OK -- finished my type up summary of the current options and votes! I like that both of the ladies have histories in military/spy services that would be determined later and might come back to haunt them
Please toss up your votes for your own character / new character / someone else's character!
Male OptionsDerrick Mendoza (3 Votes) -- Bodyguard and weapons expert who is intensely protective of the crew. He has been around enough times to have saved everyone's life at least once.
-- Tall and stocky, moves with steady grace. Blond, ear length hair chopped back from his strong jaw. Teeth are a mix of composite and real, as most have been lost to wounds of battles.
-- Naturally puts himself between danger and his friends, and it has resulted in scars and burns across most of his body.
-- Once an aspiring military officer, Mendoza struggled in the discipline department, too often he spoke his mind in anger. In the end, his career was ended when he pistol whipped a bridge officer into submission in a rage.
(+)Fiercely Loyal and willing to throw his life away should it mean a crew mate survives. Excellent under pressure.
(+)Proficiency with just about anything he uses weapon-wise. Prefers Pistols and Long Knives in close-quarters combat. Has no patience for longer range engagements, so he prefers to move quickly and close distance to close Assault Rifle range, where he is a surgeon.
(-)Highly prone to acting and speaking out of anger or emotion, which is what gets him into trouble. Knows it is a weakness, but it gets him every time.
(-)Poor Health. He has borne the brunt of his comrades' injuries, and has been pieced together more times than he could count. Much of his body are not original parts, and he has issues sleeping from the chronic pain his job has inflicted upon him
Argus "duct-tape' Rawlins (2 Votes) -- An excellent mechanic who can fix almost anything with basic materials and his superior knowledge. Often able to grok-and-use new equipment or machinery with only a few minutes.
-- Lives life with a very jolly demeanor and a twinkle in his eye
-- From the world of Mettsa Prime, and bears its incredibly thick accent, at times almost unintelligible (I will put subtitles in the comic if needed
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-- Stocky, heavy set, huge shoulders and hands like hams. Under his mechanics garb, he is hirsute.
(+)Argus is a thesaurus of profanities and hilarious jokes from all over the Quadrant. Whether its the joke itself or his unintelligible but musical accent, he is always entertaining the crew.
(-)Very friendly, excitable and liberally physical. He tends to give heartily pats (whacks?) on the shoulder, and enthusiastically shake hands with his hams
(-)Can be hard to understand, especially in height of tension. Leading to the common, "Oh yeah, sounds good Argus" response, in which the team mate leans to Zippo and asks for translation. Zippo is the only one who can seem to understand him always.
Female OptionsOrchid (3 Votes)Ex-spy with an addiction to high stakes adrenaline, blades, and gambling
-- Ex-spy who was previously employed by an undisclosed intelligence service where she gained years of professional training. For her own reasons, she left her real name behind years ago and sticks to her handle "Orchid" only.
-- Years in intelligence gathering has made her a skilled sleuth, interrogator, tracker and trained in disguise. She can both blend into the crowd when needed or play up her beauty.
-- A dangerous woman with blades and all sorts of concealed guns. She is a master of personal combat and ruthless to match.
(-)Adrenaline junkie...life is all about the next thrill and that blends into her gambling habits. Leads her to irresponsible behavior at times. In Orchid's eye, why rely on files in a database when a personal reconnaissance through some wealthy merchant's mansion is so much more interesting??
(-)Always looking for games of chance or a wager to place.
(-)While she is smart and very good at calculating the odds she tends to push her luck to the limit and sometimes beyond, hence her new life amongst the stars as part of the crew.
(-)The exact nature of her departure from the intelligence service will be determined later in story.
Julia Aurelius (2 Votes) -- Ship's gunner with military training from the best -- Cadar ... before she was dishonorably discharged.
-- Tall and of lean build, and stronger than she looks. She keeps her hair pulled back high and tight and usually wears a scowl. Except when she is at the controls of weapon system, then its a grin.
(+)Served in the Cadar Navy, as a gunner, so she is intimately familiar with starship weapon systems, and in a pinch can assist somewhat competently with repairs and is no slouch with personal firearms
(+)Still has some military connections, so she might be able to help get access to armaments or armor repairs for the ship
(+)Dislikes Steel Song, but after her discharge from the Cadar Navy, she had to get far enough away ... and look where she's ended up! Gets tense and salty whenever near Cadar
(-)Still acts like she is in the Navy. The others know to expect no nonsense most of the time. Even though she is on even footing with the others, Julia takes to barking out orders during combat, assuming the others will listen or understand.
(-)When on shore leave, she has a habit of getting too far into her spice beer cups, too often leading to spice hall brawls
(-)Gets extremely angry if anyone mentions her discharge from the navy (her exact reason for discharge will be determined in story at a later date)