Spartacus

Spartacus is the robotic bodyguard of Leonardo Polybius and a de facto member of the White Dragon team.

Creation and concept
Spartacus and the Raptor droid design were based on General Greivous as he appeared in the 2003 Clone Wars microseries. The addition of the killing claw on each foot and its method of using it to disembowel targets, the name of the droid's design, and the screeching sounds it makes while attacking enemies are traits drawn from the velociraptors featured in the film Jurassic Park. His behavior in closely following Leonardo while disguised as an otherwise tall human was inspired by the Alastor-type Arm Slaves that follow Leonard Testarossa in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Panic! Full Metal Panic!] light novels and television series. Leonardo himself is heavily based off of Testarossa. There was no specific concept for him in the book other than to serve as a bodyguard for Leonardo, just as the Alastor machines do for Testarossa in the FMP! series.

History
Spartacus was first imagined by Leonardo when he was a young man serving as Seb Ommati's page in Khanka. Thanks to having his entire childhood dedicated to learning advanced subjects, Leonardo was able to design the weapon as a teenager and suggest the usefulness of it to a friend of his mentor's, Wilhelm Gien, who operated a military weapons manufactury. Gien first scoffed at the idea, as the concept was something even beyond the technology of the Republic of Gravell at the time. After reviewing the detailed schematic, Gien realized that the plans were not so farfetched and consented to building a prototype as a favor for Seb.

Following the Gramstad Incident, Leonardo planned to flee Khanka and seek out Benedict to avenge Seb. He met with Wilhelm's son Friedrich to take him with him. Friedrich informed Leonardo that the prototype of his machine had been completed, and they snuck into Sinneslochen Enterprises to recover it.

From the time of its activation, Spartacus has stayed close by Leonardo, fiercely defending him and remaining obdient to his every command.