Lucas ‘Charcoal’ Allaband had a fairly complicated life leading up to the point he is now. He was an orphan in Russia. However, he was a full-blooded American. How he got there was beyond him but for the first 9 years of his life he grew up in a small Russian village. He was infamous in the village for being able to laugh and make light of any situation. One day at five years old, he would approach one of the girls from his orphanage. She was around 3 years older than him, this particular one he could never get to respond to when he spoke to her. She had no friends whatsoever, he’d never see her do anything other than read by herself. He thought she looked so very sad by herself and so on that day he went to talk to her, asking what she was reading. She turned to him with mildly wide eyes, being a soft blue colour, simply saying in russian.
“Why do you pretend to be so friendly?”

Lucas knew little of how to respond, so instead he just cracked a joke and awkwardly laughed. The girl went back to reading before saying, “You have a nice smile. Make sure you can keep smiling. I am sure you make many people feel happier.” She said this and then walked away. Lucas was purely bewildered, complimented, but confused. He would talk to this girl many times throughout the years growing up to the age of around 12, most of the time she would just recommend books or challenge him in a card game or a board game of some variation in which she would win every time. Though he was just there to try and give her some company, most of the time though, he had to fill in the air because she rarely spoke. Despite her soft monotone tone, she had a nice voice. Lucas enjoyed listening to her whenever she did speak. There was another person that befriended her, a bruteish boy named Igor that stayed with the same old woman that she did, he was around 4 years older then Lucas. Occasionally Lucas would tell Igor jokes and Igor would crack up and then ask for another one. Compared to her he loved Lucas’s jokes.

Roughly two weeks after he became 12, both his strange friends went missing. The old lady they lived with was found strangled. And two foreign men died in the home, one by a bullet through his chin via a struggle for control of a gun. And one via a knife stabbed into his head. Lucas worried for his friends, but knew little about their whereabouts or their safety. A few months later, a truck with people with varying weapons turned up to the village, ordering that they hand over a few of the orphans if they did not want trouble. The poor village had no choice but to allow them to take the children. Lucas watched as they took quite young children and stepped up. Saying that he’d go too. They all laughed and said that they liked his spirit. And so Lucas got into the back of the truck, unsure of where he was going. But the entire way he cracked jokes to the children smaller than him, making them feel a little bit better despite their future being left completely uncertain.

Lucas was scared, but kept reassuring the others. They were finally let out in an abandoned industrial building. A factory, a rather obese American man greeted them, he had a group of misfits with various grades of weapons, most had some kind of gun though. He told them that they were going to work for him. Produce weapons illegally, basically. The obese man was clearly slimy and an incredibly evil man. Their first task was to clean up the factory. Those that did not do it to the men’s liking would be either beaten, or in Lucas’s case. They decided to burn him with a piece of charred wood in the fireplace, though Lucas did not let his smile waver. He did not know where his willpower came from. But he knew that he had to keep his smile and laughs otherwise everybody else would be miserable. The people nicknamed him “Charcoal” and would especially burn him with charcoal directly from the fireplace, the rest had unique punishments and this was his. The people were sick. That’s all Lucas knew.

Three years later, three years of torture. The factory had gotten quite a lot bigger, more children, more workers. More pain, more suffering. Lucas couldn’t stand it anymore, he was amongst the oldest there, at 15. He knew he had to get out. And so on one fateful night, he saw his chance and attempted to escape the factory, he was chased and eventually caught in the woods. Three men stood around him, one man kicking his ribs against a tree. Cussing him as he did. All Lucas could focus on was how he wanted to punch the man’s already crooked nose. Two noises cracked through the air, Lucas heard two of the men stop talking and two respective thuds after each noise cracked through the air. The man kicking Lucas stopped, shouting “What the-?!” as he raised his small pistol in the direction the noises came from. Lucas looked the way the man aimed and three respective flashes and three noises cracked through the air again. Each bullet hitting the man in the chest, dropping him on the third, Lucas crawled away from the man slightly. Looking toward the dark forest as he sees a heavily armed figure move toward him, some kind of automatic rifle aimed at the three men on the ground. They’d stand over the man that was kicking Lucas, he was still alive but in pain, groaning lightly. The heavily armed figure wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, putting one between the eyes just like she did with his two other comrades.

He would stare at this figure, a cold sweat running down him. The figure would turn to him, despite a balaclava and helmet he’d see pale blue eyes he’d recognise. She’d also seem to recognise him, lowering her rifle. A familiar soft spoken voice would ask, “Lucas?” It was the girl he used to be friends with. Katya was his name, now he could remember her name, finally. There would be a brief moment of silence before she’d say in her monotone voice, “Listen, Lucas. I don’t know why you’re here but I’m here to kill these people and to locate and retrieve a young girl. I won’t stop you from running away, but.. I’d appreciate help identifying the girl.” Lucas would calm his breathing, and then he’d grin stating to her, “Fate’s a motherfucker..”. He’d then tell Katya that he wants to help, but as long as she helps him free all the other kids there. She agreed and she followed him back into his hell that he had tried so hard to escape from.

Upon entering, Lucas would hear a man roar as Katya entered through the door after him. One of the guards had spotted them walking up and held a hatchet, ambushing Katya, the two would struggle like wild animals, him knocking her M4 out of her hands and then slashing the hatchet into her left arm, she would scream ever so slightly, before taking a combat knife out of a sheathe on her waist using the left arm. Bringing it around into the man’s side around about where his right ribs are, she’d then unholster a 1911 pistol using her right hand and bring it up to the man’s head whilst he was in shock from the pain of the stab wound, she’d pull the trigger, blood splattering onto her and the man collapsing on top of her. Her breathing heavy. However the other guards would hear this and begin to enter the pitch black factory, at this point most of the children would be in the makeshift barracks, asleep. Three guards would enter, Katya would quietly shh Lucas and then lay her head back, quietning her breathing. The three would approach the scene, where Lucas would begin talking to them, one of them would ask “What the fuck happened brat?” Katya would quietly say, “Расплатиться” and then lift the 1911 aiming toward the closest man’s head. Shooting him and then shooting the second man in the shoulder and then the head. The third man would fire one bullet at Katya but would only manage to hit his dead comrade on top of her, where she would then shoot the remaining 3 bullets left in her mag into his chest.

She would take a minute to breathe, before tossing the man on top of her off of herself and reloading her pistol. This entire time Lucas had been breathing heavily, almost frozen. One of the men’s radios would go off with their boss's voice. Katya would notion for Lucas to take it and he would, stating that it was a few misfires and nothing to worry about. The obese man would call who he thinks to be his security idiots before turning off his radio. Katya meanwhile would patch up her arm from the bleeding. She would pick up her M4A1, nodding to Lucas as they continue. Heading up toward the boss’s headquarters, where he had two security people with ak’s with him at all times, in which Katya asked Lucas if he’d get shot if he went in. In which Lucas didn’t believe so. So Lucas entered into the boss’s room in a panic, saying that there was an intruder trying to kill the workers. The two security men would follow Lucas out of the room, where Katya was waiting behind some boxes, Lucas would simply say to the two men. “Sorry.” As he ducked, Katya would dump her mag into the two men, bullets hitting their every limb and killing them quickly.

She’d reload and enter the boss’s headquarters, aiming a gun at the obese man and telling him, “do not move a muscle, if you do I’ll assume you’re reaching for a gun.” In which he’d put his hands in the air. She’d turn to Lucas who had walked in behind her. Whilst keeping hand on her M4, she’d take out her 1911, flipping it and holding the handle towards Lucas. When he would grab ahold of it. She’d say only. “Your choice, he’s going to die. But I’ll allow you to choose if I kill him, or if you do.” In which Lucas would nod and Katya would lean against the wall as Lucas would order the man onto his knees. The obese man would beg but his fatal mistake would be calling Lucas “Charcoal”, making Lucas see past the beggins and remember all the shitty things he has done. Enough for Lucas to pull the trigger, a bullet going through the man’s head mid beg. A truly sad sight with his mouth agape and his eyes open. Katya would only chuckle slightly.

The two would go and release the children where Lucas would point out the girl Katya was looking for. Lucas had already decided he would help get all the children normal lives as his goal from then on. He went to hand Katya her gun back and she instead told him to keep a hold of it. She’d tell Lucas that whilst they may split up again, that she works as a Mercenary. And that she reckons he has the guts to do the same line of work she does. She would hand him a card with a ton of contact info to do with herself. Lowering her mask and faking a smile. Telling him, “In about three years, try to contact me if you’re interested da, old friend? Also, about what he called you, Charcoal, I say you own it. Like you usually do. Hard to break somebody who wears their pain on their sleeve da?” And he’d nod, thinking heavily about her words. Then Katya would go her separate way, taking the small girl with her to get her back to the people that paid her contract. Meanwhile Lucas would get the children to a place where they could seek refuge and also possibly be adopted. A nice orphanage. He’d carry the 1911 on him under his shirt. Having to use it a few times through the three years. He’d constantly think back to her offer, knowing he’ll take it.

And so three years later he’d contact her, having made money through his own dealings, some legal, some not. Having a lot more practice with shooting guns now, she’d surprisingly contact him back. Telling him to go to Norway. That she’d meet him there. Despite the virus going around causing places to lock down, through the course of nine months Lucas would get a contact to get him to Norway illegally. Where he would meet with Katya, she now had no tongue and couldn’t speak. This angered Lucas greatly but of course there was little he could do as the people who did it were already dead. She was no longer a mercenary either, but instead a soldier of sorts. Lucas didn’t care, he just wanted to fight for something. So he signed up for PLIKT like her and went through three months of training. Leading him to the point he is at today, stationed in Nyheim upon request.