- "I don't think this is what heroes look like."
"That's exactly what they look like." - —Shah and JJ Collins
Rahul Shah is a signal specialist operating at the U.S. Army's SBX-1 interceptor base.
History[]
Early History[]
Though unconfirmed, it is suggested that Rahul Shah experienced unfair persecutions as he grew up in the U.S., simply due to the fact that he was Hindu. Despite this, Shah still love being an American and considered himself a patriot.
Upon reaching enlistment age, Shah joined the U.S. Army, and went on to train as a signal specialist. Following his basic training, Shah went on to train as a signal specialist, which kept him from actual combat. During his service to the Army, a psychiatric evaluation on Shah was compiled, which suggested that during a crisis, he might fold due to pressure.
During his life, Shah met and fell in love with an unnamed woman, fathering three children with her: Prisha, Aditi and Kalyan.
Shah was later assigned to the SBX-1 nuclear missile interceptor platform in the Pacific Ocean, which would be a long-term and isolated posting far away from his family. Before he left, Shah's three children gave him a pet turtle, Turbo, to take with him. During his six months being stationed at SBX-1, Shah got along with most of his comrades, including Corporal Beaver Baker, though he missed his family.
Interceptor[]
Six months after his arrival to SBX-1, Shah was in the command center when they were alerted to an active shooting incident at Fort Greely, the U.S.'s primary interceptor facility. When Lieutenant Colonel Clark Marshall arrived with recent arrival Captain JJ Collins, Shah reported that Greely's communications were not being jammed, but rather that their communications seemed to be shut off. Marshall then introduced Shah to Collins, and the Corporal greeted her formally. As Shah tried to work, Baker asked Shah if he was still interested in a poker gamer later; Shah protested that it wasn't the time to talk about it since they were in the middle of an emergency, though Baker brushed off the Greely incident as being a result of a "crackpot with a grudge".
Shah then received a directive from STRATCOM, and informed Marshall that SBX-1 was being assigned primary warning status while Fort Greely was offline. Collins then picked up and relayed to the others NSA radio chatter about a Russian ICBM base in Tavlinka having been attacked and sixteen of their Topol-M missiles stolen, to Shah's surprise. He then questioned the coincidence of the timing of the two incidents to Marshall, who soon received a call from the Pentagon directing them to a video of a Russian terrorist confirming the missiles' theft and their intent to fire them on America. Shah wondered how they had managed to steal nuclear missiles, with Collins suggesting that it had been an inside job.
Shortly after Marshall and Collins left the command center, Shah was startled by the sound of gunfire nearby and quickly sounded the alarm. He and Baker then peered into the corridor to find Collins grappling with an assailant, and quickly ducked away as a burst of gunfire was let loose and clipped Baker in the head. Shah then sent out an SOS, and was told to stand by. He then witnessed Collins end her fight with Mikael by stabbing him in the eye with the frame of her sidearm.
Shah was so stunned by this action that he questioned if she had actually done what he'd seen, then confirmed to Collins that that he'd sent out an SOS. Shah then went to check on Baker, determining that though he was unconscious, he'd be okay. Seeing the pool of acid spilled during Collins' and Mikael's fight, he questioned why the attackers had brought acid, which Collins answered that they'd intended to use it to destroy the command center's circuitry, and Shah wondered what they were going to do.
The infiltrators' leader, Alexander Kessel, contacted the command center on the intercom, with Shah obeying Collins' order to put a bulletproof vest on himself and the unconscious Baker as Collins refused Kessel's demands that they open the blast doors for him. Shah began to worry as Kessel pointed out that they were far from any rescue and began to use blowtorches to cut through the first door. Collins questioned Shah on how many janitors there were at the base, with Shah uncertainly suggesting there were six or seven. When Kessel revealed he'd used a nerve agent to take out the rest of the base's staff, Shah looked nervously at their own A/C unit, though Kessel pointed out that their A/C system was isolated.
Shah and Collins were then alerted to a priority call from the White House's Situation Room, with Shah listening as Collins and General Dyson discussed the situation. Shah was aghast when he heard that a SEAL team was 90 minutes away and questioned if Dyson was joking, though President Wallace informed him that they weren't, as she and Dyson urged the pair to retain control of the command center. Shah began to fret at the idea of holding the infiltrators off for 90 minutes, believing that there was no way for him and Collins to do so. Collins reminded him that they would have to put up a fight, but Shah protested and pointed out that he was a signal specialist and not a combatant, telling Collins that he hadn't fired a gun since basic training and that she shouldn't count on him.
When Kessel contacted them again, he revealed that he had Captain Lou Welsh hostage, and threatened to kill him unless they opened the doors. Shah tried to object that they couldn't let Welsh die, but ultimately, Collins refused to comply and Welsh was executed. Shah's panicking escalated as he feared that they were going to die to, and Collins worked to calm him down, reminding Shah that they still have a job to do and telling him to keep their scanners trained on Tavlinka to keep them prepare for in case a missile was fired.
As they contemplated their defences, Shah confirmed that there are no other direct or indirect routes into the command center, but wondered about the assailants blowing in the radar dome, though Collins pointed out that it was more heavily reinforced. To be certain, Collins asked Shah to get them a visual on the external hatches. But as he started to do so, the lower hatch was blown open and another assailant, Zhang, burst in. As Collins fought him hand-to-hand, she ordered Shah to retrieve their shotgun and shoot him, though the Corporal found himself unable to pull the trigger, forcing Collins to take it and shoot Zhang dead. Collins gave Shah an exasperated look, and he quietly regretted his faltering.
After Collins confirmed no else was accompanying Zhang, she revealed that the shotgun was now useless, and after being reminded of how she'd lost her sidearm when he asked, Shah realised that they didn't have any other weapons. While helping Collins drag Zhang's body to the hatch, Shah thanked Collins for saving Turbo (whose tank had been nicked by a stray bullet during the fight), telling her about his children as he lamented the fact that he hadn't seen them in six months. Collins reminded Shah that the best thing that he could do for his kids was to help keep the stolen missiles in check.
After using the base's cameras to confirm that there were no survivors among SBX-1's staff, Shah grey annoyed by Kessel's continued pinging of the intercom and answered it, demanding to know what he wanted. Seeing him display a provocative photo of Collins, Shah called her over, and ended up listening as Kessel revealed he knew of Collins' troubles involving a Three-Star General which sexually harassed her. Shah pointed out that the General had been discharged and that she'd beat him, only for Kessel to reveal that a bounty for lewd photos of Collins had been set up by her fellow servicemembers, with the harassments culminating in her attempting suicide, prompting Shah to give her a sympathetic look.
Eventually, Kessel and his people cut through the first blast door and made Collins a final offer. But though Collins pointed out that they still had time before he cut through the second door, Kessel reply that they didn't; hearing a gun cock behind them, Shah and Collins turned to see Baker pointing a gun at them, and both were shot in their bulletproof vests, making them collapse in pain. After Baker let Kessel and his team in, he and Nikolai zip-tied Shah and Collins to chairs. Shah was disgusted as Baker claimed that his betrayal was due to immigrants like Shah and Collins taking his previous job and that he was helping Kessel for the money, and Baker mocked Shah for thinking differently and rapped him on the head. When Collins headbutted Baker, Shah was visibly amused by the traitor's injury.
Shah and Collins were made to watch as Kessel used the Emergency Broadcast Signal to announce his intentions to fire the missiles to the entire American populace, claiming that its failings to value people as one of his reasons. Kessel attempted to demonstrate his point by bringing a camera over to Shah, asking if he loved being an American. Shah confirmed that he did, though Kessel noted that he was a Hindu, and Shah stated out that someone could be both. Still, Kessel pointed out that people like Shah were mocked for their faiths and subjected to unfair persecutions, inviting Shah to share such incidents he'd endured. Shah, refusing to comply, instead insulted Kessel by claiming his obsession with missiles stemmed from insecurities in the showers. Kessel didn't rise to the bait and called Shah's attempt pathetic, then allowed Baker to punch Shah unconscious.
Shah groggily woke up several minutes later, and asked what he had missed. As she released him from his bonds, Collins confirmed that they'd stopped the missile targeting Los Angeles; seeing the room devoid of the bad guys, Shah asked where they were, and quickly inferred from Collins' non-verbal response that she'd managed to force them back out of the command center. After noting that Kessel was surely pissed off with her, Shah kept an eye on things as Collins succumbed to her exhaustion.
After 15 minutes, Kessel contacted the command center and asked to talk to Collins, and Shah reluctantly awoke Collins. Shah listened as Kessel ranted about being a monster born out of a failed society and his privileged upbringing, with Shah snarking at how terrible his life must have been. Soon, however, Kessel revealed that he had an associate holding Collins' father hostage, and when Collins demanded she be allowed to speak with him, Shah protested, fearing she might cave in to Kessel's demand. Kessel gave the order anyway when Frank encouraged his daughter to continue fighting, and as Collins sobbed in dispair, Shah questioned how Kessel could have known to have someone in place when the order to reassign Collins to SBX-1 was only made the previous night. Kessel sneered that Collins was a pariah in the Army's ranks, and the decision to reassign her had actually been made three days earlier.
Seeing Kessel holding Marshall's laptop, Shah questioned what he was doing until he realised that Kessel was activating the HVAR protocol, intending to sink SBX-1 altogether. As the rig shook, Shah asked Collins what they were going to do, with Collins reminding him that the still had to keep the platform afloat to remain operational. Though Collins decided to head down into the hulls to manually close the ballast valves to buy them enough time until the SEAL's arrival, Shah reminded her of her injuries and volunteered to go instead. Quickly-yet-nervously preparing some gear, Shah remarked that he didn't think he looked like a hero, though Collins reassured him that he did. Psyching himself up, Shah plunged out through the lower hatch into the sea below.
Swimming over to the hull, Shah opened the hatch and headed inside, being directed by Collins over their intercom to the console. Seeing the controls for the valves, Shah reported that it might take him a while, though Collins assured him that he only needed to slow the sinking down long enough for the SEALs to arrive. As he started re-pressuring the ballast, Collins reported that it was working and that he had brought them a few minutes, and Shah elatedly hurried to continue. However, he noticed someone preparing to enter the hull, Shah alerted Collins, who ordered him to escape. Knowing that it was too late, Shah refused and continued to adjust the valves in order to help Collins further.
As Shah apologised to Collins for not being able to help her earlier, Baker dropped in and aimed his gun at him. Resigning himself, Shah asked Collins to tell his children that he loved them before removing his earpiece and turning to face Baker. Shah attempted to reason with his former comrade, telling Baker that he wasn't a murderer. Baker seemed to hesitate and agreed, lowering his weapon. But as Shah sighed, Baker continued speaking to declare that he was a patriot, taking aim at and shooting Shah.
Collins was dismayed by Shah's death, and Kessel even commends his bravery, admitting that he had underestimated and dismissed Shah as a non-threat because of his psychiatric evaluation, and so hadn't even bothered to put people onto Shah's family.
After the incident was resolved, Collins was met by her still-alive father, who brought along Turbo, Shah's pet having been recovered from the wreckage of SBX-1. Noting that the turtle had belonged to Shah, Collins mourned his loss. Frank suggested that talking about him would help, and so Collins began sharing what little she had known of her friend.
Personality[]
To Be Added.
Skills[]
- Trained Marksman: Like all enlisted servicemen in the U.S. military, Shah was trained in the use of a variety of different firearms; however, he has not worked to maintain this skill, as he has not fired a gun since basic training.
- Signal Specialist: Having trained to make this his primary specialty in the Army, Shah is highly-competent at operating communications systems, being able to provide and manage technical support. During his posting to SBX-1, Shah would intercept and receive communications data related to the facility's directives - such as detecting hostile missiles - and relay this to his superior officers.
Equipment[]
- Shotgun: A service-weapon stored in SBX-1's command center for use during an emergency. Shah retrieved it when Zhang broke in, but despite Collins' urging, Shah was unable to fire the weapon.
- Diving Mask: A pair of protective goggles which Shah donned before he dove out of the command center, using them to protect his eyes from the seawater when he went to close the ballast valves in the hull.
- Earpiece: A shortwave communications piece which Shah used to remain in contact with Collins when he went to close the ballast valves in the hull.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
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