Andre Murciel

"Take it easy. We're all meant to be on the same team here."

- Andre Murciel

Andre Murciel is a former soldier turned competition Zoid pilot in the ZUB series.

Appearance
Andre is a remarkably tall and broad-shouldered man, towering well over two meters. Apart from this, he is lagely plain and unremarkable; if not for his size his plain features and short brown hair would blend into any crowd. He dresses plainly, preferring fatigue pants with a variety of loose shirts.

Personality
Generally open and friendly, Andre is nonetheless the quiet and unremarkable member of the media-friendly team. He is almost always calm, and becomes stern and unrelenting when serious or troubling matters present themselves. Between being the oldest member of the team and his considerable experience, the others often come to him for advice. He gets along particularly well with Damien, and has developed a mutual if grudging respect with Melissa Valentine, based largely on their shared experience in Zoid competition which the other two pilots lack.

Background
Abandoned at a young age, Andre was raised in a state orphanage. The devoted care of the workers left him with a great impression of both civil and authority figures. Andre progressed, rather naturally he thought, from the orphanage to military service. He trained as a Zoid pilot and even saw brief action in a small border flare-up. However, after a largely undistinguished period of service he resigned. To this day, he refuses to dicuss the reasons behind and circumstances around his resignation.

His skill set lent itself naturally to competition Zoid piloting, an area in which he excelled. His preferrence for heavy Zoids and considerable piloting experience lead to a rapid rise in the ZBC before he swapped over to the more prestigious ZUB. His experience served him well in the opening battle royale, taking him to third place befre his Iron Kong was finally disabled by Melissa's Brastle Tiger. Although he agreed with Reed Dowling's plan for the team, he remains wary of his employer's motives and the effect the constant media atttention has on his often volatile teammates.

Combat Style
Andre brings a wealth of experience to Zoid battling, although like his military career, he tends to keep it to himself. As such, he is often surprising both opponents and allies with his abilities and know-how. He prefers to let the opponet expose themselves with a frontal attack, remaining ready on the Yeti's powerful boosters to quickly evade and counterattack with the Iron Kong's heavy weaponry.