Omega House: Scientist K. Panov

Art by Juan Ochoa

Centuries ago, Scientist K. Panov ventured into the Zone with a shopping list. He never came back. Perhaps he backed into something, maybe one of the crackling Silver Cobwebs. Or he stepped into hell slime? Who can tell?

What matters is that the Stalker who brought Panov into the Zone didn't bring him out. Scientist Panov was never seen again on Earth.

But the physicist was found centuries later by a salvage crew trawling space junk in the ring of a gas giant. He was encased within some kind of alien life support vacuole. The crew brought the vacuole on board; they cut Panov out using lasers. A few clean cuts were all it took.

But he wasn't the old Panov.  No legs, no hands. Only one good eye. A torso covered in alien polyps.

The salvage crew froze him, and took Panov to a nearby R.U.R externality within the Empire for medical treatment and further study. The R.U.R. of course repaired him. Just like they would any machine. R.U.R. artisans custom-built new replacement parts for Panov, including cybernetic forearms and a perambulator frame. They also gave him numerous implants and neural augmentations like most organics who live with the R.U.R.

Panov recovered quickly. He started learning about the world he had awakened and joined. He absorbed hundreds of years of technological advancement in a few months. Panov branched out from physics to also learn a few new languages:

• The Prate - the common tongue of humanoids in the Empire
• Afuera - an ancient galactic language from the long-consumed core worlds, used to communicate with other-planar entities
• Glopnic - the R.U.R. language for communicating with space-time itself, as well as with other universes 

Panov fit right in here: so many of the aliens and fellow humans who chose to live on R.U.R. externality were scientists, technicians, and inventors. Or philosophers, linguists, and mentats.

But a few of the organics were salvagers and smugglers like the ones who brought him to the R.U.R. From one of them he learned of Omega House. Their work sounded like something familiar; work he could do.

The smuggler invited Panov to visit Omegapoint.

When the ship reached there, Panov signed-on.  He now crews for Captain Amargura on the Omega House Vessel Iboy.  They have a nickname for him. (He doesn't like it.) They think he's a little weird. (But aren't they all?) They say he has disgusting habits. (He wouldn't disagree.)

Scientist Panov

Science Specialist on the OHV Iboy

ASPECTS:

• High Concept: Multi-legged cyborg physicist
• Trouble: After spending centuries in an alien vacuole, there's a lot I don't know
• Aspect: Please, don't call me "Tapdancer"
• Aspect: I'd love to get a look under the hood of Clay
• Aspect: Science comes easy to me

APPROACHES

• Careful: +2
• Clever: +3 
• Flashy: 0
• Forceful: +2
• Quick: +1
• Sneaky: +1

STUNTS:

• Deadly Handstand - Once per session, Panov can go first in combat, by making a backflip to stand on his cyborg hands. Then take a +2 to Flashy Approach to Attack using the metallic pincer-like legs of your perambulator frame. 
• Figure It Out - Because you are an expert scientist with R.U.R. cognitive augmentations, take a +2 to Clever Approach to Create an Advantage while analyzing new scientific phenomena in your lab.
• Gauntlet Sensors - When you are studying something within hands' reach, you may take +2 to Careful Approach to Create an Advantage using the sensors in your cyberhands. 
• Master Linguist - Once per session, you can master a new language - or crack a code.
• My Children - It's painful, but Panov can tear the alien polyps from his skin, and send them off 1-3 Zones to check things out for him. He takes 1 Stress for every polyp he sends off. When the polyps are spying for him, Panov takes a +2 on his Careful Approach to smell, see, and hear what they experience in real time. Panov re-attaches the polyps to their source wounds when their mission is completed. We did say the crew thinks he's a little weird...do you believe us now?

REFRESH: 1