All ages and stats current as of 3069 December
Frank Meronac
Homeworld: Lackland
Age: 29
Height: 178 cm
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Black
Vehicle: Night Gyr
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 4/4
Surgery
Blade(Fencing)
Background:
Adopted when he was just an infant by Jack and Sarah Campbell, Frank grew up in a farming community on Still Isle, a small island on the waterworld of Lackland. There he learnt the rudiments of mech piloting with the community's sole agromech, a machine centuries old and falling apart despite(or in spite) of their best efforts.
His excellent scores in school brought him to the attention of the authorities, and he was soon offered a scholarship to continue his higher education at the planet's only secondary level institution. He did well again, and got shipped to the NAIS for further studies, along with the Duke's only daughter.
Graduating in 3062 at the young age of 22, he was soon caught up in the bitter civil war between the Steiner-Davions. He managed to survive the war, and even managed to turn the tide of the battle on a world through his actions, earning some notoriety, and a tidy sum of money from the noble of the world.
He managed to discharge his bond with the government after the war, but his hopes of setting up a life with his girlfriend, the Duke's daughter Clarice, was dashed when her aristocratic father insisted that he prove his worth, preferably by earning a title of his own. For reasons not revealed yet, Frank was barred from joining the armed forces, and forced to find other methods.
He became a merc on Outreach, and the rest, like they say, is history.
Ian Dorlacen
Homeworld: Taurus
Age: 42
Height: 184 cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Vehicle: Awesome
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 1/3
Tactics
Leadership
Scrounging
Negotiation
Background:
Classified.
Descartin Winters
Homeworld: Barcella
Age: 38
Height: 193 cm
Hair: Light Brown
Eyes: Green
Vehicle: Nova Cat
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 0/0
Tactics
Strategy
Blade
Phantom Mech Ability
Background:
A typical upbringing in a Nova Cat sibko, but a decidedly atypical life after he became a warrior.
His journeys amongst the clans have made him a legend, as well as his ability in one on one combat situations.
Considered a strong candidate for a future Grand Council Loremaster, provided he could get rid of his stinking freebirth follower…
For more information, please read "Across The Sea Of Stars". Check under my author name directory.
And yes, it is indeed 0/0. Add the PMA to it… Ouch!
Lizabet Danforth
Homeworld: Priori
Age: 44
Height: 178 cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Vehicle: Mad Cat
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 1/2
Tactics
Strategy
Background:
Abtakha from Clan Burrock, she rose to the rank of Galaxy Commander with consistently brilliant performances in the many trials in the homeworlds.
Sent to Einstein on what was supposed to be a milk run, she understood that it was a ploy by Marthe Pryde to remove a potential rival for the Khanship.
Daniella Mattlov
Homeworld: Ironhold
Age: 32
Height: 179 cm
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Vehicle: Masakari
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 2/3
Tactics
Strategy
Unarmed Combat
Background:
Blooded in the Coventry campaigns and in the Falcon incursion of 3064-3065, Star Captain Daniela Mattlov looked less an elite clan mechwarrior than a galactic supermodel.
She dreams of standing on Terra in victory one day, but little does she know that dreams have a strange way of coming true…
Deserk (Winters)
Homeworld: Barcella
Age: 38
Height: 175 cm
Hair: Light Brown
Eyes: Green
Vehicle: Black Hawk
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 2/3
Tactics
Strategy
Teaching
Background:
Raised in the same sibko and from the same geneparents as Descartin Winters, Deserk fought in the clan invasion and was captured by Wolf's Dragoons during the climatic Battle of Luthien after his mech was destroyed by Morgan Kell.
Deserk adapted to life as a mercenary, and even managed to fall in love and get married.
He was killed in action on Einstein.
Valten Folkner
Homeworld: Ironhold
Age: 36
Height: 168 cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Black
Vehicle: Black Lion Battlecrusier
Notable skills:
Aerospace fighter G/P ratings: 1/2
Tactics(Naval)
Strategy
Zero-G Operations
Large Craft Operations
Background:
An elite pilot who showed a propensity for naval tactics and fighting with VERY BIG SHIPS. He yearns for naval combat, and his appetite is thus far satisfied with the conflict over Einstein, though he privately wonders if he would be demoted for losing the White Aerie…
Galietra Binneti
Homeworld: Ironhold
Age: 32
Height: 170 cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Vehicle: Seraph
Notable skills:
Aerospace fighter G/P ratings: 2/2
Tactics
Background:
Nothing special. Move along now.
Forsen Mandela
Homeworld: Not Applicable
Age: 48
Height: 173 cm
Hair: Gray
Eyes: Black
Vehicle: Nautilus Starship
Notable skills:
Negotiation
Large Craft Operations
Zero-G Operations
Background:
A merchant who ran into some hard times after being behind on his payments to his bank creditors, he jumped at the chance to recoup his losses.
Convinced by Frank and Ian to continue hauling ships for them, while the mercs would use some of the money to from the sale of technology to pay off his debts once and for all.
Yoshino Ihara
Homeworld: Avon
Age: 37
Height: 177 cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Black
Vehicle: Nobori-Nin
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 2/3
Tactics
Blade(Katana)
Unarmed Combat
Background:
A graduate of the Sun Zhang, he was in the top 5% of the academy. Captured by Descartin Winters during the clan assault on Avon, he has since adapted to life in the clans.
Has a variety of reasons for not going back to the DC, the most important of which an arranged marriage lay in wait for him.
Has a vendetta against Vance Rezak.
Kety
Homeworld: Outreach
Age: 25
Height: 187 cm
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Black
Vehicle: Gallowglas
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 3/3
Tactics
Background:
Nothing special. Move along now.
Bryan
Homeworld: Outreach
Age: 28
Height: 175 cm
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Vehicle: Fenris
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 3/2
Tactics
Stealth
Background:
Nothing special. Move along now.
Kily Gonzalez
Homeworld: Irian
Age: 24
Height: 174 cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Black
Vehicle: Wolfhound
Notable skills:
Mech G/P ratings: 4/5
Background:
Nothing special. Move along now.
Lorik
Homeworld: Roche
Age: 40
Height: 245 cm
Hair: NA
Eyes: Blue
Vehicle: Elemental Battlearmor
Notable skills:
Battlearmor
Unarmed Combat
Physics
Background:
Nothing special. Move along now.
When I said nothing special, I really do mean it. Of course, part of the reason was also because I don't want to give too much away. :) And obviously minor characters get less attention.
It's mostly only for the combat ratings that I put this up, as a way for readers to compare and contrast their abilities.
Oh, and here's my replies to the first round of reviews.
To Deadghost: Yeah, everything's going fine now, but remember, the mercs are still recovering and regrouping on Einstein, while most of their equipment were trashed in the campaign. Even with clan salvage, they still don't have enough material to rebuild to full strength. At least not anytime soon. But that's not the focus in the next story anyway. It'll be more like a true Mechwarrior adventure for Frank and Des, while Ian will be playing politics. It's basically three adventures in one novel, with the start and the ending being the only adjoining parts. News snippets, however, will serve to join the three tracks together.
To Aeain: Epilogue's the crossover part. I will reveal a bit more in the next story. I'm going to progress slowly, unlike so many crossovers that simply go BANG together without any logic. And you won't really need prior knowledge of the other… story that is the crossover.
To Strikepenguin5: Ah hah! You get the hidden references, eh? But a thousand years from now, things might be different. Tread carefully, enlightened one, for our existence should not be revealed.;)
Concerning the lack of the Star League sourcebook, everybody's griping about it. It should be coming out in pdf format in a few months time. Warner Doles promised me!
I also need the FM: Periphery before I can start on Seekers. Damn.
About the lack of drones, well… the houses don't have the advanced tech for it, that's the most basic reason why they never utilized drone fighters with nukes. And anyway a nuke is a brute force weapon. Who needs to really aim it?
To Warden: Akern Sanders, from House Kurita SB. "rn" looks a lot like "m" from a distance. I thinks that's the cause for the confusion.
To UnarmedBystander: Sorry, I've got a lot of work and studies in my life, so I can't keep myself chained to the keyboard. I'm also on a scholarship, so I can't slip up on my grades(A- average so far; hoping to keep it that way)
To Elven 14: This story will never be published! Whizkids are going off on their Dorkage concept, which I will spoof in the next story. Don't believe? Watch me.
And I am NOT Stackpole. Heck, I'm not even American! I'm just a chemistry student trying desperately to get into his killer university's honors program, for the right to blow himself up in a lab in the future… I could give up, but the $200 pay increment for a 2nd Upper for my later career is irresistible…
Lastly, I think I will be working for a few chapters on "Across The Sea Of Stars" after all, simply because I need more info from the source material before writing "Seekers". I need to know who's dead, who's alive, what's still standing etc. I can't afford to waste time, so I'm hoping to get a chapter for "Sea of Stars" up in a week's time.
This whole thing will build up into an almost utterly different universe from the one you guys are familiar with, but I will go through it step by step, so it won't be so bad. The downside is that it will take more than a dozen novels to fully chronicle the entire saga, and that it would be impossible for me to finish the stories of even half the characters. I was aiming for something like Water Margin, where each and every hero had his own tale to tell.
But uh, having something on the order of at least 20 main characters…
I think I'm going to faint now…
Unless somebody's willing to help?;)
Yeah, I can just see it…
Fanfic writer recruitment drive! :p
Oh, and the synopsis for "Seekers" is up on the yahoo egroup I've set up. Here's the link.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BT_Fanfic/