Post by Marcus Grant on Oct 1, 2013 14:10:00 GMT -5
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Played By = Sam Worthington
Category= Freelancer
Name = Marcus Grant
Alias/Nicknames = Ace, Kaze, Marco Polo
Age = 34
Status = Single
Height = 5’10”
Weight = 180lbs
Eye Color = Blue-Grey
Hair Color = Light Brown
General Demeanor/Personality = Some have accused him of having split personalities, at times he is somber, reserved, stern, resolute, a completely normal and personable guy while at others he is wild, irritable, loud, and honestly seeks to fulfill some daredevil mentality that has lingered with him over the years.
Quirks
- Consistent nightmares about the "incident," sometimes takes herbs to help him sleep soundly
- Chronic pains due to his injuries from the "incident," although the doctors say he's fully healed they are unsure why his body still suffers, some believe it's in his head, especially since sometimes he'll favor one side of his body and other times he'll switch.
- Has become addicted to drugs like verdona to alleviate his pains. Now he takes them regularly but secretly. He tries not to let them interfere with his jobs.
- Never goes anywhere without his little pet and companion Rorschach, think of it as the parrot to his pirate.
- Loves seeing new things and desperately craves exploring new places, what's new is exciting to him.
- A bit of a self-proclaimed stuntman who loves adrenaline rushes, don't be surprised if he's the first one to jump off of high cliff into a pool a hundred feet below.
- Indulges in meditation to relax the stress in his mind and body, sometimes right in the middle of the public.
- Likes weapons with a lot of bang, if it makes a lot of noise and has a good kick, he'll enjoy it.
Best Skills = Managing large shipments and crews, navigating, diplomacy, knowledge of ship layouts and capabilities, organizing schedules and itineraries
General Skills = General weapons knowledge, hiking, swimming, climbing, basic piloting skills
Reputation = Before the "incident" he was a reliable but run-of-the-mill transport captain with a bit of a reputation for occasional wild tendencies, after the "incident" he had a moment in the spotlight, rendered a hero by the public and praised by the OzGuds and Hails for what he did (and that he managed to save their shipments). After his fame faded he was the Captain to go to for exploration tours around the civilized planets of the At-Verse, his clients were usually wealthy, and recommended him in particular for those who wanted experiences that were a bit outside of the box, exciting, and unpredictable.
A Report on Captain Marcus Grant
Captain Marcus Grant. He didn’t want to be here. I could read it on his features the moment he entered the room. My office was cozy enough, a fancy spacious room with a view of space and a soothing fountain. It was clean, the couches were comfortable, and as always I had made sure that the air temperature and density was perfect. And yet he seemed completely out of place. There was an intensity about him that I read immediately. It was in the eyes, the stiffness of his features, and his stride. But he was not without faults. The whole “rule the world” aura that seemed to soak him was counter-balanced by a slight limp in his left leg and a scar down the left side of his face that I had an immediate feeling was one of many.
He was a quiet man at first. I welcomed him to a seat, told him that I had read his file but still wanted to hear his story, the whole story, in his own words. I thought telling my own would make him comfortable so I did. It didn’t really matter. All he saw was a Doctor who’s job it was to credit or discredit mental cases. Getting him to talk in that first session was rough. But in the end he told me some of the basics.
Entry #1
He was born on Midway Station, Deck 3, the son of a known transport ship Captain and his wife who ran a couple of Stacks in the local markets. Despite the fact that both of them had respectable jobs on Midway it seemed that no matter what they did they could never get themselves out of the slums. But like most societies, the discrepancy between the wealthy and those that just got by was always broad. Making the jump from one status to another? Nearly impossible if you weren’t born into one of the ruling families. He knew that the path laid before him was steering him into the same profession and the same immovable position in life as his father. But even he was willing to admit that as a youngster he was a wily, daring boy.
Before he was old enough to go on transport runs with his father he would sneak down to the docking and shipping bays, perch himself up real high and watch the ships coming in and out. He was entertained by the interesting goods and diverse people that came through Midway Station. Occasionally he got himself in trouble. He seemed proud to tell me of the time he snuck onto his father’s ship and received a good beating for it. Or the time when he stole a loading hovercart and drove it around the docking bay many times around before the JSS managed to ruin his fun. He got a beating for that too, but it was all worth it. Despite these tales he didn’t speak of his father as if he was a cruel man. His parents were clearly not the root of his problems. He loved his mother and his father treated him well. And the day his father started teaching him and bringing him along for runs? One of the best days of his life.
He wasn’t at all happy when I said that repeated sessions would be necessary in order to make a full report to the powers-that-be. The OzGuds, the Hails, and the general populous clearly held this man in high regard, but what did he think of himself? That was something I’d have to determine over time.
Entry # 3
After a horrible second session, the third went a bit better. He was finally willing to relay to me the years that led up to the "incident" if not the "incident" itself. He learned everything that he could from his father and moved up the ranks of the transporting ring to become a Captain of his own ship. He made runs between the Industry planets, Midway Station, and Javos. There was a part of him that enjoyed the kinetic nature of the profession, always on the move to different places, meeting new and old friends. And yet, there was still something missing. Part of him always craved more. I got the sense that he was the kind of man who was always looking for something new, the next thrill, a change of pace and eventually even this job grew into a sense of routine and monotony that left him unsatisfied. He was good at what he did, no doubt about it. He always got the job done. At the very least his father had instilled in him the value that a good Captain always gets his crew, passengers, and the product to their destination no matter what. The more I spoke to him the more I found him to be a complex mixture of discipline and rebellion wrapped up in one mind, perhaps that’s why I sensed the instability lurking behind his eyes, but I knew that there was more to the story yet told.
Entry # 5
After a couple of unsuccessful sessions in trying to get him to share information about the incident that changed everything in his life, he seemed to be in a bit better spirits today. Part of that probably had to do with the fact that he showed up with a… pet of sorts. I had made the suggestion last session thinking he could use a bit of company in his life but I didn’t expect him to jump on it so readily. Took him a while to explain what the little critter was on his shoulder but I found it most amusing he decided to name it Rorschach. Seemed he had a sense of humor after all. It was the first glimmer of light I’d seen in him and the session seemed to ride that good mood.
He told me of his current endeavors since the incident a few years ago. Now he was running his own little private business, serving as a Captain-for-hire on tour ships mostly indulged by the wealthy seeking to see the great expanses and all the wondrous sights that the civilized reaches of the At-Verse had to offer. Although he had to admit that his own personal indulgences were being fulfilled as well in a way. He took liberties with the routes, persuaded his clients to extend the trips at times and in a lot of cases when they wanted a bit of time to themselves to enjoy whatever planet or moon he was showing them, he considered himself a self-proclaimed explorer, cutting his own slice of private enjoyment out of different locations. Perhaps he’d finally found his calling or maybe it was just another temporary phased that would eventually leave him wanting, always wanting more.
Entry # 9
We had a breakthrough today. It took several sessions to build up to it, but after listening to his stories of the tour the treacherous landscape of Karklun and hiking the mountains of Misthaven Moon, I think he finally felt more comfortable to tell me about the "incident." It was several years back on a run to Hailos. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it in the beginning but then again, it is always calmest before the storm is it not? The product had been loaded and there was an extensive crew and passengers aboard, some who had been working on Hailos that were returning to visit their families on Midway. Right before they were ready to take off was when they struck.
The ship came out of nowhere. They didn’t know what it was so they didn’t panic at first, not until it landed and they saw the twisted beings that spilled forth from it. They call them harbingers, humans that space time turned into cannibalistic demons. The firefight that followed was bloody and there were extensive injuries. The brutality and viciousness of these beings was something that no doubt still haunted his dreams. Somehow they managed to get everyone on the ship and make a run for it. The harbingers had hooks, grappling hooks that latched onto their ship and kept them from getting far. The transport ship wasn’t particularly fast and had no defense weapons to speak of. A high-speed tug-of-war over the landscape of Hailos ensued. Captain Marcus could see fear in the eyes of the crew and passengers, their horrible injuries, their panic and he knew what would happen. They’d get pulled down and the harbingers would kidnap, torture, and feast upon those they didn't kill. He couldn’t let that happen. He remembered his father’s words and he made a spontaneous, crazy decision. He took one of the skiffs from the cargo bay, opened those bay doors and flew that ship right out and head-on into the harbinger’s raider ship kamikaze-style. He managed to jump ship right before it was slung into the engine and set the enemy cruiser into bursts of flame but he was severely injured in the process. The recuperation process was long and strenuous, months upon months of reconstruction, healing, and physical therapy. However he was lauded as a hero, the golden Captain, and thus in the eyes of the public became a man that could do no wrong.
Entry # 10
This will be my last entry. I’ve gotten to know this man and he’s defied all of my presumptions over the past weeks. He’s far more complicated than he seems on the surface. Hero Captain. Adventurer. Insatiable explorer. Tortured soul. He’s still plagued by the nightmares of the "incident." He has chronic pains in his limbs due to his injuries but one can wonder whether it’s all in his mind. He takes pain meds regularly and although he denies it, I have a feeling he’s grown addicted to alcohol, verdona, and other drugs as well. I am diagnosing him with post-traumatic stress disorder and nothing more. Since his moment of fame, his popularity has since faded. Perhaps he sees this new expedition as a chance to reclaim that. And perhaps he is banking on his former celebrity status and his good rapport in the past with the OzGuds and the Hails to help them see that he’s the man for the job. I can honestly say despite his faults that he is the man for the job. Through all the troubles he has a genuine enthusiasm for exploration and a selfless drive to protect his crew. He’s a man of balances and I think that this just may be his reckoning, the one job that sets him straight and leaves a legacy in his wake, giving his life the meaning that he desperately seeks.
RORSCHACH
This Humseaum is the size of a woman's hand, small and light weight, the colorful feathers and scales make this creature very sought after for private collections. Of course, the fact that it spits acid tends to make it less of a family pet. Temperamental and territorial, the Humseaum is excellent for keeping a ship clean of pests like the Space Flyers and is an early alarm system for dangerous situations as it's keen intuition makes it change colors when it feels threatened. Only someone familiar with the individual Humseaum might tell the difference between danger colors and irritated colors.