A Drifter's Odyssey (OOC/Sign-Ups/Semi-Open)

[Zarkenis Ultima]

A Drifter's Odyssey
By Zark and Esternial

Devil's Sunset

Now there's a name that's hard to forget, and you of all people would remember it, considering that you live in this place. Whether you came from some distant part of the known universe or have always lived in the world of Calico, which orbits a star among the thousands present in the Dusty Road galaxy, and whether you are human or any of the other creatures that happen to inhabit this semidesertic strip of land in the west of Calico's northern continent, the truth is that you have not been in the town of Devil's Sunset for very long.

And yet, making the wild and unlikely assumption that you didn't know beforehand, you can already tell, this is no ordinary city. For the mundane folk, it would be normal in most regards, save for a few odd things here and there, strange behaviors, strange customs. But to you it's pretty clear that this place is full of men and women who tread on the wrong side of the law. You can tell because you, yourself, are one of them. You, lady, gentleman or most curious creature, operate outside the laws of the lands you live in. Con artist, thief, smuggler, you name it. Perhaps you are one of them because you were born into this life, growing up in a world of triple locks and shady dealings. Perhaps you were inspired by the tales of Top Hat Fitzgerald or a number of other men and women, equal parts folk legends and legendary folks. Perhaps you simply found the paths to wealth offered by the counter culture to be more lucrative than an honest job, or were brought into it by necessity. Whatever the case, though, the fact is that you are a part of this world.

And you are not alone.

Outlaws like you, they can have a hard time trying to survive without the protection of the law covering them. They need someone to watch their backs, something that has been known for thousands of years. And who better to watch your back than someone who is in the same situation as you, someone who has the same necessity? Of course, there is always the risk of being stabbed in the back, but that never stopped certain kinds of people from grouping together. Some call themselves families, and some call themselves syndicates. Calico is famous for them, and the most powerful of them all have an influence that spreads far into the rest of the known universe, even as far as the fabled cradle of humanity, the Milky Way. Indeed, their presence is also felt here, in Devil's Sunset.

You are not a part of any of those.

No, instead, you're with the Redwing Band, a small, nascent group of outlaws who have no choice but to cater to the needs of the less wealthy. Not a criminal organization per se, these folk are simply willing to take on any jobs that the people of Devil's Sunset need carried out as long as they are paid for it. For better or for worse, potential talent aside, you happen to be stuck with them, led by a man named Harlan Redwing, the only one who would take you in and look out for you in the dangerous streets of Devil's Sunset. No one knows where your loyalties will lead you one day, outlaw, but for now, this is where you belong.

It is evident that many things are bound to change soon, however. Dusty Road lies at the fringes of human territory and, indeed, the known universe. Many races coexist there, exploring the frontier between the known and the unknown, largely unchecked by the entities that hold territories there, which is the reason Dusty Road, and Calico itself, are safe havens for those who oeprate outside the law. And yet, a shadow spreads, coming not from the forces of the law or from the outlaws themselves, but from beyond the veil of darkness. From the edges of the galaxy, whispers of unrest spread. Rumors of mysterious disappearances that have no explanation, of ghost fleets attacking everything in sight, and those regarded as madmen, they speak of fallen stars.

Not that this concerns you.

But it should.

---

Welcome to A Drifter's Odyssey! Devised by Esternial and myself, this thing, as you can probably tell, is a science fiction roleplay in which players will take on the role of members of the Redwing Band as they carry out small jobs to gain money and renown, eventually finding themselves caught up in a chain of events that will determine the ultimate destiny of the galaxy and, indeed, perhaps the universe itself.

For more information, click here or scroll down!

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If you've read up until this point: You're almost there! You just need to know a few more things.

RULES

1.- The OP (Zarkenis Ultima) and his Co-OP (Esternial) are the highest authorities of this thread.
2.- Respect your fellow players (And any lurkers, I guess).
3.- Grammatically correct posts, please.
4.- Godmodding is forbidden. If you need to do something to another character, ask for permission and work it out here (Or in private, but do inform me).
5.- Posts must be PG-13
6.- Appropiately-sized posts, please. I won't set a minimum because the circumstances vary, but do make an effort.
7.- Have fun.

APPLICATION

Code: Select all

[b][u]Name:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Age:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Gender:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Race:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Appearance:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Likes/Dislikes:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Abilities:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Inabilities:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Bio:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Additional Information:[/u][/b]
[b][u]Roleplay Sample:[/u][/b]

And now, the mystical how-to!

Name: Self-explanatory.
Age: Self-explanatory.
Gender: Self-explanatory.
Race: Self-explanatory. If nonhuman, please describe them below your application!
Appearance: What your character looks like. Can be a description or an image.
Likes/Dislikes: Self-explanatory.
Abilities: What your character can do well, such as riding, piloting, infiltrating, shooting, et cetera.
Inabilities: What your character can't do to save his life.
Bio: The story of your character's life.
Additional Information: Whatever you want to add that you feel you couldn't cover in the previous fields.
Roleplay Sample: So I can gauge your roleplaying ability.

Note: All the fields are mandatory for signing up.

In-Character Thread

[Zarkenis Ultima]

List of accepted characters

Samuel Linus Johnson, star pilot. - Kassaran
Azure, techie. - Sempans
Wesley Logan, brawler. - Mustard Shack
M'toc Li'quin, potato-loving dog. - Malshan
Markus Salvador, bounty hunter down at the heel. - Esternial
Malcolm Jones, doctor fallen from grace. - Brusia
Cyriouse 'Knives' Del'ior, Fox pilot. - Palonitr and Howland
Howard Theofrost, the old guy. - Frostorn
Machita Sakunberg, cute foxgirl. - Constaniana
Ziruus, the pirate hyena. - Rupudska
Damon/Karl Falstaff, the looney. - Escalan Corps-Star Island
Sezarr ib'il Azad, the spoiled... thing. - Senkaku
Nero, the dude with the helmet. - Feroxi

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Information!

Story:

Earth. The ancestral home of Humanity. It is no longer inhabited, but it was here that the human race was born and developed to the level that allowed them to conquer the stars. Before that, however, there was much tribulation. During the late 21st century, a decayed Earth, battered by the pollution and abuse it had been subjected to by the human race, had begun to threaten to turn on its inhabitants, Mother Nature's disasters growing more frequent every year, and stronger as well, wiping out millions of men and women. Naturally, humans were not too pleased about this potentially cataclysmic scenario. The world pooled it's resources together in order to find a solution, but it was apparent that it was too late to fix the damage they had done. What was the remaining alternative, then?

Escape.

Fueled by their moment of necessity, mankind began developing very advanced space-traveling technology at an accelerated rate, eventually perfecting this to such a point that they were able to successfully evacuate their dying planet, setting out towards the stars, safe for now, but still with their time running short and looking for a new home.

It was during this hasty exodus that a certain event happened, an event that would mark the human race. Long had they prepared for it, and yet, they had no choice but to meet it completely unprepared.

The first contact.

Clockwork angels, men had called them back then. Creatures made of metal with slender bodies adorned with gears here and there, and wings of glass on their backs, with clockwork mechanisms to operate them. They had first approached humanity as their flying sanctuaries, their holy arks, drifted through the black void of space. They appeared on their ships, massive contraptions made of clockwork vaguely ressembling stars, a scouting party that faced a most strange scenario, a fleet of drifting, odd-shaped vessels wandering through the black sea, bearing billions of strange lifeforms within.

Now, humans, let us remember, are idiots sometimes. More so when they panic. And what did they do when faced with this situation? Why, panic, of course. And, had they met any other, more aggressive or even less curious race, the whole of humanity would have met their end, right there and right then. And yet, before their panic could get out of hand and make them push the big red button in a misguided attempt to preserve themselves, the Virtians, the clockwork angels, wise and curious as they were, managed to communicate with the humans, dialoguing with them, soothing their alarmed minds and directing them towards a place they could call home while also telling them about their neighbors. For, you see, as this encounter had proven, humans were most definitely not alone out there.

And so, with a world to call their own, and a friend to guide them, humanity slowly but surely recovered from its exodus, making peace with the other inhabitants of the universe and spreading through the stars. It has been several decades since then. May the shadow of extinction never pose itself over humanity ever again.

The story of the Grand Unified Dominion begins in Haven. More specifically, it begins in the world of Cradle, the world given to the humans in exodus by the so-called clockwork angels. Grateful for the mercy and guidance of this alien race, most of those who formed the higher echelons of the human government at the time wished to maintain contact with them, believing them to be valuable and honorable allies and wishing to promote cooperation. However, as with many things, true unanimity was but a distant utopia. Even now, there were those among the humans who did not trust the Virtian race, believing them to have ulterior motives for helping them so much without expecting anything in return. And in time, this disagreement and mistrust that spread amongst part of the population eventually became a violent affair, until such a point that those in power, fearing for the integrity of their recovering society, exiled the separatists in one of their gargantuan arks.

It was these people who first settled in the Triangulum galaxy, and it was these people who formed the entity that would come to be known as the Grand Unified Dominion of the Triangulum. Finding themselves in a relatively isolated area and with no competence to speak of, the exiles formed their own society and, using the technology from the ark, spread throughout the systems of the galaxy. Cut off from the rest of humanity, they vowed to be what their race would not be. They began to hold loyalty, unity, respect and solidarity towards their own as their highest values, as well as adopting the more questionable doctrine of keeping alien races away from them at any cost. This, naturally, has caused them to face many wars in the past, some justified and others less so. As a result, they also developed quite the warrior culture, devoting much of their resources to bettering their defenses and gathering a strong army to protect their lands and fight their enemies, which, in their eyes, were any alien races wishing to enter their territory, as well as the 'traitors' from Haven. It is in fact from this frequent state of affairs where one of their least popular policies, that of lowering the recruitment age in times of war, comes from.

In time, the Grand Unified Dominion of the Triangulum has come to be slightly less belligerent and slightly more tolerant of others, enough to do things such as making concessions for foreign ships to travel through their territory and such, though they will still react fiercely to anything that they perceive as a trespassing of what they consider THEIR land, having had to conquer it after being 'abandoned there by their foolish brothers'. They are also fiercely defensive of their people, as their principles dictate, though this often results in a bit of a restricted freedom of transit between their territories and foreign worlds, which has at times caused a bit of discontent in the past. Incidentally, one of their most recent conflicts was initiated by such defensiveness when Triangulum ships were destroyed in an experiment gone awry on foreign territory.

In the outer areas of the Dominion lies the world of Tangent, so called for being the only readily inhabitable world tangent to the incircle of the constellation that shares its name with the Dominion. A bit convoluted, but whoever named that world was a mathematical geek anyway.

Tangent is a rocky world of vibrant colors and clear skies, with its inhabitants often maintaining a laid back attitude, though they still uphold the values of the Dominion. The society that has settled there is one that values tradition and solidarity, though given the militaristic tendencies of the Triangulum, they are not one that is opposed to progress, as long as said progress is for the better of society. It is a world where men and women reach great heights and great four-winged birds soar the skies. Given that the men born there are often well-suited for combat, special attention is placed there when the government looks for new recruits, something that results in this world receiving a fair bit of propaganda. Entertainment is something that is greatly valued, as it offers an alternative to the somewhat monotonous propaganda and often serves to distract the populace from the wars in which their overlords involve themselves.

Our story, once again, begins in Haven, though not necessarily in Cradle this time, for by the time this story began, Haven had already been extensively colonized, and though Cradle remained important, being the seat of power of the largest human government in existence at the time, it was not particularly important to this story. No, instead, our story follows a certain scientific group seated in one of the edgeworlds of Haven, the Malanson Institute of Scientific Progress, headed by one Ramon Vega, Don Vega to his friends and coworkers, who, it was said, enjoyed proudly displaying his ethnical roots through his headwear.

Unconcerned with the animosity between Virtian supporters and those who failed to trust the clockwork angels, which was still strong at the time, the members of the Institute worked hard day and night to bring forth discoveries that would lead humanity to shine with a glory greater than its former one, a vision shared by all of them, and one to which they devoted their entire careers. And at long last came the discovery that promised to bring technology that the humans who lived before the great exodus had only ever dreamed of: The graviton.

But while this shone, it was not gold. During one of their early experiments, something went wrong, almost terribly so, having even threatened to swallow the entire Institute. The failsafes, untested as they were, failed to do their work, and it was only through the sacrifice of one of the members of the Institute that no other lives were lost in this terrible accident.

After that, no one wanted to hear anything about gravitons anymore, much less work with them, fearing a repetition of that terrible tragedy.

No one, that is, except for Don Vega. Only he and the truly zealous continued working with the graviton, much to the dismay of their coworkers. The experiments continued without much incidents or breakthroughs for a while. By then, the anti-Virtians had already been exiled. Unbeknownst to Don Vega, while it would happen in much friendlier terms, the same was about to happen to him and his loyal group of scientists. Eventually, after word of the incident and concerns towards the possible calamities that further experiments could bring reached Cradle, the zealous group of scientists at the Institute were offered a deal: They would be given an enormous ammount of resources and a sufficient ammount of workers, and they would be sent off to an unpopulated galaxy so that their experiments could continue there, undisturbed and disturbing no one.

Many saw this as the same thing that had happened to the separatists that formed the Triangulum, an exile. But Don Vega saw it for what it was: An opportunity.

And off they went, to work in the isolated reaches of the Sombrero galaxy. Many saw the irony in this, Don Vega himself included. But, all things considered, it went well for them. Through extensive trial and error, and the accidental (but controlled) destruction of many (empty) worlds, they gained an intrincate knowledge of gravity. Of course, this was not the only area they studied. Several other fields were also covered by them, now that they had no one to compete with, no one to tell them not to do this or that. Their zeal and their science created horrors and wonders alike, and as the local population grew, the scientists adopted a peculiar habit: They all began wearing sombreros, in honor of their by then deceased 'hero', Don Vega.

With all of this, a segregation of sorts also began, as the workers and their descendants would be considered inferior to the scientist class. In time, the sombrero became a symbol of the higher class. Eventually, the sombrero spread, as not only scientists, but also military leaders and businessmen would begin wearing them as well. The segregation has since become less and less severe, but one thing hasn't changed: The sombrero still equals a high social standing, being a symbol of wisdom, courage and power.

Another thing that hasn't changed is that they like freaky experiments. It was one of these, in fact, that initiated one of their latest conflicts, as during one of their experiments gone awry a foreign ship was sucked into a black hole. Of course, the Triangulum, whose ship was the one that had been destroyed, have been among the very few people to attack the Sombrero galaxy. While they aren't really all that liked by their intergalactic neighbors, not many feel quite confident enough to take on the black hole maniacs, even though they rarely use their science for explicitly belligerent purposes, believing this to be unbecoming and instead using their military, which is made up of part of the 'worker' population.

WANTED!
Come and get me then, cowards.

Holographic visual representation attached by order of the Central Government of Calico
Hello there, handsome.

Harlan Sheridan Redwing
Ex-Lance Sergeant of the Royal Army of the Grand Unified Dominion of the Triangulum, Been a while since I heard that. age 32, current leader of the Redwing Band, skilled pilot, dangerous in melee, fine gunner, always with a trick up his sleeve, master of escape, Why, I'm flattered. author of the best tacos this side of Belgarde's Hollow, And how do you know that? wanted for: Two counts of assault, five counts of assault with intent to resist arrest, And whose fault do you think that was? nine counts of theft, four counts of blackmail, one count of attempted murder Yeah, that was disappointing. three counts of adultery They wish. Besides I'm not even married. one count of bomb threat, It was just a bluff. Jesus. three counts of motor vehicle theft, one count of impersonating a juror, Now how did that work? two counts of fraud, five counts of jaywalking, ...You're kidding. two counts of animal cruelty, Slanderous! two counts of intimidation, four counts of defamation, How are you so sure about that one? four counts of prison escape and twelve counts of vandalism. Heh.

Reward: 3000 Credits
Wait, what?

Harlan Sheridan Redwing, known to the Grand Dominion of the Triangulum as a deserter, to his friends in the army as the Red Hare, to the Central Government of Calico as a nuisance, and to his friends and collaborators simply as Redwing, is a man who has seen much of the universe. Born in one of the peripheral planets of the galaxy ruled by the eponymous Grand Unified Dominion of the Triangulum, near the central regions of the known universe, Harlan was the firstborn of Lucian Sheridan Sullivan and Amelia Redwing Jones, two skilled performers who earned their living by running a circus show along with several friends and some distant relatives. Growing up in that kind of environment, the young Harlan quickly learned to enjoy the good things in life and developed a liking for the atmosphere of camaraderie that was felt in the closely knit and self-sufficient group that were the performers, along with learning the many types of tricks, theatrics and special effects that were used in such shows, of course, for young Harlan was quickly invited to participate in the circus, and didn't pass up the chance to do so. Disguise. Escapism. Sleight-of-hand tricks. During the time spent with his parents, he became an expert at these things and more. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

When the boy was seven years old, another member of the family was born: His younger sister, Lilian Sheridan Redwing, a beautiful girl that was quick to become the joy of the family. Even despite the fact that the Dominion was at war with the government of another galaxy and the mediocre-at-best leadership of the Dominion's bureaucrats was not doing the people, especially the people of the peripheral territories, any favors, the family endured and prospered with their show, lifting the hearts of the people, something that, it would soon become apparent, young Lilian excelled at. With everyone working on the family business, it was a good life. For several years, Harlan Sheridan Redwing had a good life. And despite that, as time passed, he grew bored, not of the circus life, but of being trapped in his planet. Thus, when the boy was fourteen years old, the required age for enlisting oneself in the Royal Army (Lowered due to the fact that they were currently enganged in a conflict labeled the Triangulum Wars, also known by some as the Sombrero Wars, yes you heard it), he decided to leave his planet and join the Royal Army. It was a sad departure, but his family supported his decision, as he seemed to be fully aware of the risks involved.

And so, off went Harlan. During the next two years, the lad trained under the rather harsh regime that was the training for new recruits of the Royal Army of the Triangulum. Two hard and long years during which the boy learned how to point and shoot all sorts of weapons, how to move around the many kinds of terrains he would be facing out there, how to survive in the wilds, how to work in a team to ensure that they weren't the ones shot to death, and, eventually, how to lead said team to victory. Not safety, victory. The Triangulum was not exactly a pure and morally white entity, evidently, but that mattered little to Harlan, who was eager to finally see the universe as he had been promised.

It happened soon enough. Once the training regime was over, Redwing was deployed, sent to distant worlds to fight for the Dominion. It was during his time serving the Triangulum and fighting in this conflict that he earned his nickname from his fellow soldiers, for one simple reason: The soldiers of the Sombrero galaxy, they just couldn't capture the bastard and his people. No matter how hard they tried, whenever the situation was adverse and called for a retreat, his section seemed to vanish in thin air only to regroup and return with a vengeance. Even in those few occasions where he and his people had been captured, Harlan always found a way to break out of his bonds and break out his fellow soldiers as well. Many friendships he gained in the front, and even those who didn't wish to befriend him respected him.

It was also during his time in the frontlines that he met a lovely woman. A businesswoman, she was, on a business journey of sorts. Why it had taken her through there he had no idea, but they became good friends. Unbeknownst to him though, they wouldn't meet again.

Three years he served in the frontlines, three years until something happened. Harlan vanished, this time for good, and no one could find him anymore. Not his friends, not his subordinates, not his superiors, not his enemies. He vanished until a year later, at his home planet, his sister, Lilian received an unexpected visit. It was Harlan, asking where everyone was, but their parents had died during his time in the war. Thus he only took her along, urging her to pack up and then using some connections he'd made to get out of the Triangulum galaxy, though not empty-handed, as he brought along the few objects he had any affection for: A deck of playing cards, an old black and gold uniform that had belonged to his father Lucian, a ceremonial Royal Army saber, and a revolver-like weapon that had saved him so many times during the war. The Grand Dominion of the Triangulum was not happy about his desertion, but, as always, he was never found.

Two years they wandered after that, doing odd jobs to get by. Harlan's many abilities, both those acquired during his time in the family business and in the Triangulum forces, were more than enough to keep them off the streets, and he also took any opportunities he had to enjoy the joys of life, just like he'd learned to as a child. Suddenly however, one day, he received a message: A friend he'd made during his service had died, and left him her only child for him to look after. It was this that led him to Calico, where he took in the child, Samuel was his name. Now, with a ten year old boy and a fifteen year old girl to look after, Harlan had to resort to less honest means in order to make enough money to keep his sister and his godchild well off. Somehow they understood that, and the two children, they too helped him. The boy was a good pilot, and the girl had learned well from her parents, much like his brother. The three of them began doing less legal jobs in order to make ends meet, and it was inside this business that they met two other people, two acquaintances who soon joined them, making the band something more or less official, insofar as something like that can be. An Andromedan mechanic was the first, charming but also knowing the inside of any vehicle like the back of her hand. The other was a marksman, born and raised in Calico, child of a species of animalistic men and women native to another planet of the Dusty Road. Among these four people, he had the same sense of camaraderie he'd learned to love during his youth. Things were no longer as innocent as they were in the circus, but then, neither was he.

Six years they worked, though they kept a low profile. A ship they stole, the Quetzal, named after some old myth or another Harlan had learned about during the war. Sleek and elegant, and colorfully painted, it was large enough to keep them all, and fast enough to outrun the local authorities. Samuel was right at home inside that thing, too. But at the end of those six years, something happened, something strange. The boy was back in Devil's Sunset that morning, but the rest of the band wasn't that lucky. An ambush of sorts by strange fellows, or something like that, on a planetoid a bit of a ways away where they had gone to complete a mission. The marksman went missing during that, and Redwing's sister was badly hurt, though the crew, or what remained of it, was saved at the last moment by a man with a fancy electronic monocle, a top hat and a snazzy moustache. He doesn't like to talk much about it, though he'll definitely insist about that last bit.

After that, he sent the girl off to recover, to another planet where there were better hospitals than in blasted, godforsaken Calico. He sent the mechanic with her, to look after her, though he stayed behind, to look after his godchild and the Quetzal, and keep the money flowing for his sister's bills. Four years he has been at it, slowly rebuilding what he lost that day. And what a colorful crew he's found over those years: A sentient dog, a man with odd blue tribal markings, a doctor fallen from grace, an ex-bounty hunter and God only knows what else. And he's about to get his hands full, because something's coming, something big. Those regarded as madmen, they speak of fallen stars...

---

Setting:

Dusty Road Galaxy, a paradise for those who reside outside the laws of their respective races and/or governing bodies. As it lies on the fringes of the known universe and does not hold great strategical or political significance, the central governments of the political entities that hold territories within the galaxy pay little attention to it, therefore prompting those who are persecuted by the law to find shelter there among their own. Of course, this is not to say that Dusty Road is inhabited entirely by criminals and other unruly individuals, or that the whole of the galaxy is in a state of disarray, terorr and civil war. Legal states exists and there are in fact law enforcement agencies scattered throughout the various inhabited worlds within the galaxy to offer some semblance of fairness to the common man. They are not, however, very strong, and in fact their purpose is mostly preventive, not corrective. Luckily, a good part of the jobs the criminal organizations of Dusty Road take happen to be directed at other criminal organizations, or are meant to elapse in a distant place. In addition to that, the criminal world, as a whole, knows better than to excessively upset any potential customers.

All in all, it's not an excessively pleasant part of the universe to live in, but it is an inhabitable part of it nonetheless.

Hundreds of populated worlds rest within this galaxy, and inside of them, several races coexist in as much harmony as can be achieved in such an environment. Naturally, among these races are the humans, as well as their old friends, the clockwork angels, the Virtians. Many other species share this space as well, of course, and the history between some of them often cause tensions to reach alarming spikes, but, at least so far, the muddled, distant galaxy has never witnessed that terrible phenomenon called war.

Dusty Road is classified as a barred spiral galaxy, much like the fabled cradle of humanity, the Milky Way, and is in fact only slightly bigger, bearing in turn a significantly smaller number of stars within itself, though the number of inhabitable worlds is still quite large, especially considering the differing conditions the many races inhabiting Dusty Road can each adapt to.

Since it lies so far from the central powers, Dusty Road, apart from reaping the benefits of such a position, must also deal with its consequences. Shipments headed for Dusty Road from the central parts of the universe are rare, and so, the inhabitants of the galaxy have to subsist with the resources they gather themselves and those they get from adyacent regions, much like a poor child gets old clothes handed down to them by their elders. The people of this region encourage trade quite a lot, exchanging their raw resources for the things the more industrialized central regions are able to produce.

Calico, a small, recently populated world, inhabited by various species, controlled by mining corporations and, most importantly, filled with outlaws.

Dusty Road is a galaxy at the fringes of the known universe, far from the central powers of the ruling races, and in turn, Calico is a planet within a star system that lies in a region near the outer edge of the galaxy. As such, it is not difficult to infer that Calico... Doesn't get a lot of stuff from the outside. In this world, save for the more powerful mining corporations and a few other exceptions, outdated technology is the norm. This does not mean that the people of Calico are somehow inferior, though. No, the people of this world, forced to make up for their lack of high technology, know how to use their every resource quite well, and it just so happens that cleverness is one of said resources, at least among the people of that world. Indeed, they are quite right when they say that, for someone from Calico, their best friends are their wits and hands. As such, it is not uncommon to find the people of this world with heavily modified and improved versions of outdated technology, as well as using certain cheaper and simpler articles in stead of their more advanced counterparts.

As one can assume from the mentions of mining corporations, Calico is a planet rich in raw minerals, which are hidden away beneath the rocky surface of the world. In fact, it was the mining corporations that first settled into this world a few decades ago in order to exploit Calico's resources. Many men and women living in Dusty Road flocked over to that planet in order to work on the mining industry and try to benefit from the situation, prompting a 'gold rush' scenario that has since died down slightly.

Calico is a mostly desertic planet, with much of the world covered in rocky plateaus called hamadas underneat which the rich resources that brought life to this planet can be found, and only two major continents, one sitting in the northwest and one sitting in the southeast. Hamadas are numerous on both continents, though the southeastern continent, while richer in minerals, is also significantly more inhospitable, due to the greater absence of water sources inland and the presence of more hostile lifeforms. As such, civilian settlements are limited to the northwest of Calico.

Of course, many of said civilian settlements are full of outlaws, and in fact many criminal organizations have influence in this planet, many of them bearing some kind of shady relationship with some of the mining companies that exploit this world, especially the more powerful ones. Indeed, it stands to reason that some of the most frequent customers for these organizations would be these very same mining companies, enlisting the aid of criminals in order to gain an upper hand in the dangerous game of business.

As with any world in which life has evolved, Calico has quite a rich wildlife. Said wildlife being pleasant to the colonizers, though, is a different matter altogether. Let us begin with the more colonized Northwestern continent, where most of the human settlements are. As has been mentioned, a good part of Calico's landmass is covered in dry, rocky plateaus. As such, most of the wildlife has adapted to these conditions. Fairly common along these landscapes is the burrowing Molehound, whose strong forelimbs allow it to create tunnel networks in order to hide from its predators and find shelter from the harsh nocturnal weather, while also allowing them to easily traverse the hamadas in search of prey, which they can track down from below thanks to their acute sense of hearing. They mostly eat small rodents or invertebraes, of which there are many, though they are also known to eat flora on occasion, or if they really need it. There are also numerous reports of molehounds that have attacked domestic animals brought by the colonizers. They have steadily become more and more violent towards aliens as the colonization spreads, since the building of settlements usually destroys many of their tunnel networks, forcing them to move or fight to earn back their territory, which causes colonizers to hunt them. Despite this, they're still quite numerous.

Another common beast in the lands of Calico is the Spider Tortoise. This massive six-legger treads across the rocky landscape calmly, impervious to most carnivores, though well-organized packs of beasts can still manage to take one of these down, ensuring them quite the source of meat in the process. This is, naturally, not very common, as the tortoise's sturdy shell and thick, strong legs allow it some form of protection, making up for the lack of speed. These creatures only lay their eggs near sources of water, such as an oasis, and from birth, their gifted memory ensures that they will know where to return whenever they need water. Spider tortoises, thus, are mostly found near oases, though thanks to their metabolism, they can go for days without consuming water and can wander quite far from their territory on occasion. They mostly feed off the vegetation around these oases, as well as the occasional desert plant, not to mention certain small insects. They are left alone by the colonizers for the most part, as they are practically innocuous to intelligent life, and it is not uncommon to see spider tortoises near oasis settlements. Archaeologists claimed to have discovered that an ancient civilization once inhabited the planet and used the tortoises to get around, but this was soon proven to be little more than a fairly amusing hoax. Nevertheless, this does have some sense to it, and local folklore states that if one is lost in the desert, to find a spider tortoise is a blessing.

Naturally, there are dozens of other animals around the hamadas. Spiders, snakes, scorpions and other creatures which despite not being quite the same as their Earth counterparts are not so dissimilar either. However, they mostly come out at night and so they are a rarer sight. One more common sight is that of the horse, first brought to Calico from other worlds as a cheaper alternative to fuel vehicles. Since their introduction to the world, many have escaped and adapted to the local wildlife, merging with the ecosystem with some degree of harmony. The feral horses descended from these first daring freedom fighters are not particularly hard to tame, and happen to be better suited for riding across the lands of Calico, for fairly obvious reasons. They're also quite edible to the molehounds, so, good for them?

Rodents, they are not very different from those found in the ancestral lands, and in fact they are just as much of a nuisance. They like to hang out on the farms colonizers establish near sources of water and ruin their crops, though they, humans in particular, have for the most part kept themselves from starting a chemical war against these creaures, given that the memory of how that went back on Earth was something they weren't very fond of. Thus, these rodents, instead of poisoned to death, are mostly hunted down and cooked, and many a gourmet colonizer has claimed that the Calico hamada rat stew is one of he best things they have ever tasted. Whether or not that's just cheap publicity, though, is something as of yet unclear.

Of course, land animals aren't the only thing there is to see. Soaring the skies of the untamed lands of Calico are the Spearhawks. These birds have powerful wings, and their diving attacks are something no one is safe from. They are known to be able to hunt down most any animal down below, and even group together to bring down tortoises, though they are otherwise lonely creatures. Strictly carnivorous, as is more than evident, these creatures stay away from civilized areas, as these tend to have less animals to prey upon, though, conversely, they will not hesitate to kill any colonist intruders who wander into their territory. They form their nests on the gargantuan rock towers that dot the horizon of some areas of Calico, feeding their young by regurgitating their spoils of war. Their name comes from their strong, spear-shaped beaks, which, combined with their diving, allows them to penetrate most natural defenses other animals possess.

On the other hand are the Laughing Vultures. These creatures are found closer to settlements than the spearhawks, and, much like their Earthern counterparts, they are scavengers, creatures that fly around in search of dead beasts (and dead people) to feed upon. When one such being is found, if the vulture judges that this is a meal worth sharing, it will emit a peculiar sound which colonizers associate with laughter (hence the name), a noise that attracts other vultures to the caller's location so that they too can feed upon the dead. They don't bother building nests, for the most part, but they do favor rock crevices when choosing a location to put their eggs. While not seen as a pleasant addition to the landscape, these creatures are mostly left alone by the colonists, since "the dead are dead already and it's just pointless to deprive a harmless birdie of its meal for the sake of a dead stranger."

There is also quite a bit of plant life around Calico, which tends to concentrate around the oases and other sources of water. These plants include many palm-like trees and other sweet fruit-bearing flora, with some tiny carnivorous plants thrown in, though they are not large enough to be more than a simple annoyance to anything larger than an insect. Naturally, oases, bastions of life as they are, happen to be feeding grounds for many creatures, including the tortoises already mentioned, as well as many horses, insects and rodents. Vultures stay away from them, because there's nothing interesting to be found in them, as far as they're concerned.

One particular case of plant life is the Bitterbush, so called because of its awful taste. It is a small plant that grows around the plateaus, often in areas with patches of dry grass and a few other types of less-important bushes, which are areas where it can easily conceal itself. It is an important plant because it provides sustenance for many species. The seeds it drops are used as food by small rodents and insects, while the fruits they yield are sometimes consumed by larger animals when there is nothing else to eat. These fruits are very bitter as a means to discourage its consumption, though they are not, in fact, poisonous, and are quite nutritious. Any desert walker worth his weight in sand knows how to identify these fruits, though eating them and living to tell the tale is a different matter altogether, because, despite the fact that they aren't poisonous, they are still quite sought after by the local wildlife, some of which can be rather violent at times. They, thankfully, do not need very much rain, being able to hold out between one and the next without dying.

This rain, by the way, often flows downhill from the rocky plateaus, which are unable to absorb it, and ends up flooding the downhill areas, causing so-called flash floods. In this manner, some rich salt pans have formed around Calico. The point is, though, that after these floods, sometimes one can find small aquatic or amphibious animals like shrimps and frogs, or rather, their Calico counterparts. They are regarded as tasty, but some are poisonous, so the only kind of people who eat those are the kind of people who made 'hamada skiing' a thing. In other words, crazy.

Speaking of aquatic life, there is quite a lot of it. Near the edges of the continents, as well as in the central ocean, there are mostly small types of fish, along with some larger predators, though of course, it all gets freakier as you try to go deeper. Peculiar cases of marine life are the Huner Killers, so named because of their ballsy role in Mother Nature's food chain. While most small fishies that live near the surface are fair game for the feared airborne predators, the Blue Gliders, large birds whose color merges with that of the sky and who can dive at insane speeds and snatch their prey right off the bat, the hunter killers have the noble task of bringing down those pesky gliders. They launch off from the sea by expelling water at a high pressure from an orifice in their rear, aiming for the gliders and using their powerful teeth to clamp down on their necks, which usually kills the gliders rather quickly, if not immediately. Both creatures then fall back to the sea, where the hunter killer calmly consumes the rest of the fallen carcass of its sworn enemy. Sometimes entire schools of these fish gather together to go on a hunting trip, with results as gruesome as you're probably imagining right now. It is not uncommon to find large chunks of the central ocean covered in feathers on occasion.

The outer regions of the ocean, those surrounding both continents, are an entirely different matter. The oceans of Calico are surrounded by a certain mystique, for they have been scarcely explored, given that the minerals underneath the two continents are thought to be far more important than exploring the ocean of a strange world. It is not rare to hear tales of sailors who attempted to brave the unknown with their heavily modified ships, only to fail and be sent back or, worse yet, never return. Some people tell tales of gargantuan sea creatures much larger than anything the old world of Earth could have possibly hosted. Others speak of beings born straight out of the twisted dreams of a madman. Whatever the truth, it is at least known that there are no magic islands beyond the horizon, thanks to satellital imaging, but some people are hell-bent on venturing out to those dangerous waters nonetheless.

The Southeastern continent of Calico, more sparsely populated than its counterpart and yet richer in minerals and mystery for it, is, as far as the mining corporations can tell so far, not all that different from the other continent regarding its wildlife, though it is still pretty much a lot more dangerous. Molehounds have even stronger forelimbs, capable of shredding an unarmored man, and their senses are better attuned. Tortoises are even harder to crack, and, interestingly enough, they know how to push boulders downhill to kill prey, this being their most efficient way of attacking so far. Needless to say, they're more omnivorous than their northern counterparts. Horses are not as numerous here, as the ecosystem was far less forgiving, but some still have managed to thrive and adapt. Rodents apparently developed Zerg Rush techniques which they use to overwhelm potential food. And most small critters are a lot more poisonous, as are some plants.

But undoubtedly the most interesting thing about the Southeastern continent is that, much like how sentient life developed in the form of Lycaonic Dogs in the other continent, it developed here as well, in the form of an underground dwelling species dubbed Drillbillies. Not much is known about them, and at first they did not even come into contact with the mining corporations that colonized the planet, staying in their own massive underground cave systems, but they surfaced due to the continued disturbance of their habitat by the miners, and have since declared war on them. The situation hasn't gotten any better since the discovery of underground water sources that these Drillbillies control, which the mining corporations want to seize. All in all, it's a pretty fun scenario down there.

[Utceforp]

Very interesting.

[Kassaran]

Appearance:

Name: Samuel Linus Johnson
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Human-Cerean
Likes/Dislikes: He enjoys being in 0-Gravity and Orbital environments. He hates being near or in water seeing as it is an alien thing to him, he also despises having to walk anywhere.
Abilities: He's a pilot, plain and simple. He's perhaps the only purebred star-fighter he knows, built and adapted to and for orbital and 0-G combat environments where gravity is a minor thing in comparison to quick thinking and knowledge of how to use and exploit gravity. He's been a courier between larger mining vessels passing through and near Calico on behalf of the Redwing band. Albeit, he's not a well-known pilot yet, he's often partaken in local drag-races in the nearby canyons with his own modified speeder, though he's not as good with it and often is liable to come just behind second or third place because of his easy to disorient dispensation. many would think a strongly grounded sense of balance aids in star-fighter combat, but quite the opposite is different as space combat is 4D and requires someone not to think linearly which perfectly suits his needs.
Inabilities: What is balance? He is perhaps the most off-key person one can know, with his natural clumsiness often being attributed to the childhood accident which put him on the streets as an orphan. He's also hard to get along with given how he is often prone to disregard someone's feelings on a subject when he does manage to get into a conversation with them often arguing the intricacies of the usage of certain orbital approaches and atmospheric landing protocols. Its one of these arguments which got his civilian license revoked and has since turned him into a skilled smuggler often being forced to "play it dirty" when he is caught up in a random Planetary Federal Customs search (which for him happens more often than he wishes to admit, but given how he has yet to be caught with thirteen outstanding arrest warrants gained over the course of the past nineteen years. He's not exactly squeaky clean on his criminal record, but given how his identity as the pilot/smuggler with said outstanding warrants has yet to be revealed, he's seen to be decently gifted at keeping things confidential and "under wraps".
Bio:He's an orphan, plain and simple and that's what he'll tell anyone who asks him for his life-story, and it's exactly that answer that everyone else under Redwing knows. In fact, only Redwing and Johnson know his story, that said, let's start it off by giving his parents away for what they were. They were supposed to be just visiting, but a robbing by a local street gang left them penniless and identity-less forcing them to birth their newborn on the god-forsaken rock that is Calico. Only ten years into life, both were killed, his father being a Cerean, a member of an alien species very-much human-like in every aspect but one being their inability to deal with high-gravity environments. Their intellect is a thing of legend however and Cereans are often noted as being slightly more "avian" in appearance. On top of it all, they are highly cunning and highly aggressive, something when coupled with their high memory-recall and ability to react quickly has led to them being rumored to have near-telepathic abilities. In all reality, they're simply perceptive and can recognize patterns or behaviors even spoken of and can react often faster than a normal pilot would be able to do making them usually the best choice for a star-fighter or star-ship captain.

Likewise, on top of their highly perceptive abilities comes their biggest weakness, their limited strength and their weak muscles which when coupled with a highly aggressive and tenacious behavior often results in the aforementioned individual species become the brunt of many wars they often loose. They have been invaded so often they are often seen as the easiest species to overwhelm once you get planetside, however, that's also the trick when engaging in combat with them. On top of their arrogant personalities, they express a cunning and ruthlessness in space battle that makes them highly valued as captains of star-ships and are often hired on for their inborn confidence and brazen persona. Now onto Johnson's mother, whom in retrospect to all whom knew her (Redwing perhaps being one of the few to ever have known her personally from off-planet as she gave her child to him within her will, to care for in case she died, which, in the end, she did leaving Johnson in the care of Redwing, naming him as the boy's godfather). The daughter of a space captain for one of the Calico Mining Corporations, he was killed in an accident, the very same which brought her and her husband to the remote planet which in the end proved to be her and his end as well. Growing up in semi-wealthy society, she was seen as being incredibly gifted in business transactions and she likewise became a corporate accountant in which position she met Samuel's father, a Lyndon Bradley Johnson.

It was after their death, Samuel grew up learning to become a planetside courier, but after an incident involving Samuel taking a shuttle into orbit for a joyride at age twelve, it was revealed to Redwing that the child was best used as a shuttle-courier and likewise business for him took off becoming one of the main pilots for the Redwing band. While still a small-fry compared to others in the same industry like Nas Loho and Comlam Dolsyren, legendary smugglers in their own rights, he still has gained quite the reputation for being able to outwit and outgun local authorities in the few and often undermentioned and unsung skirmishes that do happen between smugglers and those against whom they are smuggling. His most recent escapade that has put him now at thirteen outstanding arrest warrants was a fight between a small freighter and local authorities upon which Johnson intervened on the behalf of the freighter and destroyed two of the five police interceptors before flying back off into the darkness of space and playing "dirty" where he simulated himself as disappearing into the planet's ionosphere using a small lure he'd built to specifically do that while he hung within the sensor shadow of a large communications satellite. His usage of the satellite however did result in half the planet loosing their live coverage of perhaps the most boring but anticipated sport present, an old earth invention called Golf.
Additional Information: He's handy with a pistol which he's dubbed "Missy" and he often states "she" is the only girl who's ever stayed by his side for longer than a night. She's an extremely ancient 15mm hand-cannon by all regards, her massive plasma flare being capable of slamming and melting through over thirteen centimeters of hardened steel and ceramic plating making her an extremely potent weapon at almost all close-range engagements. She is however capable of having a "safe-for-space" setting which keeps her from melting through more than five centimeters of steel plating making her safe to use "wildly" inside a space-vessel. While many tell him he should use energy weapons to further minimize the risk, he always responds by either quickly drawing "Missy" from her holster and melting off one of their toes or fingers, or by simply slamming the butt of the pistol into the face of the offending person before quickly disappearing into the streets outside the bar he's offended.
Roleplay Sample: You want what? You want nothing, because that's what you're getting here. NOTHING! You here me?! NOTHING...
I could be enticed to do so though if you so desire since this looks really entertaining...

[Clan Gaol]

WIP

I'll finish when I get off of work. I need to leave now.

Name:William "Jayne" Loðbrok
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Appearance: William "Jayne" Loðbrok
Likes/Dislikes: If one was to look up the definition of hedonism in the dictionary they would find a small picture of William, next to the beer stains of course. He enjoys cold hard cash, and all the things you can buy with it. He heavily dislikes the law, losing money, and words with more than three syllables. At first his personality resembles a cold badass, but toward his crew small shimmers of humanity begin to emerge.[/u][/b]
Abilities: William is perhaps one of the best shots on Calico. His lifetime experience of running from the law and participating in various walks of the criminal underworld have made him a natural survivor on this god forsaken world. In most situations he is the guard for the deal going down, but sometimes he is tasked with assassination or demolition of enemy supplies. If it needs to be destroyed call William; just don't give him directions to read. It wont help.
Inabilities: William wasn't burdened with an abundance of schooling. He is a simple man, content to drink and smoke himself into a stupor; then whore around until it is time for the next mission. He knows very little about most academic subject, with the exception of mechanics. Even then, if you asked him what was wrong with the Harmonic Dampers, he would tell you "Huh? The green loopy things? Ain't broke, just needs grease."
Bio:
Additional Information:
Roleplay Sample:

[Palonitr and Howland]

Tag for interest. I'll get a app up in a couple of hours.

[Escalan Corps-Star Island]

This will *eventually* be is an app of sorts. Totally not going to rip aaaaany appearance photos from Gundam 00. . .

Name: Damon Falstaff and Karl Falstaff.
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Race: Genetically fucked-with modified human. Details in bio.
Appearance:
As Damon
As Karl
Likes/Dislikes: Damon loves, and I mean LOVES, fire, explosions, and things that combust. He's also a big fan of expensive Pinot Noir and amaretto, and railguns. Karl thinks the above is flashy and useless, and likes cigars, stealth, the dark, and wearing uniform-like clothes. Both agree upon liking hot foxgirls and other such stud magnets. Damon loathes waiting patiently as well as doing a job for someone who wants to avoid a mess. Karl dislikes sleeping in a bed, preferring the floor, and hates meat, whereas Damon loves it.
Abilities: Damon can blow anything up. This ranged from locks on cell doors to aircraft and mansions. He is a skilled chemist and a good shipboard gunner, though lousy with handheld weapons. Karl is an expert marksman, though he prefers knives to projectile weapons. He also has a photographic memory.
Inabilities: Damon is hot-headed and cannot be quiet. He is also poor at driving and/or flying, as well as being a lousy leader. Karl is always tired during the day, and has to be eating snacks fairly frequently instead of meals.
Bio:

Born William Pillar on the high-gravity world of Kestrel, a fringe world in the Sombrero galaxy, he was orphaned at the age of two when his parents died in a plague that swept the cities of that planet. In the orphanage he displayed a kind temperament and a willingness to learn- which unfortunately marked him one year later as a prime candidate for a secret program started by the government that had seized power during the plague. This project, designed to accelerate the mental and physical growth of candidates to create savant-level young adults for commanding their military police, employed the introduction of artificial DNA into the brains of developing toddlers.

Unfortunately, the scientific controls on the project were lax and provoked unforeseen responses in the young William, who dropped into a coma and nearly died of a brain haemorrhage. He awoke after four years with serious damage and no memory of who he was. The folks in charge of the experiment were fascinated by how fast he picked up language, and deemed his case a success. Unfortunately, upon subjecting his fragile brain to further tests, his personality split into two distinct halves, though they did not know at the time. William, who was more like Karl, was suborned by Damon, the new dominant personality. The next time they subjected him to mental experiments, he seized a gun and grenade from the nearest guard and shot him fatally before attempting an escape. Unfortunately, he attempted to break out with the grenade and botched it, rupturing a fuel line and concussing himself. He ran but a few meters before the building quickly caught fire, burning him badly.

Oddly enough, this only cemented the violent Damon's love of explosives and fire. He struggled to reconcile his two sides, but to no avail. Since then, all the rooms he has lived in have been nearly segregated between left and right, Damon and Karl. However, the genetic alterations to his brain and his past on a high-gravity world make him strong and dangerous, if impetuous. [The two] selected the names from an opera, with one being the villain and the other the hero. Falstaff was selected as it was the name of Kestrel's capital, [their] only home as [their] memories of childhood had been lost.

As he could naturally never find somewhere to settle, Damon could do little but look for those who could employ his destructive talents- provided it paid well, naturally. He briefly considered working for the Royal Army, but quickly decided against it, as they likely wouldn't let him burn enemies alive or pay him in alcohol. Besides, multiple personalities that hate each other don't work so well in the army. As Damon was the dominant personality of the two, he made most of the life decisions, which given his personality and spitefulness did nothing good for him. So it came to be that Karl, stepping in as Damon was worn out, decided to stop sleeping in a dump outside of Devil's Sunset, where they had crashed after their last job, and look into the Redwings. Whether or not that counts as a good life decision remains to be seen.

Additional Information: Address [them] as Falstaff if you're unsure of who's in charge at any given moment. Either one will get seriously pissed if called by the other's name. And I mean seriously.
Roleplay Sample: Eh. Apathy wins.

[Sempans]

Name: Azure
Age: 19
Gender: Male (Pene)
Race: Descalzo
Appearance: Azure has a bipedal, masculinized humanoid appearance. Azure stands at 6'00'', with a rather big body. Azure's skin is of a lightly tanned one, with luminescent blue markings covering the entirety of the body in intricate, alien designs. The eyes have a white pupil, black irises, and constantly changing colours where the white usually is. He has short, straight hair, gelled up in the middle, that is black with purple tips. He also has a set of large canine teeth, and slightly tapered ears. He usually only wears a pair of black jeans of foreign material(he goes without on occasion). He wears a medallion necklace around the neck with foreign scripture, and several ruby inlaid piercings on the navel, tongue, and ears.
Likes/Dislikes:
Likes: Sweets/candies/baked goods, romance novels, running, modifying technology/machinery he finds, hacking and cracking gadgets, darts, sex, red wine, playing the harp, history, and exploring new areas.
Dislikes: Being still for too long, caffeine products(tastes too bitter), being without some form of technology, being threatened at gunpoint(he lost track after seven), and driving vehicles (he likes working on them, but not driving them)
Abilities:
-High Stamina: His species evolved to move for long periods of time, walking and running. Makes him good as a physical courier.
-Hacking and Cracking: He is very proficient in hacking and cracking gadgets.
-Modifying Tech/Machinery: Rather apt at modifying anything from cars, to guns, to airships, to watches.
-Infiltrating: Good at infiltrating datalinks, getting blackmail, history, hidden information, whatever.
-Poisoning: His canines hold a chemical that generally acts to knock out a person, its intensity usually dependent on the species.
Inabilities:
-Mute: He is literally incapable of speech, as is his entire species. He can understand what you are saying, but, unless you understand pheromones and/or hand signs, better be happy with the occasional nod. This however does make him good in the case of capture.
-Drive: He couldn't drive to save his life. He'll know a vehicle inside and out, but the moment it starts moving, he'll start freaking.
-Cook: Let's not even head in that direction, as he still can't look at the kitchen the same way.
Bio:

Azure was born originally within the Solar Empire of Ciencia, a large, scientifically advanced Empire of the Descalzo species that spanned the twelve planets of their solar system and that had already made contact with other lifeforms to a very large degree. Azure was born on one of the outer planets, and was raised planet-side until around the age of ten, unto which him and his family, as well as many others took on a nomadic space journey (quite common at the time was it too take a ship out into space for years on end to map and explore)

About a year later, the ship became heavily damaged due to having ridden through a solar flare storm, and landed itself upon the Planet of Calico. Even despite their aptness for technology and machinery, they found the damage irreplaceable. So, the group did what any self-respecting Descalzo would do: explore, greet the local inhabitants, and integrate.

Fast forward four years: Azure (the nickname he got at Devil's Sunset due to his blue markings), started making a name for himself as the someone to go to if you wanted something modified or cracked that wasn't exactly legal. He would disarm the restrictions on laser and electronic weaponry, modify vehicles to go beyond the set standard of speed, and worked with some organizations in cracking other organizations databases, installing viruses and malware, all though while bolstering their own cyber-defences.

Eventually, he got himself deep into something that almost killed him. On one of his own personal projects, he accidentally got his way into one of the most dangerous crime syndicates there was on the planet, The Violet Thorn. Not expecting this, he had not protection, and the syndicates own people quickly traced it back to him. Suddenly, he needed to run, and that was something he was good at. He quickly made his way out of his place and ran, ran out of the town.

A year passed, a year Azure has not disclosed with anybody (which is easy being mute, though again, some people do know he can write and do most forms of sign), though, in the end, he came back into Devil's Run to continue what he was doing, though this time he drifted from one group to the next, offering his services in exchange for protection, as who doesn't need someone who can modify the most basic things into some advanced stuff, or crack into some lowly enemies mainframe.

He would drift though, and, eventually, found his way to the Redwing Band, under Harlan Redwing. Not only does he crack, hack, and modify, but they found another use for him, as a courier. He can run rather quickly non-stop for quite a while, and, for missions where vehicles become a liability or are simply unneeded,like carrying a birthday cake across town, he can do. So here he is now, with the Redwing Band....

Additional Information:

Physical description:

I will give a physical description by differentiating the sexes.

First, there is the Pene (more masculine oriented, but could vary). They stands between 5'11'' and 6'1'', weighs on average 205 Ibs, is usually rather muscular in his body type, and has no nipples on his upper body. They are bipedal and humanoid looking. They have slightly tapered ears, and slightly stronger bodies then the other two sexes. Skin tone ranges from scarlet red to hot pink, but can also be dark brown/tan. They are born with unique blue markings over their body that shine a rather luminous blue at night, and have larger canines then the other two sexes. They have traditional male genitalia, and are usually the hairier of the two sexes, but that can vary greatly among themselves.

Then there is the Abella (more feminine oriented, but could vary). They also stands between 5'11'' and 6'1'', but usually weighs a tad bit more at 240Ibs(they have a higher bone density), and tends to be more lithe (at least comparatively to Pene), more lean in musculature, and has more prominent breasts for breastfeeding. They are bipedal and humanoid looking. They have rather pointed ears, and are more dexterous then the other sexes. Their skin colour ranges from scarlet red to light pink, but could also be certain shades of light blue, and the tips of their ears, nose, fingertips, and toes shine luminously blue at night, but at different intensities as they age. She has an ovipositor (an egg transferring appendage) in place of her genitalia (separate from her urinary tract), and tends to be rather hairless, or has very little bodily hair.

Then finally we have the Portador de Vida (or just Portador). They stands between 5'4''-5'6'', weigh around 250 Ibs (naturally accumulating body fat and denser bodies), and tend to be very broad but rather pudgy, and, like the Pene, nipple-less. They are bipedal and humanoid. They have roundish ears, their skin colour is usually a royal blue or purple, but they can also be born alabaster white. They have a fully prehensile tail, which glows, along with their pupils, a luminous blue at night. They have a vaginal tract, which takes in both the egg from the Abelle and the sperm from the Pene as the carrier of the children, and are genetically hairless except for hair on the head, eyebrows, and eyelashes.

Two things the three sexes have in common are that they have white pupils, black irises, and varying shades of the rest of the eye, and theiir hair colour is generally black, purple, or blonde.

Culture:

In Descalzo culture, there are several very important factors: Nomadic living, Science, Spirituality, Nature/Environment, and technnology.

Nomadic living has been ingrained in the culture of the Descalzo for about 90,000 years or so. They travel either in solitary, in small family groups (known as Grupo Nutrir), or big groups of several family's and solitary members (known as Grupo de Apoio). There has been some placements of major cities and hubs in areas, for gatherings, the Maxestoso Festivals, and the distribution of new equipment/technology, but they are few. This cultural aspect is seen on all the planets and moons inhabited by the Descalzo. It is also seen with the coming of what is known as space Nomadism, the use of self-replenishing ships to move and live nomadically across the stars, using updated communication devices to post where they are with others as well as the home worlds.

The pursuit of science as a way of understanding life and making themselves better has been around for about 80,000 years. Scientific advancement is held in high regard in society, and this lifestyle and cultural norm has proven to be very advantageous to them, allowing them to understand the planet, and make advancements in many areas that improved their way of life. This is also why they find religion as a whole rather distasteful to them, and why the phenomena has never occurred in society.

Spirituality has played an important role in society. For one, to them, spirituality, nature, and science are all connected and intertwined. They look for towards science and nature to find their spirituality, finding the universe awe inspiring and spiritually filling in and of itself. The use of drugs and technology too pen up their minds to things outside their own scope is widely accepted in their culture, which is why recreation drug usage, both synthetic and naturally found, and technology that is used with conjunction to thee things is so big in society.

Nature and the environment play important roles in their culture. For one, their science driven society has allowed them to see themselves as an extension of nature. Also, since they are nomadic, they see nature and their environment as their home, and would find that harming it would be detrimental to themselves. Because of this, they tend to hold some reverence for nature, and respect it.

Technology has played a major role in their culture. With science already playing such a major role, the applicaation of science into technology was the next obvious step. The first technology to come along were that of medicine and astrological equipment. Now-a-days, technology has become very ingrained into society, especially when it comes to body modification, cosmetics, sex, drugs, nomadic living, and exploration. Technology and automatics on the planet are very green as well, in an effort to keep the environment as well as possible.

Government:

There is no true government for the Descalzo. The Descalzo are nomadic people, and therefore do not need a government, but work internally in their groups. There is a technocratic council of Descalzo, located in one of the very few actual Descalzo cities, that works on distributing technology and creates guidelines on how the Descalzo people should act in order to be healthy and succeed, however, there is no force involved with them. They are also the highest authority of the Descalzo, and they do represent the people, as they are voted into the council.

Roleplay Sample:

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=272867
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=252956
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=262687

[Feroxi]

Sounds interestin'.

[Utceforp]

WIP

I'll finish when I get off of work. I need to leave now.

Name:William "Jayne" Loðbrok
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Appearance: William "Jayne" Loðbrok
Likes/Dislikes: If one was to look up the definition of hedonism in the dictionary they would find a small picture of William, next to the beer stains of course. He enjoys cold hard cash, and all the things you can buy with it. He heavily dislikes the law, losing money, and words with more than three syllables. At first his personality resembles a cold badass, but toward his crew small shimmers of humanity begin to emerge.[/u][/b]
Abilities: William is perhaps one of the best shots on Calico. His lifetime experience of running from the law and participating in various walks of the criminal underworld have made him a natural survivor on this god forsaken world. In most situations he is the guard for the deal going down, but sometimes he is tasked with assassination or demolition of enemy supplies. If it needs to be destroyed call William; just don't give him directions to read. It wont help.
Inabilities: William wasn't burdened with an abundance of schooling. He is a simple man, content to drink and smoke himself into a stupor; then whore around until it is time for the next mission. He knows very little about most academic subject, with the exception of mechanics. Even then, if you asked him what was wrong with the Harmonic Dampers, he would tell you "Huh? The green loopy things? Ain't broke, just needs grease."
Bio:
Additional Information:
Roleplay Sample:

No, just no.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Name: Samuel Linus Johnson

Nah, I've roleplayed with you before so you're good to go. Accepted.

Gender: Male (Pene)

Accepted.

[Kassaran]

YAY! I'M ACCEPTED! RESPECT MUH AUTHORITAY! I'M THE FUCKING BUSDRIVER NOW!

*runs around thread with pants over head wobbling and mumbling incoherently and clumsily counter-respectively*

[Mustard Shack]

Name: Wesley Logan
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Appearance: Logan is a tall, rough looking man, with tanned skin, stubble, and a mess of brown hair. On the edge of his youth, he has a worn look to him, and his face rarely betrays any emotion. His grey eyes are constantly alert and observing.

Likes/Dislikes: Judging by his look, Logan doesn't find much 'likeable.' He's fond of... scowling, as well as sarcastic quips, a gun in hand, the occasional clash, and a drink and smoke afterward. He's not fond of sharing feelings, listening to others feelings, sissies, cowards, being patient, young guns, working together, or smiles.

Abilities: Logan's led a rough life and knows how to handle himself, with a wisdom you only gain with a life on the streets. In fist fights, he's tough to beat, proving a strong and swift opponent. In gun fights, he's not much worse, preferring the quick action and maneuverability of handguns to the burdensome, more powerful assault weapons.

Inabilities: Despite his dependability in a rough spot, Logan struggles to work with others, remaining part of the outfit only for his own gains. He doesn't have skill in much more than where a fight is concerned - not that it's ever set him back much in this life. Patience is another struggle. Logan prefers to act on instinct and with urgency rather than wait around and figure things out.

Bio:

There's few who really know much about Logan's past. Hell, even he tries not to dwell on it too much. But for the sake of the application, let's intrude on it, shall we? Let's see, it was 30 something years ago that Logan was born on a planet in the Dusty Road. He doesn't know which, doesn't care much, and it doesn't look like he ever will. His parents, from what he understands, traveled quite a bit, hopping from star to star, rock to rock. He lost his mother early on as a toddler, and lived alone with his father throughout his childhood. He's always had a great admiration for his father, even if he wasn't the best of parents. His father was ... well, he isn't really sure what his father did. All he knows is that it concerned a lot of star-hoppin', a lot of beat-up neighborhoods, and a lot of ugly faces. The few times he thought to ask, his dad simply told him he was a 'man of business.'

Well, around fifteen years old something happened, and it was a dark time in Logan's life. His dad got into some trouble, he got into some trouble, and in the end, he ran, never to see his father again. It's one of his deepest regrets, to have run rather than fight. From then on, Logan promised he'd never run from a fight again, but in truth, despite all the scraps he's got into, he's always been running. Planet to planet, star to star. He has no home, no loved ones, nothing to tie him down and that's just how he likes it. From fifteen into adulthood, this had always been his life, and he learned to love it. Bitterly, dryly, grouchily, but still to love it.

He's seen a lot now, been to about any planet of significance in the Dusty Road, and a few more to boot. It was on one of these planets he met a man who called himself Redwing a few years ago, and they got into some 'business' themselves. That was a while ago, but just three years ago Logan found himself needing a new planet and a new job again, and out of places to look. Remembering Redwing and his outfit, Logan figured he may as well give Calico a shot, and he's been in Devil's Sunset ever since. [OOC: I don't know Redwing obviously, so this last bit can be changed, so long as the gist of it stays]

Additional Information:

Logan's a rough man who has lived a rough life, and isn't too happy about it. On the surface, he's cynical, sarcastic, gritty, brooding, cigar-chewing loner with no real aspirations. But beneath that he's loyal (once you've earned his loyalty), honorable (well, outside of the law), and ambitious (though even he doesn't know what that entails). He may kid himself and everyone he meets, but really he's just trying to settle down and have a nice life. But don't be fooled: it doesn't make him any more friendly or less dangerous.

Roleplay Sample: Not sure exactly what you wanted here I haven't RP'ed on NS before, but am experienced elsewhere. Since I don't have any hard evidence to provide, I just made up a sample? I'm assuming that's OK if not what you had in mind?

Logan sits alone in a corner of the bar, chewing a cigar, his eyes following the smoke. As he hears the call from across the room, he scowls and glances in its direction. "Wes!" The kid walks up to the table and sits. "How ya doin' Wes? Hell, it's been a while, Wes." Logan grunts each time he hears the name, his scowl growing deeper. Some people just didn't understand quiet. 'Specially not these young-gun kids calling themselves men. He sighs, pulling the cigar from his mouth with one hand as he runs the other through his hair in frustration. "Listen, kid, didn't I tell you not to call me that? It's Logan, or you can get the hell out." He wouldn't mind if the kid did just get the hell out, to be honest.

The kid carried on as if Logan hadn't spoken. "So, listen, Wes, I know it's been a while an' all an' we didn't get off so well the last time but -" Sticking the cigar back in his mouth, Logan crosses his arms across his chest, and puffs out some smoke. "Damn, right we didn't." The kid kept talking. "- but, well, I'm in some trouble an' could use a heavy like you. I got the money this time, too, right here!" He slaps his pocket. Logan blew a puff of smoke again. Stupid kid, he'd be lucky if he left the bar with half that money still in his pocket. "Listen, I'm tellin' you the same thing I told you last time -" The kid went to object but Logan spoke over him. "-and that's that your not my problem, your problems aren't my problems, and if you come lookin' for me again, I'm gonna be your problem." Logan stood up, forced the cigar down into his glass, and left the kid alone at the table. He could still hear him yelling after him as he stepped outside.

[Sempans]

Sweet, I've been accepted! My gratitude! Also happy I got a laugh out of someone with that.

[Lunas Legion]

This should be good. App to come.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

-snip-

The gist of the last bit of your bio is that they collaborated in the past, right? If so, that's fine. Regarding the samples, I guess I should've clarified, what I want are links to posts by you in previous roleplays, but since you've never RPed here, your sample works. One thing I noticed is that you seem to switch a little between present and past tense. I'm not too nitpicky about it, but we usually go with past tense.

Regardless, accepted.

Sweet, I've been accepted! My gratitude! Also happy I got a laugh out of someone with that.

The pseudo-Spanish hurt me, frankly, but that bit was hilarious.

[Mustard Shack]

-snip-

The gist of the last bit of your bio is that they collaborated in the past, right? If so, that's fine. Regarding the samples, I guess I should've clarified, what I want are links to posts by you in previous roleplays, but since you've never RPed here, your sample works. One thing I noticed is that you seem to switch a little between present and past tense. I'm not too nitpicky about it, but we usually go with past tense.

Regardless, accepted.

Sweet, I've been accepted! My gratitude! Also happy I got a laugh out of someone with that.

The pseudo-Spanish hurt me, frankly, but that bit was hilarious.

Awesome! Yeah sorry, it was late when I wrote that so reading back the tense is a little skippy Glad that silly sample works haha.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

The gist of the last bit of your bio is that they collaborated in the past, right? If so, that's fine. Regarding the samples, I guess I should've clarified, what I want are links to posts by you in previous roleplays, but since you've never RPed here, your sample works. One thing I noticed is that you seem to switch a little between present and past tense. I'm not too nitpicky about it, but we usually go with past tense.

Regardless, accepted.



The pseudo-Spanish hurt me, frankly, but that bit was hilarious.

Awesome! Yeah sorry, it was late when I wrote that so reading back the tense is a little skippy Glad that silly sample works haha.

As I said, I'm not that picky about it, so no worries.

Watch yourself around others though, because many others are really picky.

[Sempans]

Awesome! Yeah sorry, it was late when I wrote that so reading back the tense is a little skippy Glad that silly sample works haha.

As I said, I'm not that picky about it, so no worries.

Watch yourself around others though, because many others are really picky.

I can vouch for that, as Ive had that problem in the past (as well as accidentally switching between 3rd-1st person). People will go ballistic...

[Zarkenis Ultima]

As I said, I'm not that picky about it, so no worries.

Watch yourself around others though, because many others are really picky.

I can vouch for that, as Ive had that problem in the past (as well as accidentally switching between 3rd-1st person). People will go ballistic...

Yeah.

I find it obnoxious, to be honest, since it's not that big of a problem, but each to their own, I guess.

[Constaniana]

I shall get to work upon yön app.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Invited a bunch of people and made a list of accepted characters. Wondering whether or not I should make an ad, though. Ironically I don't think it'll help that much. .

I'll probably also add some information on Harlan and the band sometime tomorrow.

I shall get to work upon yön app.

Cool, thanks.

[Malshan]

I'm sensing the rather strong influence of Trigun here. Be that as it may, I'll refrain from making a gunslinger whose gun melds into his hand and fires beams of nuclear radiation.

No...I think I'll play a wolf instead.

Name: M'toc Li'quin
Age: 148 Galactic Standard years
Gender: Male
Race: Lycaonic Dog (description at the end)
Appearance:

Feral form.

Crinos/combat optimized form.

Normal/Anthro form.

Likes: Raw meat, sharp objects, the wilderness.
Dislikes: Cooked meat (considers it burnt), humans (stupid, smelly, weak, etc.), crowds.
Abilities: Assassin/thief/scout. Can seem to disappear into the background despite his size (in normal form; used for sneaking/thievery/assassinations); can shapeshift at will, though it consumes a lot of energy/willpower; expert knife user (or claws, as it may be); can make a mean sweet potato casserole.
Inabilities: Poor social skills (especially among humans; tends to be irritable and pick fights with them); cannot operate many of the technological devices available; terrified of scorpions (I'm assuming that there ARE scorpions/scorpionic equivalents on Calico).
Bio: M'toc grew up in one of the few remaining Lycaonic Dog tribes left in the wilderness of Calico, growing up on the legends and culture of his native people. He became an expert tracker and stalker, often being relied upon to bring back a kill to the village as food became scarce (due to those damn off-worlders). Eventually, a group of humans came through, seemingly looking to trade with the village. However, it seemed that the village rested upon a mine filled to the brim with precious stones. The strangers slaughtered most of the village while the males were out hunting, setting up a defensive perimeter before the able males returned.

Grief stricken, M'toc left the area with his few belongings that he had with him during the hunt. He roamed for awhile before coming upon the town of Devil's Sunset. He found work with The Redwing Band, as it seemed that the local opinions of the Lycaonic Dogs were rather...violently negative. However, Harlan Redwing had a use for him in mind, and it involved his natural talents....
Additional Information: As it comes to me.
Roleplay Sample: Look in your list of roleplays, Zark.

Species Description:
The Lycaonic Dog is a species that is native to Calico, often found in the deserts between towns. The species is extremely long-lived; the usual lifespan can last multiple centuries. They're a tribal civilization without much to do with technology. When the first off-worlders arrived to colonize the world, the Lycaonic Dogs treated them as gods due to their level of technology. Of course, lasers, kinetics, and chemical weapons seem like magic when the pinnacle of your own tech is the spear.

Centuries have passed since then, and the tribal species as lost much of its former structure. The species is now more or less integrated into the society that has developed on Calico. Due to their natural abilities, among which are shapeshifting, tracking, and hunting, they are often found in scout roles and in rarer cases, combat roles.

As stated, the Lycaonic Dog can shapeshift. The typical specimen has up to three forms: a feral shape which is best suited to tracking, an 'anthro' form which is best suited to stealth and reconnaissance, and the Crinos form, which is best suited to heavy lifting/combat due to its high levels of endurance and power. Only in the anthro form can the Dogs utilize modern technology. They lack thumbs in feral form and their instincts are too strong in Crinos form.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

I'm sensing the rather strong influence of Trigun here.

I'm amazed by how my roleplays keep getting compared to things I've never watched.