CHARACTER PROFILES

Nikolai Dante 

Imagine Han Solo had got the light sabre in the Star Wars Trilogy, and, instead of trying to save the universe for pure hearted motives, decided to cut a reckless swathe through it in the name of amoral personal gain, swashbuckling adventure and romance. 

Nikolai Dante, a streetwise young thief, is the most incorrigible adventurer the Empire will ever know. The son of a 'legendary Pirate Queen, he is, in his own words, 'too cool to kill'. A cocky, fast-talking rogue with an infectious devil-may-care attitude, a wicked sense of humour, and an eye for the ladies par excellence. 

Dante is the kind of rebel the Empire delights in breaking, or would do if fate and family weren't about to shape the course of his life. Dante is a bastard member of the powerful Romanov Dynasty, the Tsar's main rivals for the throne. As a result of this unexpected legacy, he inherits a Weapons Crest, the most sophisticated bio-weapon in existence. Fashioned after the Romanov Coat-Of-Arms, the Crest bonds itself to Dante's genetic structure, and gives him numerous combat capabilities. As a tool of the Romanov Elite, the Weapons Crest is duty bound to educate him in the ways of the aristocracy and mould him into a potential ruler of the universe. Dante's thief's instincts, however, are a total contrast to the hypocritical concepts of honour and nobility that the Imperial Dynasties have created for themselves. Combining these elements might turn Dante into the greatest hero the Empire has ever known ... or create a monster more evil than the Tsar could ever be... 

Copyright Robbie Morrison 1998

Jena Makarov

The eldest daughter of Tsar Vladimir Makarov ( The Conqueror ). The heir presumptive to the Russian Empire. Expensively educated in all the refined aspects of aristocratic life and quite a few of the arts of war. Jena starts off supremely self confident and is utterly disdainful of the young Dantes crude attempts to seduce her. Over the course of several years of being forced into each others company, Jenas gradual acceptance of Dante has grown seemingly into something much stronger. Unfortunately for these 2 prospective lovers the age old rivalry between the imperial clans of Makarov and Romanov has all but destroyed their chance of happiness together. Jena has accepted that her duty to her father takes precedence over all others. At least for now.

Tsar Vladimir The Conqueror

Tsar of all the Russias, absolute monarch of all he surveys. His age is hard to discern, his cruelty and utter commitment to maintaining power at all costs is well documented. He and Dimitri Romanov are childhood friends and rivals. Vladimir Makarov and Jocasta Romanov have long harboured a secret passion which their respective family loyalties have made impossible to consummate.

Dimitri Romanov

The patriach or the Romanov family and father of Nikolai Dante, through the rape of his mother Katarina Dante. Dimitris' ruthlessness is exceeded only by that of the Tsar, a position that Dimitri has claimed as his birthright all his life. To this end he has created a family in his own image, through genetic manipulation he has sired 9 children, mothered by his own sister, Jocasta Romanov. He formed an alliance with a dangerous trans dimensional species in order to gain the weapons crest technology, his strongest weapon in the fight against the Makarov family and in his quest for ultimate power.

Dimitris Weapons Crest seems to have the ability to nullify those of his children. There may be even more things it can do, but as yet nobody has documented them.

Jocasta Romanov

Sister to Dimitri and mother to the 9 Romanov siblings, albeit with artificial assistance . She is knows as Madam Director and is the chief of the Romanov Intelligence gathering network. She has also been the lover of Vladimir Makarov, back when such a relationship was possible and before the pressures of their respective families and positions forced them to be forever apart. Despite his position as the bastard offspring of her older brother, Jocasta has become quite fond of Nikolai Dante, treating him almost as one of her own. Jocasta does not have a Weapons Crest, instead relying on her not inconsiderable martial arts prowess.

Valentine Romanov

The eldest, and in some ways ,most tragic of the Romanov children. He volunteered to be the first to have the weapons crest grafted onto his body and the trauma almost killed him, the after effects drove him mad. While using a holographic screen to conceal his terribly scarred features, he acted as the Romanov families premier covert operator. Finally an excess of ambition and the determination for revenge led him to aquire the Darkstar weapon and threaten to destroy the earth in an effort to either seize the empire or destroy it. He was killed by Dante in an epic struggle aboard Valentines converted comet spacecraft.

Konstantine Romanov

Sophisticated and charming, Konstsntine is a born leader and a born killer. The heir apparent to the Romanov family, Konstantine was always the best in everything that he did. No one was more loyal to the Romanov cause, no one weilded the Weapons Crest with more conviction or power. He took an instant dislike to Dante however and was not reticent about demonstrating his feelings. Konstantines was also the hand that slew the Tsars daughter Julianna Makarov and thus precipitating the war between the Romanovs and the Makarovs.

He was slain by Dante while attempting to pilot the grievously damaged Battleship Potemkin on a suicide dive into the Visage of Power, the Tsars gigantic monument to his own power, in the centre of Moscow.

Andreas Romanov

An incorrigible adventurer and philandering seducer of widows and heiresses. Before Dante came along he was widely regarded as the biggest wastrel in the empire. His Weapons Crest generates Bio Blades of variable size which can be used as devastatingly effective projectile weapons. He is rumoured to have once decapitated 27 men with a single blade.

Needless to say, he and Dante get along famously.

Victor Romanov

A sullen and almost completely uncommunicative outsider, Victor finds solace in the company of birds His Weapons Crest abilities seem to inspire tremendous feat in whoever is foolish enough to piss him off. Reports of a huge birdlike creature have come from the scenes of his various adventures, but these are inconclusive.

Lulu Romanov

An intimidating and seductive beauty, she has driven strong men to suicide and insanity. Lulu Romanov is an arch manipulator and adept with the reigns of power and politics. Her Weapons Crest allows her to create a myriad tiny cybernetic insect like creatures that can devour their target in a matter of moments. She may well have other abilities , but she is notoriously secretive. Knowledge is power after all.

The Twins, Aleksandr & Aleksandra Romanov

Siblings and much more, the twins were always a little too close to each other . Their Weapns Crests allowed them to merge into one fearsom creature with the abilities to create Bio blade like claws and project tiny explosive mines from pores in their skin. They were defeated by Dante in his first encounter with them in the Murmansk Alienation Zone. As yet the rest of the Romanov family are ignorant of this fact.

Nastasia Romnov

A rather nasty coquettish narcissist. The Romanovs youngest daughter is notoriously prone to temper tantrums and killing ex boyfriends. To accompany her sweet nature, she can spit or excrete numerous toxic and corrosive susbstances from her skin making her an extremely unpleasent adversary.

Arkady Romanov

The youngest of the Romanovs, barely 16 at the start of our tale, he is a bit spoiled and full of himself. He resents deeply the fact that the Weapons Crest that Dante recieved was intended for him and that he is now considerd the weakest of the Romanovs. Arkady is fiercly loyal to his father.