The Captain of the Ship,
Akaisha Kusanagi.
Age: 30 (in 819).
Nationality: Kusari/Bretonian.
Gender: Female.
Place Of Birth: Transport Ship between Bretonia and Kusari.
Background: Akaisha is the child of Charles McKinnis, a former Bretonian Military Captain, and Hitomi Kusanagi a freelancer from Kusari. After her birth, her father, an otherwise loyal Bretonian citizen helped the two of them escape Bretonian space as hostilities with Kusari seemed likely at the time. Unwilling to travel with them due to his military loyalties, the family was split apart permanently.
After resettling on Hitomi's homeworld of New Tokyo, her mother decided that they should live away from the dangers of life in a megacity, and so Akaisha was raised in a quiet village in the mountains of a small island some distance from the main urban centers of the planet. Around Akaisha's 17th birthday, she learned that her mother had been killed in space during an encounter with pirates.
It was then that Akaisha began life on her own, using what little money her mother had kept hidden away for them. Akaisha managed to acquire a small freighter, using it for trading, and eventually smuggling, throughout Sirius. Akaisha was able to break into black market trade thanks in part to some of her mother's old contacts.
Eventually, Akaisha made her 'home' in Liberty and fell in with the Junkers of New York, where she later acquired her hallmark ship, the Pilgrim Liner known as The Heavy Metal Queen. This ship would go on to make her somewhat famous among certain crowds, gaining her much respect, and even fear, as well as many enemies she had never anticipated.
After being around the Junkers' for a number of years, it was brought to her attention that the Slave Trade was one of the most lucrative trades in the sector for those who had the skill and stomach for it. After many long arguments with Saito, her number two, Akaisha reluctantly agreed to have the Heavy Metal Queen transformed into a "Top of the line" Slaving Vessel. While still morally opposed to the idea of slaving, Akaisha has accepted it as the way of life she knows, something she is good at, and something that has allowed her to continue living her life with relatively few major problems.
The Helmsman/Slave Driver,
Saito Kagemaru.
Age: 38 (in 819).
Nationality: Kusari.
Gender: Male.
Place Of Birth: Planet New Tokyo.
Background: Saito was one of the best pilots in his class at the Kusari Naval Academy. He had been picked to personally command a KNF Destroyer on a training sortie in orbit of planet Kyushu. Toward the end of what was an otherwise successful mission, which would have been a positive landmark to launch him on a long career in the Kusari Navy, something went horribly wrong. it was believed to be an accident but Saito has always blamed himself for it. The ship fell out of orbit, and began a rapid, uncontrollable descent through the atmosphere of Kyushu, breaking apart long before slamming into the ocean below.
Few of the escape pods launched before the crash, killing nearly everyone aboard including Saito's training officers. Saito, blaming himself, resigned his commission at the KNF Academy and began a long and brutal battle with alcoholism which spanned more than a decade. In fact his alcoholism is the reason he met Akaisha, when she came into a Freeport bar looking for skilled pilots. Seeing this as some sort of weird way to redeem himself and prove to himself that the destroyer incident wasn't his fault, he was one of the first to volunteer and ultimately the best candidate in Akaisha's eyes. Many associates and members of the crew believe that the two of them have even developed a romantic relationship, though both of them would deny it flatly.
Saito's past has left him mostly a cynical and bitter man on the inside and this is usually seen externally only when he vents his anger on newly acquired slaves, and even the occasional Engine Room worker.
The Medical Officer,
Chelsea Hagen.
Age: 23 (in 819).
Nationality: Libertonian.
Gender: Female.
Place Of Birth: Planet Los Angeles.
Background: Chelsea was a student at a medical school run by Cryer Pharmaceuticals, in her final year at the medical school it came out that she had a severe addiction to Cardamine as well as Synthetic Marijuana. So despite her outstanding track record in the field of medicine she was ejected from Medical School, and shortly thereafter detained by the LPI, spending a year in a Rehab program. After returning home, work was hard for her to come by, and she was finding it difficult to continue paying rent, facing eviction from her apartment, when she found out about a 'Transport Ship' recently moored at the Los Angeles Spaceport whose captain was seeking out 'Qualified' Medical Personnel to serve as part of the crew. Chelsea jumped at this chance for work, not fully knowing the details of her job until after signing on, details which at that point proved ultimately irrelevant to her, given the amount of money being made.
Additional Notes: Chelsea also has an apparent knack for technology, as such she is the one who creates most of the "Devices" that the crew of the 'The Queen' use to keep their new slaves or, "Workers" as she calls them...Obediant.
The Gunnery Chief/Head Of Security,
Hans Olbermann.
Age: 32 (in 819).
Nationality: Rheinlander, Germanic.
Gender: Male.
Place Of Birth: Planet New Berlin.
Background: Hans is an extremely serious and disciplined 'gun nut', born in Rheinland of two military parents. When he reached the age of eighteen he enlisted in the Rheinland Military, serving with a 'Naval Infantry' unit, taking part in, and eventually leading his own successful raids on several pirate and terrorist bases. In the course of his military career Hans became an expert marksman and distinguished soldier, eventually leading his own unit of special operatives up until the end of his time in uniform. A time he still feels was cut far too short.
What put an end to Hans' career was a bar fight that he got himself into against two Rheinland Military fleet pilots, He wound up killing one of them and leaving the other paralyzed from the waist down. As one might expect, Hans has been on the run since then. He was later picked out by Akaisha and Saito from a handful of prospective crew-members in a bar on Niverton station. When the two heard of his experiences they could hardly wait to bring such an accomplished and disciplined soldier aboard as their head of security.
Hans has served 'The Queen' faithfully and dutifully for the duration of his time aboard, and he is the primary reason none of the slaves have ever escaped, he is also personally responsible for training the 'security' crew, who otherwise would have been standard run of-the-mill hired guns. Under Hans' direction they have become professional, effective, and disciplined marksmen that operate in a swift and paramilitary manner. This in effect, has created a small army loyal and devoted to the missions tasked to them by Akaisha Kusunagi.
Even with all of his responsibilities, Hans still manages to be personable enough to have become a good friend to both Akaisha and Saito, both of whom completely trust him personally, with their lives on and off the ship.
The Bodyguard/Fixer,
Natsukawa Saeko aka "Chidori".
Age: 17 (in 819).
Nationality: Kusari.
Gender: Female.
Place Of Birth: Planet New Tokyo.
Background: Natsukawa came to be a part of the Heavy Metal Queen's crew when she was just seventeen years old. Taken as a trophy by pirates after the transport ship she was aboard was destroyed, she spent several years being sold from one pirate to another, before finally crossing paths with Kusanagi Akaisha, who witnessed her slit the throat of an unaffiliated pirate that was trying to restrain her. Akaisha chose to intervene and protect her, for reasons that were never articulated. After this, young Saeko formed an almost familial devotion to Akaisha, the first person who had ever protected her. She would go on to become highly trusted by Akaisha, even acting as her personal bodyguard, messenger, and "fixer", as she got older and grew under Akaisha's watch.
This is a ship whose name at one point was relatively famous, or infamous depending on point of view, evading House authorities and even hostile pirates throughout the Sirius Sector for years. Many have seen the vessel hovering idly in orbit of some planet or station at one point or another, though none have ever really discovered the true nature of the ship and her crew. The Captain herself is even rumored to have personal relationships with many members of various government and military organizations. Of course they too, are unaware of the nature of her business.
Even today, this ship and her crew are somehow still in business, actively turning a profit through the immoral trade of flesh and drug. Today however, the ship is relatively less known, in part because many believe the ship to have been destroyed and her crew killed, when it was caught in the crossfire between a Coalition Boarding Party and a murderous psychopath known as "Djinn", hellbent on personal revenge. On top of that, The Heavy Metal Queen goes unrecognized because many of the people who associated themselves with her crew are now either dead or in prison, having been beaten at their own game, or at the hands of House authorities.
The last, and perhaps most important thing factoring into the current state of the Heavy Metal Queen, is the loss of the token ship. The once famous Pilgrim Liner known as the Heavy Metal Queen is no more, destroyed and left as a burnt out hulk somewhere in the Omegas, for there is after all, some truth to the rumors regarding her fate. The majority of the original crew were in fact killed, either by the aforementioned "Djinn", or the Coalition boarding party led by a young Lieutenant by the name of Katya Vaschenko. The only crew members who did manage to escape the original ship, were those serving on the bridge.
After their brush with death, having watched both friends and years worth of their hard work, go literally up in smoke, the four surviving crew members of The Queen would lay low on Gran Canaria for months. This time was spent recovering their losses, both emotionally and financially. The time spent on Gran Canaria is what allowed the Heavy Metal Queen to return to business, albeit in a somewhat different state than the one that had garnered so much attention to it before.
The crew had turned enough profit through their new contacts on Gran Canaria that they were able to re-establish themselves and acquire a new ship. Akaisha was originally hesitant to acquire another Pilgrim Liner, though this was the course of action taken ultimately in the end. So they rose again to the skies, breathing new life into their business, with a new, more optimized and "modern" Pilgrim Liner variant than the original, though it too would still bear the same moniker: Heavy Metal Queen. Akaisha and her surviving crew were of course afraid at first, that the name would be too high profile, though this fear was not enough to prevent them from returning to their immoral craft.
They are the same crew, with the same purpose, flying under the same name, and yet...they are altogether different having collectively survived, what Akaisha calls "a brush of bad karma."
Recently, it's rumored that the Heavy Metal Queen has made a return to it's roots, becoming again tied to the seedy underworld of Liberty's smugglers and slavers as nurtured by the Junkers.
Though Akaisha is said to have a personal distaste for Junker ways she realizes that they have the means, and the political pull to protect her ship and crew from serious harm while also maintaining a fairly unassuming profile in the Houses. This standing allows The Queen to fly relatively 'under the radar' of House authorities as opposed to say, the notoriety that would be gained by being affiliated with an outright unlawful group like the Rogues or Outcasts.
Despite her Kusari heritage, and her distaste for the Junkers, Akaisha has managed to find relative safety among the denizens of Rochester Station, ultimately coming to see some of them as close personal friends, and even extended family, this is why when worst comes to worst, she always falls back in line with them. Seeking the security and stability that they provide, even if she would undoubtedly rather be self sufficient and unaffiliated with any particular organization.
In 831, against the backdrop of the slave uprising on Malta, with the Heavy Metal Queen stuck at port, things aboard the ship quickly deteriorated. Kagemaru Saito, who had long wanted complete control of the ship and its business but could never make a move against Akaisha, finally saw his opportunity.
Together with a number of men from the mercenary security force Akaisha employed to protect the ship, Saito attempted to seize control of the ship, resulting in rolling gun battles across multiple decks as members of the security team fought against one another, these gun battles would lead to the deaths of many crew members, including Hans Olbermann and Chelsea Hagen.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, Saito was holding Akaisha at gunpoint, intending to force her to undo all the security measures that prevented him from controlling the ship and accessing the veritable treasure trove that Akaisha had amassed in her quarters over the years. While Saito was monologuing about whether or not he would kill Akaisha, or sell her to the highest bidder, Natsukawa Saeko would use this opportunity to shoot him in the back, nearly taking his head off with a ceremonial sword after that, as he lay in his own blood on the floor.
After this, Akaisha and Saeko would abandon the Heavy Metal Queen altogether, leaving the mercenaries to finish killing one another in the chaos. It's unclear how the pair found their way off Malta after this, or whether or not the Pilgrim Liner known as The Heavy Metal Queen remains intact, but neither woman was particularly concerned with that at the time.
In 833, after spending some two years taking various freelance jobs throughout Kusari, and even briefly attempting to retire to her family home on New Tokyo, Akaisha Kusanagi eventually made her way back to Liberty and returned to the Junkers, the organization that had come to feel like home, and almost even family to her over the years. With few hard skills, and no appetite for "the quiet life", Akaisha made use of her connections and the resources of the Junkers, to find and reclaim the wreck of the Heavy Metal Queen from Malta and restore it to working order, intent on once again taking to the stars as a ship captain.
With much of her old crew dead, and Natsukawa Saeko's whereabouts unknown, the reborn Heavy Metal Queen is mostly crewed by Junkers and Libertonian mercenaries, but with nobody like Saito Kagemaru aboard, the ship is truly Akaisha's now, to do with what she pleases, and make the future that she wants for herself, without fear of violence or betrayal from her own crew.