Reno

Reno is a Turk who lives in Elysium.

Appearance
Reno stands at roughly the height of a grown man. He’s not too skinny or too muscly but sports a lanky physique. He tends to stand slightly slouched, never standing up straight, even in front of an important figure. His face is that of an adult who still has retained his good looks despite age. He has two flaming red markings on his face that follow the curve of his slightly dark blue eyes (flecked with green) upwards. His hair is colored a bright flaming red and is spiky all over in the style of a mullet. He does have a metal grey ring on his left ear as an earring.

He is mostly seen wearing a navy or black suit, lacking a tie and the white shirt left unbuttoned showing his chest. He also tends to be seen carrying a night stick which is red and white. His shoes are a standard brown. Lastly, he’s always sporting black goggles on his head, though they are usually not worn over his eyes.

Personality
Arrogant, rude, over confident, laid back and mouthy are just few of the most striking adjectives that describe Reno upon a first meeting. Despite the exterior that is portrayed, there is a much more in-depth character hidden underneath. The character that lies past the outer character is slightly puzzling, as he can switch from laid back drunk to professional or vice versa quite quickly which can be confusing in determining his true personality.

He comes off as cold and ruthless, when all he’s doing is his job. Can’t blame someone for only doing their job, can you? His job as a Turk is one of the highest priorities in his life and he takes pride in being a member of the Turks. Heck, he’s loyal to them, fellow Turks and to no one else. He will always try to get the job done, despite any costs. Speaking of which, he’s loyal to his friends, always. He’ll drop what he’s doing at any point if a friend is in trouble. He can be friendly and comfortable towards rookies and friends, while being openly hostile towards enemies, though if there is a good reason for working with the enemy, he’ll hold back on the hostility until it’s over. If there is reason to make friends afterwards, he’ll go and do so. He’s not one to hold a grudge that easily.

Reno is quite comfortable in voicing his thoughts and can be open in speech. He is not the type to normally hide what he thinks unless there is very, very good reason for doing so. His easy going nature and his job put him in a position where he will happily pursue the much more mundane pursuits whenever possible. Said pursuits include drinking and possible womanizing off duty. In short, you have an arrogant, overconfident and mouthy person who is loyal to friends and job, is laid back, open minded and is someone who knows how to be professional when the situation calls for it.

Abilities
Just because he’s slightly better than a human doesn’t mean he’s freed of human burdens. Technically, Reno is a member of the Turks. And Turks specialize in all sorts of situations. It means that Reno can hold his own in a fight (with or without his nightstick, which he knows how to wield properly, mind you) and sports a degree of physical fitness that is quite better than a normal human’s. He can take a lot of damage without needing medical assistance for some time though he is still prone to dying when the damage exceeds what he can handle. He also knows how to at least handle a situation so that the outcomes might possibly end up favourable for his side, but not the opposing side. He knows how to operate a manner of transport, though mostly helicopters.Think of him as a special operative unit person, without all the high tech gear but still retaining the training. He’s also good at holding his liquor for some time without getting drunk. Need I say more?

Canon History
In a slightly science fiction world featuring highly advanced technology which includes airships, genetic modification and magic, one would expect that the two opposing forces of magic and science to clash. Not so. In fact, a company named ‘Shin-Ra’ has managed to harness the ‘magic’ of the Lifestream, supposedly the river of life, using science. This harnessing of the Lifestream became the source of power for Midgar, an industrialized continent. With this discovering, more and more people began to use this resource, as it was widely spread all over the planet. However, a group of people opposed this harnessing, as this inflicted harm on the planet via the reactors that the energy was harnassed from. The group was named AVALANCHE and presented a threat to the company.

A company is nothing without its workers. The Turks are a group of people who are under employ of the company of Shin-Ra who undertake the company’s dirty work. Kidnapping, murder, etc are some of the jobs they do. They are also the scouters for SOLDIERS (Shin-Ra’s mako enchanced army, first class soldiers), as it is not just a job that anyone can have. Turks are recognised by their navy to black suits, their tuxedo shoes and a tie. They also carry a range of weapons around with them and are the best of the best in Shinra.

Six years before the beginning of the events of Final Fantasy VII, the Turks are sent to deal with AVALANCHE’s meddling in Shin-Ra’s affairs and powers. During this time, the Turks recruited SOLDIERS, fought against said opposing company, acted as bodyguards and tracked down people who could become research specimens for Professor Hojo (Shin-Ra’s mad scientist and the catalyst for future events). It is here that Reno is seen (his exact age and time for his joining of the Turks is unknown) without his mullet and he is a mentor for rookie Turks. His partner, Rude is also present. Their friendship is also highly present as well. Roughly give years afterwards, the Turk leader named Tseng was sent with 2nd class SOLDIER Zack Fair (a friend of Cloud) to investigate the disappearance of SOLDIER members along with Sephiroth (implanted with Jenova, the calamity that fell from the skies, by Hojo). Shortly after being attacked, with Zack defeating their enemies, the Turks destroy the small village that they were sent to investigate. After some events, Zack runs into Cloud and the two become fast friends. However, with Sephiroth discovering that he was the result of experimentation by Hojo, he destroys the town of Nibelheim. Four years passed. The two have been experimented on by Hojo with mako (one of the Lifestream’s energy resources) and thus, were deemed a threat to Shin-Ra. The Turks discover the two are alive and rush to save the two from Shin-Ra’s army (sent to execute the two) but fail, resulting in the death of Zack and becoming the person he is.

The appearance of the Turks was staged when Reno (now sporting a mullet and the second in commend of Turks, ranking beneath Tseng), is sent to kidnap Aerith (amid ‘accidentally’ stepping on the flowers in her church) with some Shin-Ra troops but is prevented by Cloud (who ran into Aerith moments before). Reno is encountered once again, shortly before blowing up a plate in one of the sectors in order to destroy AVALANCHE’s hideout despite the death toll of thousands of innocent civilians in the area. He succeeds in kidnapping Aerith, who is revealed to be the last of the Cetra, a race who has close relations to the planet. The current President of Shin-Ra at the time believes that through her, she will lead the company to a land filled with Mako. With one of their own captured, AVALANCHE broke into the headquarters of the company, eventually learning that once thought dead Sephiroth had slaughtered most of the people at Shin-Ra and the President himself, before disappearing with Jenova’s head from the labs. The President’s son, Rufus, assumed his father’s leadership of the company. With the revelation of Sephiroth’s plan to damage the earth using Meteor and harnassing the power of the Lifestream that would have healed the planet from Meteor’s impact and merging with it, he would become someone nearing the power of god.

At some point before or after this event happened, Cloud and some of his fellow members of AVALANCHE run into the Turks who are on vacation. Reno proclaims that he’s off duty and won’t attack nor go against Cloud. Until Elena, a rookie Turk is in trouble, along with one of AVALANCHE’s members. The two sides pair up and manage to retrieve their lost members, with Reno causing the death of the villain, proclaiming that ‘it was his job’ that made him come to get Elena.

When Meteor’s fall stopped by the Lifestream and with their new president supposedly dead from the backfire of the weapon which was used to try to destroy Meteor, the Turks fate was unknown…

Two years after Meteor fell and the Lifestream ‘cleansing’ the planet and the appearance of ‘geostigma’ which was Sephiroth’s legacy, the Turks (under the orders of Rufus who was surprisingly alive but rendered with geostigma and wheelchair ridden) undertook an investigation due to the guilt of Shin-Ra’s crimes. The investigation took them to the crater at which Jenova’s remains were. However, the appearance of Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo made things go wrong, with the disappearance and torture of Tseng and Elena. Reno made it out alive, carrying the remains of Jenova with him.

He contacted Cloud through Tifa (member of AVALANCHE), with the intention of having him meet their president. Cloud (after an encounter with the same three that attacked the Turks previously) arrived at the lodge where the remaining members of Turk and Rufus were hiding at. Here, Reno attempted to cross blades with Cloud but was locked outside. Rufus, with Rude at his side, attempted to negotiate a deal with Cloud investigating what was left of Sephiroth. Cloud disagreed and left. Kadaj shortly appeared and defeated the two Turks easily, chatting with Rufus over whereabouts of Jenova’s remains, telling him of the ‘Reunion’. The Reunion was the reawakening of Sephiroth through Kadaj’s receiving of the remains of Jenova.

Shortly after Kadaj leaving, Reno and Rude attempted to look for Cloud and find out the location of the missing children from the city (most of which were geostigma ridden), seemingly trying to help Cloud. The children, it turned out, had been taken by Loz and Yazoo while Kadaj was visiting their president. Discovering Cloud and Tifa (knocked out by Loz) in deceased Aerith’s old church, the Turks brought the two back to Tifa’s home. Reno and Rude informed them of their findings and tactfully left when Tifa needed to talk to Cloud.

With Rufus missing previously before they went to find Cloud, the two Turks went to confront the odd sight of Loz and Yazoo trying to take down a monument in the middle of the city, surrounded by a ring of children, amid a mob. The mob was then scattered by the appearance of shadow like creatures (summoned by one of the three Sephiroth like beings). Reno and Rude attempted to strike the two, but were prevented by Kadaj summoning a Behemoth (large monster summon) to destroy the monument in hopes of unearthing Jenova’s remains in the monument. Reno and Rude attempted to save some children, but were knocked out. However, they shortly awoke to pick a fight with Loz and Yazoo, but were beaten. Cloud and the members of AVALANCHE reunited to defeat the monster.

Rufus, at this point, seeing that Kadaj was about to cause more trouble, discarded his handicapped façade of being in a wheelchair, turned out to have been carrying the remains of Jenova with him all along in a box. He threw the box off the ledge, with Kadaj jumping after it. The president himself leapt off, brandishing a pistol and trying to shoot the box to drain it of its contents. He was successful in causing a leak in the box. However, Kadaj caught the box and fled with the appearance of Cloud (having finished and defeated the monster) along with Yazoo and Loz.

It turned out that Elena and Tseng were alive, firing two nets that suspended the president in mid air. Reno and Rude took a helicopter and sabotaged Yazoo and Loz, leaving Cloud free to go after Kadaj. With Cloud defeating him (despite the successful reawakening of Sephiroth), healing rain fell from the skies.

All’s well that ends well, with the Turks standing around their alive and recovering president.

False Memories
Reno left much of his past behind when he became a member of the Turks in his teenage years, an organization which served as a means of recruiting ‘special’ people for corporations and which handled jobs that were considered ‘dirty work’ by normal people. Kidnapping, murder, sabotage are some of the few jobs that a Turk undertook as part of their work life. Reno became familiar with the work and is highly dedicated to his job, despite the positive and negative outcomes of the many acts that a member of the Turks commits. To overcome this mental burden, Reno became a drinker (and still is to this day) and frequents the bars of the city whenever his job permits him to, among other normal life pursuits. He owns an apartment in Elysium and can be found there when drinking as given him a hangover or if he’s in need of some peace and quiet. He’s currently the second in command of the Turks, due to experience and the like, despite his appearance or any misgivings. Work hard, play hard. That’s one of his philosophies. Reno is also not above investigating scenes where the Turks can get involved or could get involved.

Relationships

 * Harlock
 * Mello
 * Anemone
 * Superbi Squalo