<div class="floatright">(http://orig10.deviantart.net/3f32/f/2012/002/5/6/dust_and_smoke_by_shimmering_sword-d4l4dg7.jpg)</div>Name: Darclight<br/>Where: Malta, Stormwatch HQ<br/>Doing What: Going to the Base for MORE TALKING<br/>Milestones: Riders on the Storm and...In the Name of the Moon.  (Cue Darclight Facepalm)<br/>1 PP | 0 Physical | 0 Mental | 0 Emotional | 15xp (of 35xp total)<br/><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Mechanics</div><div class="spoiler_body"></div></div><hr/><tt class="bbc_tt"><br/>"That is not good.  In fact, that is very much the opposite of good."</tt>That was Darclight's response when he was told that the missing piece - a data crystal - contained the location of where the children of Ellie Tudor - now Nephilim, one of the worst cases ever of heroes going bad - had been hidden to protect them.  That Recluse was going to use that information to provoke a rampage told him he wanted people trying to stop her, so Recluse could do something in secret.  Or, you know, he could have just been told all of that by the Spider.<tt class="bbc_tt"> "Thank you for your assistance.  When there is time, your case will be returned to you.  Is there anything more that you can tell me about Recluse's plan?  I realize that just having escaped from prison, in contrast to some of the others, you may not be fully in the know on the picture, but you can rest assured that when we deal with Recluse, I will be asking for your expertise on his organization and personnel."</tt><br/><br/>That was when Ace made her entrance, and various other matters were attended to.<tt class="bbc_tt"> "It appears we have some time and will need to reconstruct a significant portion of Stormwatch Command before we can broadcast our message worldwide.  If there is nothing else pressing, I need to initiate self-repair.  Do not worry, it is a simple process, and Auxilia will be there to ensure that everything goes as planned.  In the meantime, Ace, having proven that you are capable of backing up your claims, you are in charge.  I will return after repairs are complete.  I am not to be disturbed until then."</tt><br/><br/>Darclight turned to Auxilia.<tt class="bbc_tt">"Come.  Bring a few of your selves and follow me.  It may be partly destroyed, but Stormwatch Command is my home, and I still know it.  All of it." </tt>He would lead her inside, weaving through corridors and stepping through passages only the hero knew existed, until finally he and a few Auxilias came to rest in a special chamber.<tt class="bbc_tt">"The process is mostly automated, but be sure to watch for any place you may lend your assistance."</tt>He then sat in the single chair that remained in the center of the room, and began to talk.  After so many, many years, he could finally unburden himself of the whole truth - there had been others that knew Darclight was a man, but only Auxilia would know<em>everything.</em>The vocal filters he used to sound robotic, machine-like, were turned off.<br/><br/>“My name is Richard Conway.  Twelve years ago, I was a graduate student at Simport Technical University.  I was on the fast-track for my doctorate in chemistry, and I even had time to put in some work in other sciences, too.  Late one night, I got hungry and took my car on a run for some Taco Bell.  I returned three quarters of an hour later, Baja Blast and Chalupa Supremes in-hand, to discover that the tiny house I lived in had been practically obliterated by a spaceship that had plowed through it.”<br/><br/>“There was no official response, no police or fire, so I went to investigate.  Inside the ship I found…my friend.  This is Khaji Da, but you can call him Khaj, everyone does.  I demanded to know why it was that instead of landing like most aliens, he had crashed through my house.  And then I learned why.  Remember the omnicidal robots I showed you at the harbor?  The race that made this armor, long ago, encountered those robots, and almost wiped them out in a war.  I say almost because one of the major leaders of the Deathmarks – Varkolak – had managed to hide himself and his army away.  Years upon years upon years later, Varkolak reactivated, and did so with his army.  When he did this, Khaj – who was still active, at least in the functionary sense, discovered what had happened.  Following protocol, he raided the Deathmark space yard and stole a scoutship, to go and warn his creators that the Deathmarks had returned.  In that raid, however, he was damaged, and lost the ability to independently operate.”<br/><br/>“That was why he had crashed into my house.  He functioned long enough to escape the planet and set in a course of travel…but no more.  Now that their scoutship crashed here, it’s just a matter of time before they come looking for it…and find Earth.  I wasn’t a hero, and I didn’t have much desire to get involved in a war that happened long before I was born.  But I did realize two things.  One was that there would be an official response.  You don’t get things crashing out of the sky and not get one.  And since it had been my house, I would probably have people watching or following me the rest of my life, assuming they didn’t just make me disappear altogether.  Two was that Khaj would almost certainly get dismantled, and that couldn’t happen, because he was the only functioning weapon against the Deathmarks that was ready in case they arrived tomorrow.”<br/><br/>“It was crazy, it was stupid…but in the end, I drank my Baja Blast, ate my Chalupas…and then made off with the armor and everything else of mine I could stuff into my car.  I disappeared, Richard Conway is still listed as Missing, Presumed Alive.  And when he disappeared, Darclight emerged.  I worked for a few years as a solo hero, making out whatever living I could doing it, until Stormwatch came along.  You pretty much know the rest of the story from there.”<br/><br/>“I never asked to be a hero, I just wanted to go about my life until Khaj crashed into my house.  But I’ve set aside my own wants and needs.  I haven’t drank a Baja Blast, or eaten a Chalupa, or done anything else that a normal human would do in front of others – save for a select few – for twelve years.  I stepped up to be a hero, I stepped up to be Red Team leader, and now…now I’ll step up to lead Stormwatch itself until I find someone who can do it better than I will.”