Mad (mæd)
Notably few images, I'm sure you've noticed. Like with Stringer's article, this will change eventually, over time.
Martte Silkkanen
Mad is the main antagonist of the main story, protagonist of the prequel along with Stringer, and generally very cool dude. Former best friend and practically brother of Stringer, he currently works as a mob boss for Mad's Organization. He is also up there in the greatest fighters in human history, equalling Stringer. He's also really big.
Prequel Mad
Enormous spoilers for the main and prequel stories, Mad being a major character in both.
History
Early life
Mad was first activated on the habitat of Kiertolainen, in orbit of Trepadationary. When he was about 20 or so, the habitat was subjugated by the Cellean autocratic space. It, and the other three habitats it existed with, resisted, and so were treated more harshly than other nations that didn't, like, say, Stringer's home. Still, it remained loyal, if largely due to having no other choice. Mad would go on to join the Cellean navy at age 39, and would climb to the vaunted rank of Admiral-Captain of Cellea before he turned 70. Not long after, he would conclude his first campaign, and return to Cellea proper, where he, and two other fleets' admirals took part in a ceremony to declare the sixth Champion of Cellea, one Stringer Ventan, Admiral-Captain of the 27th Cellean Fleet. He would formally request a duel of this man, and the two would soon become fast friends, even deciding to embark upon a joint campaign of sorts.Admiralty
Over the next century or so, Mad and Stringer would lead the 28th and 27th Cellean fleets respectively to great conquests and victories. However, the constant subjugation of independent states and cultures would drag on Mad's morale. In fact, he preferred terror tactics specifically to minimize civilian casualties. Running counter to Mad, the century of warfare had no such effect on Stringer. Mad's home's history likely played a significant part in his opinion. Still, he would continue to serve loyally, not letting his personal feelings get in the way of what he still felt like was overall a positive thing. The last straw, however, was when the fleets conquered a planet called Miuo. Mad would order a preliminary bombardment of Iucso, inciting a surrender. When he went down to the city to formalize the surrender, he encountered a teenaged girl, one Siun Coone. She was particularily poorly off, and he decided, by some sudden impulse of pity, to offer a home to the young child. She accepted, having nothing else, and Mad would take her onto the Kauhunkylväjä as his daughter, where she would take a new name, with Mad's surname; Anni Silkkanen. Mad decided to take the trip to the next system, Omega-Delta 452, out of stasis, and instead dedicate the six years of travel to raising and getting to know his new family member. That, and the fact that cryosleep does not mesh well with barely pubescent bodies, potentially inhibiting development and growth. And so, he would also take that time to train her to fight and duel, as is befitting any Cellean.
Prequel Mad
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Just like Stringer, Mad did not have much care for following the strict uniform regulations of the Cellean navy. That said, synthetics' dress code was somewhat looser, owing to Form-plating being far less easy to change than clothes, but Mad ignored even those, naturally.
For one, his combat gear and admiral's garb were functionally the same; he never changed between the two. His appearance was more remiscent of a HAST suit in its sheer bulk and size, even standing at an enormous 221 centimeters tall. His form-plating was thick, as were his limbs.
A notable element of Mad's appearance was the head; one styled vaguely after a shark, with a full articulated lower section that moved when he spoke. The fin on top was also relevant for removing heat from his head.
Skills and education
As with his equal Stringer, Mad, even during this period of his life, was absurdly skilled in both combat and commanding. A master of dueling, hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and melee combat in general, but also someone just as competent with managing the plans, logistics, and strategies of a fleet ten thousand strong and its attached ground forces of a few million soldiers and their equipment.
Of course, a significant part of all those skills is experience. While he has had very high-quality training from a variety of sources, Mad is also credited with hundreds of battles and thousands of duels. One of his favourite methods of conquest was to deploy into a major administrative, command, or political element of the enemy in the midst of a larger conflict, and personally, along with his personal guard, destroy it all, often taking prisoners to interrogate or publically execute, often both.
Physical condition
Mad is an anomaly of a synthetic, though not originally. In his youth, his only special element was his height. But over the years of Cellean duty, he has, like most other Admiral-Captains, amassed quite a number of augments and upgrades. If you were to take his and Stringer's physical abilities and average them out and compare, you'd end up with them being roughly equal; Mad is superior in strenght, durability, and reach, but Stringer is more precise and can move faster more accurately. He also has a Predictive Analysis Interface, and is fast enough to act on any attacks it detects, even close-range.
Mad's strength is especially notable. He can punch through and shatter personal armour like Tarno's, and is capable of swinging a two-meter sword like it's just a regular longsword. His durability, too, is exceptional. His form-plating incorporates Carbon-Interlaced Aluminium Alloy, and is thus on a similar level as many heavier suits of power armour, though not quite that of a HAST suit. His large size allows his quite the reach, too, though it also comes with its own disadvantages.
Weapons
Mad's main weapon during his Cellean days is the End of an Age, a mastercraft of a greatsword. At a full two meters long, with an extremely high-quality layered chain blade, a steel core under a graphene cover, coated in gold, it is an effective symbol of his power.
End of an age here pls
Personality
Despite his name, Mad is suprisingly calm most of the time, never really losing his cool. He maintains a calm, collected, and serious outlook at all times, from combat to command to free time. He does allow himself to be somewhat relaxed at times, but most of the time, he carries himself with the pride and distinction, and associated attitude of a Cellean Admiral-Captain. He does have a more caring and understanding side, shown mostly when interacting with Anni, but it's rare.
"Get up. We're not done, there's still an hour of training left, Anni. Get up."
"But it hurts! My nose is bleeding a lot, and my neck really hurts!"
"It happens. You just need to get over it and keep going. Your opponents wouldn't give you time to recuperate, and you shouldn't expect it. Get up."
"But this isn't real fight! Can't I just take a little break to clean it up?"
"But what if it was real? You'll be facing these someday, better get into the mindset now.
...Fine, let's take a short, fifteen-minute break. I'm sorry, the point there wasn't to hurt you, I just forget how... fragile you are, relatively speaking. I'm used to far more durable and experienced sparring partners."
- Mad and a 14-year old Anni training
That said, his name hasn't come from nowhere. During combat, he still stays calm as always, but absolutely does not look like it. "Mad" is a nickname given to him by his compatriots long ago, born from a fairly reasonable perception. Just imagine: A two-meter tall, black-clad, heavily armoured soldier carving through enemies with a sword taller than most people, barely slowing down despite injuries, and most often found in the thick of fighting, leading an assault himself.
Prequel Story Proper
While the prequel's very first scene focuses on Stringer, the first scene chronoligically does not. Instead, it begins with Mad aboard the Kauhunkylväjä getting reports of the vanguard fleets' likely demise. Stringer wakes up on his flagship not long after that. Half a year or so later, and the two, and their captain-commanders, convene a meeting to discuss the plan going forward.
When the fleets arrive in-system properly, Stringer decides to move onward toward the only meaningfully settled planet in the system, Desterat, where Mad decides to hang his fleet back, citing engine issues on the larger battleships. In reality, he realized a perfect opportunity to finally turn his back on the Cellean empire and to take out both the 27th and 28th fleets from its control. He would strike up a deal with the grossly outmatched Dragon's Hoard Cluster's defensive fleets, promising his fleet's assistance in destroying the 27th Cellean Fleet, and then disbanding his own. From there, he would then move toward Desterat.
In orbit of Desterat, the 27th was already engaged, and had been for a week or so. Through both his skills as a commander and an advantage in nearly every factor, Stringer was heading toward a very simple victory. That is, until Mad decided to engage his fleet. This flipped the entire battle over. The 27th fleet was completely sandwiched between its two opponents, and over two weeks' time, would start to crumble. At some point, a ship from the Dragon's Hoard fleets, the Serica's Warden, would slam into the Orator, somehow managing to slip through the chaotic battle, and push it on a trajectory straight to Desterat's surface. With heavy damage sustained from the 28th fleet, the ship could do little against it.
Once the Orator had been grounded, Mad would descend to the surface to find Stringer, Anni insisting on coming with him. He dispatched troops to the wreck of the battleship, and started scouring the area himself with his personal guard. Eventually, he finds Stringer, along with the fairly injured Anni. He quickly orders her to be evacuated, and the duel both him and Stringer have awaited begins.
The duel was unmatched by anything in the nearest hundred lightyears, a match between two superhuman fighters with over a century of experience, at peak preformance, focused on nothing else. The Orator could've been bombarded from orbit, and the two would not have ceased combat at all. Even calling it a duel is a disservice of some sort, as it goes far beyond most duels in human history. Strikes as efficient as possible, struck several times a second, blocked, parried and dodged with just as little effort as possible. It continues on for mere minutes, but feels so much longer. At some point, Mad manages to stab trough Stringer's side, and Stringer removes Mad's jaw with two precise strikes. But of course, nothing lasts forever.
"This is what I call a necessary evil, Stringer! You may call the Cellean empire one, I call this one! Ideologies aside, this is some of the most fun I've had in a long while! An all-out duel, with an opponent you know in and out, what more could one want?!"
"Fair enough! You know me too well. I'd wager this is the most fun I remember since our very first meeting! The sting of my cuts, my heart beating in my chest, the rush of blood in my ears, it all feels so... natural. I can't lie to you now; as unfortunate as the circumstances may be, I am glad to fight you like this now, Mad!"
"Come on then! Let's step it up once more! Come and kill me, or I do the same to you!"
At the very climax of the duel, Stringer is pushed to a cliff's edge. He stumbles, ever so slightly, as an explosion rocks his wreck of a flagship. And suddenly, in a dissapointing end to the pair's duel, he plummets, and is quickly out of view. This infuriates Mad, quite a bit. He knows Stringer, and feels there's no way he could have survived. Enraged, he orders an evacuation of his troops and himself off of the rock, and decides to enact orbital bombardment from his fleet onto the corpse of the Orator.
Some time later, after all of the 27th fleet has surrendered, ran away, or been destroyed, Mad concludes his deal with the system's forces, and dissolves his fleet, taking the Kauhunkylväjä elsewhere.
Interim
During the period between the two stories, Mad would eventually recognize that all he now really lives for is fighting people. Little else interests him that much, and, while he also enjoys making and being able to spend money, he loves duels above all else, especially ones to the death. He would then go onto to form a criminal organization on a habitat called Enin, and after less than a decade, Stringer would show up, much to Mad's surprise. The two would come to blows once again, and Mad's organization would end up collapsing. He would leave with Anni and another general, and would form a new one, creating a cycle of sorts where Stringer finds Mad's organizations and they end up collapsing, only for him to form new ones.
Over this period, Mad would collect his current entourage of generals around him. Anni has been with him since the start, naturally. Chaer was recruited about 95 years ago, and became general 66 ago. Gvanhla has been in the semi-general position he's in for a good 250 years, and Olitsionceda has been a general for seven years now.
Main Story Mad
Mad Portraits by MadToxin
Mad by MadToxin
During the main story, Mad dons a rather different outfit. He still is heavily armoured and very large, but less so. The major qualities are still there; he is as tall as ever, his armour is composed of thick, black plates with gold engravings, and he still has his shark-style head.
Two major, specific differences exist however; for one, Mad's armour is now bereft of all Cellean iconography and Admiral-Captain symbols. He still carries his Shoulderpad allegiance icon, but nothing else. The other difference is his distinct lack of a jaw. There is a small chunk of it left, which still moves when he talks, but nothing significant. He could have had it fixed, but instead left it there in respect of his old friend.
Skills and education
"Mad? Oh, you don't stand a chance. None of you do, not on your own."
"Not even with my Synthetic Battery Overdischarge? All four of us together?"
"SBO wouldn't be enough. The four of you might be, but there's a point where more people against a single one gets messy. Mad is an absolute monster. About as good as fighting as me, pretty exactly. Not only are you nowhere near as skilled, his physical abilities are quite a bit above any of you. Jon, he's stronger than you, he's faster than Skejon, and tougher than Quaken. None of you measure up, sorry.
But you don't need to. It'd be a worst-case-scenario; instead, I fight him, while you manage the other generals, if necessary. It'll be fine, you can do decently well against them, they don't match Mad either."
- Stringer and the main gang
Mad's skill has in no way dimished from 350 years ago. While his strategic ability may have been somewhat stagnant due to lack of new experience, his combat skills have not. As skillful as ever, he is near-unmatched by most people. Only a scarse few people in human history could match his level of skill. None in any of the stories, save for Stringer, can.
His management skills have also gotten a fair bit better; as leading several organizations over the centuries would necessitate. He is also quite charismatic if need be, and is very good at managing people in general; from negotiations to intimidation, he is quite good at it all.
Physical condition
Same as Stringer, Mad has not been neglecting his physique. Over the years, he's gotten upgrades for his abilities; greater strenght, faster movements, better balanced power. His reactor is also quite a bit larger than most other synthetics, mostly due to his sheer power. This also necessitates extra cooling for his body, though this was already a concern during his Cellean days.
Despite all his combat-focused enhancements, Mad has also invested in quite a few more utility tools. His hands are far more dextrous, his brain-computer has an actual computer connected to it, and he can process information much faster than before.
Weapons
Mad's End of an Age still remains in his posession, in all its former glory. Mad has hardly touched its design or improved its power, he doesn't need to. The sword still cuts through personal armour like a hot knife through butter, and has barely been nicked or bent out of shape even once. The gold coat is as clean as ever, and the engravings remain as is.
The other major weapon he carries is, of course, his body itself. Like Stringer, Mad is an exceptional hand-to-hand fighter, nearly as capable without his sword as with it. He may be a swordsman at heart, but he can do just fine with his fists. His punches are like veritable strikes of a sledgehammer, and his kicks can shatter even Quaken's form-plating with little difficulty.
Personality
While it's lessened somewhat, Mad remains outwardly as serious as ever. His presence exudes a sense of power, which tends to make negotiations easier, what a shocker. That said, he does let up that front when with his generals, as he does think of them as genuine friends more than anything. Their perception of him varies, but he regards them all roughly the same, save for Anni, of course.
Mad despises authority as a whole. He himself may be an authority figure as well, but he regards it differently, however accurate that is. The hierarchy of the organization is largely in place for logistical reasons, and hypocritical as it may be, he does somewhat enjoy the power, despite his dislike of the fact. It was part of why he was an Admiral-Captain for so long, after all.
He also has a hobby of collecting, assembling, and painting miniature models of spaceships, mostly warships.
Main Story Proper
Mad is largely absent from the main story; his role is more of an final opponent of sorts. Still, he does have a presence throughout, and is a major player in it.
Mad's very first scene in the story is when the main gang, specifically Tarno and Jon, find him in New Suterr. He seems to be conducting a trade deal of some kind, and is negotiating with some dude personally on a platform between the sprawl of high-rises. The two decide to attack the crimelord, and Tarno draws a pistol taken from one of his mooks, and fires. Being a coilpistol, Mad's PAI detects it, and he precisely deflects it into his partner, citing the eventual need to get rid of him anyway. Tarno then charges forth, Jon following soon behind. At that moment, the two recognised that they may not be able to win, based on Stringer's explanation of Mad. They were, however, somewhat confident that they could hold off until Stringer got to their location.
They could not.
The two may have both been largely competent, exceptional, even, fighters, but Mad is better. In a few seconds at most, he strikes Tarno in the face with a quick jab, then delivers a devastating punch to his abdomen, shattering his armour- something that did save his life. Jon fares no better, Mad effortlessly evading his attack despite his size, and twirling around to levy a roundhouse kick straight to the back of Jon's head, slamming it into the ground. Stringer arrives not long after, right on time, and begins to fight Mad instead, letting the two back off safely.
Stringer and Mad then begin their duel, though unarmed, at near-maximum focus. In Stringer's plan, this would be the final duel; he assumed he could beat Mad here. Mad, however, has different plans. The duel rages on for a decent while, both parties going at it at a functionally equal level. While Stringer's attacks barely harm Mad, he can throw him around and sometimes, his attacks can manage to do some damage if he hits less armoured sections like joints. But at the end of the day, he is outmatched without his sword. Blunt damage is very ineffective against synthetics, where a layered chain blade is distinctly not.
However, at one point, Mad does manage to get a strike in on Stringer, landing a punch that would kill most men, and slamming him right through a door. Stringer, however, is not most men. The attack manages little more than a bruise and some broken skin, partly due to Stringer dodging it skillfully, and partly due to his augmented durability. However, Mad decides that he no longer wants to partake in this duel, citing both that Stringer is not at his full ability, and that he has business to attend to, and departs the city. This puts quite the wrench into Stringer's plans.
Eventually, the main gang make it back from New Suterr, and quickly plan and begin an attack on Mad's base. Mad recieves notice of their intrusion rather quickly, and decides to gather his generals to determine what to do. Not long after, Stringer, and the main gang, bust in through the door to Mad's big main chamber thing. They then begin to duel once more, this time with their swords. The duel is immaculate; two superhuman masters of their craft, facing off one final time, not to determine which is more capable, nor to clash ideals, but only for fun, and to resolve the conflict neither particularily cares about. The two live to fight the other, and death conserns neither, as long as it comes in a good duel.
And that does indeed come. Over a few minutes of fierce combat, unrelenting in intensity and unmatched in sheer power, the two are rudely interrupted by Tarno, who ends up shooting Stringer through the leg. In the heat of the moment, Mad takes this advantage, and slashes Stringer right down the body, and stabbing him right through him main heart. This, of course, does not kill him, and he takes time to relay a farewell to Mad and the main gang, pleading that they be allowed to leave in peace. Mad obliges, and Stringer collapses. Mad takes his blade, and skewers it through Stringer's neck, destroying his spine and finally killing him. Not an act to disgrace, nor to shame, but one of respect and pragmatism; Stringer would live on had Mad not done so. He lets the main gang leave in peace, as much as he dislikes the idea of letting Tarno go.
At some point, Mad would leave for Earth, to go check on Gvanhla in the Lunag Ri Base. During this time, Quaken would end up near-fatally injuring Anni, and leading the main gang to leave for Earth in chase of Mad. They would get stranded for years, during which time Mad would return home, and find his daughter recovering from her wounds, something to stoke his hatred of the main gang further.
The next time we see Mad is at the very end of the main story. At some point, he recieves a dying message from Anni, telling him to leave the city, and not long after, his base is obliterated from orbit by the main cannon of the Stalwart Sentinel. Quaken soon descends onto the city, and finds Mad there, mourning everything he's lost, though no less ready for a fight. Quaken obliges.
"You! You piece of trash! You and your little group have destroyed all I know, for what? Stringer?! His 'legacy'?"
"No. Not anymore. Maybe at first, it was about that. Maybe my main motivation was to do so, perhaps a sort of vengeance for him. But now? You and your gang have killed everyone I know as well, and my hatred for you is fuelled by nothing but the sense of avenging their deaths. Nothing else matters anymore. You will die, regardless of what happens to me."
"So, that's what it's about. How... pitiful. Admirable, I suppose, but pathetic. Hanging on to the personaly mission of a dead man, sacrificing anything for it. Not that it matters much anyway- a duel's a duel, and I am not one to refuse a duel.
Fine then! Come on, fight me! Give me the duel I was so rudely denied of with Stringer!"
- Mad and Quaken
Quaken is, at his base state, as it were, does not hold up to Mad. Even with his normal usage of Synthetic Battery Overdischarge, he still doesn't quite manage. For a while, struggles on in an uphill battle against the 500-year-old superhuman veteran of a thousand conflicts. He tries, and tries, and even manages to knock Mad's sword out of his hands, though he also loses both his wristblades. The duel is now a hand-to-hand brawl, something both parties excel at.
After Quaken thoroughly realizes he's not winning, he decides to go all out, forsaking his own well-being in order to power SBO to the absolute maximum, despite the damage it'll cause. This actually gives him an edge. His durability and skill remain the same, but his raw physical ability skyrockets to a point where Mad can't even keep up with his speed, mostly; his eyes can follow Quaken's movements relatively well, he just can't respond. That said, this is still Mad, and he keeps up rather well despite the situation. The fight goes on and on, both sides getting gradually worn down. Quaken manages to take Mad down for a moment, but he just gets up again, and vice versa. Neither party is going to lose, and neither have anything left to look forward to or lose. Both are content with the idea of dying, but Quaken wants to kill Mad even if he himself dies.
Eventually, after both are barely standing, Quaken manages an opening to take out Skejon's sword, and actually strikes Mad directly in the reactor. It detonates, being so powerful, and his battery banks are dead as well. Mad, the near-ancient warrior, dies. Or at least, that's what Quaken thinks. Mad gets up, once more, with a hole in his chest and a missing arm, and fights even still, against Quaken, now unable to trigger SBO. But then, after a moment, the two square off one final time. As Quaken waits for Mad to make a move, he doesn't. He waits, and waits, until he realizes: Mad is dead. Finally, at last, Martte "Mad" Silkkanen has died, standing, fighting, doing what he loved.
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Just like Stringer, Mad did not have much care for following the strict uniform regulations of the Cellean navy. That said, synthetics' dress code was somewhat looser, owing to Form-plating being far less easy to change than clothes, but Mad ignored even those, naturally.
For one, his combat gear and admiral's garb were functionally the same; he never changed between the two. His appearance was more remiscent of a HAST suit in its sheer bulk and size, even standing at an enormous 221 centimeters tall. His form-plating was thick, as were his limbs.
A notable element of Mad's appearance was the head; one styled vaguely after a shark, with a full articulated lower section that moved when he spoke. The fin on top was also relevant for removing heat from his head.
Skills and education
As with his equal Stringer, Mad, even during this period of his life, was absurdly skilled in both combat and commanding. A master of dueling, hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and melee combat in general, but also someone just as competent with managing the plans, logistics, and strategies of a fleet ten thousand strong and its attached ground forces of a few million soldiers and their equipment. Of course, a significant part of all those skills is experience. While he has had very high-quality training from a variety of sources, Mad is also credited with hundreds of battles and thousands of duels. One of his favourite methods of conquest was to deploy into a major administrative, command, or political element of the enemy in the midst of a larger conflict, and personally, along with his personal guard, destroy it all, often taking prisoners to interrogate or publically execute, often both.Physical condition
Mad is an anomaly of a synthetic, though not originally. In his youth, his only special element was his height. But over the years of Cellean duty, he has, like most other Admiral-Captains, amassed quite a number of augments and upgrades. If you were to take his and Stringer's physical abilities and average them out and compare, you'd end up with them being roughly equal; Mad is superior in strenght, durability, and reach, but Stringer is more precise and can move faster more accurately. He also has a Predictive Analysis Interface, and is fast enough to act on any attacks it detects, even close-range. Mad's strength is especially notable. He can punch through and shatter personal armour like Tarno's, and is capable of swinging a two-meter sword like it's just a regular longsword. His durability, too, is exceptional. His form-plating incorporates Carbon-Interlaced Aluminium Alloy, and is thus on a similar level as many heavier suits of power armour, though not quite that of a HAST suit. His large size allows his quite the reach, too, though it also comes with its own disadvantages.Weapons
Mad's main weapon during his Cellean days is the End of an Age, a mastercraft of a greatsword. At a full two meters long, with an extremely high-quality layered chain blade, a steel core under a graphene cover, coated in gold, it is an effective symbol of his power.
End of an age here pls
Personality
Despite his name, Mad is suprisingly calm most of the time, never really losing his cool. He maintains a calm, collected, and serious outlook at all times, from combat to command to free time. He does allow himself to be somewhat relaxed at times, but most of the time, he carries himself with the pride and distinction, and associated attitude of a Cellean Admiral-Captain. He does have a more caring and understanding side, shown mostly when interacting with Anni, but it's rare."Get up. We're not done, there's still an hour of training left, Anni. Get up." "But it hurts! My nose is bleeding a lot, and my neck really hurts!" "It happens. You just need to get over it and keep going. Your opponents wouldn't give you time to recuperate, and you shouldn't expect it. Get up." "But this isn't real fight! Can't I just take a little break to clean it up?" "But what if it was real? You'll be facing these someday, better get into the mindset now.That said, his name hasn't come from nowhere. During combat, he still stays calm as always, but absolutely does not look like it. "Mad" is a nickname given to him by his compatriots long ago, born from a fairly reasonable perception. Just imagine: A two-meter tall, black-clad, heavily armoured soldier carving through enemies with a sword taller than most people, barely slowing down despite injuries, and most often found in the thick of fighting, leading an assault himself.
...Fine, let's take a short, fifteen-minute break. I'm sorry, the point there wasn't to hurt you, I just forget how... fragile you are, relatively speaking. I'm used to far more durable and experienced sparring partners."
- Mad and a 14-year old Anni training
While the prequel's very first scene focuses on Stringer, the first scene chronoligically does not. Instead, it begins with Mad aboard the Kauhunkylväjä getting reports of the vanguard fleets' likely demise. Stringer wakes up on his flagship not long after that. Half a year or so later, and the two, and their captain-commanders, convene a meeting to discuss the plan going forward.
When the fleets arrive in-system properly, Stringer decides to move onward toward the only meaningfully settled planet in the system, Desterat, where Mad decides to hang his fleet back, citing engine issues on the larger battleships. In reality, he realized a perfect opportunity to finally turn his back on the Cellean empire and to take out both the 27th and 28th fleets from its control. He would strike up a deal with the grossly outmatched Dragon's Hoard Cluster's defensive fleets, promising his fleet's assistance in destroying the 27th Cellean Fleet, and then disbanding his own. From there, he would then move toward Desterat.
In orbit of Desterat, the 27th was already engaged, and had been for a week or so. Through both his skills as a commander and an advantage in nearly every factor, Stringer was heading toward a very simple victory. That is, until Mad decided to engage his fleet. This flipped the entire battle over. The 27th fleet was completely sandwiched between its two opponents, and over two weeks' time, would start to crumble. At some point, a ship from the Dragon's Hoard fleets, the Serica's Warden, would slam into the Orator, somehow managing to slip through the chaotic battle, and push it on a trajectory straight to Desterat's surface. With heavy damage sustained from the 28th fleet, the ship could do little against it.
Once the Orator had been grounded, Mad would descend to the surface to find Stringer, Anni insisting on coming with him. He dispatched troops to the wreck of the battleship, and started scouring the area himself with his personal guard. Eventually, he finds Stringer, along with the fairly injured Anni. He quickly orders her to be evacuated, and the duel both him and Stringer have awaited begins.
The duel was unmatched by anything in the nearest hundred lightyears, a match between two superhuman fighters with over a century of experience, at peak preformance, focused on nothing else. The Orator could've been bombarded from orbit, and the two would not have ceased combat at all. Even calling it a duel is a disservice of some sort, as it goes far beyond most duels in human history. Strikes as efficient as possible, struck several times a second, blocked, parried and dodged with just as little effort as possible. It continues on for mere minutes, but feels so much longer. At some point, Mad manages to stab trough Stringer's side, and Stringer removes Mad's jaw with two precise strikes. But of course, nothing lasts forever.
"This is what I call a necessary evil, Stringer! You may call the Cellean empire one, I call this one! Ideologies aside, this is some of the most fun I've had in a long while! An all-out duel, with an opponent you know in and out, what more could one want?!" "Fair enough! You know me too well. I'd wager this is the most fun I remember since our very first meeting! The sting of my cuts, my heart beating in my chest, the rush of blood in my ears, it all feels so... natural. I can't lie to you now; as unfortunate as the circumstances may be, I am glad to fight you like this now, Mad!" "Come on then! Let's step it up once more! Come and kill me, or I do the same to you!"At the very climax of the duel, Stringer is pushed to a cliff's edge. He stumbles, ever so slightly, as an explosion rocks his wreck of a flagship. And suddenly, in a dissapointing end to the pair's duel, he plummets, and is quickly out of view. This infuriates Mad, quite a bit. He knows Stringer, and feels there's no way he could have survived. Enraged, he orders an evacuation of his troops and himself off of the rock, and decides to enact orbital bombardment from his fleet onto the corpse of the Orator. Some time later, after all of the 27th fleet has surrendered, ran away, or been destroyed, Mad concludes his deal with the system's forces, and dissolves his fleet, taking the Kauhunkylväjä elsewhere.
During the period between the two stories, Mad would eventually recognize that all he now really lives for is fighting people. Little else interests him that much, and, while he also enjoys making and being able to spend money, he loves duels above all else, especially ones to the death. He would then go onto to form a criminal organization on a habitat called Enin, and after less than a decade, Stringer would show up, much to Mad's surprise. The two would come to blows once again, and Mad's organization would end up collapsing. He would leave with Anni and another general, and would form a new one, creating a cycle of sorts where Stringer finds Mad's organizations and they end up collapsing, only for him to form new ones.
Over this period, Mad would collect his current entourage of generals around him. Anni has been with him since the start, naturally. Chaer was recruited about 95 years ago, and became general 66 ago. Gvanhla has been in the semi-general position he's in for a good 250 years, and Olitsionceda has been a general for seven years now.
Mad Portraits by MadToxin
Mad by MadToxin
During the main story, Mad dons a rather different outfit. He still is heavily armoured and very large, but less so. The major qualities are still there; he is as tall as ever, his armour is composed of thick, black plates with gold engravings, and he still has his shark-style head.
Two major, specific differences exist however; for one, Mad's armour is now bereft of all Cellean iconography and Admiral-Captain symbols. He still carries his Shoulderpad allegiance icon, but nothing else. The other difference is his distinct lack of a jaw. There is a small chunk of it left, which still moves when he talks, but nothing significant. He could have had it fixed, but instead left it there in respect of his old friend.
Skills and education
"Mad? Oh, you don't stand a chance. None of you do, not on your own." "Not even with my Synthetic Battery Overdischarge? All four of us together?" "SBO wouldn't be enough. The four of you might be, but there's a point where more people against a single one gets messy. Mad is an absolute monster. About as good as fighting as me, pretty exactly. Not only are you nowhere near as skilled, his physical abilities are quite a bit above any of you. Jon, he's stronger than you, he's faster than Skejon, and tougher than Quaken. None of you measure up, sorry. But you don't need to. It'd be a worst-case-scenario; instead, I fight him, while you manage the other generals, if necessary. It'll be fine, you can do decently well against them, they don't match Mad either."Mad's skill has in no way dimished from 350 years ago. While his strategic ability may have been somewhat stagnant due to lack of new experience, his combat skills have not. As skillful as ever, he is near-unmatched by most people. Only a scarse few people in human history could match his level of skill. None in any of the stories, save for Stringer, can. His management skills have also gotten a fair bit better; as leading several organizations over the centuries would necessitate. He is also quite charismatic if need be, and is very good at managing people in general; from negotiations to intimidation, he is quite good at it all.- Stringer and the main gang
Physical condition
Same as Stringer, Mad has not been neglecting his physique. Over the years, he's gotten upgrades for his abilities; greater strenght, faster movements, better balanced power. His reactor is also quite a bit larger than most other synthetics, mostly due to his sheer power. This also necessitates extra cooling for his body, though this was already a concern during his Cellean days. Despite all his combat-focused enhancements, Mad has also invested in quite a few more utility tools. His hands are far more dextrous, his brain-computer has an actual computer connected to it, and he can process information much faster than before.Weapons
Mad's End of an Age still remains in his posession, in all its former glory. Mad has hardly touched its design or improved its power, he doesn't need to. The sword still cuts through personal armour like a hot knife through butter, and has barely been nicked or bent out of shape even once. The gold coat is as clean as ever, and the engravings remain as is.
The other major weapon he carries is, of course, his body itself. Like Stringer, Mad is an exceptional hand-to-hand fighter, nearly as capable without his sword as with it. He may be a swordsman at heart, but he can do just fine with his fists. His punches are like veritable strikes of a sledgehammer, and his kicks can shatter even Quaken's form-plating with little difficulty.
Personality
While it's lessened somewhat, Mad remains outwardly as serious as ever. His presence exudes a sense of power, which tends to make negotiations easier, what a shocker. That said, he does let up that front when with his generals, as he does think of them as genuine friends more than anything. Their perception of him varies, but he regards them all roughly the same, save for Anni, of course. Mad despises authority as a whole. He himself may be an authority figure as well, but he regards it differently, however accurate that is. The hierarchy of the organization is largely in place for logistical reasons, and hypocritical as it may be, he does somewhat enjoy the power, despite his dislike of the fact. It was part of why he was an Admiral-Captain for so long, after all. He also has a hobby of collecting, assembling, and painting miniature models of spaceships, mostly warships.
Mad is largely absent from the main story; his role is more of an final opponent of sorts. Still, he does have a presence throughout, and is a major player in it.
Mad's very first scene in the story is when the main gang, specifically Tarno and Jon, find him in New Suterr. He seems to be conducting a trade deal of some kind, and is negotiating with some dude personally on a platform between the sprawl of high-rises. The two decide to attack the crimelord, and Tarno draws a pistol taken from one of his mooks, and fires. Being a coilpistol, Mad's PAI detects it, and he precisely deflects it into his partner, citing the eventual need to get rid of him anyway. Tarno then charges forth, Jon following soon behind. At that moment, the two recognised that they may not be able to win, based on Stringer's explanation of Mad. They were, however, somewhat confident that they could hold off until Stringer got to their location.
They could not.
The two may have both been largely competent, exceptional, even, fighters, but Mad is better. In a few seconds at most, he strikes Tarno in the face with a quick jab, then delivers a devastating punch to his abdomen, shattering his armour- something that did save his life. Jon fares no better, Mad effortlessly evading his attack despite his size, and twirling around to levy a roundhouse kick straight to the back of Jon's head, slamming it into the ground. Stringer arrives not long after, right on time, and begins to fight Mad instead, letting the two back off safely.
Stringer and Mad then begin their duel, though unarmed, at near-maximum focus. In Stringer's plan, this would be the final duel; he assumed he could beat Mad here. Mad, however, has different plans. The duel rages on for a decent while, both parties going at it at a functionally equal level. While Stringer's attacks barely harm Mad, he can throw him around and sometimes, his attacks can manage to do some damage if he hits less armoured sections like joints. But at the end of the day, he is outmatched without his sword. Blunt damage is very ineffective against synthetics, where a layered chain blade is distinctly not.
However, at one point, Mad does manage to get a strike in on Stringer, landing a punch that would kill most men, and slamming him right through a door. Stringer, however, is not most men. The attack manages little more than a bruise and some broken skin, partly due to Stringer dodging it skillfully, and partly due to his augmented durability. However, Mad decides that he no longer wants to partake in this duel, citing both that Stringer is not at his full ability, and that he has business to attend to, and departs the city. This puts quite the wrench into Stringer's plans.
Eventually, the main gang make it back from New Suterr, and quickly plan and begin an attack on Mad's base. Mad recieves notice of their intrusion rather quickly, and decides to gather his generals to determine what to do. Not long after, Stringer, and the main gang, bust in through the door to Mad's big main chamber thing. They then begin to duel once more, this time with their swords. The duel is immaculate; two superhuman masters of their craft, facing off one final time, not to determine which is more capable, nor to clash ideals, but only for fun, and to resolve the conflict neither particularily cares about. The two live to fight the other, and death conserns neither, as long as it comes in a good duel.
And that does indeed come. Over a few minutes of fierce combat, unrelenting in intensity and unmatched in sheer power, the two are rudely interrupted by Tarno, who ends up shooting Stringer through the leg. In the heat of the moment, Mad takes this advantage, and slashes Stringer right down the body, and stabbing him right through him main heart. This, of course, does not kill him, and he takes time to relay a farewell to Mad and the main gang, pleading that they be allowed to leave in peace. Mad obliges, and Stringer collapses. Mad takes his blade, and skewers it through Stringer's neck, destroying his spine and finally killing him. Not an act to disgrace, nor to shame, but one of respect and pragmatism; Stringer would live on had Mad not done so. He lets the main gang leave in peace, as much as he dislikes the idea of letting Tarno go.
At some point, Mad would leave for Earth, to go check on Gvanhla in the Lunag Ri Base. During this time, Quaken would end up near-fatally injuring Anni, and leading the main gang to leave for Earth in chase of Mad. They would get stranded for years, during which time Mad would return home, and find his daughter recovering from her wounds, something to stoke his hatred of the main gang further.
The next time we see Mad is at the very end of the main story. At some point, he recieves a dying message from Anni, telling him to leave the city, and not long after, his base is obliterated from orbit by the main cannon of the Stalwart Sentinel. Quaken soon descends onto the city, and finds Mad there, mourning everything he's lost, though no less ready for a fight. Quaken obliges.
"You! You piece of trash! You and your little group have destroyed all I know, for what? Stringer?! His 'legacy'?" "No. Not anymore. Maybe at first, it was about that. Maybe my main motivation was to do so, perhaps a sort of vengeance for him. But now? You and your gang have killed everyone I know as well, and my hatred for you is fuelled by nothing but the sense of avenging their deaths. Nothing else matters anymore. You will die, regardless of what happens to me." "So, that's what it's about. How... pitiful. Admirable, I suppose, but pathetic. Hanging on to the personaly mission of a dead man, sacrificing anything for it. Not that it matters much anyway- a duel's a duel, and I am not one to refuse a duel. Fine then! Come on, fight me! Give me the duel I was so rudely denied of with Stringer!"Quaken is, at his base state, as it were, does not hold up to Mad. Even with his normal usage of Synthetic Battery Overdischarge, he still doesn't quite manage. For a while, struggles on in an uphill battle against the 500-year-old superhuman veteran of a thousand conflicts. He tries, and tries, and even manages to knock Mad's sword out of his hands, though he also loses both his wristblades. The duel is now a hand-to-hand brawl, something both parties excel at. After Quaken thoroughly realizes he's not winning, he decides to go all out, forsaking his own well-being in order to power SBO to the absolute maximum, despite the damage it'll cause. This actually gives him an edge. His durability and skill remain the same, but his raw physical ability skyrockets to a point where Mad can't even keep up with his speed, mostly; his eyes can follow Quaken's movements relatively well, he just can't respond. That said, this is still Mad, and he keeps up rather well despite the situation. The fight goes on and on, both sides getting gradually worn down. Quaken manages to take Mad down for a moment, but he just gets up again, and vice versa. Neither party is going to lose, and neither have anything left to look forward to or lose. Both are content with the idea of dying, but Quaken wants to kill Mad even if he himself dies. Eventually, after both are barely standing, Quaken manages an opening to take out Skejon's sword, and actually strikes Mad directly in the reactor. It detonates, being so powerful, and his battery banks are dead as well. Mad, the near-ancient warrior, dies. Or at least, that's what Quaken thinks. Mad gets up, once more, with a hole in his chest and a missing arm, and fights even still, against Quaken, now unable to trigger SBO. But then, after a moment, the two square off one final time. As Quaken waits for Mad to make a move, he doesn't. He waits, and waits, until he realizes: Mad is dead. Finally, at last, Martte "Mad" Silkkanen has died, standing, fighting, doing what he loved.- Mad and Quaken
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Official positions:
Admiral-Captain of the 28th fleet (former)
Boss of Mad's Organization
Titles and nicknames, back during admiralty:
The Gilded Butcher (former)
The Lord of Dread (former)
Valiant Conqueror of a Hundred Worlds (former)
Glorious Combat Made Manifest (former)
Impregnable Fortitude (former)
One Without a Trace of Hesitation (former)
Eviscerator of Ionos 23 (former)
Slayer of Tyrant Ripceon Adam Kösiö (former) (former)
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Date of Birth
7.12.2313
Date of Death
16.9.2879
Life
2313 CE
2879 CE
566 years old
Birthplace
Kiertolainen, above Trepidationary
Place of Death
Ruins of Lanfal City.
Children
Eyes
Red
Height
2.21m
Owned Vehicles
Aligned Organization
Mad's favourite models;
Comments