Phil Girnham

Phil Girnham is a character in The Great Belligerency.

Weapons/Equipment:
Phil possesses a prototype multiweapon, a unique gun capable of imitating a shotgun, an assault rifle, or a sniper rifle, depending on which setting it's set on. It contains a tiny nanobot-operated munitions factory inside of it, allowing it to create its own ammunition. However, it overheats at a faster rate than ordinary guns, so instead of pausing to reload, the operator must pause to let it cool off. It is sturdy and durable, so it can also function as an effective melee weapon against unarmored enemies. Phil also has a suit of high-tech body armor. It contains microcircuits that serve a dual purpose. They generate a forcefield around him that can absorb a number of small impacts, such as bullets. Given time, these microcircuits can also repair the suit and administer first aid to the wearer, ranging from simply applying pressure to injecting antibiotics. Anything more than the basics is impossible during combat, however, as most of the suit's energy is funneled into its shields. The entire suit can be turned into a contained system if necessary; an armored tank attached to the back functions as a tiny greenhouse and AC unit, ensuring a supply of fresh, cool air. His helmet also contains heat scanners, night vision, and a headlamp.

Abilities:
Phil's physical modifications have given him superhuman reflexes and increased vitality.

Description:
Phil is 6', but stands at 6'1" when fully geared up. His dark brown hair features a standard military crew cut, and he has bright yellow eyes. His face is heavily scarred from his revival, so he opts to keep his helmet on whenever possible. His suit is predominantly white, but it is crisscrossed with vivid navy blue lines leading to a crescent blue moon in the center. It is made out of a sturdy plastic alloy, although close examination reveals that the joints sport significantly less armor to allow more freedom of movement. The suit is shaped like a rounded cone, increasing in size as it travels up his body, and finishing with a small rim just above his shoulders. His helmet is teardrop-shaped and covers his whole head, with the large end being near the front, and the tip extending slightly beyond the back. It has a wraparound visor that allows full peripheral vision (one-way, of course), and automatically adjusts its tinting to compensate for lighting changes. Attached to the back of his suit is what looks like the bastard child of a jetpack and a propane tank.

Phil views combat as the only truly fulfilling thing in life—you either walk away with another kill on your record, or you tally them up right then and there. He has no objections towards killing, but he dislikes torture; he considers it a disgrace. A perfectly executed plan should leave all the victims dead before they even realize they’re really going to die.

Biography:
Phil grew up in a world where war was the only constant factor. He was forced to fight for his survival since he was a child, and when his family was slaughtered during a raider attack when he was 18, he outfitted himself as best as he could and hunted down every one of the raiders involved in the attack, one by one. The task took him eight years, leaving him in his late twenties. He focused himself completely on it, and when it was done, he had no clue as to what to do next. Since the only thing he was good at was fighting, he tried hiring himself out as a freelance mercenary. This proved to be a great career choice, and within a few months he was one of the most famous mercenaries in the country, as well as one of the most feared ones, known for killing more than just what the job required.

It was then that he was offered a shadowy job within the military. Phil liked the prospect of a steady paycheck, and so he agreed. He was integrated into an elite group of military commandos that were kept secret from the general public, used only when things were at their most desperate. He and his team spent years expertly stabbing at the heart of whoever the country happened to be fighting at the time. Their tasks ranged from sabotage to assassination to reconnaissance, and Phil learned to use his wits just as much as he used his gun. Some of his missions involved slaughtering civilians. Phil and his squad enjoyed those ones; unarmed civilians presented a relaxing target practice session. Then, everything fell to pieces. One of their squad members turned traitor and sold Phil and his other squadmate out, leading them into a trap within an abandoned research facility. The loyal squadmate was quickly killed, but Phil tore the facility to pieces, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. He chased the turncoat through the entire building, and when he reached him, they fought intensely. However, Phil's wounds proved to be too great, and he stumbled when one of his legs quit completely. The traitor took the opportunity to gun him down, and fled without making sure he had finished him off completely.

When the military found Phil, he was barely alive. They brought him to a high-tech lab and gave him the best care technology could offer. In order to keep him alive, they were forced to augment some of his vital systems with machinery, designed to run off of his own energy. It took them nearly a year, but when Phil finally regained consciousness, he was in even better shape than he had ever been in his life. While he was recovering enough to do more than stumble around his room, Phil devoted himself to tracking down his old teammate, fixating on it to the exclusion of all else. However, once he was up and moving, he discovered that the military had no such plans for him—they were simply going to put him back to work as usual. Phil played along with them until he was fully recovered, then stole the prototype weapon and the suit. He systematically murdered everyone in the building, gunning down guards, researchers, secretaries, and janitors, considering it an exercise to make sure his combat skills were still top-notch.

After escaping, he traveled abroad to his former teammate’s last known location. In just a few days, he was able to track down his old teammate and lure him into a trap within the abandoned research facility where he had first betrayed Phil. Although not usually the sentimental type, Phil liked the idea of having yet another reason to chuckle when he recalled this in the future. As the traitor strolled into Phil's sights, Phil fired a single shot—then inexplicably vanished. The traitor was killed instantly by the clean shot to the head, and when his bodyguards charged up to the catwalk where the shot had come from, they found nothing, save for a small index card with the words “IOU 1 COMMANDO” scrawled across it.