Czernobog Squad

Czernobog Squad is a team formed and commanded by Capt. James Skinner, a rogue Alliance officer. Czernobog is most a mercenary outfit; its members are mostly cynics hoping to profit from the war with the Reapers.

Base of Operations
Czernobog Squad operates from the SSV Vukovar, an old Alliance frigate that was undergoing repairs when it was hijacked by Skinner and Maag. It was chosen primarily because it happened to have sufficient cargo space so that the massive Maag would be comfortable, but since being captured, it has been upgraded with a full array of weaponry. It formerly carried an M35 Mako onboard, but this was later traded for the Reject, a krogan Tomkah that was accidentally built to human specifications.

History
After his escape from batarian captivity in 2181 and subsequent exposure to the artifact on Zak'kon, Skinner became aware of the beings that the galaxy now knows as the Reapers, but initially dismissed them as a manifestation of his longtime paranoia. He spent several years trying to stay off the Alliance's radar. This effort brought him to various corners of the galaxy, including the artificial planet Korod and the asari colonies on Illium and Tamaris. He gathered together resources, initially just hoping to get by as a mercenary.

The Citadel crisis in 2183 CE changed things. Faced with evidence that the Reapers were real, he considered sharing the information he'd gleaned with the rest of the galaxy, but then watched as the galaxy ignored the warnings given by Commander Shepard. Skinner realized that the galaxy at large was too preoccupied with petty politics, and would not band together until it was too late. Some might have reacted to this revelation with despair, but Skinner instead saw profound opportunity.

James Skinner: The Mastermind
Capt. James Skinner was a Sentinel in the Systems Alliance Navy. Though highly proficient with technology, he lacked social skills, and his superiors often noted that he seemed to have no moral compass beyond his own self-interest. In 2181 CE, he was suspended for shooting an unarmed quarian civilian who had unwittingly unleashed a corrupted VI on a space station.

While on suspension, Skinner took on some outside work, travelling to the batarian-occupied world Zak'kon to rescue the wealthy asari heiress Siani T'Nair. He was captured by the batarians, but escaped and discovered a powerful communications device in the ancient city of Nairida. The device, however, turned out to be the still-functioning organs of a Reaper, and while it granted Skinner knowledge of many of the galaxy's secrets and boosted his abilities, it also corrupted him. Later, after stealing a batarian ship, he began travelling the galaxy and seeking out allies.

Skinner has considerable biotic and tech abilities, and almost no morals. Though his theft of the SSV Vukovar has caused the Alliance to put a bounty on his head, only time will tell if anyone decides to try and collect it.

Maria de Wilden: The Veteran
Once a decorated officer in the Alliance Navy, Cmdr. Maria de Wilden's life began to fall apart after she was severely injured during the Skyllian Blitz. The pain from her injuries drove her to abuse the painkiller rohine, and over time, this drug abuse degraded her sense of right and wrong. Her addiction was discovered by the corrupt Admr. Evelyn Gargosh, who threatened to expose her unless she became an operative for the Office of Alliance Territorial Hegemony, a black-ops division within the Alliance.

Eventually, de Wilden went rogue, and the OATH sent another of their unwilling operatives, Emmanuelle Sharon, to bring her back. The retrieval went badly, and Sharon ended up hospitalized. De Wilden escaped, but her choice of Illium for her next hiding place proved a bad one; Sharon's lover was a powerful businesswoman, and she put a hit out on de Wilden. Soon, de Wilden was herself injured, and ended up being sent to L'Shero Correctional Station. She managed to escape when the nearby world of Tamaris was suddenly invaded, but made the mistake of aligning herself with the invaders. When the invasion was defeated, she was sent back to L'Shero, where she stayed until 2186 CE, when the Reapers attacked the prison. The attack attracted the SSV Vukovar, and de Wilden and her erstwhile ally Vatra Alirr offered their services to the ship's CO, James Skinner, in exchange for passage.

A veteran in every sense of the word, Maria de Wilden is highly proficient in the use of a variety of weapons, and extremely ruthless. On top of this, she has been fitted with lirrax vocal augmentations that enable her to manipulate others with her voice.

Vatra Alirr: The Predator
Vatra Alirr is the former High Queen of the lirrax, a reclusive, predatory race from the planet Zarr. She attempted to lead her people to war against the Asari Republics in 2184 CE, but the war was averted when she was deposed through trickery by a human, Justine Marsters.

After being deposed, Vatra was locked up in L'Shero Correctional Station, one of the most brutal prisons in asari space. There, she formed an alliance of convenience with Maria de Wilden, a disgraced Alliance veteran, and together, they managed to escape when the prison was attacked by Reaper forces in 2186 CE.

Extremely quick and strong, Vatra is a dangerous opponent in close quarters. Her species' longstanding enmity with the asari has also granted her a degree of immunity against the effects of biotics.

Ardnol Krot: The Warlord
Ardnol Krot is a krogan warlord from Tuchanka. For many centuries, he was a low-level arms smuggler and mercenary whose most infamous deed was his ruthless slaughter of a pacifist cult, but when Urdnot Wrex began bringing the krogan clans together, Krot made a point of violently opposing the proposition, and for this, he and a handful of allies were driven from the planet. With the Reapers invading the galaxy, Krot has found that many of his usual markets are no longer available, and so he has joined Czernobog Squad as a sort of retainer.

Krot is a krogan warlord with a very large arsenal of weaponry at his disposal, and should be contemplated accordingly.

Retribution Brown: The Enthusiast
Retribution Brown is a young and possibly deranged man with an affinity for explosives that, in any other team, might have been cause for worry. Born on Elysium, he lost his parents in the Skyllian Blitz. He swore that he would get revenge, and when he turned 18, he joined the Alliance Navy, but washed out because of a lack of discipline and maturity. Purely by chance, he encountered Skinner, and sensed a kindred spirit. Skinner recognized a useful idiot when he saw one and invited the impressionable Brown to join his outfit.

Though he lacks physical strength and may in fact be completely insane, Brown has an alarming talent and passion for making explosives.

Thurrbaas Maag: The Immovable Object
Thurrbaas Maag is a member of the mysterious thummaagaa, a race of giants who live deep in the core of the artificial planet Korod. Prior to making contact with Skinner, who had visited Korod to plunder some of its resources for quick credits, Maag made a living disposing of the corpses of skurid who ventured too close to the planet's core. After Skinner explained the concept of mercenary work - and, more importantly, how it did not entail having to deal with the skurid - Maag decided to join him.

Having lived most of his life under extremely high gravity, and dressed in a suit designed to withstand the heat of an artificial planet's core, Maag is extremely strong, highly durable, and surprisingly agile.