Mutants & Masterminds: StarGate Freedom - [PC] Jonathan 'Jono' Blake

[Jono]

Jonathan "Jono" Blake

Appearance
5'6", Thin and wiry, with auburn hair and green eyes.

Description
Jonathan is obviously not terribly strong although not frail either, with the one major exception that he is lame in his right leg. Despite his physical infirmity and the obvious pain it gives him to walk at anything beyond slow deliberate pace, he stands straight and unbowed. He has long auburn hair that he keeps tied back in a pony tail with a leather cord like some ancient blacksmith. His most striking feature is his piercing green eyes that seem to take everything apart and evaluate the pieces.

Other traits (ticks, habits, mannerisms)
Walking at anything faster than a slow pace causes Jonathan a good deal of pain. He keeps his right leg straight as he walks and leans his weight heavily on a long black walking stick as if he is unable to bend his ankle for some reason.
He also has a habit of stretching the fingers of his left hand and curling them into a fist reflexively. This tends to draw attention to the hara'kesh he constantly wears, but despite that useful side effect, it is an old habit that his symbiote did so often that it is in Jono's own muscle memory now and he does it unconsciously.


Background
Scientist on the original Stargate project in the 1940s. Best friend of Ernest Littlefield and secretly in love with Catherine. When Ernest was lost and everyone else had given up on the program Jonathan kept trying and succeeded in making the gate work again. Unfortunately, he did not make it to the same address as Ernest and was immediately captured by a Goa'uld in need of a new host.


History
Born on Armistice day, November 1st, 1918, Jonathan grew up through the roaring twenties and then into the great depression. Having a keen mind given to problem solving he was admitted to MIT in 1936 and quickly rose to be a star student in the physics college. By the time America entered WWII, Jonathan was already finishing up his Masters in Applied Sciences. Like all young men at the time, he was eager to join up and do his part for his country. His part turned out to be work as a junior member of a top secret military project to unlock the mysteries of an alien ring artifact, later known as the Stargate.

At the time of the experiments the top military brass had hoped the device would prove to be useful as a weapon in WWII. The project director and in particular Jonathan's best friend and romantic rival, Ernest Littlefield, both believed it to be some kind of gateway to distant places. Jonathan wasn't sure what it might be capable of given it's odd properties, but he was absolutely convinced it was not of terrestrial origin.

During the course of the project Jonathan watched in jealous horror as his best friend swept the girl of his dreams off her feet. Where Jonathan was thin and awkward, Ernest was, for a scientist, handsome and well built. Jonathan was also awkward and often found himself completely tongue-tied when speaking to girl's, Cathrine in particularly, and worse, her father who also happened to be his boss and the leader of the Stargate project.

When it came to science he was better than anyone on the project besides Ernest, they had fought all the way through school constantly trying to get the advantage on each other academically, but always staying neck and neck. Drafted by the military to work on the top secret project the two friend's still managed to compete constantly in all things but one, Catherine. Jonathan had no chance in that contest and could only watch, heart breaking as his best friend swept her off her feet. He could have ended it with a simple anonymous note to her father, but that wouldn't have been honorable and after a time it was too late. One evening Ernest announced that he was going to propose to Cathrine and showed Jono the ring. That night was the night Jonathan made the big breakthrough and found the combination that made the ring shake and rattle and form into a rushing vortex of water that settled into a rippling pool of shining liquid. Not knowing if he could get back out of the pool since it was hanging defying gravity he decided to wait and report the breakthrough the next day.

He got the credit, but Ernest, bold and eloquent Ernest, talked his way into being allowed to make the first test trip. Jonathan was furious and jealous and hurt, but there was little he could do, he just couldn't communicate well when it came to Cathrine's father.

When the test ended in tragedy and the top brass who had assembled to watch the test decided the project was of no military value, Jonathan couldn't just let things end there. Despite the jealousy of the last few months, Ernest was still his best friend, and he loved Cathrine too much to see her suffering even if it meant saving the man that stood in his way. That night after everyone else had gone home and the lights had been turned out, supposedly for the last time, Jonathan used his clearance to go back into the heavily guarded facility on the excuse that the Colonel wanted the notes on the day's tests.

Alone, by flashlight and using the generators, frail Jonathan, manually dialed in the address where his best friend had been abandoned and lost for dead. He put on his own diving gear and walked into the glowing water. He never found out about what happened to Ernest, but when he arrived freezing and slammed down to the ground by the force of being ejected from the water on the other side he was immediately seized by six of the biggest burliest men he'd ever seen wearing the strangest armor and speaking in a language he could not understand.

Besides the big soldiers, for soldiers they had to be, there were two men. One wore a fur mantle and looking like some ancient king. The other stood straight and defiant, and looked regal in his own way, but less so than the one in the mantle. At an order barked from the leader Jonathan was quickly stripped of his diving helmet and suit. When the big man in charge saw Jono revealed in his boxer shorts and socks he barked a long loud laugh and spoke at length to the other man. The other man looked appalled and went to his knees and said something what was obvious to Jonathan to be a plea for mercy. Jono thought he caught the name Chronos. The big man laughed mercilessly and pointed barking an order.

Jonathan was dragged over to the kneeling man and he too was forced to kneel, but unlike the other man his head was forced down and the back of his neck exposed. He tried to protest but was struck hard by one of the big soldiers. Enough to knock the breath from him.

It was the strangest thing, he thought for a moment the kneeling man was going to hug him, but the man bent over his exposed neck and then briefly Jono felt an intense pain followed by numbness and then he blacked out only to wake fitfully now and then. At first he had struggled to maintain control of his body, but he quickly realized that he had been possessed and over the years and decades that followed he came to understand. He had no control over his body so long as Hepheastus was awake, but now an then the snake slept or lapsed into some kind of less alert state and at those times Jono was able to take back control. In time he was able to explore the snake's memories and knowledge and came to realize that this was not normal. Hepheastus, and yes he really was the ancient greek god, or the being that posed as that god, was not like the other false gods. He was lame in some way, not able to fully maintain his control of his host at all times the way other Goa'uld could.

Once Jono had learned the language of the false gods he understood the importance of that first exchange he had stumbled into.

Chronos, was Hepheastus' overlord, and was displeased that the lame snake had taken on a new host, one without an outward deformity. In ancient times so far back that Jono had a hard time accessing it in the snake's memories, Hepheastus had betrayed Chronos in favor of his son Zeus's bid to become a System Lord. When Chronos prevailed he cursed Hepheastus to live forever in a crippled host to mirror his own lameness. That was the confrontation that Jonathan had the misfortune of stumbling into.

"You would defy me again? Only your usefulness keeps you alive. This weak vessel will be your new host and you will invent a device to be implanted in your leg that will not allow it to heal even with the use of a sarcophagus. Do this before I return next or I will make you regret your defiance for all eternity."

Hepheastus had done as he was charged and for over half a century Jonathan had been in constant pain when he walked. Hepheastus was not the worst Gou'ald to be host to. Jonathan understood that. He was cruel and harsh with his slaves, but not wasteful of their lives or as casually brutal as others. When the lame snake was in control which was all but an hour or two a day, it was like a waking nightmare for Jono, like the world viewed dimly through dark sunglasses. But for an hour or two each day if he were careful, he could take back control of his body. Hephaestus caught on to the fact that Jono was living those hours of sleep, but became complacent since in the beginning Jonathan could neither speak nor understand the language and so could not make orders of the slaves or attempt to escape.

As the years passed and Jono learned he impersonated his snake and always plotted for the day when he might be able to find a way to escape. In the end all his plans amounted to nothing, a Tok'ra agent captured Hephaestus and brought him before their council and judged him. They removed the snake from Jonathan's head and released Jonathan back onto the planet where he had been captive for so long.

That was a few weeks ago and since that time Jono has been pretending to still be Hephaestus and looking for a way to get back to Earth. His one big accomplishment was to kluge together a device to modulate his voice and make his eyes glow. The eye part hurt a little and left him with spots in his vision when he used it, but it worked and had the desired effect.

Unfortunately, before Jono could arrange an escape Ra found Earth and ordered the invasion. Now, thanks to Ra's orders, Jono is helplessly caught up in helping to subdue his own home world. As much as it pains him to continue pretending to be a Goa'uld and help in invading Earth, he also sees it as an opportunity to help the people of Earth by being in a position on the inside of the invaders camp. As long as he can continue to make the Goa'uld believe he is still one of them, there is hope he can help Earth free itself, or at least help some survive.


Personality
A little grim, but intense and earnest when on the subject of science or technology.


Capabilities
Attributes

Skills

Feats/Other

Click to reveal.. (Character Sheet (Optional))

Character Sheet - Optional
Atts: (23 pp)
Str: 10
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 20
Wis: 14
Cha: 11

(14pp)
Attack +2
Defense: +5
Attack Focus: Ranged Attack +3 (3 pp Feat)

Saves:
Toughness: +5 (3pp)
fortitude: +2
Reflex: +2
Will: +2


Skills: ( 12 pp prologue, 4 post)
Bluff: 16
Computers: Crystaline: 9
Craft Goa'uld: 9
Disable device:
Knowledge Gou'ald Society: 3
Knowledge Physical Sciences: 9
Knowledge Technological Devices (Goa'uald): 9
Knowledge Technological Devices (Ancient): 4
Pilot: 2
Astrogation: 3

Previous Host (3pp)


60

Post Prologue: 26

Hara'Kesh 16
Language: Gou'ald 1
Language: Ancient 2
Language: Asgard 2
Eidetic Memory 1
Inventor 1
Improvised Tools 1
Taunt 1
Skill Mastery 1 (Computers, Craft, Bluff, Pilot)


Device: Eye glow/Voice modulation 2 pp

Click to reveal.. (Secret Knowledge (Optional))

Secret Knowledge - Optional