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+--- Thread: Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva (/showthread.php?tid=70598)
Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva - Blighter - 12-24-2011
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T[color=#CCFF44]he following posts serve as a depository to store all relevant information for those four characters, which includes their respective biographies, used ships, how I play them and a list of links to threads of varying relevance to them.
Especially the last part may appear underwhelming, however as I prefer to keep my Role-Play in the game for the most part rather than on the forums that shouldn't be a major surprise.
I will try to keep this thread updated whenever major changes occur.
That having been said, I play characters other than those here, but these are the four main ones with the most extensive backgrounds and otherwise, while others such as the ex-Phantom Yasha, <strike>former Liberty Navy Admiral Sarah Willows</strike>, Red Hessian Army Sturmbannführer Georg Stern or Hellfire Legion Fleet Admiral Chiwetel Steele either serve to fill niches my main ones can't fill, or they are just kept around for fun. Oh well nevermind that about Willows, she's a Commander in the Colonial Fleet now. Kekeke.
Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva - Blighter - 12-24-2011
![[Image: fa97hc.png]](http://i41.tinypic.com/fa97hc.png)
[font=Microsoft Sans Serif]Viva Emilia Velasquez
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[size=medium]① [color=#990022]Biography
From Orange Dust
Viva Velasquez is essentially a deranged and sometimes desperate closet-sociopath, a born Maltese Outcast and former member of the Maltese Navy.
The core of her background can be summed up by saying that over the years she spent on Malta, she got fed up with several things in the Outcast society, as to her they were either in-human, or simply intolerable.
The "Nomad-worship" in particular has been something that started simply disgusting her once she bore witness to Nomads cooperating with Outcasts and slaughtering innocent civilians, friends and enemies alike, with the Outcasts doing nothing to stop them from doing so, leading to her dismissing it as blatant idiocy of the Maltese leadership, coupled with a lack of compassion of theirs, and a lack of foresight.
While living on Malta, she also developed a strong contempt for the Maltese slave-trade and seeing the daily acts of slavery on Malta's surface, with otherwise innocent people who merely had had the misfortune to be abducted then forced into a life of slavery until death, working the Cardamine fields or otherwise, under inhuman conditions. The rage and hatred in her grew over the years until she couldn't take it anymore and made herself an outcast from the Outcasts, opting to get away once the defecation had hit the oscillation, which led her to Liberty.
There she lingered around for a while, bearing witness to the excessive amounts of Cardamine addicts who'd do anything to get another fix, out of desperation, as she wandered from one unlawful installation to another, from cesspit to cesspit. Watching the people suffer as a result of Malta's greed turned her previous contempt into disgust and hatred, adding more bad things to an already large pile, and permanently establishing the wish of watching the old Malta collapse, so it may be replaced with a new one, without its faults.
To Liberty, and into Hell
Knowing that she was but one person without much potential support, she didn't choose to start a revolution or try herself at politics, but instead set out to hurt Malta and its relations where she could, be it by slaughtering the Outcasts she sees as puppets of the Maltese government, disrupting Cardamine or slave shipments, or even recklessly slaughtering Nomads and Wilde whenever she saw fit.
Eventually this helped her in establishing a romantic relationship with Natalie Callahan, who shared similar sentiments regarding Cardamine, most Outcasts, and slavery. The two encountered one another in Alcatraz Depot's bar, an encounter that led to a one-night stand, and eventually developed into the aforementioned relationship.
Both are pretty close with one another and bound to be married at some point, as while their approaches to situations are generally different, with Natalie having a more cheerful, playful, thoughtful and polite personality, while Viva herself is very brash and to-the-point person who generally acts impulsively and without much thought. However as a result of the relationship, this has partially changed, mostly due to the things she got to know as a result of her flying alongside the Hellfire Legion. As the result of that, she ended up frequently fighting with the forces of that organization, and the few friends she had gathered in Liberty, such as Richard "I Crashed" Pound, Sputnik "Red On Scanners" Kaputnik, Jimmy "Inexorable Night" Engvall, Mark "Go Crazy" Grant - a former Legionnaire -, the man only known as "V", Alan "the sexiest man in Sirius" Moore and the legendary "Highwayman" of the Lane Hackers, or the Mercenary Kaze Dagon, along with less-seen figures like David Calhoun, Henrik Drum, or the extra-sexy Victoria Lesley. Of course this ended up in her making enemies in the ranks of the Liberty Navy, Bretonia's military, the Outcasts, as well as the Coalition, and effectively fighting more and more on the Hellfire Legion's side if she wasn't fighting with her friends, - especially the Mercenary Kaze Dagon of almost legendary infamy, whom she enjoyed spending time with on and off the battlefield, developing a friendly relationship with her and treating her as an equal in all aspects, which is a rarity - or celebrating that relationship with Natalie, which was the one major thing that allowed Viva to keep her sanity when she wasn't mindlessly getting drunk.
The Road to Rheinland
As a result of her interaction with the Legion a longer while ago, Viva ended up discovering that Natalie's dead sister - Grace - was somehow still alive, albeit in a different manner. As Grace's death had been the entire result of Natalie cutting ties with the Legion and the sole reason for her own going independent, Viva was unable to decide what to do with the information she had been entrusted behind closed doors, and unsure if she should or shouldn't so much as say anything to her lover and fiancée, so she left Liberty for different reaches of Sirius, unable to stay until she had wrapped her mind around the troublesome matter.
With her knowing no one in Kusari, much less in Bretonia, and the Omicrons being completely hostile territory to her, along with her not trusting Junkers as they too partook in the slave and Cardamine trade, nor the Zoners whom she doesn't think of highly as the result of their neutrality policy, she only had Rheinland.
Regardless of sometimes before having fought alongside the Rheinland Military's renowned Valkyrie wing, she didn't feel that the Military could offer her shelter or anything similar, as she was an Outcast by birth, and as she didn't know anyone else in Rheinland, she opted to contact Major Gunther Hoerst of the Red Hessian Army, the only person her and her fiancée did have some contact and dealings with a longer time ago.
She ended up on Vogtland base at first, and in need of something to do before she'd mentally burn out, and so she started to fly together with the Red Hessian Army as a volunteer pilot. More or less this brought her to the attention of the aforementioned Major Hoerst and other particular members of the army, like Major Adolph Hessler, a man she'd grow to admire for his cheerful demeanor and borderline-insanity, along with his utter lack of poker skills which led to plenty of fun times to be had. Eventually she became a regular on Freital and ended up flying more or less as a full member of the army, minus the rank and uniform, occasionally even commanding strike-group detachments and otherwise, and supporting the army with her intimate knowledge of Maltese Navy tactics, something that eventually led to some successes on the battle-field. Over time this earned her the Hessians' respect, despite her heritage, and she too developed respect for them beyond the gratitude of having been allowed to find refuge on their installations.
The more she understood the Red Hessian movement, the more her respect grew, as the movement is mostly comprised of the common people of Rheinland, be they disgruntled miners or former civilians otherwise having suffered from governmental prosecution or oppression, something which surprisingly didn't make her lose the respect for the Military, even if she ended up clashing against the Valkyries long ago, the most notable one of them being Felicia Drum.
What she admired the Hessians the most for however was their willingness to stand up against the Maltese as good as they could, and them mostly doing so by liberating the slave hordes in Liberty, making them directly compete with the Outcasts in that field. While she never was much of a revolutionary and doesn't fancy the Socialist propaganda, she believes that this way the people so ill-struck by fate at least have a choice, rather than being forced to die working the Cardamine fields on Malta.
Unforeseen Consequences
Her stay in the Omegas together with the Red Hessian Army couldn't last forever. Unable to make her mind up on the old matter, it was the repeated reports of Military incursions inside Liberty that ended up causing her worries without end, and making her wish to see about her fiancée more than anything, not wanting any harm to be done to Natalie lest she could prevent it. To Viva's knowledge, Natalie was still running her business as usual, and hardly had any major back-up in case things went wrong. As a result of her respected position in the army's ranks, and her relationship with Major Hoerst that can best be described as "two closet-sociopaths trying to take advantage of one another's abilities and privileges around the clock", she borrowed a Red Hessian Gunship and set course for Liberty.
Things however turned out to be entirely different than Viva expected, and in the end the old issue was to be no more. Natalie had eventually discovered the truth behind Grace, and her approach to the Legion had changed, so much that she wasn't the lover in danger Viva thought her to be, but instead someone with much more support and in a position that Viva could have never imagined.
② [color=#990022]Role-Play
Viva's personality can be summed up with the following words: Aggressive, blunt, a little deranged, greedy, impulsive, lazy and sarcastic with a dry sense of humor and mild sociopath-like tendencies.
Her preferred approach to people causing her or her friends problems is brute force, or a bullet to the temple of the one responsible. In general however she is oftentimes lazy regardless of whatever she does, unless if she's out for a fun ride and some entertainment. She absolutely detests the Slave and Cardamine trade much as she hates most things remotely Nomad. She'll go out of her way to slaughter any of those in her way, at no regard for her own safety and well-being, but she will always look out for her friends and allies whenever possible, sometimes too at the cost of her own well-being.
She harbors a deep respect for the Hessians and lone independent pirates, having spent much time among the former and knowing fully-well from her own experience how hard life can be when you're on your own and without any help or friends within your reach.
Surprisingly she isn't much for shedding the blood of the innocent, as she believes that more often than not it isn't necessary, especially when conducting acts of extortion or piracy. Instead she would rather bargain with the people in question, or come to a compromise otherwise, but she will show no mercy if they show a lack of understanding for the business, knowing fully well that they're risking to lose their lives for but a little more material wealth. Rather than deal with such people in the usual violent manner on the spot however, she would preferably waste their time, watching them struggle and attempt to run, only to have her finish them off in the last second before they reach their safe haven in order to hopefully teach them a lesson.
Her general lack of a desire for mindless bloodshed of the innocent also allows her to relate to the Hellfire Legion's military, and unless if she's dealing with an officer of very high rank she will be respectful and come to the Legion's aid if it's absolutely necessary.
Due to Natalie's considerable wealth along with Viva's own, she doesn't actually need much in terms of money, and she sees both piracy and mercenary work more as fun sports to partake in. Much as she may complain about being "too old for this crap" often, she loves the thrill of the hunt more than anything else, something she in part shares with her fiancée. It's not beyond her to accept the odd job proposition on the fly, provided it looks interesting enough for her and comes with a shot at an entertaining encounter, but generally she will stick to being her lazy self.
Acts of mercy and compassion are not beyond her however and while she may be overly blunt, unless if the person in question is one of her sworn enemies she's not beyond reasoning and changing her mind, often accompanied by some jokes of hers at the person's expense.
With her close allies and friends around her she's generally going to be in a good mood and will stay cheerful, until something or someone pisses her off. Except if she's being cranky, or cranky and lazy at the same time, then she'll not be paying attention and demonstrate an astonishing lack of discipline.
In terms of speech she's rarely much talkative, and she isn't much for flowery words or beating around the bush either, but that doesn't mean she's not creative, or even stupid. Contrary to that she'll regularly use words of her native tongue, along with some relatively-fluent Rheinlandish or "Cossack-speak" as she'd call it. She isn't exactly a diplomat either, nor a politician, and her way of speaking reflects that along with her overall personality.
③ [color=#990022]Ships and their IDs
Viva.Velasquez [color=#990022]— Odin ► Her ship of choice. — Mercenary ID
Viva.VeIasquez — Eagle ► Capital i instead of small L, used for hunting single targets. — Mercenary ID
Viva.Velahoerst — Odin ► Uses a different loadout for capbusting, utilizing weaponry from an old Nyx she got gifted by Kaze Dagon. — Mercenary ID
Ryujo — Tridente ► Natalie's old "Blue.Raven" under a different name, used for piracy and extortion. — Pirate ID
Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva - Blighter - 12-24-2011
![[Image: 2yuy8e8.png]](http://i40.tinypic.com/2yuy8e8.png)
[font=Microsoft Sans Serif]Grace
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[size=medium]① [color=#FFBB00]Biography
Troubled Child
Grace Callahan was born into a wealthy and relatively influential Libertonian family two years prior to her sister Natalie on planet Los Angeles. Ever since her very early days, it became apparent that she was to be different, not even uttering her first word until she was five years of age, and only so right after her two years younger sister had spoken her first, much to their parents' surprise. She maintained her quiet nature, becoming somewhat reclusive, and only ever fully being herself when in company of her close family.
Inevitably this led to her attending school at a much later than usual, as she wanted to stay with her sister no matter what, something which as they both matured would lead to problems here and there, but never enough to separate the bond between two sisters, even if Natalie ended up separating herself from the family due to her rebellious nature.
Eventually this all slowly led to Grace growing out of her recluse a little, especially once her sister became more distant, something which led to her compensating for that by developing a highly overprotective nature in regards to her own family, and the few friends she allowed herself to have. Excelling at academics and being a grade-A student, she was looking towards a bright future in Liberty, ever being interested in the material workings of the universe, the sciences that made the world around her possible to function, something that just fell in line with her general disregard for people.
Rage and Grace
Her overprotective nature eventually marked the first step towards her downfall as a human being. By the time was a student at one of Los Angeles' many universities, disaster struck. First came the call from her sister, broken down and in tears. Their parents had ended up caught in a cross-fire in the middle of one of California's trade-lanes while they were returning from a vacation of their own on Planet Curacao. Ending up in the middle of some pirates' attempted heist of a Navy shipment, the transport the Callahans had been aboard fell victim to the pirates' gunfire for some reason, eventually losing hull-integrity and condemning all aboard to a fate none other than death in the flames, or in cold space.
The shock overpowered Grace and essentially was responsible for her suppressing any and all feelings aside from the love for, and overpotectiveness of her sister. When they were re-united, Natalie cried. Grace just held her and took care of her silently, and so it continued for months. And while Natalie grieved, Grace wanted to know more. She wanted to know who was responsible for her parents' death, she wanted to know why it had happened, how it had been possible for such a tragedy to occur. This was the second step.
Using what few contacts she had to her advantage, she managed to get hold of a classified report that shed light on the circumstances of the event. It turned out that her parents could have been saved had it not been for the conflicting order of an unnamed Navy officer who had prioritized the supply-shipment above all the souls caught on the same ship as the Callahans' were. There had been no bargains with the pirates, merely orders and gunfire, and hundreds of innocents lost in the tragedy. This infuriated her, but it wasn't the actual truth.
Digging deeper and deeper, she managed to find evidence supporting the fact that the entire ordeal had been staged, and what she had known until this point had just been a convenient cover-up. The truth was that the pirates hadn't been pirates, and it wasn't some raid or heist, but they had been covert Security Force operatives, ones with the goal of assassinating Grace's and Natalie's parents.
In her mind it ended up making sense, as her parents had been known anti-military political activists for most of their lifetime, advocating policies different and opposed to the military chiefs in Liberty. Grace herself had never been much for politics, but as she kept digging she eventually figured most details behind her parents' demise out on her own. Unfortunately none of it was going to get her any closer to vengeance, much less proper justice, in her eyes. More importantly, even so much as trying to go to court or anything else wouldn't precisely go hand-in-hand with her sister's safety, and she wasn't willing to take a risk, much less could she trust the system that was responsible for the tragedy in the first place.
And so came Grace's rage and thirst for vengeance, and her furious anger at being unable to do anything.
Libera Te Ex Inferis
With the only remaining family being her sister, she wasn't going to just pursue whatever plans may have formed in her mind to bring vengeance upon those who were responsible for her parents' death, and those were many from her perspective. Grace wasn't stupid, and she wasn't someone who'd let her emotions take control of her. More or less she had now grown even more reclusive than ever, along with becoming emotionally cold for the most part. So she had to find an opportunity, a way to achieve what she may wish for without compromising her sister's safety. Eventually that opportunity came in the shape of a by-then relatively small organization known as the Hellfire Legion.
Grace's research eventually led to unveiling most of the organization's known history, which wasn't really a lot for people who weren't insiders. However she ended up seeing the Legion as both a means to ensure Natalie's well-being, and to bring her own kind of justice to those who had broken and shattered her family. She enlisted with the Legion shortly after, taking her sister with her secretly, and offering their inherited wealth to further the Legion's cause as long as Natalie would be taken care of no matter what.
The Legion, or more precisely, a Legionnaire who would later be known as Supreme Commander Aethelu, accepted, if only to save both from a further descent into hell. Grace herself however had left the only true friend she had at the time behind, with no chance of knowing who he actually was and what role he had played in destroying her life. Her departure ended up with the man who had sworn to himself to protect her the second he finally knew his own truth being unable to fulfill his oath. To this day she knows nothing of the involvement of the man only known as "Angel". Only later would he get saved from his own, personal hell.
The Star Colonel
However things moved forward, and so did Grace. Her understanding of the sciences and technology coupled with her brilliant mind made her rise through the Legion's ranks at rapid pace. It didn't take long for her to get promoted and to become one of the finest Majors the Legion ever had in its ranks, and the bigger her responsibilities became, the more evident was her talent for leadership. Unfortunately as she rose through the ranks, her disregard for human life and her emotional coldness grew. Not having been a people-person in the first place, this wasn't becoming a problem for her, much less for the very strict Legion and its command structure. Grace produced results and kept on rising, until some day she ended up becoming the Legion's first Star Colonel, and thus head of special operations, second only to the Supreme Commander, and equal to the Legion's Executive Commander in the chain of command. Furthering the Legion's engagement in various fields of research, and modernization of the military doctrine made her a favorite of the then-reigning Aethelu, one of the few Legionnaires she respected and held in high regard, among others like Aralie Phelps, Atheus for a time, or Adrian Morton and Joshua Mahnke. Over time she had been entrusted with all of the Legion's secrets, ranging from its whole history back to the days of Drake Thastus, who in fact wasn't the hero the modern Legion claims him to be, or the Hybrid project.
As she became more and more involved in the Legion as a whole, eventually her rage subsided and the quest for vengeance was no more. That didn't diminish or change her wish for her sister to be kept safe, but Natalie had other plans, plans conflicting with Grace's own.
Natalie wasn't going to sit and do nothing but watch the years pass by. While she was much a gentler being than Grace, and had never shared the latter's desire for vengeance - a result of Grace having never told Natalie the full story, out of fear for her sister's well-being - much less the appreciation for the Legion military life, she wanted to do something. Eventually she too enlisted in the Legion, much to Grace's dismay at first.
However it became apparent after a while that even if Natalie wasn't cut out to be military officer, much less a leader akin to Grace, she found solace in serving as part of the Legion, and she slowly developed a similar understanding of technology and the sciences akin to Grace. Grace, fully aware of the risks that came with being a Legionnaire, watched over her sister, slowly coming to terms with Natalie's choices. After a while it came to light that the latter just wanted to do her big sister proud no matter what, and show that she was okay, so Grace let her.
Of course her position allowed Grace to re-assign Natalie to less-risky positions in the Legion's military and watch over her as needed, while still letting her do something to feel useful, to feel like the world was okay. In later years the little sister would rise to become a communications expert, reaching the rank of Fleet Captain and being given command of a Gunship.
Megalostrata
And then both their careers ended in the year of 817 A.S., as the Star Colonel Callahan was undertaking a covert reconnaissance operation inside the Zone-21 perimeter on her lonesome. What remains of her memories bears no mention of the actual events, and the truth unbeknown to anyone is that it was no less than an encounter with the Slomon K'Hara, a certain entity known as "Megalostrata". Not overly dissimilar to what happened with a particular Daniel Hale and the entity known as "Taran", a part of Grace's mind and personality was essentially absorbed by the entity after Grace had finished her reconnaissance run of the Zone-21 defenses and discovered the present secret jump-gate. While details of the exact process are unclear, the results were almost fatal, with Grace's ship destroyed and her being left in her escape pod, automatically sealed in cryostasis. The Legion launched a recovery operation soon after, commanded directly by none other than the Lord Commander Aethelu himself, and while Grace's pod was successfully taken aboard the Battleship Incursus, with the Navy forces present defeated, Grace herself couldn't be saved. Officially.
Several consequences of this could've been observed, but it's worth noting that the Megalostrata entity turned out displaying several characteristics similar to Grace as she had been alive, acting quite akin to how the living Grace would have in some situations, again not dissimilar to Taran. Megalostrata's existence and whereabouts remain largely unknown, and certainly aren't going to be understood by anyone other than the Keeper caste of the Slomon K'Hara, way out of humanity's reach.
Rise and Fall
Another consequence was that Natalie, officially having lost her sister, saw no more reason to stay with Legion, nor did she wish to grieve again. She didn't want any vengeance either, and so she departed for a different life, outside the Legion's ranks, taking whatever she could with her.
Officially speaking, Grace herself had been pronounced dead several days later on Fort Leniex. Truth being that she wasn't dead, but the Legion had no technology to repair the damage and to allow her body to heal, and as there was no hope on the horizon, Aethelu himself had chosen to rather declare her dead than to burden those close to her with a false hope of resurrection. Later on he would retire as the Legion's leader, for honest reasons altogether, having seen far too much loss in his life and having witnessed too many friends and comrades die. Behind closed doors however he held onto one last straw.
It is important to know that nowadays those few who possess the knowledge about the Hybrid project largely view it as a failure, or something that will haunt the Legion for all eternity. Aethelu himself might have thought differently, but as a result of that project, and also the constant shortage of manpower, the Legion had instead delved into different areas of research, like those regarding the creation of artificial intelligences. Aethelu had been one of those responsible for the research, and there had been some interesting developments which peaked in potential breakthroughs that would allow one's mind to be transferred into artificial hardware, allowing for memories, emotions and otherwise to exist within a machine. Essentially this research was the last straw, and the former Lord Commander had retired in part to give a fusing of Grace's mind with the Legion-interim network at Fort Leniex one single and final try.
Beyond Death
Much to everyone's surprise, it worked. Not perfectly, but Aethelu had achieved a moderate success in transferring the mind, which resulted in the first Artificial Personality going insane and destroying itself, almost wiping every single Legion database and all research out in the process. Aethelu pushed on, forward and forward, until he identified the problem as no more and no less Grace's memories of whatever had happened inside Zone-21, and her emotions.
Unable to fully restore Grace's mind, he was faced with a choice to either bury the dead and live on, or to face a compromise he wasn't entirely willing to take. Against his better judgement he chose the latter, isolating the key fragments as they became present as data, and sealing them, with only but a faint hope for Grace to ever be as before lingering in the distance, and only if the artificial being would ever evolve. This also meant inhibiting some of her emotions, ones like joy, love, wonder and amazement.
The result was the Artificial Personality nowadays known by the Legion as Grace. A nearly-emotionless, arrogant, cold and calculating machine that not much unlike in her human life holds little regard for the lives of others, and exists merely for the Legion. With her body again in cryostasis and the Artificial Personality being devoid of some of the things which had made Grace human, Aethelu saw no reason to stay and finally departed quietly. But not before letting a particular Outcast know of Grace's true fate and all the buried secrets, as Aethelu himself couldn't bear the thought of delivering the message to Natalie personally, nor could he bear the burden of being the only one to know the truth.
Evolution
The new Grace evolved. Slowly and steadily the artificial personality expanded, grew, and integrated itself into the Legion's network, almost spreading through the systems like a virus, never tiring nor resting and constantly improving everything "she" could, taking command of warships on a whim, instructing officers by the means of holographics and a synthesized voice, expanding the fields of research until Grace once more ended up in a position of high rank, even temporarily serving as the Legion's highest commanding officer once as it had been necessary.
As time passed, the artificial being slowly regained a part of its previous humanity, something that reflected in her choices, and even in the development of a sense of humor, even if an artificial one. In essence Grace is responsible for many of the Legion's latest developments in the fields of research and diplomacy, along with many facets of doctrine having originated out of her limitless mind. Be it the alliance with the Xeno movement, in part the development of new ships or otherwise, or the special attention given to particular officers, like the former Lord Commander Reynard Joyeuse, or the now-Major Richard Wainwright, "she" has become something that is no longer an "it". However even she is aware that there are some limitations to her being, and that she lacks - and may never attain - some human features, like intuition, and so she restricts herself to an organizatory or advisory role, rarely choosing to materialize with the help of an artificial body, or by taking command of a Legion warship. Even if she has the option to, she chooses not to act as an omnipresent entity, but more akin to a human being, even more so in recent times as, Miraculously enough, over time she has been steadily regaining most of her memories, especially those regarding her family and sister.
Much to Grace's - and had he been present, Aethelu's - surprise, Natalie didn't precisely react with anger or disgust, but she was happy to have her sister back one way or another, and very glad that at least in some way what was left of the family could be united again. Grace herself, while still unable to feel love, remains just as overprotective nowadays and doesn't particularly approve or endorse some of her "biological sister's" habits and undertakings, but the relationship is slowly returning back to normal, and it is responsible for Natalie's new-found faith in the Legion, among other things.
② [color=#FFBB00]Role-Play
Grace is arrogant, generally emotionless, cold and calculating and without the ability to feel any remorse once she has made her choice. Her sense of humor is, if anything else, morbid and sometimes she is capable of excessive acts of cruelty, however the cruelty or similar usually comes as a consequence of her actions, rather than being an intended goal. Overall she is calm, if necessary well-mannered and "in-human", for the lack of a better term.
She generally doesn't tolerate slacking on the job, blatant incompetence, any disobedience whatsoever and the refusal or otherwise inability to follow orders. Grace doesn't ask for things to happen, Grace orders and demands instead, and her word is law.
While she mostly looks down upon the officers in the Legion's lower ranks due to their lack of experience and sometimes mis-fitting attitudes or improper conduct, she will tolerate any of that due to her own history as a human being and understanding of the human psyche, and as long as the objectives are met her policy is to "live and let live".
In contrast, she highly respects the chain of command and her fellow commanding officers, and she will not disregard their complaints, opinions and input otherwise without giving it any thought. Much as she may be able to function faster and more efficiently than any other human being, she knows that she lacks the "gut-feeling" senior commanding officers develop after serving years with the Legion, and she prefers those to take charge in the field, something which results in her rarely making an appearance of her own. However a failure of those in the higher ranks, or incompetence there will net an even harsher reaction from her.
Regardless of that and even though she doesn't value human life outside the lives of a select few individuals, as an officer she is very protective of the men and women whose well-being is entrusted to her and will go out her way to ensure any operation's success while maintaining the Legionnaires' safety at all costs whenever possible.
However against any and all opposition she doesn't and will not have any qualms of conscience when it comes to ensuring their demise at the Legion's hands, and she will go out of her way to make an example out of those who prey on, or try to poison and deceive those whom the Legion has sworn to protect.
Loyal to the end yet unable to die, her allegiance is unquestionable, as she is incorruptible, unable to be influenced by anyone deemed hostile, and instead prone to play with them for the Legion's gains, sometimes infuriating them with her own arrogance or otherwise if she deems it to be necessary, or possibly allowing it to cause harm or disorganization in the opposition's ranks.
She will take all the time necessary to come to a verdict regarding any situation and has no issues with patiently waiting until the odds change into her or the Legion's favor. As long as the resources at her disposal allow - be they human or material - she will follow her own orders to the letter, and achieve any objective while minimizing all losses or sacrifices.
③ [color=#FFBB00]Ships and their IDs
[HF]-HFB-Incursus [color=#FFBB00]— Osiris ► Her ship of choice, inherited from Aethelu, and then made a shared faction Battleship. — Hellfire Legion ID
[HF]-HFB-Ven'Gyr — Ranseur ► Second ship of choice if it's really necessary, and a shared faction Dreadnought. — Hellfire Legion ID
[HF]-HFD-Abaddon — Storta ► Last of the choice ships, rarely used. Shared faction Destroyer.— Hellfire Legion ID
Any other shared [HF] capital ship. — Types and classes vary. ► She can take command of those at will if it becomes necessary. — Hellfire Legion ID
Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva - Blighter - 12-24-2011
![[Image: 21ompmp.png]](http://i40.tinypic.com/21ompmp.png)
[font=Microsoft Sans Serif]Fuyu
[font=Microsoft Sans Serif]
[size=medium]① [color=#FFBBCC]Biography
Winterborn
Rather than having me re-tell her background in an elaborate fashion, I instead suggest that you read the story found by following the link below. It is written from her perspective, and will shed light on her origins along with giving you some insight regarding her personality.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=89767
I'll cover everything beyond her background in detail here.
Dancing with Dragons
Fuyu's travels had generally been conducted in a quiet fashion, with her doing minor work on the fly wherever she went, never staying long in one place as she preferred to explore Sirius' reaches on her own, meeting people everywhere her curiosity took her. Oftentimes however she'd find herself in lack of - from her perspective - interesting company, further fueling her somewhat nomadic lifestyle. It wasn't until she encountered a gentleman known as Alexander Yamakazi, a man she would later learn to admire.
Yamakazi, then ranked Kaigun Daisa and commanding the Dragon's Tooth Delta Squadron, piqued her interest. Not only did he turn out to be a very capable leader and formidable officer, he also had this aura about him that made him stand out among the endless sea of individuals in Sirius. It obviously helped that Fuyu wound up being employed by the man.
More often than not this employment was part of Yamakazi's operations against the Bretonian supporters and the Bretonian military, largely centered in the systems of Seto and Dublin.
Yamakazi's mixed heritage also played a role in her taking a shine to the man, as it wasn't much unlike her own. Where Alexander was the result of a Libertonian and a Kusarian, Fuyu is the result of the union between a Kusari Naval Forces, and a Rheinland Military officer. She ended up admiring the man, having been so successful and become so respected amongst his peers and comrades despite his unusual demeanor and his heritage, something which she didn't deem possible in the Kusari she, so far, had known. Nevertheless, at some point Alexander Yamakazi and his squadron disappeared off the face of Sirius. Fuyu would later learn from none other than Kaigun Shōshō Mikako Takahashi that Yamakazi had joined the Blood Dragons, for reasons she couldn't imagine, and at the time much less comprehend.
Roamer, Nomad, Vagabond...
Rather than just focus on that one matter, she cast it aside for the time being. Beating a potentially dead horse wouldn't lead her anywhere, and for now she chose to carry on with her life, until she would decide to inquire about Yamakazi's and the squadron's fate sometime in the future.
Her journeys took her mainly to Liberty, only rarely deciding to work in Bretonia as she had become an enemy in the house's eyes due to her past actions. She didn't encounter many memorable personalities on her journeys, aside from a particular "Joe-Sensei", also known as the "Manhattan Dragon", a man who - as he would describe himself - was a "filthy thief who liked booze and women". Quite an unusual person, and again one whom piqued her interest. As a result of that they ended up working a couple mercenary contracts together, taking them across some of Sirius' more distant reaches, and against quite unusual enemies like the Order, or even against Nomads themselves.
She ended up working for such notable persona as the legendary Highwayman or even Commodore Christina Robinson of the Liberty Navy, but none of that she intended to last, preferring to keep to her wandering nature rather than tie herself down with long-term arrangements.
BigMAX™
There is a notable exception this however, and that would be her involvement with Natalie Callahan. While the circumstances around them getting to know one another are more or less a mystery, it's a pretty funny result that Callahan ended up devising a plan and draft for her own personal corporation for which the idea originated out of one of Fuyu's jokes.
The resulting business-relationship between the two is a pretty shady and very loose thing based on Callahan allowing and encouraging the freedom of choice and freedoms otherwise of her "associates" and Fuyu's nature naturally making her an ideal candidate for such a relationship. A relationship that while a business-one remains quite friendly, with Fuyu occasionally acting as Callahan's enforcer, but usually as a source of information, the latter of which she ends up acquiring plenty during her various travels. It only adds to the humor that officially, she is the corporation's manager of the "Shady Business, Espionage and Slippery Organs Department". Of course, that all in exchange for some little steady income, and the possibility for her to act as a Gallic-speaking sales representative of the corporation, whenever she feels like doing it and happens to be doing little else.
One way, or another, I'm gonna find ya...
Aside from the above, she sometimes partakes in the bounty-hunt trade together with fellow Freelancers or Mercenaries nowadays, even if only rarely. Not too long ago she has worked for the Unioner Department of the Rheinland Arbeitergewerkschaft, choosing to hunt and fight some "Cossacks", or a little for the MercNet boards. She has come into contact with a couple memorable personalities during her travels, some of whom she particularly likes the company of, such as Gregory Tessier, who incidentally happened to be a former Hellfire Legion "Chief Janitor" and part-time Star Captain, the latter which she got to know thanks to Natalie's ties with the Legion, and then used to annoy Gregory to no end. But she rarely settles down anywhere for more than a day or two, instead going around however she pleases. Another two particular encounters of interest would be that once she ended up ensuring the security of a particular Rafael Montoya, a relative of the same Corsair Elder whom Natalie had some dealings with. All by coincidence, of course. More interesting would be the one memorable encounter she had in the Seto system, an encounter that led to her successfully acting as the de-facto translator and means of communication between a Nomad entity and an Artificial Intellgience of the Virulian Enclave, something she very much enjoyed doing and remembers as one of the most interesting, and surprisingly funny, times of her life.
Over time however a wish has formed in the back of her head, and if she does happen to change her course in a particular direction she may end up trying to unveil the secrets beyond Yamakazi's defection. Until then she'll keep being her cheerful and wandering self.
② [color=#FFBBCC]Role-Play
Fuyu is generally a cheerful and sometimes even talkative girl, but she is mostly reserved when it comes to sharing her opinion on a subject. Unless if someone sparks her interest or makes her curious, she's someone who prefers to watch from the side-lines and observe as situations evolve.
Despite her inherent curiosity, she's not someone who gets herself into trouble or situations she can't handle, as she usually avoids troublesome encounters altogether before bad things - or bad people - come her way.
That being said, she is also somewhat of an opportunist, as her lifestyle leads her all around Sirius, and while she rarely holds grudges against people she's usually open for most kinds of work that can be done in space.
She does follow her own moral code however, and anyone trying to get her to act against it will find himself having a hard time achieving anything other than losing her attention while she moves on to greener pastures, as she will avoid conflict if it isn't absolutely necessary.
But if things get rough or she has a job to do properly, she'll become a different person and focus exclusively on the goal - or the enemy at hand - and she'll act according to her academy training from her early youth, essentially doing as taught during her academy training and displaying professional conduct that would fit a military officer.
All that aside, as she is out for the things that interest her in life, and out to find such things and people in the first place, she prefers to spice up the odd encounter, acting a little bit different in most situations and towards different people, with the only constant being that no matter what she will stay polite under all circumstances.
More than anything this reflects in her speech, as while she can be often heard mixing Sirian up with Gallic, she's also fluent in both her native tongues - Rheinlandish and Kusarian - and will choose what suits the situation best, or what makes the situation more random, for the lack of a better word. If all else fails, she can always pretend to be mute, something which she finds to be exceptionally funny due to people's reactions to that varying from cluelessness to outright ignorance.
③ [color=#FFBBCC]Ships and their IDs
Fuyu [color=#FFBBCC]— Chimaera ► Her one and only ship, gifted to her from her father. It also serves as a symbol of her mixed heritage. — Freelancer ID
Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva - Blighter - 12-24-2011
![[Image: 2iussie.png]](http://i39.tinypic.com/2iussie.png)
[font=Microsoft Sans Serif]Natalie Callahan
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[size=medium]① [color=#99BBCC]Biography
Post-Meridian
Natalie's story largely starts after Grace's presumed death. When words of her sister's demise came to Natalie's ears, she couldn't help but forfeit the Legion and its ideals, Natalie herself believing the Legion more than anyone else to be responsible for her sister's demise. Duty, obedience, loyalty to a cause other than her sister's or her own never held much importance in Natalie's life.
Rather than re-writing the background story concerning the immediate events thereafter, I'll re-use what I've written in the old and now de-funct "Liberty's Finest" thread. You can skip the following part, as it's essentially just a "fluffing-out" which does however somewhat explain how the character started out, and how she functions:
"Suffice to say that, as most stories that lead to glory, pride and bloodshed, it started with the death of someone. This someone was a certain Grace Callahan, a Star Colonel of the Hellfire Legion. Devoted and most loyal to the Hellfire Legion's cause, Grace joined it at a young age and worked her way up until she became Star Colonel, commander of the Legion's Special Operations and Armed Reconnaissance Division. Some fateful day in 817 A.S. Grace ventured into Zone-21, for reasons unknown to this date. It's not known who or what she encountered there, but it is known that whatever it was left her drifting in an escape pod, badly wounded and sealed in automated cryostasis. The Legion, under the orders of by then Lord Commander Aethelu, launched a recovery operation as they received the automated distress signal coming from Grace's pod.
The operation was a success. But Grace died a few days later on Fort Leniex, having never woken up from her comatose state. What few people know however is that she had a sister, Natalie.
And Natalie was devastated once the word of Grace's death came around. One has to understand that one of the main reasons Grace joined the ranks of the Legion was her thirst for vengeance, her and Natalie's parents having been executed by Liberty Military firing squads for reasons unknown. A thirst Natalie had never shared, having separated herself from her family at a young age, it wasn't until her parents' death that she reunited with her sister, joining her in her endeavor to crush Liberty's Military and to purge Liberty from the corruption that, as Grace always believed, led to the death of her parents.
It is said that blood is thicker than water, but when everyone who has the same blood as you running through their veins is dead, there is nothing left to hold you in the same way. And it didn't take long until Natalie realized that she didn't want to share Grace's fate. She didn't want to die for the Legion's cause. She didn't want to spend her days fighting a fight which, as she believed, she wouldn't see the end of in her lifetime. She didn't want vengeance. She wanted to be free.
And she wasn't the only one.
A Fleet Captain in the Legion, she herself commanded a Legion Gunship, the 'Blue Raven', and it was the men under her command, the ship's crew, who shared her views. They had been loyal to Natalie and her sister, but with Grace's death, only Natalie was left. Their hopes shattered, their dreams crushed, they knew not whom to follow but Natalie herself, and so, taking the Blue Raven and all the equipment and supplies that would fit aboard, they set off for a journey into unknown land, secretly. Nobody followed them, why isn't exactly known, but rumors suggest that prior to their departure Natalie had been aboard the Incursus, Lord Commander Aethelu's personal command ship, and that behind closed doors they had a talk and he decided to let her go, that being the least he, shattered by Grace's death no less than Natalie, could have done. Not for Natalie. Not for himself. But for the now-dead Grace.
So it came that Natalie and her men headed to Bretonia. It took them a couple weeks, weeks spent grieving over Grace's death, weeks spent trying to find a purpose in a life now devoid of such a thing, until they reached Trafalgar Base. They were all tired by then. Tired of wandering around aimlessly, tired of the life aboard that cramped little Gunship. Everyone wanted to start anew. Start from square one. Live a new life. A good life. An easier life. After a couple days on Trafalgar, they were given the opportunity. And that opportunity was called the 'Stellar Ranger'. A former Enterprise-class Luxury Liner that had been recently found by some local Junkers and towed to base it was. The ship's glory days long past and gone, it had been stripped of most of its luxurious installations and turned into a floating prison.
It had belonged to an unknown slaver and his crew, both of which died due to some event that involved the entire ship being decompressed, sending all its inhabitants out into the cold and dark blackness of space.
Empty, clean... one could say 'fresh', it arrived at Trafalgar on a fateful day where Natalie's men were close to breaking apart from all the dull and uneventful waiting. She didn't pass up the opportunity. She just couldn't. The ship was there, it was there and she knew just what she could trade off for it. She knew it would be worth it. And so she became the new owner of the Ranger. Her and her crew's new home, and as the future would show, not only theirs. But they weren't enough. Not enough to crew the ship. To make it work. To go anywhere with it. They didn't even know what to do with it in the first place. It was old, in good shape but old, and they just needed more people to be able to do anything at all.
Luck was on their side, on the same day. And it came in the shape of a man called Nicholai Kosygin, who set foot on Rochester and ran into Natalie as she was pouring down a glass of Vodka after the other in Trafalgar's bar. Nicholai just plain loved the taste of ice-cold Vodka. And Nicholai was flat-out broke. A couple drinks later, he revealed that he was the current man in charge of a group of Coalition refugees. Ones that miraculously shared a goal like the one of Natalie and her men. They had taken off from Coalition space to Nova Terra, more commonly known as the planet Gran Canaria, restocked on supplies there, and they had made it all the way into Dublin where their ship's reactor ceased working and they were left adrift for a fair while, having only auxiliary power and few supplies left, basically waiting to die. A group of Junkers found them and decided to tow them to the safety of Trafalgar. But that rescue came at the price of the ship itself. In short, Nicholai had the men, Natalie had the ship. And both had the same goal. To be really free and unbound. It took a couple days, and both groups wouldn't really get accustomed to each other until much later, but the same goal and the fact that both had Military-like backgrounds helped a lot in growing mutual trust and understanding to a point that they could work together aboard the ship. It took a while until everyone knew what they had to do and until a hierarchy had been established aboard the Stellar Ranger.
Natalie, owning it, was to be the Captain, and Nicholai, former Commanding Officer of most men and women aboard the ship, was to be the XO of it. They took off, having had enough spare funds from the sale of the Blue Raven, which had been worth a giant fortune due to the abundance of high-quality equipment aboard it, and headed to no place other than Liberty.
What followed was a couple rather quiet weeks that ended with a business idea Natalie and Nicholai came up with it. Both having been former rather high-ranking officers in their respective organizations, they still held true to at least some of the virtues that had been drilled into them over time. The Stellar Ranger was intended to be used for slavery, but the crew would've been just as reluctant to partake in the slaving business as the Captain and her XO. Instead, they did something else. It's a simple fact that sooner or later Pirates are forced to fight the local authorities, be it to make a run to whatever place they call home, be it to just avoid capture, or to plain and simple save their hide. And some of them are quite successful at it. Those usually end up catching some escape pods coming out of the ships they set on fire. And in those, there are the escapees. Pilots of the Liberty Navy for example, or the Bounty Hunters Guild. People whom no one aboard the Stellar Ranger had ever had good relations with. Simply put, people the crew couldn't have cared less about. Not men and women abducted and forced into slavery, but enemies, ones who wouldn't stop until they saw Natalie's and Nicholai's men and women captured or dead.
Using all the leftover money they had, they bought those captives off every Pirate they came across and locked them in the vast cells aboard the Stellar Ranger, and there were plenty. Once they nearly ran out of money, they restocked on supplies, and began a long venture to a place far, far away from Liberty. A place where people resided who would pay good money for all those captives begging, crying and screaming inside the Ranger's cells. That place was Planet Malta, in the Omicron Alpha system. And Natalie, thanks to the Legion having had good relations with the Outcasts by that time, knew just exactly how to get there. The Outcasts, while suspicious at first, were pleased once they sent a boarding party aboard the Ranger to inspect its now mentally shattered cargo. Needless to say that they welcomed them on Malta with open arms right after, the Maltese Navy and the Dons outbidding each other in order to get a hand on all the captives...
Officers of the Liberty Navy, the Liberty Police, Bounty Hunters, Corporate Employees, they wanted them all, and they wanted them really bad. Bad enough for the men and women aboard the Ranger to make a fortune, with just one trip. Enough to spend on plenty of the latest available equipment for the ship, enough to spend on new weapons, even a used and rather battered Tridente-class Gunship and half a dozen Series Z Border World Very Heavy Fighters, fresh out of the local shipyards. And most importantly enough for ludicrous amounts of the most exquisite food and drinks Malta had to offer. Life was beginning to look good, but as much as the Outcasts loved that unexpected and very special delivery, the presence of former Hellfire Legionnaires together with former Soldiers of the Resurgent Coalition wasn't something they really liked. They tolerated them thanks to their delivery, granted, but the tolerance was fading with every single day, so the men and women of the Ranger mostly stuck to their ship. Their home. Until some day Natalie decided to head back to Liberty. A trip that didn't start too well, and yet just in time, due to the Outcasts wanting her to take a full shipment of Cardamine back to the place she once called home. She declined the offer, backed up by Nicholai and the entire crew. They weren't drug traffickers, and they certainly weren't the Outcasts' lapdogs. Not surprisingly, tolerance quickly turned into rage, and had they stayed any longer it's most likely that the ship would have been taken over and its crew been forced into slavery themselves.
And so they headed off, the scornful gaze of the Outcasts focused on their backs."
Liberty's Finest
One event led to another, and once Natalie had acquired herself the means to - in her eyes - conduct business in more efficient manner, largely in thanks to acquiring the aforementioned Tridente-class Gunship, she was stating to become more daring and diverging into a different area of trade. Extortion. This did of course garner the attention of the law more than she liked, but it wasn't only the law growing attracted to her, and the other individuals didn't exactly do it in a negative manner. Individuals such as Jimmy Engvall, Alan Moore, Richard Pound, Mark Grant, Sputnik Kaputnik, "V", the Highwayman, and a particular figure only known as "Angel". It's worth mentioning that Angel confessed to Natalie that he had been in part responsible for the death of Grace's and her parents, and while the details of that confession may never be known to anyone outside the two, or rather anyone but Natalie - who is to this day unaware of Grace also possessing parts of the puzzle - as Angel did ultimately find his peace and left for greener pastures. Natalie herself had been able to forgive him as a result of her own military service, knowing that orders are orders, and as Grace had been dead to both their knowledge for a while, she ultimately absolved the tormented soul. But that is neither here or there.
Regardless, slowly Natalie's business had evolved, having first started with few people, little money and even less resources, she was now establishing a personal kind of hit-squad which would eventually rise to fame - at least among the so-called "unlawfuls" in Liberty. Dubbing themselves "Liberty's Finest", they would eventually end up accomplishing nigh-impossible feats of courage, daring and hilarity - or absurdity. Three of the Finest once on their own defeated the Liberty Navy's renowned Gold Wing during a fight in the orbit of Planet Manhattan, Callahan - known by then simply as "Blue", in part due to her favorite choice of craft, her love for the color, and her then-trademark blue-dyed hair - even once managed to successfully pirate an Umbrage-class Cruiser of the feared Phantoms. The feats Liberty's Finest accomplished go even far beyond that, and they only rise in terms of ridiculousness, leading to such things like Callahan herself attempting to acquire her own Osiris-class Battleship, courtesy of the Order, in the best way she knew - extortion.
The show didn't end there however, and as fancy the continuous visits of the Finest in Omicron Minor were, it actually culminated in just another display of Callahan's creativity and randomness, where she decided to teach the "Blue Man Group" - that is the Liberty Navy, Security Force and Police Incorporated - a lesson. She did so with inviting countless Mercenaries and Freelancers - among them notable ones such as the man known as "aerelm", the notorious Kaze Dagon and her lover Jordy Meller, the infamous Johnny "Badass" Walker or the Mercenary trio comprised of Victoria Lesley, Henrik Drum and David Calhoun - to partake in some massive "frying of buckets", that is the destruction of countless capital ships of Liberty's military. And that by means of a simple, yet lucrative bounty which turned out to be tremendously effective. However as is the law of the universe, all good things come to an end.
A Raven's Broken Wings
In Liberty's Finest' early days, Natalie had gotten to know and quickly fell in love with Viva. As the latter had disappeared without much notice, it had left Natalie heartbroken, thinking that the one relationship she managed to have ever since her more innocent days on Los Angeles had come to an end, especially during a time where she had grown to rely on Viva's presence, comfort and love.
Natalie just disappeared off Sirius' surface, not knowing what to think and to believe in, completely disregarding her business, friends, associates, employees and otherwise. Brought to her knees and reduced to but a shadow of the cheer- and playful person she had been, she needed plenty of time alone until she could even consider doing anything but wallow in grief and self-pity. Time didn't fly, it merely passed slowly, each day but another nightmare. It wasn't until she got word from her love that she slowly started to recover from the shock, and what she had believed to be a loss she couldn't handle - especially since it had too much resembled the loss of her own sister.
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
But once she knew that Viva was alive and well, more importantly that she was in good and capable hands - the hands of a particular Major of the Red Hessian Army - she was relieved, and slowly started to get back to work. She didn't really need to accumulate more wealth, much less was there a need to ever work again in her life, but sitting on her ass doing nothing wasn't her style, and hasn't ever been since her departure from the Legion. It helped that she encountered Fuyu a while before, as did her own curiosity in recent Legion developments a while later. While little of her relationship with the half-Kusarian and half-Rheinlander lady is known, it can be said without doubt that Fuyu's cheerful and generally-happy nature played a large role in her recovery, something Natalie is more than grateful for to this day.
Once she was slowly getting back to becoming her old and usual self however, the more she looked around the more she also didn't particularly fancy the thought of getting back into her old area of work full-time. Times had changed drastically, and the Finest along with their glory days were gone. The environment had become more hostile, and the old means wouldn't achieve the same entertaining and destructive ends as before. So instead she opted for something more shady, and decided to create an own corporation of hers.
Salva Me Ab Inferis
It wouldn't have been possible without help however, and the people most ideally suited to help would've been none other than the Legionnaires, all of whom she had mostly abandoned in the past. It didn't exactly help that her contacts with the Legion were limited - a brief business ordeal with Tado Mori, mutual aid in space with Reynard Joyeuse among other matters, but little beyond the occasional chit-chat and temporarily allying to fight the same enemies. Luck was on her side however, as she did end up directly flying into Vespucci one day, where she wound up encountering her, as she lovingly calls her now, "artificial sister".
The reunion was one of the best things to happen in Natalie's life, and discovering that at least in some way, her sister still lived on beyond mere memories filled her with hope for the future and more than anything or anyone else, even more so than her fiancée, made her want to go on with her head held high and a fire in her heart burning bright as a dying star. It was to be the one thing that for now and forever would save her from hell, eternally just as Grace's being has turned out to be.
Past Shady Business
During all the time before however, it's worth mentioning that she had established herself as businesswoman beyond the field of extortion. Rather than just limit herself to that, she found that her relatively convincing nature and her strong sense for lucrative opportunities could pay off in a different manner, namely gathering intelligence, or establishing other dealings, such as a partnership with the Liberty Rogues thanks to their then-Underboss Ashes Yotaka. One of her more notable successes however was the acquisition of a full navigational chart of the Omega-56 system from a Bounty Hunter going by the name of Alex Godwyn.
The information she had acquired ended up sealing some of the deals which she had undertaken with both the Red Hessian Army and the Corsairs, much to everyone's pleasure as it wasn't known to either she had worked with both sides present in the Omega war. It earned her several things, such as being awarded the title "Amiga of the Empire" by Elder Espi, ensuring that she got to keep a particular triplet of Corsair-made Imperator-class Gunboats, courtesy of Elder Juan Montoya, and five temporarily borrowed Thor-class Bombers, courtesy of Major Gunther Hoerst. In the meanwhile, aside from the then-ongoing business she had with the Mercenary hordes, a certain Commodore of the Liberty Navy had caught her attention and Natalie was just aching to get to know her better, but unfortunately that didn't work out back in the day, with the timing coinciding with Viva's aforementioned quiet departure.
Jimbo
Most of that all wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for one of the most influential people in her life, the former Vagrant Raider Jimmy Engvall. A man known for his outright-crazy ideas, complete lack of manners, recklessness and sometimes crude, other times exceptionally hilarious sense of humor, he's been Natalie's friend and a loyal partner ever since both started to terrorize Liberty's trade-lanes with his favorite Battle-barge, the "Be Good At It", and Natalie's Gunship, the "Blue Raven". They've accomplished more insane feats together than any other duo in Liberty's recent history, ranging from ridiculous things such as "farming Squid" as a result of Nomad meat turning out to actually be an extremely delicious culinary delight if prepared correctly, to even feeding Nomads on one occasion in exchange for them growing tentacles and tossing them their way. Other memorable stunts include the previously-mentioned piracy of a Phantom, to field trip into Omicron Iota, somewhat laying siege to Omicron Minor, taking on countless of the Navy's Battle-cruisers, Assault Carriers and Dreadnoughts as a result of extortion attempts, even having some successful ones in this area, and their overall tendency to dominate encounters which for other, lesser "businesspeople" would have ended fatal.
Jimbo's and Natalie's craziness combined has led to enough memorable feats being accomplished to fill an entire series of books, and while nowadays they don't interact that much with one another - aside from Jimbo ripping the Hellfire Legion off by acquiring a Mortar for an Outcast Battleship in exchange for the intelligence data for the same Battleship while forgetting to give Natalie a cut - their mutual friendship and respect will most likely prevail for their lifetimes, regardless of which path either of them may choose.
The Leading Force in Male (and Female) Enhancement
Natalie's path has been steadily taking her closer to the Hellfire Legion. While she still conducts her own shady business as she sees fit, she's been more or less acting as the Legion's representative in some cases, while other times taking advantage of the Legion's recent developments in order to further fuel her own success, while obviously giving the Legion a cut at the same time. Be it sales of now-outdated surplus technology and making deals with a particular redhead, breathing new life into her business-relationship with Major Gunther Hoerst, or taking a newcomer like the already-infamous "Dubstep" under her wing, her business and involvement in Legion-related affairs is starting to bloom, which goes hand-in-hand with her evolving position in the Legion's ranks as a covert intelligence officer.
Her involvement in the Legion's affairs may be in part because of the existence of the BigMAX™ corporation - known for its aggressive advertising - having become a reality on the surface of Planet Guadaljara in Vespucci after Natalie had found a niche in the market for certain enhancement pharmaceuticals. But that, like one of Vespucci's main exports being "Blue Pills", is just a rumor. Natalie herself now enjoys a more laid-back lifestyle, rarely taking matters in the field into her own hands and preferring to only do so when absolutely necessary, not quite unlike her artificial sister, even if for different reasons.
Today, Tomorrow
In her private life she much enjoys playing a rather elaborate "hide and seek" game with her fiancée, while at the same time trying to once again date a particular Commodore, and ensuring that her close friends and family are taken care of in the best manner possible. Else she simply spends her time running her little corporation, and otherwise doesn't partake much in pompous and entertaining or ridiculous ordeals as she used to. More than anything she has grown to be more mature, but that came at no cost to her utter love for putting on a show and the fancy talk that comes with it, as recently demonstrated at the cost of a particular Hessian's nerves.
② [color=#99BBCC]Role-Play
Natalie "Blue" or "Blue Raven" Callahan is above all else devious - albeit mostly in a positive manner. Positive for her and her friends that is.
Soft-spoken, intelligent and attractive, she makes a reasonably good diplomat and negotiator, and her strong sense for profitable opportunities only supports that by allowing her to use her own personality to an advantage as often as possible.
She's generally a very playful and sometimes flirty individual who loves to add her own personal touch to anything happening around her, which sometimes earns her a bloody nose - part of the learning process as she would call it.
More often than not however she adds that certain touch by putting on a fancy show, be it verbally or literally. She'll go out of her way to make things look classy and for them to give just the impression she wants, be it by negotiating a deal or otherwise.
While she's relatively direct when it comes to business, she does actually enjoy beating around the bush a little, if only because she occasionally doesn't mind manipulating people to her liking, but she does the latter very rarely, preferring honesty where applicable.
Part of her nature is that she's not really a person to hold grudges either, and she's very tolerant of the people around around her with all their little quirks and different opinions and personalities. While she rarely will have qualms of conscience over shedding blood or otherwise - best displayed by her own view of piracy and extortion being a "sport" - she does prefer to find peaceful solutions to otherwise escalating situations.
As a businesswoman, she can be deceiving if necessary, or even exceptionally generous and demanding little as long as the other side behind a deal does compensate by putting on an entertaining or especially amusing act. When it's required however she will have no issue with saying "no" and putting her foot down, but due her extensive experience she knows that more often than not, compromises can be achieved anywhere and anyone.
When it comes to other people, she does enjoy surrounding herself with her close friends and family and she's known for having a very broad sense of humor, as well as a liking for harmless shenanigans. She also will, if necessary and potentially profitable, go out of her way to ensure the well-being and comfort of her most loyal associates. In regards to plain business-partners however, she will respect them and whatever they may do or say, preferring to treat them as equals more than anything else. No matter what however, she will mostly come up with some kind of nickname for as good as everyone.
There is another side of the coin however which few people ever see. While she rarely gets angry, heavens forbid someone really pisses her off - or even worse, invokes her full wrath by harming those she loves or cares for. She'll show no mercy and no respite against those, and will mobilize everything and everyone she can to protect those close to her if she believes them to be in grave danger.
In terms of speech she can be anything from polite - like she usually is to her "equals" - or she can end up cussing like a drunk Dublinite and be excessively cynical or sarcastic, the latter two sometimes making her appear a little paranoid. Regardless of who she speaks with, she'll usually be joking around a bit in most cases, and plenty of the things she says should be taken with a grain of salt. Unless if she shows that she is being dead-serious in one way or another.
③ [color=#99BBCC]Ships and their IDs
Natalie.Callahan [color=#99BBCC]— Titan ► Her ship of choice, pretty much ancient. Used for anything, but mainly as a means of travel. — Pirate ID
Sanctuary.Of.Dreams — Prison Liner ► One of the Liners she owns. Used as a mobile base of operations and storage. — Slaver ID
Blue, Fuyu, Grace and Viva - Blighter - 12-26-2011
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[size=medium]① [color=#990022]Viva Emilia Velasquez' Forum Stuff
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63141
The old Liberty's Finest thread with character backgrounds and stuff. - Defunct.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70800
That one special bounty.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=86832
Lane Hacker Bounty Board, she's still registered there.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90041
Viva contacting Major Gunther Hoerst prior to her departure out of Liberty.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7569
Red Hessian Reporting Facility, posts starting with #1016 and the last one being #1161.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90531
Goodbye, Jokes. Viva was a real big fan of the man.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=91069
Another bit where Viva expresses her dislike for Junkers on page #4.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=109075
I troll, therefore I am.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=108215
Dealing with the Mandalorian Mercenaries on behalf of the Red Hessian Army.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113231
Did you know there is a romance plot between Gunther Hoerst and Viva? Me neither.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111927
How to deal with insanity, episode one.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112802
When Natalie acquires a new associate, Viva has an annoying time telling the man in question that she doesn't do "mixtapes".
② [color=#FFBB00]Grace's Forum Stuff
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2863
Hellfire Legion Message Dump, posts starting with #1309 as Grace Callahan and ongoing nowadays as the Artificial Personality.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71211
Battleship Incursus, contains the ship's ancient history.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71377
Being a cold and sarcastic bitch.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72809
See above.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74091
What sparked the Xeno and Legion alliance.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=107565
Expanding relations between the Unioners and the Legion.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=109554
Cold-hearted, non-trusting and arrogant, the typical Grace.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112721
Getting conned out of a Mortar without ever realizing it.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112763
Chit-chat that resulted in re-established relations with the Vagrant Raiders.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112787
Look daddy, the Legion can shoot Order caps in Liberty without repercussions now!
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114723
Beginning of a partnership between the Red Hessian Army and the Hellfire Legion.
③ [color=#FFBBCC]Fuyu's Forum Stuff
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69941
Unioner Bounty Board, Fuyu occasionally works for them.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=89767
Winterborn, Fuyu's story as told from her perspective.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90626
Talking with Commander Alexander Yamakazi. Also includes BigMAX™.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90939
A message to Commander Alexander Yamakazi somehow reaches Logan Willows. Hilarity ensues.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=91285
Later establishing a contract with Commander Alexander Yamakazi. Includes BigMAX™ as per custom.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=92288
They see me trollin', they hatin'. Or maybe they need more ProSolution™.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=106558
Explaining herself to Shōshō Mikako Takahashi and Chūjō Kagakagari Takaya, then getting to know about Yamakazi's defection from the former.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113251
The sexiest man in Sirius says hi. Confusion ensues.
④ [color=#99BBCC]Natalie Callahan's Forum Stuff
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=48808
First interaction between her and the Legion after the defection.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=49535
Acquiring docking and mooring rights on Alcatraz during her earlier independent days.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50488
Something for the Rogues.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60506
Mocking the Legion.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63141
The Liberty's Finest thread again. Relevant to Natalie too. - Defunct.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63469
Telling the Order that they suck, boo-hoo.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70800
That one bounty. Again.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71922
Getting a gift for a sexy, sexy friend.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72183
Fixing her Titan.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72854
Some banter, mostly done by her liner's XO however.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73018
Borrowing a bunch of Thor-class Bombers from Major Gunther Hoerst in exchange for a map she got later.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73032
Herself getting a very nice bargaining chip in form of the above-mentioned map.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73040
Dealing with Elder Espi in gratitude for help getting her Titan fixed, then getting awarded the title "Amiga of the Empire".
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74952
First attempt at getting a date with Commodore Christina Robinson. Both didn't show up in the end because of more pressing matters.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75335
Stellar Ranger Bar and Grill. - Defunct. Was going to do some major RP-gig but had to gtfo b/c of RL.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75515
Dealing with Elder Juan Montoya and getting a bunch of Imperator-class Gunboats.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=89432
Helping the Lane Hackers acquire something super-secret and special because she loves the Highwayman so much. Viva played the role of the tour-guide.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=106807
Ensuring her fiancée's safety.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=108003
The notorious aerelm and Natalie have something shady going on which may or may not be revealed in the future. Because we're lazy.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110653
Shady business because her pet needed a little sister. D'aw, isn't she adorable? Isn't Fluffy adorable? (Hint: Fluffy isn't.)
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111375
Dealing with the Beaver Drinking-buddies Company.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112802
Acquiring a new associate. An entertaining one. Sort of.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114292
Acting as an intermediary between the Legion and the Red Hessian Army. Probably costing Gunther Hoerst plenty of nerves in the process as a bonus.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113253
Second attempt at getting a date with Commodore Christina Robinson. We'll see how this goes.
http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114063
She can be pretty nice to other nice people. Sometimes.