Linus Peters / Brackish
active“I was in the water before you knew there was a problem.”
At a Glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Linus Peters |
| Alias | Brackish |
| Age | 38 |
| Origin | Unknown — Navy record exists, pre-enlistment history sealed |
| Current District | No fixed location — Blackwater Harbor access confirmed |
| Affiliation | Independent contractor |
| Role | Hired killer |
| Power Type | A.E.G.I.S. wet-ops biological enhancement — aquatic combat specialization |
| Status | Active |
Capabilities
Peters was one of five subjects in an undisclosed A.E.G.I.S. wet-ops enhancement program testing biological augmentation for underwater combat and high-pressure environment operation. The program was terminated when two of the five subjects became uncontrollable. He was not one of the two. He was the one who walked out with his termination paperwork.
- Extended submersion — can hold breath for approximately forty minutes. Operates at crushing depths without equipment.
- Paralytic contact agent — a residue produced by the enhancement, present on his hands and forearms. Can be suppressed but not eliminated. Contact with skin produces progressive paralysis, onset within ninety seconds, duration variable. Non-lethal at controlled exposure. Lethal at extended contact or high dose.
- Aquatic speed and endurance — in water, significantly faster than any enhanced individual not specifically optimized for it. On land, baseline human, which he compensates for with preparation.
- Tactical patience — twelve years of Navy and A.E.G.I.S. wet-ops conditioning. Will wait as long as the job requires.
Background
Peters’s pre-Navy history is sealed at a level that suggests someone spent money to seal it. His Navy record is decorated and ends abruptly. He entered the A.E.G.I.S. wet-ops enhancement program in 2016 and completed it as the program’s most stable subject.
When the program was terminated in 2019 following the two uncontrollable subjects, he received his termination paperwork, a non-disclosure agreement, and a severance arrangement that covered the transitional period. He signed everything. He then went private.
He operates as an independent contractor. He does not advertise. He does not have a rate sheet anyone has ever seen. His clients find him through chains of referral that have so far proven untraceable. His completion rate is high enough that the rate is apparently not a point of negotiation.
His method is consistent: he arrives by water. He leaves by water. The kills are designed to look like accidents or drownings, because the paralytic means they often genuinely are. He does not take contracts he cannot reach by water, which in Halden City is a smaller constraint than it sounds — the city’s drainage, harbor, and underground water infrastructure connects more of the city than most people realize.
A.E.G.I.S. cannot officially go after him without opening the file on the wet-ops program. Evelyn Shaw knows his name. She has made a calculation. She checks it annually.
Character Profile
Peters is not ideological. He does not have contempt for his targets or affection for his clients. He treats the work as a professional problem with technical requirements and manages it accordingly.
He is not difficult to deal with in person — professional, direct, no evident affect around the fact of what he does. He has thought about it enough that it no longer produces anything he would identify as a reaction. Whether that is a form of peace or a form of damage he does not appear to examine.
His one consistent non-professional behavior: he checks the enhancement program’s public record — which doesn’t exist — on the anniversary of the termination date. He has never explained this to anyone. He may not be able to.
Key Tensions
| Tension | Description |
|---|---|
| The program file | A.E.G.I.S. can’t come after him without opening it. He knows this. The mutual leverage has held for six years. Something could change that. |
| The two who became uncontrollable | He knows who they were. He does not know where they are. He has thoughts about what the program did to them that he does not share. |
| The paralytic | He can suppress it but not eliminate it. Sustained contact with people he doesn’t intend to harm is a management problem he has solved through professional distance. |
Relationships
| Person | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Evelyn Shaw / A.E.G.I.S. | Mutual recognition, mutual restraint. She has made a calculation. He knows she has. |
| Blackwater Harbor | He knows this water infrastructure better than anyone alive. Shroud’s territory overlaps. They have not intersected. |
Tactical Notes (GM Reference)
- Approach: Always from water. Will spend days in position if required.
- Engagement window: He chooses terrain that includes water access. On land and away from water he is baseline human capability.
- The paralytic: Any physical contact with his hands or forearms — even brief — begins the clock. The team needs to know this before engaging him hand-to-hand.
- Counter: Forcing engagement away from water, in terrain he hasn’t scouted, is the tactical answer. Getting there is the problem.
Voice & Dialogue Notes
- Quiet, professional, no performed menace
- Describes what he does in the same register other professionals use for their work
- Does not explain himself. Does not need to.
- If he tells you something, it is accurate. He has no use for misdirection in conversation.
Open Questions
- Who are the two subjects who became uncontrollable? Where are they?
- What does Shaw’s annual recalculation look like? What would change it?
- Has he ever turned down a contract? What would it take?
- Does he know about the underground water connections to Glass District infrastructure? Almost certainly.
Last updated: March 2026