Captain
From Heroes of the Great Tree
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Contents |
Background
In the early years, our Pa managed to scrap enough of a living together that we afforded our own house. It being in the middle of one of the grittiest cities on Paquin didn't matter much. My Ma always said, a home is a home and that's all that matters.
I'm told the city I grew up in was and still is a might bit like Las Vegas from Earth-that-was. There was gambling, there was drinking, and by extension there was entertainment. My family was in the entertainment business. We survived well enough until rumors of war came trickling in. Things happened and I found myself aboard a boat along with my ma and brother. It headed out to Regina, a backwater planet on the Rim.
Our father went off to fight in the war. We all took our turn writing letters to him though we never knew if he got them. Surely though we did receive a few letters back, and they was the highlight of our Ma's life. All in all, they was rare occasions. Our Ma opened up an entertainment hall to which the residents of our small Regina town was most grateful. As I said, Regina was a backwater planet. They didn't have too many kinds of entertainment like on Paquin. My Ma did quite well with the business and so we were able to live quite comfortable like.
My brother, being the city folk that he grew up to be didn't take well to being carted off to a no man's land joo fuen chse. He was fifteen at the time we left. And for a fifteen year old, that's nearly a lifetime. Me, I didn't mind too much. I was only ten and like I said, I don't remember Paquin.
Despite our hardships, Ken managed to make fast friends with most of the town residents. Afterall, he was quite a charmer. Of particular note was the town doctor's son, the shwie, Jack Johnson. "Heat" as we all called him for this bright red hair, was the sweetest boy I ever met. To my happiness, he and Ken became best of friends. I suppose you could say I had quite a crush on Heat. I used to pretend a sickness or two to catch a glimpse of him working with his father. And that was mighty difficult considering I'd never been sick a day in my life.
Life went on and then Ken turned eighteen. He decided it were his turn to do his duty and enlist in the war. It broke our Ma's heart, her boy becoming a Jone Yee like her husband. She never did say word one about it. I suppose that sadness left her immune system frail as it were that time when she started coming down with sickness.
Ma decided it was time I learned to defend myself. She taught me the ancient ways of sword and fist. I worked hard and learned fast. It was the least I could do. There was too many things to be disappointed in and I weren't about to give her one more disappointment. She tried to temper the killing arts with solid Buddhist beliefs but it weren't until years later that I finally understood what she meant.
Now, I don't know much about war, but after two years being enlisted, Ken came home a changed man. That spark he'd carried in his eyes had left him for what I thought would be forever. To top it off, our Pa never returned and Ma came down with Bowden's Malady. Our family dynamic changed yet again. I kept myself out of the house and out of the way. By then, I had managed to make my own friends and my own life.
It took Ma a long time to believe our Pa was not coming back. When she finally realized the truth, she presented us with what was to be our inheritances. She wanted us to have it before she died. She wanted to see us enjoy it. Ken took his half, bought a ship and left for places far away. Heat decided to follow Ken. Though I secretly envied Ken for his p'n yoh, I also felt relieved someone I trusted would be by his side.
I spent the next year watching Ma's health slide. Sure, there was medicine for the Bowden's Malady, but that medicine wasn't always available as much as it should've been. It being a short time after the war, things were still unstable. Then again, never could remember a time when they were stable.
A month after I'd turned eighteen, Ma died. Even though I'd been expecting it, I wasn't prepared. I mourned her death for a long time. In some ways, I still do. Somehow I managed to get word to Ken who came flying back in his fancy boat, the Mao's Claw. He'd changed yet again. He was the captain of his own ship with crew numbering four. He'd somehow managed to find that spark in his eyes. I was overjoyed to see it. He swept me under his wing, like the ghuh he was, and we never looked back.
Aside from Heat, Ken managed to hire along three other crew members. Of them all, the most collected man I'd ever seen was Celio. He piloted the Mao's Claw and taught me everything I know about flying. Agatha, the only other female on the boat, was the toughest woman I'd ever seen. She tried to teach me to box once, but our styles of fighting weren't similar enough. What she did tell me about her past was she was some kind of up and coming sports star until some bad event went and scandalized her life. I could tell she fawned after Ken though I don't think he ever noticed. I loved my brother, but he was still a man with man's intuition. The last member was David. He never talked about his past and I only asked once. I suppose some people just ain't up to talking about themselves. Even so, David kept the Mao's Claw running smooth and never refused my inquiries on the workings of the ship.
I enjoyed life on the Mao's Claw for four years. They all became my new family. At times it was a dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. With no official role on the ship, I watched, aided, and learned. I even made mistakes. Remember I told you my Ma tried to instill the Buddhist way of thinking alongside my learnings of the lethal arts? Well, it only took the killing of a man to show me why. His death haunted my dreams for a long time. If it weren't for Heat and his administrations to my fragile soul, I don't know if I'd be the person I am today. You see, Heat was a devout Buddhist with faith that nothing could crack. He helped me understand all those teachings my own Ma tried to tell me. Though not nearly as faithful to the Buddhist way as Heat, I attribute many of my own beliefs today to him. I never throw the first punch and when I have to, I make sure it's quick, clean and with the least amount of force possible.
Now, apparently, before I came aboard the Mao's Claw, Ken and his crew ran across someone who stank the foulest huen dahn. Something happened and this man has taken to believe that the Mao's Claw is his by right. We ran across him twice in our four years of travel, but it's still a puzzle why he's so insistent about wanting the ship. It ain't the prettiest boat on the sea.
Our last mission was one which we were to stole some antimatter. Now I don't know much about the stuff, except it's mighty unstable. Something happened during the extraction and the cannister that held the stuff was damaged. David had to constantly recalibrate the settings on the cannister in order that we wouldn't be exploding ourselves up. We brought the Antimatter back to Whitehall. I think Ken sensed something not quite right about the deal as he had all of us attend to the hand-off. I was positioned outside the warehouse to make sure no one snuck up on us. Then they all went inside. I never saw them again. All I know is the antimatter escaped and no one survives an explosion like that.
I had to unload most of the boat's cargo and hand over most of my inheritance from my Pa and Ma in order to pay for the deal gone bad and get the fuel to leave Whitehall. All I have left are a few pictures, my brother's coat and sword, and the Mao's Claw.
I'm heading back to Regina. Dr. Johnson has a right to know about his son. I don't look forward to such a conversation.
I've been out in the black a few days now. It's awfully quiet to the point of unnerving sitting here in an empty boat, in the middle of the black, with nothing but thoughts of death. I guess I should be thankful for my life, but I can't help but feel a bit cheated. In death, they can move on to their next lives which mayhap will be much better than this one. In life, I see nothing but darkness.
Family
Ying Jun Ling - Father
Lisa Ling - Mother
Kenneth Ling - Brother
Bi Rui - Great Uncle
Diary Entries
Scenes
Physical Appearance
Currently, Nadie wears her hair slightly longer than jaw length though she'll oftentimes let it grow longer for a bit. She don't have much in the way of clothes, mostly ones that are for working though she has taken to wearing her brother's coat and sword along with a pair of fingerless gloves.
Psychological Profile
Nadie is a well put together individual. She knows who she is and where she's going and no one is going to get in her way. She aspires to be like her brother, a charming young man who always knew what to say and when to say it.
Character Sheet
ATTRIBUTES
Agility d10
Strength d8
Vitality d8
Alertness d8
Intelligence d6
Willpower d10
ASSETS
Friends in Low Places (Minor): Her brother knew many people and by association she knows them too.
Healthy as a Horse (Major): She has an amazing immune system. She's never been sick a day in her life. She attributes her amazingly healthy body to the reason why she never developed Bowden's Malady during her eight years on Regina. +2 step bonus to Vitality when trying to resist or shake off illness and infections. Plot points spent on such rolls count as if two plot points had been spent.
Leadership (Minor): Her brother taught her to be a leader, to be someone others could look up to and follow.
Steady Calm (Minor): Very little shakes her. She's seen too much in so short a time to really be phased. She pulls her strength from her family, the one she was born into and the one she made. +2 step bonus to Willpower to avoid being shaken, frightened, or startled.
COMPLICATIONS
Credo (Minor): She isn't partial to killing. If Heat taught her anything it was to never throw the first punch and if she has to, make sure it's quick, clean and with the least amount of force possible.
Loyal (Minor): "Above all else, be loyal to your crew." That's what her brother said and she's sticking to it.
Phobia (Minor): Solitude. Solitude Complete and total Solitude. Something about traveling in the black by yourself after all that you knew was killed, has loosened something in her psyche. -2 step penalty to all Attributes when suffering from her phobia.
Deadly Enemy (Minor): The previous owner of the Mao's Claw won't give up his desire to take back what was his. He seems to have forgotten, he don't own the ship no more.
Things Don't Go Smooth (Major): She has the same bad luck as her brother. Whenever a perfect plan is in play, there's always something that sends it awry
SKILLS
- Animal Handling D4
- Athletics D4
- Covert D2
- Craft D2
- Discipline D6 - Nadie is increasingly pulling her emotions into her and showing an outward emotionless core that under the right circumstances can be quite scary. Too many bad things have forced her to do this.
- Guns D2
- Influence D6
- Persuasion D8
- Leadership D8
- Knowledge D6
- Appraise D8
- Mechanical Engineering D4
- Medical Expertise D6
- Melee Weapon Combat D6
- Sword D10
- Perception D4
- Pilot D4
- Ranged Weapons D2
- Survival D2
- Unarmed Combat D6
- Kung Fu D8
| Heroes of the Great Tree Topics | ||
| Heroes of the Great Tree | Barsaive • Adepts • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Impossibilities | I-verse background • Player Characters • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Phantapunk | Aeryn Background • Player Characters • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Concrete & Crimson | World Background • Scoobies • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Keep Flying | The 'Verse • The Crew • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Polybius | The World • Investigators • NPCs • House Rules | |
| Labyrinth | The World • PCs • NPCs • House Rules• Leads | |
| Arkham by Cyberlight | The City • The Runners • Everyone Else • House Rules | |
| Keep Flying v2 | The 'Verse • The Crew • Other Folk • House Rules | |
| Savage Effect | The Galaxy • The Cliens • Everyone Else • House Rules | |
