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"War is a conflict of numbers. Every combatant plays their roles, and pushes on to disable or destroy their opposition. To push forward and complete their objectives.
Sometimes, though, the numbers can be deceiving.
I am not a true number. I am a modifier. I am an invalid. I am a statement of false in truth. A changer of the rules and game. With others, I change their structure. From tens to hundreds, hundreds to thousands, to tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and beyond.
I have gone by many names. I have been called the Lion of the North, I have been called the White Lily of Volvek, and by my maiden name, Eryka Hylda Weiß. At this very moment, you shall know me in warfare by my numerical designation. I am the number without a proper value. I am the manipulator, the modifier, the non-equal. I, am, Zero; with my presence and actions, I shall reshape the battlefield!"
- Eryka during the Eastern Poland Crisis in 2015
The Pilot[]
History:[]
Eryka claims to come from a military family, although despite this she has not served any time herself in the German Army (Deutsches Heer). It appears that she was planning on enlisting shortly before the incursion of Suitfall, as her name is listed on the roster of recruits for the German Army in 2014.
There are no known mentions of her name in any sporting, educational, or recreational events. Suitfall, however has brought about a new realm of opportunities and struggles she appears to have faced head on.
During an extensive evacuation in eastern Poland in 2015 as USSR-apoligists from Russia attempted to invade the eastern border, Eryka worked alongside other suit users to assist in the formation of the Dominion of Volvek; after the Dominion was officially recognized, she worked with Polish forces to combat the apologists on the eastern border. Her claim is that she personally destroyed 43 tanks, 77 armored vehicles and over several hundred infantry men, but these numbers are likely inflated, and/or accrewd from those under her command. Aside this major event, a majority of the combat she has seen has been in small conflicts and skirmishes across the European and Northern African fronts, and sometimes the Middle East.
Many who have fought alongside her or worked with her for jobs or missions have noted her to be notably quiet and stoic; the reasoning for this appears to be, according to accounts from men and women who have fought beside her, that she has a complex regarding how young her voice sounds.
Appearance:[]
Eryka stands at 5'10, with smooth white hair reaching down to her chest. Although unconventional, she prefers to remain in a military attire which is presumably handed down by her father. It is unknown why she does not elect to wear pants even when outside of her usual military wear. She does not walk nor stand in plantigrade, instead holding a pose and stride of digitigrade motion. Underneath her flowing hair, she hides an additional set of ears and a tail inside her attire; Eryka has stated that her additional ears and tail were "gained after going through great lengths", although she has refused any further comment on what those great lengths may have been.
Relations & Affiliations:[]
She is recognized as an independant on The Safety Net, utilizing it as a means to connect to potential clientel or services. She has associated with and assisted Crusader members during times of conflict in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. She is listed as a military officer of the Dominion of Volvek , although this appears to be voluntary service. Beyond this, she has no known contact with other suit-related factions or minor organizations.
Combat Resiliency:[]
Despite her combat expertise, Eryka has been on the recieving end of deadly assaults. Both visual reports and photographic evidence have shown her in less than ideal conditions and suffering very notable wounds and gashes in combat situations.
The 'pilot' appears to be rather resistant to damage herself, displaying an unusual mixture of mental fortitude and physical resistance. While it is not entirely known how she remains combat capable after injury that would disable or seriously impede others, it is inferred she has some forms of biological augmentations.
Her recovery period is reported to be highly accelerated in comparison to that of most other combatants. Doctors and nurses who have treated her have noted difficulty in sterile IV injections; her skin is highly resilient to the slight puncture motion of the needle and is extremely firm, improving the likelihood of biologics.
A defector from the Volveken forces claims seeing Eryka resist shrapnel during one of their combat operations against the USSR apologists: "[...] you don't walk away from shell shrapnel cutting into your side. Most [people] would've collapsed from bloodloss and shock right then and there; all she had was minor cuts and a terrifying, inhumane snarl emitting from her throat. That blood-curling snarl turned into a damning roar, which got the attention of the gun crews and armor units. The suit user who shot at her took to the damn hills after that, smartest thing they could've done that whole day."
Fellow service women from Volvek who have asked about Eryka's weight have also gotten odd, generally sharp-tongued remarks.
Crunch:[]
250 to spend [245]Light Variant - 5 [205]Bionic Additive - 40 [205]Brain Implant 2 - 0 (Bionic grants) [195]Digitigrade - 10 [180]ORCA Shield - 15 [140]Experimental Armor - 40 [120]Dermal Plating IV - 20 [105]Railgun + Secondary Mount - 15 (Mystic 8.8 KwK) [85]Dedicated Mental Tasking - 20 [70]Improved Hull x3 - 15 [60]Vital Fluid Acceleration - 10 [55]Genetic Recombination - 5 [55]Vocal - 0 [50]Transgenic Visual Enhancer - 5 [35]Healing Salve Kit - 15 [30]NxRA - 5 (On ORCA Shield) [20]Dummy AI - 10 (Targetting System) [10]Dopplegangar - 10 [5]Universal Translator - 5 [0]Hydraulic Kinetics - 5 [0]Internal Status - 0
Rumors[]
Augmented Soldier:
Eryka is well known for a couple of oddities: A lack of pants, ears and tail, her claimed history. For those who fight alongside her, she is known for walking straight into gunfire and coming out with only scratches and minor nicks to her skin. As an individual who is not a known suit user, Eryka's astounding achievements have left many baffled and confused.
What is known about her is she has recieved biological implants of some kind; whether this has resulted from re-engineering of suit technology, prior undisclosed technology or as a direct result of suit pod usage is yet to be known. While it may be refuted here and there, undeniable evidence points to her existance as an anomaly. Her walking stance as a digitigrade individual is non-compliant with human plantigrade movement, skin firmness and resiliance is too high, and her ears and tail are tell-tale signs of modifications to the base human form. The extent and depth of her biological augmentation is unknown, causing many to be cautious of her presence.
The Etheral Armament:
The only reason Eryka shows up on pilot records as a potential suit user is her extensive augmentation, as well as an unidentifiable capacity to deal with and assault suit users. Despite speculation on having access to suit technology, there is no known weapon that Eryka carries, an anomaly amongst many who quickly took to arms when gaining advanced alien tech. While it may be inferred that she merely elected not to gain weapons from the armor pods, suit users who have opposed her have been quick to find she is far more combat ready than anticipated.
Frame by frame examination of her 'retaliation' against other suit users shows her often procuring a large cannon shell, estimated to be of 88mm calibre; where the shell is procured from is something that has yet to be determined. Once procured, she hoists it up and holds it as if in a position a tank loader would insert a shell. Often, violently, the shell will react as she forces it along, freeing the ballistic from its casing and accelerating it outside of her reach. Once it accelerates beyond her forcing arm, it rapidly propels itself, before violently erupting towards her target. The casing which held the ballistic often will fall and dissipate shortly thereafter.
The slowed frame analysis of her assault displays a moment of shimmering afterimages and what appears to be an unidentified armament; difficult to ascertain or recognise due to limited visual data, many suspect it is a weapon gained from an armor pod. What leaves things more confusing is the lack of physical contact, even shortly after an assault; Volveken forces have not only moved in to locations where the armament once was, but are not impeded physically in interacting with Eryka in the slightest. Even shortly after she has attacked or assaulted enemy forces with this armament, her fellow soldiers are unhampered with moving around, near, or in proximity to either her or the area where the armament momentarily flickered into life.
A couple of unidentified claims hold that Eryka "[...] has armoring that defends her in combat."; by what means and how are unknown. She has not refuted against claims of having armoring in some manner, although she does refuse intently to comment about it. This and her ties to the Ahnenerbe Division has only fueled speculation of all sorts of possible experimentation performed by Ahnenerbe. To these concerns Eryka has openly spoken out that Ahnenerbe does not nor will committ human experimentation, stating "Any and all anomalies performed by myself are done by my own capabilities, through my own accord, and do not directly reflect on the Ahnenerbe Division". Many still remain skeptical regarding Eryka at best, if not highly concerned.
Due to this, Volveken High Command has limited others capacity to interview or discuss with her, and Eryka herself has made less public appearances since the formulation of Ahnenerbe. She has once been caught attempting to blend in with Volvek's citizens by wearing civilian attire and pants, as well as covering her ears and tail. It appears she was hoping to take a day off from her official duties; it is also presumed she has not repeated this since.
Combat Expertise:
Eryka's first appearance came with the initial attacks slated against Poland by what are now known as "Volveken" forces. Even though many of the inexperienced and ill-equipped groups were pitifully driven off, she operated as an effective NCO to the forces, giving the Volvek group its very first and few victories at the time.
When the Volvek forces ended up retreating and operating as a mock-PMC mercenary group to other nations, Eryka was often seen on the fronts training and instructing rather than engaging in direct combat. Reports siphoned from Volveken records hold photographic evidence of Eryka teaching concepts such as trigger discipline, long-range marksmanship, operation and repair of captured and repurposed opposition vehicles and armor, logistics TTP's to newly recruited officers, and more. Many concepts she helped to teach were not readily available, civilian access information and rather was aged military doctrine.
Once Volvek forces resurged on Poland, Eryka returned to combat as both a front-line combatant and a CO to direct and maintain ground forces on the front. She helped manage the logistics of ground movement, supplies, munitions and more, as well as taking a front-line seat in combat against Polish and USSR-apologist armor, suit tech, and infantry.
Unknown Officer:
Without any prior listed military history, it is unknown why the Volvek forces rapidly accepted her as an officer during their initial formation. Most of the early formation of Volvek's infrastructure is kept heavily guarded and very little information is delegated.
Whilst Volvek forces were desperate for any potential military officer recruits during their period to reconvene on their approach towards Poland, nearly all other CO and officer recruits selected held notable military background or hailed from a military family, possessing second-hand knowledge themselves. As far as it is known, Eryka is not a well known or verifiable combat veteran, making Volvek's selection of her an anomaly. Further confusion is had as to why she was promoted rapidly and to higher positions in comparison to her peers.
Speculation:
Without any identifiable combat experience, there is debate over how Eryka knows aged military TTP's, weapon firing and marksmanship, and operation/repair of depreciated armored vehicles. Theories abound from second-hand military knowledge from her family, potential mercenary or military work before her appearance in Germany, or even illegally gained and appropriated military documents.
Without any conclusive evidence, however, most of this remains pure speculation on parts of those who attempt to decipher her history.
Historical Unknown:
Eryka firmly claims to come from a military family, which lived in the territories of Germany "since the fall of the Holy Roman Empire". Discrepancies abound regarding the limited information given, especially regarding the timeline. The names she gives for her mother and father cannot be identified as active citizens of Germany, leaving doubt in her story. She refuses to explain any further details to anyone outside her own closed circle of friends and brothers/sisters in arms.
Deeper investigation on her mother and father's names show such a couple in the roster of German citizens who gave birth to one registered and verified "Eryka Hylda Weiß". The issue however, is the couple lived in Germany back during the 1920's to early 1940's, and the DoB of the certificate is dated to October 27th, 1921. The man, one Herrmann Weiß, served in the German Fallschirmjäger division; the woman, one Brünhild Weiß von Ludwig, worked as a nurse who had been drafted to deal with the growing need of medical care during the later part of the second world war. Their exact whereabouts become difficult to track by the end of 1945, unlisted in any PoW camp records nor in any official notices of death.
Appearance in Germany:
Shortly after the time of the Germany re-unification, in October, 1991 one "Eryka Hylda Weiß" applied for citizenship to the reformed nation. While waiting on her application to be accepted, she bought an apartment in Fürstenwalde and sent a resume to a nearby automotive repair shop. She worked at the location for years, and the owner noted that she was "[...] quite strong for a young girl of her age." Her application for citizenship was finally accepted and verified in September of 1994. Friends and acquaintances alike noted that she was quite aware of her surroundings, and easily startled.
"We used to mess with her for it, jumping out from behind corners or such [...]" one of her former friends said, "That was until [Rachael*] scared her half to death. [Eryka] was pretty shaky that night, and [Rachael] ran across a corner to surprise [Eryka]. Eryka nearly jumped out of her skin, her old worn hat sliding off as additional, feline ears popped up. She began cursing wildly at [Rachael], threatening all sorts of horrors and inhumanities to [Rachael] if she ever said anything about it to anyone. All I can remember is that blood-curling snarl, almost like a lion ready to lunge at its prey. Eryka never spoke to [Rachael] again, and inevitably broke contact with the rest of us. We have no idea if she knew we were watching or not." *Name altered to protect identity
When questioned about the appearance, comparing the "Lion of the North", or Eryka from Volvek to Eryka of Germany, many of these individuals state that it looks exactly like her, except her hair was not nearly as white and most do not recall the ears or tails.
Nearing the later part of 2014, Eryka Weiß of Germany applied to the roster of the Deutsches Heer. This was invariably put on hold by the coming of Suitfall, which it is presumed Eryka managed to claim one of the suit pods and modify herself via its contents.
Fallacies in the Theory:
With many unknowns regarding the theory that Eryka was indeed born on Oct 27th, 1921, it is generally seen as stipulation and speculation. It fails to account for the lack of aged features, as well as the disappearance of her parents. No information is available between the periods of the fall of Nazi Germany and the reunification of Germany in 1990 on her whereabouts, actions, or general information.
The greatest likelihood is that Eryka merely altered her appearance using suit technology and is presenting a false front of identity. However, with black and white images scrounged from the early 1940's of Herrmann Weiß visiting with Eryka and his wife, as well as images and accounts from friends and the owner of Eryka who joined Germany, the theory is still speculated by some. There is no single and capable account of determining why the Eryka of Nazi Germany and Eryka of re-unified Germany look practically identical; some stipulation exists of bloodlines and that the Eryka of re-unified Germany may be the daughter or granddaughter of the one of Nazi Germany.