Name: Duncan Idaho
Age: 36
Sex: Male
Height: 5 8
Weight: 147lbs
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Date of birth: 05 September 780AS
Place of birth: Denver, Colorado, Liberty
Distinguishing marks: Tattoos on back and left shoulder
Occupation: Privately-owned freighter captain, entrepreneur, smuggler
Vessel: Outrider, Kushan freighter (modified)
Known associates: Gurney Halleck (1st mate, Outrider)
Comm ID: Idaho (hope to have changed to Outrider soon)
Duncan was born to Marcus and Lidia Idaho, an upper-middle class family on Denver. Marcus, an Ageira Technologies employee was an experienced starship engineer, pilot, and worked as Shop Manager, Propulsion Maintenance, Ageira Technologies Shipping Division. Lidia was Nursing Manager at Denver Pediatric Hospital.
Duncans youth, while not difficult by any means, was somewhat unconventional compared with other Denver children. While not technically part of Denvers wealthy elite, Duncans family did enjoy a very high standard of living, without all of the social tartuffery associated with the higher social classes. Duncan grew up on and around his fathers horse ranch, located outside the capital city. He was a confident youth, level-headed and determined. He excelled at everything he did, which gave rise to a streak of cockiness in him. He also had a sharp wit, and was prone to wise-cracks, for which he had his mother to thank. While eligible to attend private school, Duncans father had him attend public school. Marcus had attended public school himself and didnt want his son exposed to the elitist attitudes often found in private schools. Duncans free time was seldom spent idly. A proficient horseman, Duncan often spent days riding in the back country around the ranch exploring the woods. He also spent a great deal of time with his father at the shop where he learned ship maintenance. Marcus, in addition to being a master mechanic, was an accomplished pilot and taught Duncan how to pilot small craft. Spending so much time around Denvers main spaceport, Duncan met a myriad of spacefarers ship captains, freelancers, fighter pilots who were impressed with his knowledge of starships and his sense of humour and they often shared tales of their travels with Duncan. Duncan was particularly taken with the Liberty Navy pilots who frequented the spaceport, and began to express an interest in attending West Point and becoming a fighter pilot himself. These aspirations were dampened by his father, however, who disliked the military and had hopes that Duncan would become an engineer and perhaps work for Ageira.
In 798AS, respecting his fathers wishes, Duncan enrolled at the Denver Technical Institute in the starship engineering technologist program. During semester breaks Duncan worked for Ageira, thanks to his paternal uncle Ephram who was Shipping Coordinator for Ageira at the Denver Spaceport. There Duncan further refined his piloting skills training on, and eventually flying cargo lighters and lifters. It was during this time that Duncan met Gurney Halleck, a loadmaster on one of Ageiras transports. Gurney had a reputation for being particularly hard on lifter pilots, but Duncan was not one to be bullied around. His cockiness and wise-cracking ways, not to mention his skill at lifter piloting impressed Gurney and they soon began a friendship.
Upon graduation from DTI in 800AS, Duncan was immediately employed by Ageira Technologies. Rather than work planetside, Duncan requested a position aboard a transport. His request was granted and he received a position aboard the Ageira ship Amherst as engineers mate III. The Amhersts loadmaster was none other than Gurney Halleck. He and Gurney, who was 12 years his senior, became fast friends and Gurney took great delight in telling Duncan tales of his adventures. Duncan suspected some degree of embellishment on Gurneys part, but he was nonetheless intrigued by life in space. During his time aboard the Amherst Duncan secretly submitted his application to West Point Academy
In 801AS Duncan was accepted to West Point and left the Amherst and Ageira. His father learned of this quickly and was furious at Duncans silence on his decision, but there was little he could do. Due to the need for fighter pilots, Duncan was immediately selected for and fast-tracked through the training program, foregoing the university education that would normally accompany officer training in the Liberty Navy.
In 805AS Duncan graduated from the academy and was posted to the LNS Yukons fighter compliment. Over the next three years he would also serve aboard the LNS Rio Grande and the LNS Mississippi. As was usual with new pilots, he was regularly assigned to inspection duties and routine policing patrols, often assisting the LPI quell pirate and smuggler activity. He was also part of regular Navy actions against Xenos in Colorado. He had become mostly estranged from his parents during this time and seldom returned home to Denver. He did stay in contact with Gurney and regularly spent his leave time with the loadmaster, often moonlighting with Ageira or freelancing with Gurney who had managed to buy a Rhino and was dabbling in trading on the side. On more than one occasion Duncan had to bail Gurney out of debt, whose impulsiveness and penchant for gambling did not mix.
After three years of service with the Liberty Navy and two commendations, Duncan had become disillusioned with his choice of career. While a very proficient pilot, his assignments were limited to patrols and inspection duties. Advancement was not on the horizon. This was due in no small part to his lack of a university education. He had been schooled as a tradesman, fit for the enlisted ranks, but not an officer. While he had been fast-tracked through training, the long standing institution of proper officers having proper university educations had severely curtailed his career advancement. This elitist attitude did not sit well with Duncan, and and in 808AS mid-year, Duncan resigned his commission. He returned home to Denver and soon mended his relationship with his parents. He sought employment with Ageira and was quickly accepted, receiving a position as 1st mate aboard the Ageira ship Northglenn. Late in the year he received an urgent message from Gurney, who was in dire straits. Gurney had been freelancing and gambling more and more and had run up a debt which was due for collection by any means. Duncan had had enough. This wasnt the first time he had bailed Gurney out, but it would be the last. Duncan knew that Gurney just wasnt cut out for life as an independent freighter captain. Gurney was just too aimless on his own; he needed a guiding hand. He made Gurney a deal. Duncan would pay off Gurneys debt. In return Gurney would have to give Duncan his ship and return to work at Ageira full-time no more freelancing. Gurney, of course, agreed. By early 809AS Duncan had returned Gurneys Rhino to spaceworthiness, which had fallen in to severe disrepair on account of Gurneys debts, and started his foray in the world of freelancing.
It was during this time that Duncan began a serious reevaluation of his direction in life. Working for Ageira was a good, solid job and it paid well enough, but it still wasnt what Duncan was looking for. It lacked something. Duncan began reflecting more and more on the tales he had heard as a youth from the many freelancers and independent traders who frequented the Denver spaceport. They werent well off by any means, but they certainly didnt seem to be bored with their occupations. He started to take to the idea of it all and began working more and more for himself out of his Rhino. He advanced quickly among the independent operator circles of Colorado and Liberty and soon was able to trade the Rhino in for a Taiidan freighter, to meet the needs of his growing list of clients. He had established a reputation of being able to deliver shipments quickly, quietly, and safely. His past experiences with Ageira afforded him good understanding of trade in Liberty. His Navy service provided him with knowledge of shipping hazards most young operators were not privy to. He had friends in Ageira, the Liberty Navy, and LPI who would routinely keep him informed of local pirate activity. It was not long before his reputation caught the attention of Colorados wealthy elite. More and more they contracted his services and more and more did his shipments become questionable. Not outright illegal, but not strictly on the level either. Duncan had no illusions about where his skills and reputation would lead. He wasnt especially warm to the idea of smuggling. His strong moral sense instilled by his family and the Navy gave him reservations. Besides which his father would be furious were he to ever discover his son was a smuggler. But there was an appeal to smuggling. Not to the act itself, but to the opportunities it presented. Exploration, adventure, even danger. He was reminded of the time he spent riding in the mountains, which was often fraught with its own dangers, and how exhilarating it had been for him. This was the opportunity Duncan had been looking for - it just wasnt where he had expected it would have been. He could be ethical about smuggling. Even moral. But he was going to need help. He would need someone to watch his back. A partner. Gurney. Gurney had contacts Duncan didnt. Gurney had experience Duncan didnt. And despite his impulsiveness, Duncan knew he would be able to count on Gurney if when things got dodgy.
By 812AS Duncan had worked out most of the particulars and he pitched the idea to his friend. Gurney nearly fainted. Duncan was the one who steered him away from this sort of work to begin with, only to propose getting back into it together. But Gurney trusted Duncan. Duncan was calm, cool, and deliberate. He was no fool and if anyone could make a solid go of it and stay above water, Duncan could. Besides which, Gurney owed Duncan a lot, and not just for the credits. He agreed. The two pooled their resources and their credits Gurney had managed to stay clean and out of debt. They traded in on a Kushan freighter, agreeing that Duncans Taiidan wouldnt last long in their future ventures. And so they began. Slowly at first, so as not to make too many waves. Neither of them openly acknowledged that smuggling was their profession. They were simply moving goods goods which would never include slaves. That was the only rule. Ethical. From the outset, they both agreed not to seek employment with any of the established cartels or smuggling rings. Alignments of that sort, while possessed of their advantages, were not without their dangers. Remaining independent would afford the pair a little more freedom and anonymity. This independence also meant that jobs would not always be forthcoming. Not to be daunted by this, Duncan and Gurney spent their downtime in more legitimate ventures: courier assignments, shipping, mining, and anything else that was legal and required the services of a freighter. Things were lean during these first formative years - most of their profits were put back into the enterprise. Their ship would need significant modification and upgrading to survive the rigors of smuggling in Sirius. Bribes would need to be paid to the right individuals to ensure that eyes got averted and that their official reputations stayed clean and amenable to parties with access to the right goods. A significant portion of their profits was also put into a safe-fund should things ever get messy. All this kept Duncan very busy and away from home. He had kept this all quiet from his parents. In fact, he had kept quiet from his parents entirely, speaking to them rarely. He was again becoming estranged to them, but he preferred this to any alternative. Should anything ever happen to him, better that his parents not know where he was or what he was doing.
In 814AS Bretonia and Kusari went to war with each other. Gurney, a native of Leeds, had been expressing concerns during the previous year over the escalating tensions between his homeland and Kusari. The declaration of hostilities brought things to a head for Gurney. During the early stages of the war, Gurney approached Duncan announcing his intentions to return to Bretonia and enlist in the BAF. While Gurney was clearly being impulsive Duncan had no idea what ties to Bretonia Gurney still had, or how Gurney had even come to work for Ageira he respected his friends sense of patriotism and agreed, on the condition Gurney not get himself killed or otherwise into serious trouble. So Gurney left to fight and left Duncan without a partner. Duncan took this opportunity to return to Denver. Ostensibly, he had returned to mend things with his parents again. They had many questions for Duncan, to which he had answers some of which were true. Duncan also returned to Denver for a much needed rest. The past few years had been trying, full of challenges and hard work. Still, some part of Duncan was reluctant to quit smuggling, especially now. The war was nothing but good news for smugglers. The trade embargos would open up vast new possibilities. Goods would still need to be moved, even legal cargoes, and the missed opportunity chafed at Duncan. Never one to be downtrodden for too long, Duncan convinced himself that the war would soon outlast Gurney, and that there would still be plenty of time to capitalize on the conflict. Duncan stayed and worked mostly at the ranch, seldom venturing into the capital. His father, now manager of Maintenance Services with Ageira Technologies Shipping Division offered him a job, but Duncan declined. His services would be in high demand now and it would not do well to have his associates thinking that hed gone straight. So Duncan quietly dropped off the radar. He might be missing out, and there would certainly be questions for him when he returned, but one thing was certain there would be work.
815AS and 18 months after he had left, Gurney returned. Duncan had heard nothing from his friend during his absence, but he was overjoyed to see Gurney safe. Gurney was uncharacteristically quiet about his experiences with the BAF. Duncan had expected to be bombarded with tales full of Gurney usual embellishment, but Gurney avoided any inquiry into the matter. Gurney was full of talk about one thing, however the very same thing that had been on Duncans mind during their absence from each other. So, the two set off again.
"There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."
- Han Solo