Strikeforce: Morituri

One year ago humanity scored its first success against The Horde. A team of three Padeia Armed Forces veterans attacked The Horde's surface command base in Cape Town, South Africa.

Clinton Rogers, a farmer from Decaton, Kansas killed The Hordes's First in the Field, their commander on Earth. In response Rogers was killed by The Horde.

The other two fled, but Woodrow Joshua Green, a Toronto based industrial designer died on board the escape craft. When it crashed the Horde destroyed it using a nuclear weapon. The remains of the third and last member of the team, Bruce Higashi, a Stress therapist from Hiroshima were never found. It is presumed that he died in the crash.

The reason why the three members of the team which came to be known as 'The Black Watch' were capable of going one-on-one with the invaders and of killing them, was exactly the same as the one that killed Green and would have killed both Rogers and Higashi. They had all undergone the Morituri Process.

The Morituri Process was discovered by Doctor Kimmo Tuolema. It involved implanting a whole separate metabolism into the host's body. Unfortunately the host eventually rejects the metabolism - but with the Morituri implant having burnt out the host's original metabolism, this rejection is always fatal. Often this rejection is catastrophic as the host's body melts or explodes. The projected life span of the process, an thus the host, is no longer than twelve months. This burnout is entirely unpredictable and could take lace any time between the completion of the implantation and the end of the projected life span.

In return for this fatal price, the host becomes stronger and tougher and gains powers only dreamed of. Energy projection and redirection, and telepathy are very common. Just as the life span of the metabolism is unpredictable, the abilities received by any one individual is also unpredictable.

Doctor Tuolema discovered the process whilst working at Bio-War Facility Alpha. It is there that all new members of Strikeforce: Morituri are brought to term. He determined that the quickest method of forcing the powers to surface was through stress. The subjects must go through the Garden: a closed environment deep underground that works to keep increasing the stress levels inside until the powers surface, through the use of plasma jets, hydraulic rams, irritatingly itchy uniforms, poisons, snakes, cages, electricity, microwaves and dangerous animals.

Unfortunately the Garden is not the safest method of bringing the powers out, but it is the quickest. The Garden does kill - The Black Watch members were not three, but five when they went into the Garden. Aaron Ray Leonard and Patricia Lynne Sobers died whilst undergoing the stress of the Garden. Later research showed that they were above the optimum age for the process. That they were over 18 was the reason their life spans were greatly shortened.

The Morituri Process

The most obvious ability that the process gives is increased strength. Normally this appears to be approaching double that of a professional weight-lifter, capable of lifting around 1000 pounds. This equates upward to about GURPS strength 40. Average strength levels received would be between 30 and 40. Some receive strengths far lower or higher than this. Jelene Anderson is an example of the former and Robert Greenbaum, an example of the latter.

Levels of endurance and constitution are also increased. Skin is also toughened and the Morituri metabolism appears to be highly effective against diseases. Only Robert Greenbaum has exhibited high levels of physical and constitutional toughness.

Powers received vary greatly. Many of them, particularly those requiring some kind of focus or finesse are often difficult to control. As the process works through the host's metabolism and they come closer to fatal rejection, the strength and effectiveness of the abilities also grows. It is also an indication that the rejection is getting closer. In some cases, such as Marathon, it is possible to hold off the rejection, allowing the power to build up and eventually be released explosively ! Marathon managed to destroy several large Horde ships in this way. (In game terms this would require a series of increasingly difficult Will rolls).

The Morituri Package

Total Cost: +250 points

Note that the enhanced abilities given here represent the average levels someone undergoing the Morituri Process would receive. Higher or lower Strength, Health and DR are common, whilst not having the Super Jump or Super Running are not.