Characters/Kayle

"Put a big enough engine on it, and even a brick will fly."

Kayle is a brain in a box. Kayle is a living jet turbine. Kayle is a salamander done up in liquid chrome and machined metal. Kayle is all these things, and more. Maybe less. She certainly doesn't care.

Kayle is certain about her past, but she doesn't talk about it unless someone asks.

Kayle isn't violent, unless you count her cursing when frustrated. Kalye can't get intoxicated through traditional methods, even though she certainly wants to. Kayle can fly under her own power, and left quite the impressive scorchmark on the Downwarp ceiling...

Kayle has three of the usual five senses, and misses those she lost. She seems to have gained a few new senses, however: Radar, infrared, and a twinge she can't quite explain.

Kayle remembers things that could have, did, or have yet to happen. Kayle also remembers meeting Death, and coming to terms with [him] about a twisted-up timeline mistake.

Kayle has changed. A lot. But

Kayle still wants to live.

Specifications:

Kayle's skeletal system is made of honeycombed aircraft aluminum and supports two low-velocity turbine engines built into her torso, and a second pair of microturbines in her legs. The intakes for the turbines in her torso structure are set into the flesh just above collarbone level, and the low-velocity exhaust is directed out through vectored exhaust ports on her lower back. All four of these engines are capable of much higher speeds than they appear to be, but Kayle has never found many good reasons to go higher than a low idle. The high-output jet turbines built into the structure of her legs aren't normally active, due to high fuel requirements. The intakes are mounted on the front of her thighs, and the vectored exhaust mechanisms are attached to the backs of her calves. These allow for crude flight or hovering if the situation warrants.

Replacing carbon-based muscle fiber in this build is a combination of high-torque servomotors and electrically-triggered myomer fibers, which provide for vastly increased strength without an appreciable gain in volume from the original organics.

Kayle's skin is a layer of biocomposite stainless steel that has been laminated over the top of her internal systems, maintains a state of high-polish on it's own, as well as serving the purpose of a high-resolution pressure and temperature sensor. This unique metal displays all the same physical traits as a carbon-based dermal layer, such as flexibility and elasticity, but due to it's predominantly metallic nature it has vastly improved puncture-, tear-, and cut-resistance. Sections can be peeled back easily and painlessly for maintence.

Visual:

Kayle is pleasingly curved, form following function along aerodynamic lines and given life. She sports a just-over-modest bustline that resembles two drops of molten silver, held in place with a simple yet effective backless sports bra. Keeping Kayle decent is a pair of loose-fit denim slacks that have been cut off rather high, covering about the upper third of her calves, though this is more due to safety concerns than any sense of style.

'Danger' decals by the turbine intakes mounted front-and-center on either calf serve to add a touch of color to what would otherwise be a featureless quicksilver skin, while the upper intakes above her collarbones have been capped with side-lit translucent hemispheres. Rising up Kayle's back, originating from and wrapping around the base of her primary exausts, is an array of glowing circut-trace that flickers like and resembles a gasoline flame. There's no readily apparent reason why this glowing tracework even exists, but Kayle knows it's there. She might even go into detail if you ask. Contrasting this display is a rich pure-blue glow from somewhere inside her primary exhausts. If one were to get in the way, however, Kayle's exhaust is comfortably warm instead of flesh-searing.

Cobalt blue optic sensors in Kayle's head serve as eyes, complete with delicate chromeflesh lids, while a set of matte black circles just behind her optics serve as radar and sound pickups. A circular neural port sits flush with the chromeflesh at the base of her skull and is capped with a simple rubber protective lid. Kayle is always emitting the vague white-noise of two idling turbine engines, which she finds rather soothing, and "speaks" by modulating frequency patterns in her exhaust. She's pleasant to be around, in a somewhat crude sort of way, though she's not very feminine. And that's just how she likes it.

(["Before"] image, courtesy of [NeoGeen].)

Polarity:

• Gridshaman. Spark, with some Steel undercurrents for flavor.
• Contractor for the Data Exchange. Distributes Orderchips in Downwarp.

Opinions:

• Indi and an apparently telekinetic skunk helped her get in touch with the instantiator systems, AND they helped her build a home. They both deserve more praise than one person can give, even if Kayle can't remember the skunk's name.
• Indi also helped Kayle get over her timeline entanglement, incidentally introduced her to what it's like to be a Gridshaman, helped install and test an external neural port, and has something to do with the bucket seats in Kayle's cube.
• Torque donated a set of heat-negating fittings for Kayle's engines, which also happen to be the source of that blue glow in her exhausts, helped out with a bit of minor repairs to her left arm, has provided various other small enhancements and upgrades.
• Frostbyte's a nice guy, but he's either desperate or crazy. Kinda cute, though...
• shinsei served to introduce Kayle to the wide world of digital drugs, something which she's eternally thankful for, and is a co-conspirator.
• "Death really isn't so bad. [He]'s just another guy with a job to do. Puzzlebox drives [him] nuts, though. Nobody here really stays dead."
• She's met Nighzmarquls and has gotten over his initial fear. Now it's more of a low-grade worry. He also received a sheet of metallic fabric from the plural, which is apparently a one-use time-rewrite mechanism of some kind. It's kept in a safe place.
• There was a run-in with a gendergun-toting Echo and a random-number generator, and now Kayle doesn't know what to think.
• She's met Epsilon. They kissed. This has apparently resulted in: A full set of reproductive organs, bearing a child, and being immune (so far) to Epsilon's chaotic disruption effects.

Feedback:

• "We wish to consume this one, it is beautiful! We love it, we must hear its sapience scream and shatter so its cries can warm us" - Nighzmarquls

• " What a ride..." -- Clockwork, after hitching a ride on the Unwilling Kayle-ette.

• "Shinylizard!" - Talia