I ain't special. I'm not a hero. Not a fighter. Not even that bright. I'm just a guy with a ship.
- on himself
Jack Steven Agincourt was born on Newark Station. His father was one of the many planetside shuttle-jockies who made their living ferrying personel back and forth between Planet Manhatten and its sorrounding sattelites. His mother died of complications during childbirth.
My Dad spent more time planetside than I did. Fair hand in a shuttle, but that was kinda the point, right? Good man, but he never really made it beyond bein' a shuttle-jockey.
- on his childhood
Jack took over for his father when he retired, and did just as competantly as his father. Where Devin Agincourt was content, however, Jack was not, and though he would support his later ailing father for the rest of his life, Jack aspired to things beyond the Manhattan system. After a year of saving, coupled with a loan, Jack gained ownership of a small Starflier, named 'The Agincourt'.
I flew that beautiful piece of junk over a year. Handling was loose...it'd almost shake apart during atmo...couldn't hold much more than me and a coupla boxes...Feth I loved that little b-----d...
- on his first ship
Jack's business moving merchandise and occasionally passengers to and from Manhattan to Pittsburgh eventually garnered him enough capitol to pay off his loan as well as invest in a new ship, the "Agincourt II" - a similarly battered Rhino freighter. As his cargo bay expanded, so too did his trade routes, and Jack finally realized his dream of seeing a larger galaxy. Agincourt II was followed by the Agincourt III, a Clydesdale, and the Agincourt IV, a CSV II Salvager. It was at this point Jack met a woman named Jeannae who gave him a tremendous 10 million credit loan.
Blowhard's Windfall? Tha's my ship, aye. Got a loan to buy 'er. Big pig belly of a cargo bay...handles like a slug with narcolepsy...would take a battlecruiser to blow apart. Dream ship.
- on his latest ship
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.
Cha. I got a new ship. The Idiot's Windfall. Even bigger pig-belly 'n the Blowhard.
- on his newest ship
Jack's business loan did more than just get him a ship - the capitol was enough that Jack started pulling in major money. The purchase of a refitted Kusari Cruise Liner - the Idiot's Windfall - necessitated bringing in a crew of around twenty. Unfortunately, having a crew and larger expenses meant Jack had to work harder to pull in money and support the crew and ship maintainence.
Gotta feed the crew, right? And ta feed 'em you need money. And to make money ya need to run your routes. I been runnin' this one for near a week now - but I'm still flyin' an tha's all that matters, right?
- on his growing business
Jack soon began 'burning hot' - running a trade route for extended time, often running for weeks without stop. While it paid off monetarily, the toll on his crew - and himself - was extraordinary. Jack became addicted to Cardamine which helped keep him awake when the Idiot's Windfall burned hot. Where his crew could run skeleton shifts and get rest, as a Captian, Jack rarely had the luxury of sleep. His addiction brought on insomnia, and the two began to embitter the once optimistic young man from Manhattan. At 34, Jack looked closer to 44.
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.
No. I ain't got a problem. I do Cardi, aye, but I ain't got a fethin' problem, 'n I'd take it as a kindness if'n you butt out, aye?
- on his Cardamine habit
Jack's habit only continued to worsen. Oddly, or perhaps as a perverse consequence, Jack was making more money than ever. The Idiot's Array was sold for a Kusari Transport which Jack named the Fool's Boat, and Jack continued his lucrative trading. In the New Berlin System, Jack was contracted to help with a shipping AI program called, of all things, the Merchan Tofvenice.
it was at this point that Jack became interested in the Zoners.
I heared plenty 'bout them Zoners. Some says they're too damn neutral for their own good, aye? Some says they just do what they do 'n leave well 'nough alone. I hope tha's the truth. I'd like that. Jus' fly. Do what I do, aye? *snorting sound* Cha. Even if Cardi's what I do, aye?
- on the Zoners
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.
"There ain't much to say 'bout it. A man gets to a certain point in his life, starts to think outside hisself. Beyond. To the future. Hell, I been snuffin' Cardi for longer 'n I'll admit. But I got a crew, now. Real one. Buncha hardworkin' misfits on the Foolhardy tha' need the Black as much as I do. Ain't right to let myself go down that way, aye? Let Cardi suck me so dry I can't see nothin' past my face? Naw. I cleaned up. A little."
Jack had previously considered his addiction real, but not a problem. He soon realized, however, that his drug habit had become a real drug problem - jobless and aimless wandering had taken its toll on the ship and on his men.
The incident in the Badlands changed that. During the investigation of a gravitational anomoly in Calorado, Jack happened upon a jumphole which happened to spit the Foolhardy out in the Badlands. The Foolhardy was in bad shape - the sensor array had been all but destroyed, the cruise engine trashed, and impulse reduced to a painful crawl.
For two weeks, the Foolhardy attempted to navigate the maze of asteroids while fending off repeated Rogue and Xenos attacks. After finally getting a distress signal out through the field's interference, the Foolhardy limped back to Norfolk for repairs.
First mate George Lok informed Jack that he was being placed in rehab. Jack did not argue.
"I ain't clean. Lemme jus' get that out. At this point, them docs say that bein' clean'd kill me. Weird, huh. But I pop them pills and snort what they tell me to snort 'n I'll be alright, I guess. Do Cardi, still, but its part of my medication. Think what you will. The Foolhardy's still flyin', 'n tha's enough for me."
Jack's relative sobriety brought with it some amount of clarity. Sustaining operations of the retrofitted Luxury Liner 'Foolhardy' was one thing - giving it purpose, entirely another. With that in mind, and intensely aware of the Rheinland/Liberty military tensions, Jack took to study and contemplation.
Maybe it was time he threw his lot to one side or the other.
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.