Doctor
From Heroes of the Great Tree
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Contents |
Background
Once, I could blabber on with the best of them. I would share my opinion with everyone without concern, since, after all, my opinion was the correct one and the only one that mattered. Such is the curse of being a pretty boy doctor who had money to spare and a complete lack of common sense. Maybe I'm harsh on myself. I was only 23 then and had no idea what was coming.
I still remember the bar's name: Nadine's. It was a high end place, served Alliance doctors, officers, and bigwigs. I can remember the bar's name, but I can't remember her name - the girl that was to help change my life forever. I remember her being pretty, but I couldn't tell you her hair color or what her face looked like. You'd think I'd remember. I was just flirting with her and she didn't seem averse to the idea. That's when the devil walked in. Didn't know him for the devil then - he was just another Alliance officer. But Colonel Elson Franklin was more than that. As I was about to personally find out, he was the worst kind of sadist and psychopath - the kind that passes for normal.
It turned out that the nameless girl was the Colonel's girlfriend. If only I had found the brains then, my life...my body would be much different now. But instead of walking away, I pulled out a series of what, back then, I considered to be very clever insults involving the Colonel's parentage, penis size, and tendencies towards bestiality. We scuffled some, technically over the girl, but really engaging in typical alpha male behavior. I got out of the fight with a few bruises and I apologized to the Colonel and the girlfriend. If I known what he was then, my walking away punishment free would have been sending off signals bright enough that the blind would be complaining. But I didn't know. And one week later, my life as I knew it came to an end.
Perhaps mercifully, I don't remember the fine details. Colonel Franklin kidnapped me off the street one night and kept me in a warehouse of some sort. I never did figure out whether it was military or something else. Over the next 3 days, he proceeded to torture me in every way possible. He had just taken offense to the fact that I existed and planned to rectify the matter. But he wanted to make it painful and long. He liked fire a lot. I don't know if he was a pyro, but most of my torture involved burning. Or knives. He liked getting in there close and personal. At the end of the third day, he made me swallow an hot implement and that was it for my voicebox. I passed out then.
When I woke up, it was dark and I had the feeling it was night, though I couldn't be sure. But I knew I had to escape. If he had taken away my ability to scream, it meant he was getting bored with me and would kill me soon. God, that heartless bastard that he is, also has a sense of humor. In my attempt to escape, I started a fire. My destruction and my saving grace. There will never be pain again like the feeling of getting burned alive. But the fire also helped free my bonds and allowed me to make a run for it. Delirious with the pain, I made my way out and I somehow summoned the strength to make my way to a Rim World ship, where I promptly passed out.
When I finally woke up, close to a week later, the ship was three quarters the way to Beylix and I was being taken care of by the ship's doctor. She had done her best, but with limited facilities, I don't blame her for the end result. At the time, all I could think of was "Why didn't I go to a hospital? They could've fixed me up!" But given the next events, probably best for my ability to continue breathing that I didn't. When I finally managed to get access to the Cortex, it turned out that Colonel Franklin had spun a story to cover my escape that involved my being a traitor and deserter. I didn't have a job. I didn't have a trust fund. I didn't have a voice. I didn't even have a normal looking appearance, freakishly burned as I was. What I did have was a determination to live and doctorin' ability.
I started hiring on as a doctor wherever I could get the work - good set of clothes covers most of the damage, but the face is still the face and I couldn't hide that and still be able to work. But the beauty of being a good doctor is that there ain't many of them outside the core worlds. People are willing to excuse the fact that you disgust them if you can patch up their crew or their workers...or themselves. I spent all the spare time that I would've previously used for talking with people and being social to start training myself how to handle gun and fist. I didn't ever want to be in a situation again where I didn't have at least a chance to defend myself. I found ways around not being able to talk. Sign language helped, although there ain't many who speak it. I made signs for the basic things and saved my credits to get myself a datapad to type messages on. Like the one I'm writing this on.
When the war started, I signed up with the Indeps. Donned the brown as a doctor and sometimes a courier and always a soldier. I had reasons plenty to hate the Alliance and the war gave me a sense of purpose that I hadn't had in a long time. Which is why I was devastated when it ended and I was on the losing side. I still wear the brown, even though it gets me into more trouble, sometimes with the Alliance for obvious reasons, but sometimes with Browncoats who don't like to think of a freak on their side. It was different when the bullets were flying. That ain't all people, but enough to notice.
Since then, I've been doing what I had to do to survive and nothing more. Ship to ship, job to job, usually never more than a few months at a time. I get hired on and the captain thinks he can tolerate me. After long stretches in the black, where all there is to do with me is stare at my ugly face (since can't be bothered to learn sign language), it doesn't take long before the captain decides he might be better off with a different doctor. Or none at all.
My last captain was different. Captain Skimil was a decent man who treated me with respect. He however, lacked in common sense and was stubborn when it came to some things, both of which were to cost him. He owned the Quicksilver, a light transport that lived up to its name. It was fast and the captain was damn proud about it. But then he took a job to get a package somewhere in a certain timeframe. He would've been able to do it too, except a part broke down in the engine. He had been flying without a good mechanic for weeks, doing the work himself, looking for someone to fill the spot. That breakdown in the engine (and common sense) cost him a week and the timeframe. This wouldn't have been so bad, if he hadn't been doing this job for Niska. Niska and Colonel Franklin would've gotten along great. Captain landed on Ezra, paid us in ship supplies (since he didn't have the credits to pay us direct until he got paid by Niska) and then went to explain to Niska what happened. We didn't see him again and the ship was taken by Niska.
I've spent the last couple of months on Ezra, looking for a job, not finding one, and burning through my credits. But things might be turning around. I got a message from a girl whose life I saved a while back. She had been set upon and she was wearing the brown, and I don't turn my back on anyone wearing a browncoat. I taught her to sign a few words while she was recovering. Seems she's gotten herself a ship and is looking for a doctor. Maybe this one'll be different. I have to be able to hope it is, or I might truly be lost.
Physical Appearance
Vann went through major skin graft and scar replacement surgery at the end of Season One. No longer unrecognizable as human, he is still scarred but is definitely able to pass among normal society now. He dresses in well cared for, neat clothes if not elegant. Tall and thin, he moves deliberately, his eyes scanning all parts of the room he's entering.
Psychological Profile
Vann has gone through the worst that life has to offer and has come out the other side - it has left him with an iron will - nothing disturbs him anymore and very little can shake him. Despite that, however, he has been somewhat lost since the end of the war. All the fighting was for nothing. And while he didn't expect it to make a difference, wearing the browncoat doesn't seem to have changed the reaction he gets from people - in fact, it occasionally has made it worse. He's looking for something to ground him and give his life some value but he doesn't know what that is.
Stories
Contacts
Damon Adams (Information Gathering): Vann met Damon after (during?) a brawl with an Alliance officer and assorted extras in a bar on Boros. Afterwards, Damon, who was no friend of the Alliance himself, offered his services to Vann if they were ever needed...and if Vann had some credits. After all, knowledge ain't cheap or easy. Damon specializes in knowing everything there is to know about Blue Sun - both the legal and not so legal sides. Along the way gathering that knowledge, he usually picks up a smattering of interesting tidbits about every other organization in the 'Verse, since Blue Sun has its greedy little fingers in every pie there is. Damon operates from his own ship ("Watcher") rather than a stable base, but he can be reached by sending a wave to his secure box on Dandelion Station. Damon was killed during the Dandelion Station Massacre.
Jack Kelby (Greedy Scumbag and Blade for Hire): Jack and Vann served together during the war. Jack hated Vann quite a bit - seems Vann's face offended him and the fact that Vann's face had to occupy a unit alongside him was even worse. Vann saved his life when Jack went rogue during a battle. Lane had been stealing supplies and robbing the dead and stashing them away in a cache. In one of his sneakaways to put things in the cache, he got shot in the chest by an Alliance scout. Vann killed the scout and performed emergency surgery to keep Jack alive. Vann forced Jack to return the supplies (quiet and sneaky, like they were taken) and in return, he didn't turn Lane into their commanding officer. Jack, who is wildly superstitious, believed that he owed Vann a life debt - a fact which he hated, because he hated Vann even more. Since then, Vann has, upon occasion, taken advantage of the debt owed to him. Jack is doing now what he was doing during the war - scavenging from the dead and is a good source for buying and selling odd items as well as acquiring both legal and illegal salvage equipment. When he doesn't have a scavenging operation, he hires himself out as a mercenary - he's quite good with both knives and swords. He has a building in the capital of Santo that he operates his "business" out of, when he's not scavenging with his ship ("Jack of all Blades").
Mysteria "Myst" Darlington (Registered Companion): Mysteria is one of 4 Registered Companions who own their own ship ("Delicate Wanderer") and travel throughout the border planets. Myst enjoys the Companion's life but also enjoys the travel - she gets antsy if she stays put for too long - a trait shared by the rest of her shipmates. Realizing they had similar needs, they bonded together and after a couple of years, saved up enough to buy a ship and spend their time taking clients on the border worlds. Vann met Myst (as is the case with most of the people Vann considers friends) while saving her life. On Persephone, Myst and a client (a member of the Persephone aristocracy) were in a hovercraft riding through the countryside when the engine first failed, then exploded, causing the craft to crash into a tree. Vann had been riding back on horseback (not a pleasant experience) from a nearby delivery that he and his then captain (Captain Lai Choi) had been making. The captain had no desire to get involved and told Vann so. Vann ignored her and went over. The captain rode into town without him, and Vann pulled Myst and her client out of the wreck and patched them up enough to put out of danger. At this point, the horse was long gone and Vann was left to wait. Myst woke up first and was greeted by the sight of Vann's face - she managed to not scream long enough to see his standard "I am not a Reaver" sign. When he pulled out his "I am mute" sign, she started signing with him, much to his surprise. Myst had a deaf client at one point and, of course, had learned sign language as a necessary part of the transaction. She communicated with her ship to come and get them and while they waited, they had a conversation. It turned out that they had things in common, despite their differing backgrounds and they got along well. They shared a calm and control as well as a perceptive nature. Vann, surprising even himself, shared his story with her, making one of the few people who knows how he got this way. Eventually the shuttle from the Wanderer arrived and took everyone to the city. Before parting ways, Myst gave Vann her contact info and asked him to contact her if he ever needed anything and Vann gave her his. Since then, they have been in contact a few times, almost all the times initiated by her, with her once needing some medical advice while she was away from any nearby medical assistance, but a couple times just to check in. For Vann's part, he has contacted her once to request a small favor (a piece of information) but he has generally tried to stay away from contacting her too much. He knows that he doesn't fit in her world, even if she's not on the core. Worse yet, he knows he is attracted to her and that can never be, so no point in deluding himself and making things more miserable for both of them than it has to be.
Character Sheet
ATTRIBUTES
Agility d8
Strength d4
Vitality d6
Alertness d10
Intelligence d10
Willpower d12
ASSETS
Duct-Tape Medicine d6: Vann not only has the formal training but tons of field experience and a very steady hand - all of which allow him to sometimes work miracles when you think it couldn't be done. Heroic Intelligence + Internal Medicine roll to convert 1/2 Wound damage to Stun with patients On The Mend.
Intimidatin' Manner d4: Vann's face may work against him most of the time, but when combined with his force of will, there ain't very many people who can stare him down. +2 Step Bonus to Willpower rolls involving intimidating, bullying, interrogating, etc.
Nose for Trouble d4: He's always on the alert - after all, the time he wasn't, he lost everything of value. +2 step to Intelligence or Alertness to sense trouble, even when conditions might not call for it.
Steady Calm d6: He had his face burned off and had his voicebox destroyed after 3 solid days of torture. What's there to be rattled about? Never rattled unless under *extreme* circumstances.
COMPLICATIONS
Branded d4: Vann is considered to be a deserter AND a traitor in most of Alliance space, thanks to the heroic testimony of Colonel Franklin. -2 step penalty to all social interactions when the story comes into play.
Dull Sense (Smell/Taste) d4: You seen his face? His taste buds ain't none too good either. Hot poker in the mouth'll do that to a person. -2 to all rolls involving either smell or taste.
Memorable d4: The scars left over from the surgery and the tattoo on the back of Vann's bald head makes him fairly remarkable and easy to remember.
Mute d6: Least you can't say he's not a good listener - after all, he never talks over you. Vann cannot use any verbal communication, as he cannot talk.
Prejudice - Alliance Officers d4: It ain't fair, but Vann treats all Alliance officers like the one who tortured him. Maybe 'cause he never got any revenge. Or maybe just 'cause it is easier. Will avoid interacting with Alliance officers and possibly will insult them if you can't avoid interaction. -2 step penalty to social interactions with Alliance Officers.
Loyalty - Nadie Ling d4: She's the daughter he never had and will likely never get to have. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her. Vann will do anything to protect Nadie, even if it means giving up his life.
SKILLS
- Athletics d6
- Covert d2
- Craft d6
- Gardening d8
- Discipline d6
- Concentration d8
- Intimidation d8
- Guns d6
- Heavy Weapons d4
- Knowledge d4
- Linguist d2
- Mechanical Engineering d2
- Medical Expertise d6
- Diagnosis d8
- Internal Medicine d12 + d2
- Surgery d12 + d2
- Melee Weapons d4
- Perception d6
- Sight d8
- Hearing d8
- Scientific Expertise d4
- Technical Engineering 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 | |
