phoenix take two to three decades to mature physically, and can live for centuries.
Origin: from Nexus info giveaway species by Dray
Other Info:Personality Peaceful, thoughtful, territorially aggressive against large animals; they are more aggressive against other squid-like dragons (especially their own species) than other kinds of dragons. They do not bond, though on occasion a mature Sea Phoenix will take another sentient under its wing as an apprentice. Some Sea Phoenixes acquire and keep 'pets' or 'herds' from other deep sea life. They do not mate for life, though they tend to be more likely to come back to the same mate more often than mating at random. They may interbreed with other dragons that can survive in the deep sea.