Post by Jazen on Aug 16, 2009 23:36:48 GMT -5
Name: Shine Albartos
Race: Human
Age: 27
Height: 5'8 ft
Weight: 193 lbs
Birth place: Corellia
Appearance: Shine keeps his hair length to just above the neck line. His hair is dark brown, though he has been known to dye it black from time to time. His eyes are bright gold and are cat-like in their appearance from eye surgery he had to undertake as a child to give him implanted contacts. He wears a pendant around his neck with the symbol of a Corellian pilot, which has sentimental value to him. A tattoo of the number 13 is burned into his chest, a tribute to a pilot he flew alongside. His basic clothes are a black trench coat with a black shirt underneath. Under the shirt he wears a basic combat vest in case situations get hairy. His basic kit for hunting contains a modified version of his trench coat(smaller and more tightly wrapped around his body), a stronger combat vest, knives, a digital display(covers his left eye), tool kit and his custom blaster. The blaster rests on his right hip for easy access.
Shine's battle eyes
Shine's eyes normally
Lighter Gear
Serious Shine is Serious
Personality: Shine is a hard man to anger, taking a positive outlook to any situation. Since remaining calm is almost a necessity in his profession, he's drilled himself to keep his cool, although this took several years to achieve. On occasion, Shine can get angry; the most notable reasons being someone of importance to him being killed, or getting screwed out of a job. Aside from that, Shine is usually in a good mood. He is also known for being sarcastic and taunting when he feels the situation calls for it.
Profession: Smuggler(Part-Time Bounty Hunter)
Former Profession(s): Corellian Pilot, Pilot for Hire
Skills: Shine is fairly well versed in several forms of close range combat. He also has a fair amount of technical skill and a great deal of knowledge about ships. Having been raised on Corellia, his flying abilities are well tendered as well.
Shine's blaster
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 5
Leadership: 3
Unarmed: 6
Melee Weapons: 2
Ranged Weapons: 5
Alignment: 0
Ship Name: Black Cat
Bio: Birth to Age 13
Shine was the third child to be born to Knell and Dahlia in the year 3627 BBY, on the planet of Corellia. He was born in Coronet, the largest city in the planet. Shine's father, Knell, was a respected commander in CorSec; his mother was once one as well, but retired to raise her ever-growing family. Shine's sibling's, Killie and Asto, were born twins five years prior to him. Despite having three children, his parents were financially able to take care of all three of them and still not be in danger of money problems. Shine's life was set to be easy and rewarding. He was born with weaker eyesight than most, although it was said that it wouldn't get any worse. But fate can be cruel and it would be quite cruel to Shine's life.
As a small infant, Shine was much more behaved than his siblings had been. He almost never cried, only when he required attention for food, changing or for various other things babies need. He was also quite the explorer, crawling all over the house whenever his parents weren't looking at him. Often, he managed to crawl out the open door his siblings left open, so foray's into the yard were something he did a lot. His grandparents once said that he was much like his father when he was younger, as Knell did similar things as a child. His father hoped this meant that Shine would continue to take after him and follow in the family's tradition of all the men being member's in law enforcement.
As he continued into his infant years, Shine learned the basics all children learned, like walking and speaking. He liked to be around his father whenever he was home, the rest of his time was spent playing with his toys and looking at picture books of different planets. By the young age of six, he was already snooping into his parents belonging's, finding his mother's old uniform. When Dahlia found out later, she scolded her son for going into things that didn't belong to him. Apologizing, he asked her why she had the same kind of uniform as his father. Telling him she used to work in the same place as him, Shine asked if they got to beat up and catch the bad guys like he saw on the holo-projector. Patting her son on the head, she told him it was much like that. His curiosity didn't stop there, as he wanted to know more about being an officer. Knowing she couldn't tell him the darker parts of being a cop, she instead told him stories every night about the good aspects. She choose stories of heroism and courage, the kind of stories a child wanted to hear. She would wait till he got older to tell him the real and dark aspects that also came with being a cop.
A brief scare hit when Shine was seven in the form of his eyesight growing worse. Worse than they had predicted. Although neither of his parents had poor eyesight(his father did wear glasses for reading but was able to see clearly otherwise), Shine's eyes had slowly faded over the years. The doctors predicted that unless they performed surgery as soon as possible, the likelyhood that Shine's eyes would eventually fail before he hit the peek of his life. The chance that his eyes would be further damaged or that they would be unable to repair them was there, but ultimately they would fail otherwise. They had only something to gain if they went with it. Well, Knell and Dahila wouldn't have their child being robbed of the beauty of sight; the surgery was expensive but they would have paid three times the amount for any of their children to have a normal life. At this point they still thought he would follow in their footsteps as a cop, and no cop was good without his eyes. About a week after agreeing to the surgery, Shine was brought in. His face said that he was undeterred by what his parents had explained to him, but inside, he was scared. Scared that it would fail, scared that he would go blind. It was only a procedure to implant contacts in his eyes permanently, but being a child, those kind of things would be scary. When they asked him what he wanted the contacts to look like, Shine's mind drifted back to his mother stories. With probably the surest smile on his face, Shine asked if he could have "the kitty eyes to scare away all the bad men." And that's what he got.
Shine's interest in being a cop grew as he got older, but it was being rivaled by another interest: being a pilot. Shine had seen many books about people flying in space, visiting different worlds and meeting different races. The idea of traveling through the stars made Shine's eyes glow every time he thought of it. As he reached the age of eight, his father Knell was already teaching him about the basics of law enforcement. These lessons were usually about the kind of gear a cop had, the duties they had to their fellow man, basic training drills. Knell also began giving him physical training, small things like push-ups, sit-ups and jogging at first, then more complex training as he grew older. And at Shine's request, he started teaching him how to drive a vehicle. He didn't let him actually drive it yet, but he showed him how it worked, giving him a monthly test on the basics of driving/flying and how to use them. His mother played her part as well, teaching him proper etiquette and how to treat a commanding officer. His siblings helped with both kind of lessons, as they too planned to head into law enforcement when they were old enough.
Shine's brother and sister soon left to attend a school for future CorSec members. As his father had to spend more time at work due to increasing crime, Shine continued his lessons under his mother's watchful eye. His mother even showed him how a blaster worked, although she didn't let him actually use it. It was because of this that both he and his mother made it through a shocking event. One night, while Shine was reading a book about starships his father had bought him, a pair of crooks broke into his home. Hearing the noise, Shine carefully moved to the door of his room and glanced out. The one man was holding his mother at gunpoint while the other smashed through anything he could, looking for valuables. Creeping into his mother's room, Shine noticed the blaster his mother had been showing him. Grabbing it, he crawled back over to the door. Poking his head out again, he came face to face with one of the men. Smashing the door aside, the man advanced in Shine. Reacting on pure instinct, Shine fired the blaster at the man, catching him in the knee. Taken off guard by the boy, the man dropped to the ground in pain. His partner tried to see what had afflicted his comrade, a mistake Dahlia took advantage of. Years of training kicked in and with a single strike, she winded the man and flipped him over her shoulder, relieving him of his weapon as he tried to get back up. The man Shine had shot rose his own weapon to her and was about to fire when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, dropping to the ground out cold. Shine stood there, blaster held in his shaking hands like a rock. Knocking out the man at her feet, Dahlia ran to her son. She took the blaster from him and, after confirming he was okay, held him close to her. They stayed like that until CorSec officers arrived, including his father. As Knell questioned what had happened, Shine grabbed his father and attached to his leg. Deciding to wait until morning for the questioning, Knell and Dahlia put Shine to bed, both of them watching over him while he slept.
The next day, Shine re-told what he remembered of the night before. Having slept and had time to process what happened, Shine told his father that everything was a blur to him when that man came at him. He didn't even remember hitting the man again: when his senses came back to him, the man was already on the ground. On the verge of tears, Shine took a deep breath, then looked his father right in the eyes. This was the hardest thing he ever had to do, but after the events of last night, Shine's choice for his future had been chosen. He asked that he be part of Corellian Fleet instead of a law enforcement officer, using the reason that then he would be able to catch those that tried to flee the planet or stop bad people from coming near his home again. Knell was taken back at first by this, but quickly his shock faded. Hugging his son, Knell told him that if that was what Shine wanted to be, he would put all his effort into helping him get there. Dahlia was more relived that her son was not deeply affected by the events of the night before, which could have made him turn down a darker path.
For the next few years, Knell taught Shine what he knew about being a pilot. He still continued teaching him about law enforcement, but most days were focused on training him to become a pilot. He started with teaching him more about driving the vehicle they owned. While not as complex as a fighter or ship, the concept was similar and he would have to know how to drive before they even let him near a ship. Knell also brought Shine with him to places where they could fly a ship for lessons. Of course, Knell flew but Shine payed attention to the instruction, writing down the information for a later date. By the time he reached the age of thirteen, he'd been on many trips into the air with his father. Despite this, he'd never actually flown. A surprise, however, was awaiting him the day before he was to be sent to the Academy. Shine went with his father to the piloting lessons again, like they had been doing for years. This time, however, Knell let Shine take the controls, promising he'd take over if something went wrong. Taking all he had learned in the lessons, Shine flew the ship quite well, despite several hiccups here and there. His biggest problem was during landing, in which Knell had to take over. Telling his son that he would get the hang of landing soon enough, he congratulated him for flying so well on his first try. Taking him home, the family all wished him the best of luck at the Academy, giving him a small party for being accepted. The next day, Shine was off, entering the next phase of his life.
Academy Life
Life at the Academy wasn't easy, but Shine never thought it would be. From day one, they drilled him and the other students in flight procedures, command protocols and many others items. All of these were associated with either commanding a ship or flying one. In Shine's first year, all the knowledge he had gained in preparation seemed for naught; everything his parents had taught him wasn't covered at all. He learned from another student that the stuff he had learned was an old procedure - they had recently changed a good portion of those protocols. Caught off guard, Shine wondered for a moment if he would be able to handle this Academy. Shaking it off, he re-focused himself. If the rules had changed, then he would just have to learn them all over again. He had chosen this route and he would not let his parents down.
Devoting himself to his studies, Shine slowly began ascending the ranks of his class. He soon came to realize that while they had changed to protocols, they remained similar in most ways, merely altered to fit a more defined area. With each test he took, his intelligence showed more and more, his grades continually on the rise. Even though he focused on his studies, a social life was not stripped from him. He quickly made friends and enemies, both of which only helped to bring along his skills. His favorite time was when they got to use the flight simulator. The simulator granted Shine the chance to use many different types of Corellian designed ships. The sims were usually combat simulations, but they also included races and trade runs. The only area where Shine did not excel in was leadership. Shine could follow orders, but he could not give them. His scores showed he was not meant to command a ship, but to fly as an escort or fighter craft. This didn't discourage Shine, since his aim for now was to just fly in the skies.
As Shine's years passed in the Academy, the classes and exams became much more complex. There was a daily training regiment to keep the trainees bodies in shape. Complex flight patterns and battle strategies were another area of development. Military applications and training also slipped into daily learning, but that was to expected at some point. Whenever he wasn't studying or training, his time was spent with his friends in the simulators. They had a contest going to see who would crack a record first, although none of them managed to beat the top one. One skill that Shine seemed to develop during these years was his ability to look at ship schematics and memorize them. From what it's engine was to the kind of parts needed for a specific ship, he remembered all of it. It was like the schematics were downloaded into his brain via his eyes. Because of this, he always aced the ship area of his tests. As Shine came upon the age of eighteen, the school tested all of the trainees who had certain scores with a final test. They had to fly an actual ship and hit as many of the targets as they could within a certain time period. Shine was the eighth to go and swallowing the nervousness in his gut, he got into the craft and took to the sky. The ship was a little shaky as he got off the ground, but Shine managed to balance it out right away. As he shot towards the targets, they began firing on him. Evading the fire, he blasted the targets with the ships weapons: modified to fire ion blasts. Two of the targets froze from the shots and Shine continued on. As he moved onto the next group, one of the shots from the targets grazed the panels of his wing. The ship lurched, causing Shine to pull away. Shocked by the fact that the targets were firing live shots, Shine shook it off, focusing on the task at hand. Completing the test, Shine landed the craft perfectly and got out. He had nailed at least 2/3's of the targets, that he was sure of. Looking to the instructor's, Shine kept the question about the live targets to himself for now.
As others continued the test, Shine and a group of others students who had already taken the test were told to report to the headmaster's room. Confused, they headed straight there, where they were told to wait. After about an hour, another group of students entered and were also seated. The headmaster soon followed and after sitting in his chair, announced that they had all passed the final test and would graduate this year. And before a slue of questions could barrage him, he started to explain the reason behind the final test. Yes indeed, the targets had gone live and started shooting at them during the test. It had been intentional. The targets were powered down and a direct hit would only have frozen the controls for a short time. Before the craft would hit the ground, an automatic pilot system would kick in and take them back to the starting point. The point behind the exercise was to experience real combat, not simulated, granting them all much needed experience. Those that passed were not the ones who hit the most targets, but those who dodged the blasts thinking they were actual shots, like any person should do. The one's who had failed were failed because they made unneeded maneuvers, tried to show off or didn't even try to evade incoming fire. Sighing, he suddenly smiled and told them all to stand at attention. Congratulating them, he told them to see his attendant on the way out for their licenses and assignments. Shine, along with the others, saluted and thanked him before leaving. Clutching the license tightly as he left, Shine's happiness would not be dimmed. He had made it.
On the Dawn
Shine barely had time to return home to report the good news. His assignment was on a warship up in the Corellian Defense Fleet and was slated to begin three days after his graduation. Still, he had enough time to visit and celebrate, which carried on for two days. His brother and sister were actually at home for once, having been accepted long ago into the CorSec division his father was in. Friends and family alike congratulated him, saying that even though he didn't become a cop like they all, he had made them all very proud. The only one who didn't like his acceptance was his grandfather, who was a man who believed wholeheartedly in tradition. Still, he congratulated him on accomplishing his task and that if he ever failed, he could still have a career as a cop. A little disappointed in how he phrased it, Shine accepted his grandfather's way of saying congrats.
On the third day, Shine said goodbye to his family before boarding a transport to the ship he was stationed on. Before he left, his father gave him a special gift: a custom blaster his father had built years before. He said he'd made the weapon out of the hardest material he could, so that it could be used as a melee weapon as well as a blaster. Thanking his father for the gift, he carefully put it away in his stuff and headed off. Upon arriving on the frigate Spider's Dawn, Shine was immediately directed to his quarters, which was near the ship's engineering section. The ship itself wasn't in great shape, one of the older models of Corellian ships. Still, she still worked and her captain was one of the best. The ship's armaments weren't too bad either, sprouting several heavy laser cannons, a heavy gunner turret and a large payload of missiles. The ship could hold a full squadron of thirteen fighters, which were all older style craft as well. Despite this, Shine would learn to call this place home and in the short time he was on it, he would learn a great many things.
Most of his time on the ship was spent helping keep it functional, as system and mechanical repairs were constantly needed. Shine was able to learn much from the ship's chief engineer, Wan Ghelo, who had spent most of his life on the Dawn. He taught Shine things they didn't show him in the Academy, like how to hear when the ship is hurting or to treat the ship like a person. Wan promised that if you mastered these, you'd find a ship that would never let you down, no matter how bad it got. Along with this knowledge, Wan showed Shine other ways to repair a ship and how to improvise when you didn't have what you needed.
When he wasn't doing repairs, Shine was using the ship's fighter craft on standard patrols and flight tests. The fighter's were a bit lacking in shields, but made up for it in speed and powerful blaster cannons which could tear an unshielded craft apart in seconds. One day, while heading back with another wingman from patrol, an unknown craft entered the system and started making a beeline for the planet. Since part of his job included checking all incoming craft, Shine moved in to investigate, only the receive a shower of blaster fire from the craft. His training kicking in, Shine just managed to get out of the way of the incoming fire. His wingman wasn't as quick and in brilliant burst of flame, the ship exploded. Marking the target as hostile and sending a transmission to the Dawn about the situation, he activated his weapons and descended on the craft. The craft continued its barrage, which Shine had to evade by a hair to keep on the craft's tail. Seeing that the ship only had a turret on top, Shine dove below it. The ship responded, turning on its side so that the turret could continue firing on him. His mind a flurry of ideas, one stood out amongst the others. Firing at the craft, he moved to the side where he could see missile pods protruding. As he expected, the craft fired one at him, its fiery trail showing the path it took as it sailed towards him. Gripping the controls tightly, he waited til the missile was almost on him, then fired with the blasters. As the missile exploded for the fire, Shine pulled hard on the stick, sending his craft shooting straight up. The dust from the missile covered his ascent, which was also assisted by a piece of debris that had floated in system. Luck was on his side. The craft, thinking he had been destroyed, streamed for the planet. Suddenly, blaster fire from above the craft knocked it off balance, its shields failing. Shine came down upon the craft from straight above it, its blaster cannons blazing to life. The ship's turret turned to fire on him and it was at that moment that the ship's shields failed. The blaster's tore a hole through the craft, taking out the turret and detonating the remaining missiles. The ship blew apart and its remains fell into the atmosphere, burning up upon entry.
Sighing relief, Shine turned and headed back to the Dawn. Upon arriving, he was met by the crew of the hangar, who burst into cheer. The crew patted him on the back, and many of his fellow pilots congratulated him on the insane tactic he had pulled to take out the ship. Confused, Shine asked why they were so happy about him taking down one ship. One of the pilots, Riggs was his name, told him that the ship he had just taken out belonged to a pair of criminals that were wanted on multiple planets, including Corellia. They were part of a rising gang syndicate that was spreading out to different planets. The loss of those two would hurt the gang and would hopefully give law enforcement a chance to do some damage of their own. He also told him that as of late, everyone had been down, so this was a good enough reason as any to celebrate. Shocked, Shine simply let the news set in, then joined his fellow men in celebrating. Although the crew of the hangar were the only ones trying to celebrate, it soon spread to all ends of the ship, everyone feeling more cheerful as they went about their duties. During the celebration the captain requested to see him. Following the captain to his quarters, Shine stood at attention as the captain looked him over. The captain got up, walked over and shook Shine's hand. He gave his own congrats, but then told him to take a seat. He told Shine that while he had done a great deed, there were two items that needed to be addressed. The first was the risky move he had taken to take down the craft. If he had been a second late in pulling up, or if debris from the missile had damaged his craft, he could be out there in pieces instead of the gang members. The other was the loss of his wingman. True, they hadn't expected the craft to open fire, but they should have maintained a safe distance from the craft instead of approaching it. The loss of a comrade was something that he should remember for the rest of his days. He promised if Shine took that risk again or made a mistake that cost a comrade his life again, he would personally send him back to the Academy. Taking the captain's words to heart, Shine thanked him for his discipline, then went back to the party. Before they could continue, he asked for a moment of silence for the comrade they had lost. Later that day, he had the number thirteen tattooed onto his chest, to do what the captain had said about remembering a lost comrade.
The day of disaster
About a year into his assignment on the Dawn, a fateful encounter would close the door on one part of Shine's life and open another. Shine woke up like he did everyday and went about the daily routine he had become accustomed to. The ship was moving to check out a distress call that was a few parasecs away from Corellia's moon, but no one expected anything of it. But while he was making adjustments to his fighter with Wan, the ship's alarm suddenly went off. An announcement was broadcasted across the ship, telling all fighter's to deploy immediately. As the announcement finished, the whole ship shook from an outside source. Rushing to the pilot's room, Shine moved fast to get his pilot's suit on. Several of his fellow pilot's had already launched and by the time Shine had his suit on, he was the last ship to deploy.
What Shine launched into was pure chaos. Several small craft of varying designs were dog fighting with his fellow fighters while a larger cruiser sized craft fired barrage after barrage at the Dawn. Whoever these guys were, they were far from friendly. What's worse was that they had sent the distress call on all channels. Luckily, it had been them who had gotten there first but it could have easily have been some innocent transport craft. Pushing his engines to full, Shine weaved through the fighters with well honed accuracy and shot for the cruiser. The Dawn was tough, but that ship had the advantage in size and firepower. The Dawn would fall before it did. Two of his fellow wingmen broke free from the enemy craft and followed him in. Almost immediately, they came under heavy fire from the cruiser's anti-fighter turrets. Using every ounce of his willpower and skill, Shine barely managed to keep from suffering a direct hit. As he closed in, an order came over his comm, telling all fighters to engage the enemies and to leave the cruiser to the Dawn. Cursing, Shine dove out just a a turret shot the space he had previously occupied. Pulling back to regroup, he shot off into the fray again, this time joining his comrades in engaging the fighters. Under the combined might of the whole squadron, the small group of enemy fighters were quickly overwhelmed. As the last one burst into flames, Shine and his fellow fighters prepared to engage to enemy cruiser once again. The cruiser, seeing the fact that it had lost its fighter protection, started to flee.
As the Dawn commanded all fighter's to return, Shine shot off straight for the cruiser. He wasn't going to let them run away licking their wounds. They could pull the same trick and innocents could be dragged into it instead. Switching off the comm, Shine noticed two of his fellow wingmen keeping pace with him. Nodding to them, the three fighters descended on the craft, blasters opening up in earnest. The cruiser's weapons turned to greet them, a barrage of heavy green light. Breaking apart to make themselves harder targets, Shine noticed the back end of the cruiser was deploying something. Bringing his craft around to get a better look, he saw something that made his blood go cold. A large cannon was deploying from the ship's rear. That was the reason it had turned to flee. No, not flee. To use its trump card. Switching his comm back on, he signaled to the Dawn to evade while he dove to intercept. His two allies followed, having noticed the cannon as well. Firing everything they had at the cannon, the three ships waited till the last second to veer off. One of them was caught in the explosion that resulted from the cannon being destroyed, his craft engulfed by the flames. Breaking off from the ship, the were about to move in to disable it engines when a bright light temporary blinded them. As it subsided, they turned to see the Dawn breaking apart. The bridge and main living quarters of the craft had been completely destroyed and the fighter dock was torn open, equipment and person alike drifting from it into the darkness of space. So distracted had Shine and his allies had been with the cruiser made them overlook a fighter that had survived, which had rammed into the bridge in a suicide run. Distraught by this, Shine broke into an angry roar, sending his fighter screaming for the enemy cruiser. His cannons fired nonstop, tearing into the already weakened cruiser with each blast. The words of his ally fell on deaf ears as Shine tore a hole in the ship big enough for his craft to pass through. Sweating, Shine came to his senses and could only look back at the sparking Dawn. With a remorseful cry, he slammed his fists into his dashboard, realizing his arrogance had cost so many people their lives.
Shine was brought before a series of commander's and judges to face trial for his actions. The ship that had attacked him belonged to a group of pirates operating in the area lately and had been packed with illegal weapons and drugs. It was a great catch. However, Shine had disobeyed orders and as a result, the Dawn had been lost with 70% casualties. His friend Wan had lost his legs while trying to keep the ship afloat and aside from the pilot that was with him, all the other fighter's had been lost. The command crew and the medical staff were also lost, along with a large portion of the ship's engineering personal. After hearing his reason for engaging the enemy craft, the judges and commanders spoke amongst themselves for an hour before deciding upon a decision. Shine was to be discharged at once from the military and he would be forbidden to fly a craft so long as he remained on Corellia. Shine said nothing to this judgment, his mind lost in the memories of those above the Dawn. The next day, Shine loaded all of the belonging's he could into a small one man craft and left his home behind. He felt he had let those who had died down and he couldn't remain on Corellia....the guilt was too much. He would return one day, but that was years in the future.
The route of a Smuggler
In the year's that followed Shine's self-imposed exile, he took on several different profession's in order to get food and money. At first, he became a pilot for hire, someone who would fly for anyone for the right price. Of course, his only reason for this was so that he could continue flying. From escort flights to transporting others to different locations, Shine rarely turned down a job. As time passed, however, Shine found that these jobs didn't pay enough to sustain him for long. Also, he often had to borrow a ship for these tasks, as his own was only able to handle about half of them.
Shine decided then that he needed a new kind of profession, one that would bring in a larger payday. This lead him to the trade of smuggling. Of course, in the trade of smuggling, one must have their own ship. In order to acquire said ship, Shine flew to the shipyard world of Kuat. Kuat's shipbuilding capabilities equaled that of Corellia, a prime location to look for a vessel of his own. Upon arriving, Shine sold the ship he had spent the better part of a year living in to get the little extra money he needed. Taking all the money he had accumulated, he ventured into the shipyards. He eyed many ships of different designs and sizes but they either were too expensive or did not catch his fancy. And that's when he found it. It was an older model ship and it was in disrepair, but it was like it called to him. Approaching the man who was sitting next to it, he asked how much. The man, obviously never expecting someone to want the ship, stuttered in excitement as he started describing the ship. After a full explanation of the ship, Shine said he'd take it and payed the man about half of the money he brought. He offered to give him more but the man said he'd need it to get the ship operational again. He was just happy to see someone buy the ship he'd spent years building.
With a ship of his own, Shine quickly started buying parts for and modifying the craft. The ship needed parts for its engines, the life support systems and its navigation systems. It also lacked firepower, boasting only a single Dymek heavy dual laser cannon turret for defense. But that would come second as the key to a good smuggling ship was its speed and how much it could carry. Using what he had left, he modified the the inside the craft as well, installing secret panels and compartments to hide the goods he would smuggle. At this point, Shine's money was almost gone. Storing the rest, he boarded his new ship, which he had named the Black Cat. Getting familiar with his new surrounding, Shine shot off into the skies, ready to begin his new life as a smuggler. Oddly enough, the day Shine left Kuat was the same day as his 21st birthday.
Shine spent the next three years of his life as a smuggler, gaining rep little by little. His first run had been close to a failure, only quick thinking and a smooth tongue allowed him to finish the job. After that, he took smaller jobs till he got use to the basics of smuggling, after which he began taking larger tasks. With each trip he successfully completed, he grew more confident with the choice of becoming a smuggler. The money he earned from his runs was used to further modify the Black Cat, better equipping its engines, weapons and cargo hold. After a run where one of his engines was blown off, Shine added fore and rear shielding to the Cat for added protection. Shine constantly made little adjustments to the ship, using what he had learned from school and from Wan to slowly boost his ship's power. Most of the ship's functions were routed through the cockpit's computers, giving him access to them even while he was flying the ship.
Some of his more memorable runs were to Kashyyyk and Dantooine. On his trip to Kashyvyk, Shine was to pick up a collection of wookie pelts and return them to the buyer back on Coruscant. Upon arriving, Shine was able to make the pickup, only to come under attack by a rouge faction of Wookiees. Shine had only heard stories of the massive natives but hearing and seeing are two different things. The wookiees tore the pelt traders and their assigned bodyguards to pieces with their bowcasters and inhuman strength. Shine himself took a swipe to the arm while making a run for his ship, holding off the wookiees with a combination of sharp shots to their knees and flash grenades. To make matters worse, a band of pirates attacked his ship as he tried to leave the system. Despite managing to get past the pirates, most of the money for the job was spent repairing the damage the pirates had done. The trip to Dantooine was just as hazardous, as he ran into a bounty hunter who tried to capture Shine for the bounty a past client had put on his head. After a firefight across a large of Dantooine's surface, Shine managed to evade the hunter with his load and hightailed it out of the system.
Bounty Hunter Shine
As Shine approached his 25th birthday, he started doing another kind of profession on the side. That profession was bounty hunting. His encounter with the one on Dantooine had left a lasting impression, enough of one to lead him to try it out. Of course, he only went after bounties in the system he was heading to or were in his immediate vicinity. Of course, he never took a bounty while he was performing his smuggling duties; it was during the breaks in between that he performed them. Soon enough, Shine was finding that bounty hunting was as difficult and fulfilling as smuggling was.
Deciding he would aim to become a fully fledged bounty hunter, Shine continued his smuggling acts to fund this task. The Black Cat was decently equipped to handle the task and by modifying one of the rooms to a holding cell, it became better suited for the job. All the extra compartments he left intact and he added a mine dropper near the engine area. He sealed those areas off in order to prevent the wrong person from finding them. At this point, Shine is still a smuggler, his days as a bounty hunter slowly approaching.
RP Sample:
Why could things never go smoothly? Just once, Shine wished he could do a job without something or other going wrong. Running at full speed, Shine barely managed to keep ahead of the pirates behind him, the sound of their combat boots pounding the dirt as they ran. Blaster bolts ripped by him, pelting the dirt around him as he ran. Diving behind a log, Shine rolled to a knelling position and spun around. He drew his blaster and with a quick tug, let a bolt off. One of his pursuers took the bolt straight to the chest and with a grunt, collapsed to the the ground.
Letting off another couple of shots to make his pursuers duck their heads, Shine took off again, his golden eyes looking at only one thing. His ship. Pulling a small controller out of his pocket, Shine hit a series of buttons before hitting a larger one located near the top of the controller. In the distance, the Black Cat sprung to life, its lights and engines warming. Grinning, Shine primed a thermal detonator and flung it back into the trees at the pirates, diving for cover behind a large rock. An explosion soon followed, along with a set of high-pitched screams. Bursting for his hiding spot, Shine made the final sprint for his ship, slamming the door controls as he ran up the loading ramp.
Dropping his gear, he quickly advanced to the cockpit and took his seat in the pilot's chair. Flicking a series of switches, he activated the bottom laser turret, swinging it around to the pirates who were now emerging from the forest. As his ship started to rise, the turret fired into them. The blasts and the resulting explosions thinned their numbers quickly, the survivors retreating to the safety of the woods. Breathing a sigh of relief, Shine pulled the ship up and shot off into the sky, heading for high atmo. Having a moment now to catch his breath, Shine slumped in his seat, taking deep breaths to replenish his oxygen supply. Just another day on the job for a smuggler. Another close to death encounter day, but another day none the less. Setting in the coordinates for Coruscant, Shine activated the hyper-drive and the Cat disappeared into the darkness of space.
_______________________________________________
Model #: 15
Special Ability: Aquatic Expertise - after analyzing a major shortcoming in the previous two models--the AERs and the REAs--and the recent crisis on Mon Calamari (a crucial benefactor to our cause), 15 has been inversely designed for just these aquatic operations. This model possesses a slightly more streamlined build, can withstand incredible pressure, and has several additional features including sonar, a micro aquajet at the base of each leg, and a hydrolysis oxygen generator (caution: releases hydrogen gas as a byproduct).
Assigned Name: "Vistal"
Role: Underwater Operations
Arheim's notes: Obviously created to fit an aquatic species or character that spends large amount of time in/nearby water. Note that this model is just as effective on land as the base design, but truly shines in an aquatic environment. Also, be sure to use caution if you activate the shock node defense system while 15 is underwater. I hope I don't have to explain why.
Personality: Observations of FIDES unit 15's psychedevelopmentality (<---now a word) suggest possibly the least orthodox yet to arise. 15 commonly expresses traits of curiosity, shyness, and micro-compassion--a trait inflicting a level of extreme caution nearly to the level of paranoia. It should be noted, however, that this paranoia does not often apply to sentient beings and even more rarely to himself. Often described as aloof, naive, or awkward, it is a level of innocence that more directly gives these impressions. Personification of inanimate objects unconfirmed.
Appearance and Color Scheme:
Race: Human
Age: 27
Height: 5'8 ft
Weight: 193 lbs
Birth place: Corellia
Appearance: Shine keeps his hair length to just above the neck line. His hair is dark brown, though he has been known to dye it black from time to time. His eyes are bright gold and are cat-like in their appearance from eye surgery he had to undertake as a child to give him implanted contacts. He wears a pendant around his neck with the symbol of a Corellian pilot, which has sentimental value to him. A tattoo of the number 13 is burned into his chest, a tribute to a pilot he flew alongside. His basic clothes are a black trench coat with a black shirt underneath. Under the shirt he wears a basic combat vest in case situations get hairy. His basic kit for hunting contains a modified version of his trench coat(smaller and more tightly wrapped around his body), a stronger combat vest, knives, a digital display(covers his left eye), tool kit and his custom blaster. The blaster rests on his right hip for easy access.
Shine's battle eyes
Shine's eyes normally
Lighter Gear
Serious Shine is Serious
Personality: Shine is a hard man to anger, taking a positive outlook to any situation. Since remaining calm is almost a necessity in his profession, he's drilled himself to keep his cool, although this took several years to achieve. On occasion, Shine can get angry; the most notable reasons being someone of importance to him being killed, or getting screwed out of a job. Aside from that, Shine is usually in a good mood. He is also known for being sarcastic and taunting when he feels the situation calls for it.
Profession: Smuggler(Part-Time Bounty Hunter)
Former Profession(s): Corellian Pilot, Pilot for Hire
Skills: Shine is fairly well versed in several forms of close range combat. He also has a fair amount of technical skill and a great deal of knowledge about ships. Having been raised on Corellia, his flying abilities are well tendered as well.
Shine's blaster
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 5
Leadership: 3
Unarmed: 6
Melee Weapons: 2
Ranged Weapons: 5
Alignment: 0
Ship Name: Black Cat
Bio: Birth to Age 13
Shine was the third child to be born to Knell and Dahlia in the year 3627 BBY, on the planet of Corellia. He was born in Coronet, the largest city in the planet. Shine's father, Knell, was a respected commander in CorSec; his mother was once one as well, but retired to raise her ever-growing family. Shine's sibling's, Killie and Asto, were born twins five years prior to him. Despite having three children, his parents were financially able to take care of all three of them and still not be in danger of money problems. Shine's life was set to be easy and rewarding. He was born with weaker eyesight than most, although it was said that it wouldn't get any worse. But fate can be cruel and it would be quite cruel to Shine's life.
As a small infant, Shine was much more behaved than his siblings had been. He almost never cried, only when he required attention for food, changing or for various other things babies need. He was also quite the explorer, crawling all over the house whenever his parents weren't looking at him. Often, he managed to crawl out the open door his siblings left open, so foray's into the yard were something he did a lot. His grandparents once said that he was much like his father when he was younger, as Knell did similar things as a child. His father hoped this meant that Shine would continue to take after him and follow in the family's tradition of all the men being member's in law enforcement.
As he continued into his infant years, Shine learned the basics all children learned, like walking and speaking. He liked to be around his father whenever he was home, the rest of his time was spent playing with his toys and looking at picture books of different planets. By the young age of six, he was already snooping into his parents belonging's, finding his mother's old uniform. When Dahlia found out later, she scolded her son for going into things that didn't belong to him. Apologizing, he asked her why she had the same kind of uniform as his father. Telling him she used to work in the same place as him, Shine asked if they got to beat up and catch the bad guys like he saw on the holo-projector. Patting her son on the head, she told him it was much like that. His curiosity didn't stop there, as he wanted to know more about being an officer. Knowing she couldn't tell him the darker parts of being a cop, she instead told him stories every night about the good aspects. She choose stories of heroism and courage, the kind of stories a child wanted to hear. She would wait till he got older to tell him the real and dark aspects that also came with being a cop.
A brief scare hit when Shine was seven in the form of his eyesight growing worse. Worse than they had predicted. Although neither of his parents had poor eyesight(his father did wear glasses for reading but was able to see clearly otherwise), Shine's eyes had slowly faded over the years. The doctors predicted that unless they performed surgery as soon as possible, the likelyhood that Shine's eyes would eventually fail before he hit the peek of his life. The chance that his eyes would be further damaged or that they would be unable to repair them was there, but ultimately they would fail otherwise. They had only something to gain if they went with it. Well, Knell and Dahila wouldn't have their child being robbed of the beauty of sight; the surgery was expensive but they would have paid three times the amount for any of their children to have a normal life. At this point they still thought he would follow in their footsteps as a cop, and no cop was good without his eyes. About a week after agreeing to the surgery, Shine was brought in. His face said that he was undeterred by what his parents had explained to him, but inside, he was scared. Scared that it would fail, scared that he would go blind. It was only a procedure to implant contacts in his eyes permanently, but being a child, those kind of things would be scary. When they asked him what he wanted the contacts to look like, Shine's mind drifted back to his mother stories. With probably the surest smile on his face, Shine asked if he could have "the kitty eyes to scare away all the bad men." And that's what he got.
Shine's interest in being a cop grew as he got older, but it was being rivaled by another interest: being a pilot. Shine had seen many books about people flying in space, visiting different worlds and meeting different races. The idea of traveling through the stars made Shine's eyes glow every time he thought of it. As he reached the age of eight, his father Knell was already teaching him about the basics of law enforcement. These lessons were usually about the kind of gear a cop had, the duties they had to their fellow man, basic training drills. Knell also began giving him physical training, small things like push-ups, sit-ups and jogging at first, then more complex training as he grew older. And at Shine's request, he started teaching him how to drive a vehicle. He didn't let him actually drive it yet, but he showed him how it worked, giving him a monthly test on the basics of driving/flying and how to use them. His mother played her part as well, teaching him proper etiquette and how to treat a commanding officer. His siblings helped with both kind of lessons, as they too planned to head into law enforcement when they were old enough.
Shine's brother and sister soon left to attend a school for future CorSec members. As his father had to spend more time at work due to increasing crime, Shine continued his lessons under his mother's watchful eye. His mother even showed him how a blaster worked, although she didn't let him actually use it. It was because of this that both he and his mother made it through a shocking event. One night, while Shine was reading a book about starships his father had bought him, a pair of crooks broke into his home. Hearing the noise, Shine carefully moved to the door of his room and glanced out. The one man was holding his mother at gunpoint while the other smashed through anything he could, looking for valuables. Creeping into his mother's room, Shine noticed the blaster his mother had been showing him. Grabbing it, he crawled back over to the door. Poking his head out again, he came face to face with one of the men. Smashing the door aside, the man advanced in Shine. Reacting on pure instinct, Shine fired the blaster at the man, catching him in the knee. Taken off guard by the boy, the man dropped to the ground in pain. His partner tried to see what had afflicted his comrade, a mistake Dahlia took advantage of. Years of training kicked in and with a single strike, she winded the man and flipped him over her shoulder, relieving him of his weapon as he tried to get back up. The man Shine had shot rose his own weapon to her and was about to fire when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, dropping to the ground out cold. Shine stood there, blaster held in his shaking hands like a rock. Knocking out the man at her feet, Dahlia ran to her son. She took the blaster from him and, after confirming he was okay, held him close to her. They stayed like that until CorSec officers arrived, including his father. As Knell questioned what had happened, Shine grabbed his father and attached to his leg. Deciding to wait until morning for the questioning, Knell and Dahlia put Shine to bed, both of them watching over him while he slept.
The next day, Shine re-told what he remembered of the night before. Having slept and had time to process what happened, Shine told his father that everything was a blur to him when that man came at him. He didn't even remember hitting the man again: when his senses came back to him, the man was already on the ground. On the verge of tears, Shine took a deep breath, then looked his father right in the eyes. This was the hardest thing he ever had to do, but after the events of last night, Shine's choice for his future had been chosen. He asked that he be part of Corellian Fleet instead of a law enforcement officer, using the reason that then he would be able to catch those that tried to flee the planet or stop bad people from coming near his home again. Knell was taken back at first by this, but quickly his shock faded. Hugging his son, Knell told him that if that was what Shine wanted to be, he would put all his effort into helping him get there. Dahlia was more relived that her son was not deeply affected by the events of the night before, which could have made him turn down a darker path.
For the next few years, Knell taught Shine what he knew about being a pilot. He still continued teaching him about law enforcement, but most days were focused on training him to become a pilot. He started with teaching him more about driving the vehicle they owned. While not as complex as a fighter or ship, the concept was similar and he would have to know how to drive before they even let him near a ship. Knell also brought Shine with him to places where they could fly a ship for lessons. Of course, Knell flew but Shine payed attention to the instruction, writing down the information for a later date. By the time he reached the age of thirteen, he'd been on many trips into the air with his father. Despite this, he'd never actually flown. A surprise, however, was awaiting him the day before he was to be sent to the Academy. Shine went with his father to the piloting lessons again, like they had been doing for years. This time, however, Knell let Shine take the controls, promising he'd take over if something went wrong. Taking all he had learned in the lessons, Shine flew the ship quite well, despite several hiccups here and there. His biggest problem was during landing, in which Knell had to take over. Telling his son that he would get the hang of landing soon enough, he congratulated him for flying so well on his first try. Taking him home, the family all wished him the best of luck at the Academy, giving him a small party for being accepted. The next day, Shine was off, entering the next phase of his life.
Academy Life
Life at the Academy wasn't easy, but Shine never thought it would be. From day one, they drilled him and the other students in flight procedures, command protocols and many others items. All of these were associated with either commanding a ship or flying one. In Shine's first year, all the knowledge he had gained in preparation seemed for naught; everything his parents had taught him wasn't covered at all. He learned from another student that the stuff he had learned was an old procedure - they had recently changed a good portion of those protocols. Caught off guard, Shine wondered for a moment if he would be able to handle this Academy. Shaking it off, he re-focused himself. If the rules had changed, then he would just have to learn them all over again. He had chosen this route and he would not let his parents down.
Devoting himself to his studies, Shine slowly began ascending the ranks of his class. He soon came to realize that while they had changed to protocols, they remained similar in most ways, merely altered to fit a more defined area. With each test he took, his intelligence showed more and more, his grades continually on the rise. Even though he focused on his studies, a social life was not stripped from him. He quickly made friends and enemies, both of which only helped to bring along his skills. His favorite time was when they got to use the flight simulator. The simulator granted Shine the chance to use many different types of Corellian designed ships. The sims were usually combat simulations, but they also included races and trade runs. The only area where Shine did not excel in was leadership. Shine could follow orders, but he could not give them. His scores showed he was not meant to command a ship, but to fly as an escort or fighter craft. This didn't discourage Shine, since his aim for now was to just fly in the skies.
As Shine's years passed in the Academy, the classes and exams became much more complex. There was a daily training regiment to keep the trainees bodies in shape. Complex flight patterns and battle strategies were another area of development. Military applications and training also slipped into daily learning, but that was to expected at some point. Whenever he wasn't studying or training, his time was spent with his friends in the simulators. They had a contest going to see who would crack a record first, although none of them managed to beat the top one. One skill that Shine seemed to develop during these years was his ability to look at ship schematics and memorize them. From what it's engine was to the kind of parts needed for a specific ship, he remembered all of it. It was like the schematics were downloaded into his brain via his eyes. Because of this, he always aced the ship area of his tests. As Shine came upon the age of eighteen, the school tested all of the trainees who had certain scores with a final test. They had to fly an actual ship and hit as many of the targets as they could within a certain time period. Shine was the eighth to go and swallowing the nervousness in his gut, he got into the craft and took to the sky. The ship was a little shaky as he got off the ground, but Shine managed to balance it out right away. As he shot towards the targets, they began firing on him. Evading the fire, he blasted the targets with the ships weapons: modified to fire ion blasts. Two of the targets froze from the shots and Shine continued on. As he moved onto the next group, one of the shots from the targets grazed the panels of his wing. The ship lurched, causing Shine to pull away. Shocked by the fact that the targets were firing live shots, Shine shook it off, focusing on the task at hand. Completing the test, Shine landed the craft perfectly and got out. He had nailed at least 2/3's of the targets, that he was sure of. Looking to the instructor's, Shine kept the question about the live targets to himself for now.
As others continued the test, Shine and a group of others students who had already taken the test were told to report to the headmaster's room. Confused, they headed straight there, where they were told to wait. After about an hour, another group of students entered and were also seated. The headmaster soon followed and after sitting in his chair, announced that they had all passed the final test and would graduate this year. And before a slue of questions could barrage him, he started to explain the reason behind the final test. Yes indeed, the targets had gone live and started shooting at them during the test. It had been intentional. The targets were powered down and a direct hit would only have frozen the controls for a short time. Before the craft would hit the ground, an automatic pilot system would kick in and take them back to the starting point. The point behind the exercise was to experience real combat, not simulated, granting them all much needed experience. Those that passed were not the ones who hit the most targets, but those who dodged the blasts thinking they were actual shots, like any person should do. The one's who had failed were failed because they made unneeded maneuvers, tried to show off or didn't even try to evade incoming fire. Sighing, he suddenly smiled and told them all to stand at attention. Congratulating them, he told them to see his attendant on the way out for their licenses and assignments. Shine, along with the others, saluted and thanked him before leaving. Clutching the license tightly as he left, Shine's happiness would not be dimmed. He had made it.
On the Dawn
Shine barely had time to return home to report the good news. His assignment was on a warship up in the Corellian Defense Fleet and was slated to begin three days after his graduation. Still, he had enough time to visit and celebrate, which carried on for two days. His brother and sister were actually at home for once, having been accepted long ago into the CorSec division his father was in. Friends and family alike congratulated him, saying that even though he didn't become a cop like they all, he had made them all very proud. The only one who didn't like his acceptance was his grandfather, who was a man who believed wholeheartedly in tradition. Still, he congratulated him on accomplishing his task and that if he ever failed, he could still have a career as a cop. A little disappointed in how he phrased it, Shine accepted his grandfather's way of saying congrats.
On the third day, Shine said goodbye to his family before boarding a transport to the ship he was stationed on. Before he left, his father gave him a special gift: a custom blaster his father had built years before. He said he'd made the weapon out of the hardest material he could, so that it could be used as a melee weapon as well as a blaster. Thanking his father for the gift, he carefully put it away in his stuff and headed off. Upon arriving on the frigate Spider's Dawn, Shine was immediately directed to his quarters, which was near the ship's engineering section. The ship itself wasn't in great shape, one of the older models of Corellian ships. Still, she still worked and her captain was one of the best. The ship's armaments weren't too bad either, sprouting several heavy laser cannons, a heavy gunner turret and a large payload of missiles. The ship could hold a full squadron of thirteen fighters, which were all older style craft as well. Despite this, Shine would learn to call this place home and in the short time he was on it, he would learn a great many things.
Most of his time on the ship was spent helping keep it functional, as system and mechanical repairs were constantly needed. Shine was able to learn much from the ship's chief engineer, Wan Ghelo, who had spent most of his life on the Dawn. He taught Shine things they didn't show him in the Academy, like how to hear when the ship is hurting or to treat the ship like a person. Wan promised that if you mastered these, you'd find a ship that would never let you down, no matter how bad it got. Along with this knowledge, Wan showed Shine other ways to repair a ship and how to improvise when you didn't have what you needed.
When he wasn't doing repairs, Shine was using the ship's fighter craft on standard patrols and flight tests. The fighter's were a bit lacking in shields, but made up for it in speed and powerful blaster cannons which could tear an unshielded craft apart in seconds. One day, while heading back with another wingman from patrol, an unknown craft entered the system and started making a beeline for the planet. Since part of his job included checking all incoming craft, Shine moved in to investigate, only the receive a shower of blaster fire from the craft. His training kicking in, Shine just managed to get out of the way of the incoming fire. His wingman wasn't as quick and in brilliant burst of flame, the ship exploded. Marking the target as hostile and sending a transmission to the Dawn about the situation, he activated his weapons and descended on the craft. The craft continued its barrage, which Shine had to evade by a hair to keep on the craft's tail. Seeing that the ship only had a turret on top, Shine dove below it. The ship responded, turning on its side so that the turret could continue firing on him. His mind a flurry of ideas, one stood out amongst the others. Firing at the craft, he moved to the side where he could see missile pods protruding. As he expected, the craft fired one at him, its fiery trail showing the path it took as it sailed towards him. Gripping the controls tightly, he waited til the missile was almost on him, then fired with the blasters. As the missile exploded for the fire, Shine pulled hard on the stick, sending his craft shooting straight up. The dust from the missile covered his ascent, which was also assisted by a piece of debris that had floated in system. Luck was on his side. The craft, thinking he had been destroyed, streamed for the planet. Suddenly, blaster fire from above the craft knocked it off balance, its shields failing. Shine came down upon the craft from straight above it, its blaster cannons blazing to life. The ship's turret turned to fire on him and it was at that moment that the ship's shields failed. The blaster's tore a hole through the craft, taking out the turret and detonating the remaining missiles. The ship blew apart and its remains fell into the atmosphere, burning up upon entry.
Sighing relief, Shine turned and headed back to the Dawn. Upon arriving, he was met by the crew of the hangar, who burst into cheer. The crew patted him on the back, and many of his fellow pilots congratulated him on the insane tactic he had pulled to take out the ship. Confused, Shine asked why they were so happy about him taking down one ship. One of the pilots, Riggs was his name, told him that the ship he had just taken out belonged to a pair of criminals that were wanted on multiple planets, including Corellia. They were part of a rising gang syndicate that was spreading out to different planets. The loss of those two would hurt the gang and would hopefully give law enforcement a chance to do some damage of their own. He also told him that as of late, everyone had been down, so this was a good enough reason as any to celebrate. Shocked, Shine simply let the news set in, then joined his fellow men in celebrating. Although the crew of the hangar were the only ones trying to celebrate, it soon spread to all ends of the ship, everyone feeling more cheerful as they went about their duties. During the celebration the captain requested to see him. Following the captain to his quarters, Shine stood at attention as the captain looked him over. The captain got up, walked over and shook Shine's hand. He gave his own congrats, but then told him to take a seat. He told Shine that while he had done a great deed, there were two items that needed to be addressed. The first was the risky move he had taken to take down the craft. If he had been a second late in pulling up, or if debris from the missile had damaged his craft, he could be out there in pieces instead of the gang members. The other was the loss of his wingman. True, they hadn't expected the craft to open fire, but they should have maintained a safe distance from the craft instead of approaching it. The loss of a comrade was something that he should remember for the rest of his days. He promised if Shine took that risk again or made a mistake that cost a comrade his life again, he would personally send him back to the Academy. Taking the captain's words to heart, Shine thanked him for his discipline, then went back to the party. Before they could continue, he asked for a moment of silence for the comrade they had lost. Later that day, he had the number thirteen tattooed onto his chest, to do what the captain had said about remembering a lost comrade.
The day of disaster
About a year into his assignment on the Dawn, a fateful encounter would close the door on one part of Shine's life and open another. Shine woke up like he did everyday and went about the daily routine he had become accustomed to. The ship was moving to check out a distress call that was a few parasecs away from Corellia's moon, but no one expected anything of it. But while he was making adjustments to his fighter with Wan, the ship's alarm suddenly went off. An announcement was broadcasted across the ship, telling all fighter's to deploy immediately. As the announcement finished, the whole ship shook from an outside source. Rushing to the pilot's room, Shine moved fast to get his pilot's suit on. Several of his fellow pilot's had already launched and by the time Shine had his suit on, he was the last ship to deploy.
What Shine launched into was pure chaos. Several small craft of varying designs were dog fighting with his fellow fighters while a larger cruiser sized craft fired barrage after barrage at the Dawn. Whoever these guys were, they were far from friendly. What's worse was that they had sent the distress call on all channels. Luckily, it had been them who had gotten there first but it could have easily have been some innocent transport craft. Pushing his engines to full, Shine weaved through the fighters with well honed accuracy and shot for the cruiser. The Dawn was tough, but that ship had the advantage in size and firepower. The Dawn would fall before it did. Two of his fellow wingmen broke free from the enemy craft and followed him in. Almost immediately, they came under heavy fire from the cruiser's anti-fighter turrets. Using every ounce of his willpower and skill, Shine barely managed to keep from suffering a direct hit. As he closed in, an order came over his comm, telling all fighters to engage the enemies and to leave the cruiser to the Dawn. Cursing, Shine dove out just a a turret shot the space he had previously occupied. Pulling back to regroup, he shot off into the fray again, this time joining his comrades in engaging the fighters. Under the combined might of the whole squadron, the small group of enemy fighters were quickly overwhelmed. As the last one burst into flames, Shine and his fellow fighters prepared to engage to enemy cruiser once again. The cruiser, seeing the fact that it had lost its fighter protection, started to flee.
As the Dawn commanded all fighter's to return, Shine shot off straight for the cruiser. He wasn't going to let them run away licking their wounds. They could pull the same trick and innocents could be dragged into it instead. Switching off the comm, Shine noticed two of his fellow wingmen keeping pace with him. Nodding to them, the three fighters descended on the craft, blasters opening up in earnest. The cruiser's weapons turned to greet them, a barrage of heavy green light. Breaking apart to make themselves harder targets, Shine noticed the back end of the cruiser was deploying something. Bringing his craft around to get a better look, he saw something that made his blood go cold. A large cannon was deploying from the ship's rear. That was the reason it had turned to flee. No, not flee. To use its trump card. Switching his comm back on, he signaled to the Dawn to evade while he dove to intercept. His two allies followed, having noticed the cannon as well. Firing everything they had at the cannon, the three ships waited till the last second to veer off. One of them was caught in the explosion that resulted from the cannon being destroyed, his craft engulfed by the flames. Breaking off from the ship, the were about to move in to disable it engines when a bright light temporary blinded them. As it subsided, they turned to see the Dawn breaking apart. The bridge and main living quarters of the craft had been completely destroyed and the fighter dock was torn open, equipment and person alike drifting from it into the darkness of space. So distracted had Shine and his allies had been with the cruiser made them overlook a fighter that had survived, which had rammed into the bridge in a suicide run. Distraught by this, Shine broke into an angry roar, sending his fighter screaming for the enemy cruiser. His cannons fired nonstop, tearing into the already weakened cruiser with each blast. The words of his ally fell on deaf ears as Shine tore a hole in the ship big enough for his craft to pass through. Sweating, Shine came to his senses and could only look back at the sparking Dawn. With a remorseful cry, he slammed his fists into his dashboard, realizing his arrogance had cost so many people their lives.
Shine was brought before a series of commander's and judges to face trial for his actions. The ship that had attacked him belonged to a group of pirates operating in the area lately and had been packed with illegal weapons and drugs. It was a great catch. However, Shine had disobeyed orders and as a result, the Dawn had been lost with 70% casualties. His friend Wan had lost his legs while trying to keep the ship afloat and aside from the pilot that was with him, all the other fighter's had been lost. The command crew and the medical staff were also lost, along with a large portion of the ship's engineering personal. After hearing his reason for engaging the enemy craft, the judges and commanders spoke amongst themselves for an hour before deciding upon a decision. Shine was to be discharged at once from the military and he would be forbidden to fly a craft so long as he remained on Corellia. Shine said nothing to this judgment, his mind lost in the memories of those above the Dawn. The next day, Shine loaded all of the belonging's he could into a small one man craft and left his home behind. He felt he had let those who had died down and he couldn't remain on Corellia....the guilt was too much. He would return one day, but that was years in the future.
The route of a Smuggler
In the year's that followed Shine's self-imposed exile, he took on several different profession's in order to get food and money. At first, he became a pilot for hire, someone who would fly for anyone for the right price. Of course, his only reason for this was so that he could continue flying. From escort flights to transporting others to different locations, Shine rarely turned down a job. As time passed, however, Shine found that these jobs didn't pay enough to sustain him for long. Also, he often had to borrow a ship for these tasks, as his own was only able to handle about half of them.
Shine decided then that he needed a new kind of profession, one that would bring in a larger payday. This lead him to the trade of smuggling. Of course, in the trade of smuggling, one must have their own ship. In order to acquire said ship, Shine flew to the shipyard world of Kuat. Kuat's shipbuilding capabilities equaled that of Corellia, a prime location to look for a vessel of his own. Upon arriving, Shine sold the ship he had spent the better part of a year living in to get the little extra money he needed. Taking all the money he had accumulated, he ventured into the shipyards. He eyed many ships of different designs and sizes but they either were too expensive or did not catch his fancy. And that's when he found it. It was an older model ship and it was in disrepair, but it was like it called to him. Approaching the man who was sitting next to it, he asked how much. The man, obviously never expecting someone to want the ship, stuttered in excitement as he started describing the ship. After a full explanation of the ship, Shine said he'd take it and payed the man about half of the money he brought. He offered to give him more but the man said he'd need it to get the ship operational again. He was just happy to see someone buy the ship he'd spent years building.
With a ship of his own, Shine quickly started buying parts for and modifying the craft. The ship needed parts for its engines, the life support systems and its navigation systems. It also lacked firepower, boasting only a single Dymek heavy dual laser cannon turret for defense. But that would come second as the key to a good smuggling ship was its speed and how much it could carry. Using what he had left, he modified the the inside the craft as well, installing secret panels and compartments to hide the goods he would smuggle. At this point, Shine's money was almost gone. Storing the rest, he boarded his new ship, which he had named the Black Cat. Getting familiar with his new surrounding, Shine shot off into the skies, ready to begin his new life as a smuggler. Oddly enough, the day Shine left Kuat was the same day as his 21st birthday.
Shine spent the next three years of his life as a smuggler, gaining rep little by little. His first run had been close to a failure, only quick thinking and a smooth tongue allowed him to finish the job. After that, he took smaller jobs till he got use to the basics of smuggling, after which he began taking larger tasks. With each trip he successfully completed, he grew more confident with the choice of becoming a smuggler. The money he earned from his runs was used to further modify the Black Cat, better equipping its engines, weapons and cargo hold. After a run where one of his engines was blown off, Shine added fore and rear shielding to the Cat for added protection. Shine constantly made little adjustments to the ship, using what he had learned from school and from Wan to slowly boost his ship's power. Most of the ship's functions were routed through the cockpit's computers, giving him access to them even while he was flying the ship.
Some of his more memorable runs were to Kashyyyk and Dantooine. On his trip to Kashyvyk, Shine was to pick up a collection of wookie pelts and return them to the buyer back on Coruscant. Upon arriving, Shine was able to make the pickup, only to come under attack by a rouge faction of Wookiees. Shine had only heard stories of the massive natives but hearing and seeing are two different things. The wookiees tore the pelt traders and their assigned bodyguards to pieces with their bowcasters and inhuman strength. Shine himself took a swipe to the arm while making a run for his ship, holding off the wookiees with a combination of sharp shots to their knees and flash grenades. To make matters worse, a band of pirates attacked his ship as he tried to leave the system. Despite managing to get past the pirates, most of the money for the job was spent repairing the damage the pirates had done. The trip to Dantooine was just as hazardous, as he ran into a bounty hunter who tried to capture Shine for the bounty a past client had put on his head. After a firefight across a large of Dantooine's surface, Shine managed to evade the hunter with his load and hightailed it out of the system.
Bounty Hunter Shine
As Shine approached his 25th birthday, he started doing another kind of profession on the side. That profession was bounty hunting. His encounter with the one on Dantooine had left a lasting impression, enough of one to lead him to try it out. Of course, he only went after bounties in the system he was heading to or were in his immediate vicinity. Of course, he never took a bounty while he was performing his smuggling duties; it was during the breaks in between that he performed them. Soon enough, Shine was finding that bounty hunting was as difficult and fulfilling as smuggling was.
Deciding he would aim to become a fully fledged bounty hunter, Shine continued his smuggling acts to fund this task. The Black Cat was decently equipped to handle the task and by modifying one of the rooms to a holding cell, it became better suited for the job. All the extra compartments he left intact and he added a mine dropper near the engine area. He sealed those areas off in order to prevent the wrong person from finding them. At this point, Shine is still a smuggler, his days as a bounty hunter slowly approaching.
RP Sample:
Why could things never go smoothly? Just once, Shine wished he could do a job without something or other going wrong. Running at full speed, Shine barely managed to keep ahead of the pirates behind him, the sound of their combat boots pounding the dirt as they ran. Blaster bolts ripped by him, pelting the dirt around him as he ran. Diving behind a log, Shine rolled to a knelling position and spun around. He drew his blaster and with a quick tug, let a bolt off. One of his pursuers took the bolt straight to the chest and with a grunt, collapsed to the the ground.
Letting off another couple of shots to make his pursuers duck their heads, Shine took off again, his golden eyes looking at only one thing. His ship. Pulling a small controller out of his pocket, Shine hit a series of buttons before hitting a larger one located near the top of the controller. In the distance, the Black Cat sprung to life, its lights and engines warming. Grinning, Shine primed a thermal detonator and flung it back into the trees at the pirates, diving for cover behind a large rock. An explosion soon followed, along with a set of high-pitched screams. Bursting for his hiding spot, Shine made the final sprint for his ship, slamming the door controls as he ran up the loading ramp.
Dropping his gear, he quickly advanced to the cockpit and took his seat in the pilot's chair. Flicking a series of switches, he activated the bottom laser turret, swinging it around to the pirates who were now emerging from the forest. As his ship started to rise, the turret fired into them. The blasts and the resulting explosions thinned their numbers quickly, the survivors retreating to the safety of the woods. Breathing a sigh of relief, Shine pulled the ship up and shot off into the sky, heading for high atmo. Having a moment now to catch his breath, Shine slumped in his seat, taking deep breaths to replenish his oxygen supply. Just another day on the job for a smuggler. Another close to death encounter day, but another day none the less. Setting in the coordinates for Coruscant, Shine activated the hyper-drive and the Cat disappeared into the darkness of space.
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Model #: 15
Special Ability: Aquatic Expertise - after analyzing a major shortcoming in the previous two models--the AERs and the REAs--and the recent crisis on Mon Calamari (a crucial benefactor to our cause), 15 has been inversely designed for just these aquatic operations. This model possesses a slightly more streamlined build, can withstand incredible pressure, and has several additional features including sonar, a micro aquajet at the base of each leg, and a hydrolysis oxygen generator (caution: releases hydrogen gas as a byproduct).
Assigned Name: "Vistal"
Role: Underwater Operations
Arheim's notes: Obviously created to fit an aquatic species or character that spends large amount of time in/nearby water. Note that this model is just as effective on land as the base design, but truly shines in an aquatic environment. Also, be sure to use caution if you activate the shock node defense system while 15 is underwater. I hope I don't have to explain why.
Personality: Observations of FIDES unit 15's psychedevelopmentality (<---now a word) suggest possibly the least orthodox yet to arise. 15 commonly expresses traits of curiosity, shyness, and micro-compassion--a trait inflicting a level of extreme caution nearly to the level of paranoia. It should be noted, however, that this paranoia does not often apply to sentient beings and even more rarely to himself. Often described as aloof, naive, or awkward, it is a level of innocence that more directly gives these impressions. Personification of inanimate objects unconfirmed.
Appearance and Color Scheme:
