Lenonjayce Starlord

"It's not over yet... Gespenst Kick!"

Lenonjayce Starlord is a living legend. A member of the original PTX Team, he was an experimental pilot who distinguished himself by being the creator of the now infamous 'Gespenst Kick' when his unit's weaponry malfunctioned. Slandered and disgraced for mysterious reasons long ago, he's since been plucked from exile and offered a second chance at fighting for his ideals. Hot-blooded and gutsy it's easy to find Lenonjayce's fighting spirit contagious, though outside of combat he's remarkably gentle and likes pruning bonsai trees to relax. A master at piloting all Gespenst variants, many find their nerve lifted when the din of battle is interrupted by the technique that made him a hero: a loud scream of 'Gespenst Kick!' followed by the roar of spontaneously exploding opponents.

Background Information
Lenonjayce Starlord was an original team member of the Personal Trooper eXperiment, talented young test pilots who were given the oppertunity to work with the EFA's new line of personal trooper type robots. Lenonjayce in particular distinguished himself as a promising martial artist and excellent all-round pilot which, combined with his ability to push machines to their limit, made him a natural choice as a candidate for the programme.

In the conflict that later became known as the Summer of Love the PTX Team proved their worth by using the then experimental Gespenst Mk. I, a personal trooper created as a result of their testing data, to successfully help resolve the situation. It was also in this conflict that Jayce earned a slice of fame by implementing the now infamous 'Gespenst Kick' when his unit's weaponry failed to work. In truth he had no clue his small gesture of defiance against malfunctioning machinery would be noticed, he just wanted to win, but refined his special move into a force to be reckoned with after receieving recognition. He also taught the move to the others in his squad so everyone could reap the benefit from the unique technique he discovered. Before long everyone was talking about the PTX Team, their undefeatable Gespenst units and the unstoppable Gespenst Kick.

From that point on they were famous, PTX Team became synonymous with the EFA's might and the Gespenst recognized as a force to be contended with. Each member knew their Gespenst like the back of their hand, accelerating the already advanced unit to unbeatable extremes of power and providing an early example that it's the pilot, not the machine, that truly makes men dangerous. It's likely that at this stage Kai Kitamura developed his liking for the Gespenst and the 'Gespenst Kick' move, if not earlier.

Ultimately the PTX Team became victims of their own success. Dissatisfied with the level of publicity and the potential threat they posed to unseen, secret plans somebody* set out to discredit the team and remove them from a place where they could pose a threat in the future. There were mutterings of embezzlement and corruption. An internal investigation revealed, beyond belief, that the accusations were right. Members of the PTX Team that couldn't resolve the situation in other ways (like Irm Kazahara's family connection and Ring Mao's usefulness as the head of a corporation) had to choose between prosecution and dishonorable discharge or retirement to keep their reputation intact. Though Lenonjay didn't really understand the accusations (he hadn't done a thing wrong in his life) he accepted the terms after being advised that retiring would be best for the EFA's reputation.

For a while this was the story. Lenonjayce felt bad but he was a good soldier and never commented on the incident, politely declining to share why he retired so suddenly and preferring to tell anecdotes about his adventures as a test pilot to those who asked. More wanted to hear about his life as a soldier than pay for his services as a mechanic, however, so for a long time it was a struggle for him to make ends meet. The days of the original hot-blooded pilot were over, in a sense, before they began.

It's only recently that Lenonjayce has entertained the thought of piloting again. High ranking members of Katharon have tried to recruit him to their cause, pointing to clear discrepancies in official records at the time of his departure from the EFA. Reluctant to stay down for the count if it was a result of foul play and itching to fight for justice again Lenonjayce has accepted the offer to fight for the ideals of Katharon, where he hopes he will be able to unravel the mystery of what really happened to his beloved PTX Team.

As things go the recruitment of Lenonjayce is a massive boon for the fledging faction; there are thousands that still idolize Lenonjay Starlord, or at least respect his ability as a pilot... especially if they've been on the receiving end of his devestating Gespenst Kick!

* SPOILER: Ingram Plisken.

Personality Traits
Laid-back and down to earth, Lenonjay Starlord's personality transforms totally when he enters combat. When facing an opponent he is easily consumed by fighting spirit and becomes hot-blooded and driven, prone to big gestures and yelling at the top of his lungs.

Jayce gets his enjoyment in one of two ways: fighting for his ideals or unwinding with a variety of relaxing hobbies. There's nothing that can compare to testing the sharpness of your mind and the keenness of your reactions against an opponent that wants thesame thing as you: victory. With that said, there's no better way to still your mind and shrug off the stresses of a hard day than pruning a bonsai tree or enjoying a good book.

Though ejected from the EFA his ideals are broadly the same as when he was a soldier: justice for everyone, freedom from oppression, the whole package. The reason he didn't kick up a fuss when he was told to leave is further evidence of his dedication to these ideals; he preferred to leave the faction than run the risk of ruining its good reputation. The big picture mattered much more than him.

He's not overly bitter about learning there might have been foul play involved in his departure from the EFA. Despite not being able to pilot the Gespenst anymore, or any unit for that matter, he's led a good life even if it has been hard. He's had people turn to him for advice and look up to him for guidance, which has been a real honor. If given the choice he probably wouldn't go back to the EFA anyway... it isn't that he doesn't still like the faction, he does, it's just he's the sort of guy who finishes what he's started and has dedicated himself wholly to Katharon from here on out.

Jayce's general temperament runs the middle of the road between the reserved elements of his personality and his hot-blooded side, seemingly ready to shut himself away and prune a bonsai tree or leap into his Gespenst and kick his way through a wall at any moment. People find his fighting spirit contagious when he shows it, so it's true to say he gets on with people very well, and he likes the fact he can inspire people into fighting harder by his very presence. He tries to be very careful with the fame he has and live up to the expectations of others, not wanting to let down the people who look up to him by doing anything that divides too much opinion. Despite fighting for another side now he always tries to stay affable and polite to his opponents, complimenting them on a good duel well fought when it's true and guidance when it isn't.

The other members of the PTX Team are like his family and Lenonjayce checks up on them often. Although he's not with Mina Likerling anymore (the stress of the scandal wasn't good for their relationship) they still remain close friends and all try to get together every once in a while to talk about the old days.

Being a test pilot was the job Lenonjayce was born for. He loved every day, every hour and every second of it. When it was taken away from him he was sad, but the idea that he was doing his duty made him feel better about not being able to pilot big robots anymore. Now he can drive his favorite unit again he's absolutely over the moon and adores everything about being in the unit without compromise.

Talents & Abilities
Lenonjayce Starlord is one of the best Gespenst pilots in the universe. He has such a finely tuned knowledge of the unit's capabilities that even a factory model, combined with his fighting spirit and skill, becomes an almost unstoppable weapon capable of taking down opponents way above its pre-supposed tier when under his control. Jayce takes a lot of pride in being able to step into a standard mass-produced Gespenst and turn it into a supremely effective weapon for justice.

His style predates most artificial tracking technology so it's fair to say that he prefers to pilot by his eyes most of the time and react purely based on his own instincts. With that in mind, Lenonjayce's innovation and the modular nature of the Gespenst means he's adept at being able to find the exact tool he needs to complete an objective or defeat an opponent as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Though the Gespenst is roughly equal in terms of long-range and melee combat capabilities and it's true to say that Lenonjayce has talent in both it's clear that his martial arts skills gives him an edge at fighting hand-to-hand. The best evidence of this is undoubtedly moves like the 'Gespenst Kick' where he brings out the innate qualities of the unit to devastating effect, going above and beyond the upper power levels the Gespenst was previously capable of.

Part of the reason for this is that Lenonjayce was involved with the Gespenst's production from day one, its capabilities were -- in a sense -- moulded and refined based on his opinion. Additionally, as a test pilot from a young age he has already demonstrated peak skill when it comes to piloting robots.

Logs
2010-02-19 - Gespenst Burly Brawl - Lenonjayce Starlord calls a tournament to decide who can truly be called 'Master of the Gespenst'!