*dons Tinfoil hat* Hannibal is Machaon

Note that quoted sections are copy/pasted from Corvus Belli.

Alright, so from Machaon's fluff, we know he's "extravagant to the bone" and "fought with an obsessive intensity in all the battles he took part in, standing out thanks to his exceptional combat intelligence. Once in the heart of battle, Machaon changes..." but "something went wrong when Machaon’s personality, his Aspect, was forged. You cannot say he is mad, but he is definitely not very mentally stable."

We then read a story about how he nearly blinded some grunt for making fun of him, so he's got some aggression issues to work out. What if ALEPH deemed Aristeia! and the Foreign Company the best place for him to do just that? And what if she sent along a bodyguard to make sure nobody got too close? Let's dig a little deeper...

Hannibal is a "dapper man" who's "past is hard to pin down". He "claims" to have this backstory spanning an intelligence agency and private contractor work, but "no evidence exists to connect him with any illicit activities, so either he’s embellishing the truth or he did a good job of covering his tracks." Machaon is everybody's favorite Steel Phalanx lieutenant, and it just so happens that Hannibal is THE lieutenant of FoCo.

*adds another layer of tinfoil* So, what other slightly deranged doctors do we know about that had murderous tendencies? Well, there's Hannibal Lecter, the doctor turned serial killer that we all know and love... I mean it's right there in the name!

Lets look at the visual evidence. Here's a picture of Machaon:


And here's Hannibal:


A little more gray in the hair and it looks like he grew a goatee, but that torso armor and trenchcoat looks very familiar. He's touting an ALEPH-style marksman rifle? Looks like he left his doctor bag at home. Of course, how would he hide his glowing eyes? Oh. Sunglasses. Interesting...

But ALEPH wouldn't just let one of her favored sons go off on his own would she? What if someone got to his Cube or found out who he really was?! Enter Valkyrie, elite bodyguard.

Lets take a look at her backstory: "given the gaps in our knowledge of her past, the truth of which lies buried under permafrost-thick layers of ‘access denied’ sigils... [she] obtained a brief measure of infamy as a crew member of the Defiler. Whatever she did before joining one of the most reviled pirate crews in recent memory, nobody knows—or rather no one’s telling."

Hannibal and FoCo captured the pirate ship, and he offered her a job. She's now "a formidable sellsword and loyal bodyguard to Hannibal." Convenient, that. And what does Valkyrie look like?


Let's see... ALEPH multirifle and heavy pistol, Steel Phalanx "Homeridae" shin/knee guards, and that shield looks like some pretty fancy tech. Even that axe has a certain familiarity about it, with those 4 circular cutouts on the handle. But what about the glowing-- oh, sunglasses.

Her stats are interesting too. Natural Born Warrior, Berserk, Kinematica L2, looks kinda familiar... *furiously adds more tinfoil* Of course, we know that Ajax is only "dumb" because his aspect can barely handle the achilles-prototype S5 lhost he's inserted in. What if you put his cube in a standard S2 lhost? Would his WIP go up a bit? Maybe full "Impetuous" would drop to "Frenzy"? But he'd keep his trademark fighting skills, right? He's not used to a sword, so we'd need to give him some other sort of EXP CCW. Something simple and brutal. Like an axe.

And, of course, both Hannibal and Valkyrie have V:NWI, an attribute typically associated with elite lhosts. The only other person in FoCo who has that is Avicenna, and he/she's a recreation...

 

How about we take a look at the pose Machaon is standing in for his concept art?


Note the angle of his body, the positions of his feet, the clenched right fist and the left partially open hand. Compare it to Hannibal's dossier above. Coincidence, or a sign?!

(Also note the 4 circular cutouts on the CCW, a trait that all Phalanx CCWs share...)

 

I guess the "joking around" nature of that particular post didn't come through. That said, could you link a dossier with a pose that actually matches that closely? Sure there's a lot that are close, but I didn't see any that were THAT close. Not saying they don't exist by any means, I just genuinely don't know of any and would like to.

Not at all, but the weapons are a very minor thing. Weapons aren't the basis for this theory, they're just one more thing that fits in a long list of things that fit.

To be clear guys, the OP should be read as if this guy is saying it:


That is to say, a bit tongue-in-cheek. I do think it's quite plausible though, once you look at everything together.

In fact, if I were a Nomad agitator, I might even claim that this was an elaborate play by ALEPH to give Machaon his fun, keep an eye on Corregidor by getting all buddy buddy with Laxmee and Massacre, as well as potentially recover/contact the lost Recreation known as Avicenna. Of course, he/she would instantly recognize Machaon's abnormally good skills as a doctor, so he's gotta keep that on the down-low.

Who else could kill 3 birds with 1 stone besides the super AI known as ALEPH?

 

That's exactly what ALEPH wants you to think!

On a serious note, this could present a problem for the theory. I really need to read that book but I don't have the cash to order one right now.

But isn't it interesting that Valkyrie is considered a "Warband" troop, given her profile? Considering PanO doesn't have any WB troops, and the only WBs I know of with stats/loadouts like that are... Myrmidons.

 

Solid points, and I think that you're right in saying that the WB designation doesn't really prove anything here. I was mainly responding to the supposition that she's really a PanO agent - who have zero WB troops.

That said, Musashi is irregular (without the Haris option) and limited to a chain rifle for a ranged weapon, which is right in-line with many WB troops. But how many WB troops get a high-tech, high cost weapon like Valkyrie's Multi-Rifle?

Massacre is a problem though. He's got a breaker combi (which is pretty fancy) and eclipse grenades... Hell, if you slapped ODD onto that profile he'd be a Myrmidon officer, but he's definitely not an ALEPH agent (going by his fluff). He's just Infinity Deadpool.

 

You're definitely on to something here! His fluff and abilities do share a lot of similarities with Barca's background. But true recreations are quite rare and seem to have strongly defined, "larger-than-life" personalities. Hmm...

I would actually argue that this solidifies the idea that Hannibal is Machaon, since ALEPH would be the one who created his false identity and cover story. We know that ALEPH uses historical figures as a tool to appeal to humans, this would be right in line with that.

Or maybe he's just a merc that has a lot in common with Barca and adopted the name. Either way, good find!