character history and personality.

[enameled]

alderic madelon-li CALLSIGN: VULTURE. COMMANDER OF THE HESPERIDES, "THE BLOODY SHIELD".

stats NAME: Alderic Madelon-Li CALLSIGN: Vulture AGE: 35 GENDER: M HAIR: black EYES: Brown HEIGHT: 6'8 BUILD: Physically fit. He's military and passes the physical requirements of the job every year. SPECIES: Human SUPERNATURAL ABILITIES: None MARITAL STATUS: Married SEXUALITY: Mars is a rather conservative/fundamentalist country in his time. Alderic will have an affair with either gender, but he is mostly discreet, and at his worst, detached. ALLIANCE: Revolutionary Republic of Mars (RRM) HOME: Mars CITIZENSHIP: Martian OCCUPATION: Fighter pilot, Major, Combat specialist. Fleet commander. (Note that in this verse, his position as 'Commander' is a role tasked to him, as someone in charge of the battleship. His actual military rank is Major. Essentially he's working two ranks above his own.) info LIKES: Menthol-flavoured cigs, peat-flavoured whiskey, his plant (1x bromeliad, sometimes dying) DISLIKES: Physical labour, Martian upper society, Terrans, guerilla warfare HOBBIES: Smoking, drinking, playing pool (badly). MUSIC: Rock, sometimes jazz. PARENTS: Bella Madelon, Derron Li (both alive and strong participants in important Martian social circles) SIBLINGS: None OTHER FAMILY: Wife: Drussila Rampling, two children, he's never met either kid, and he left his wife shortly after their wedding. The pre-nuptials between their families are complicated, so he and his wife are considered 'separated' in all but the eyes of the law. VOICE: SAMPLE ooc PLAYER NAME: june PLAYER AGE: 18+ PLAYER CONTACT: PM this journal HMD: LINK. STYLE: I prefer [brackets]. TIME ZONE: EST.

WORLD INFO. CONFLICT IN EARTH This verse is set many years into the future: interstellar travel is not only common, but also used everywhere outside of Earth. At this time, Earth, unable to sustain its population, became completely uninhabitable and drove developments to encourage leaving the planet. There are a few Terrans living on Earth and the planet is viewed as a ‘backwards’ planet. That being said, Earth remains valuable as a mining field of metals and half-metals. For the remaining citizens on Earth who were never able to leave, mining and processing of these minerals for export is their only way of survival. Everything else on Earth relies on imports and humanitarian aid. Earth has a fractured government that rules over the entire planet. The “Representative Government of Humanity” is funded by the Lunar Imperial Government (LIG), a Moon-based military government and its surrounding colonies, and they rule from the North Pole all the way to the Tropic of Cancer. The “Democratic Government of Terrans” is funded by the Revolutionary Republic of Mars (RRM), which rules Earth from the Tropic of Capricorn to the South Pole. Compared to the number of humans in the height of the space age, Terrans now number several hundred thousand thanks to the proxy wars by the LIG and the RRM. Most of the Terrans are concentrated in the mining and processing hubs. Terrans hate the generations-long proxy war of the LIG and the RRM, however, it does not have the resources to fight either one. In the past several years the Terran government has been largely sympathetic to the RRM. The RRM offers a religious and spiritual backbone which the LIG can’t provide. That being said, this preference is out of convenience more than actual tradition. Terrans favour the government that is able to provide them the most humanitarian aid. The RRM currently has a selective refugee program which has made them popular through the past couple of years and the Terrans more inclined to aid them in half-metal production. THE RRM AND ITS MILITARY MIGHT (NOTE: Air/Navy components are blended in this verse because the two services are amalgamated. Both are expeditionary. When deploying to Earth, references to ground forces/Army technical terms will be used instead. When referencing space battles, a blended elemental component - so Air Force with Navy characteristics - will be used. Ex. 'Wings' for units, but 'task group' instead of a 'two-ship' or 'four-ship', etc.) The RRM is a theocratic government ruled by its own cadre of religious leaders and politicians complementing each other as they rule the planet. Each one has its own machinations, rules, and laws. Mars’ public-facing military is its secular military, which is what everyone perceives as any regular military: it has its own elements and its own assets. Conventional warfare is under the control of Mars’ political council. The military answers to the council and nowhere else. Conventional warfare includes elements of the navy and the army, and all of its space-related assets that is required to preserve Martian sovereignty in space and on Earth. In particular, the political council is concerned about Mars’ interplanetary affairs. The military is structured as any military: hierarchical, continental structure, with a cadre of officers and non-commissioned members. Training is done throughout the year; Mars, because of the amount of half-metals it is able to harvest from Earth, is capable of producing vast amounts of materiel per tonnage. While the political council has no other expeditionary aspirations - yet - beyond Earth, it ensures that its airspace is defended with its vast array of satellites, sensors, and of course, its “Bloody Shield”: a permanent theatre command based on Mars’ periphery whose job is to establish the space around it as its own sovereign territory. Curiously, the space that Mars claims as its own is ever-increasing and sometimes clashes with other planets’ space territory. Asymmetric warfare is under the control of Mars’ clerics. This is the realm of the De Atra Corps (DAC), a large, well-trained, well-equipped paramilitary force that conducts covert operations. The goal of the DAC is to replace leaders, and build a network of spies and informants, in order to clear the way for the military. DAC has been trained for generations in the terrible conditions of Earth in order to refine their tactics in guerilla warfare. They do not answer to the military and have their own separate command, and separate missions. While the DAC can work with the military, and vice versa, both factions generally know little about each other by design. DAC is generally under the command of the Church of the Red Dawn, the religious faction governing Martian spiritual affairs. Their command structure generally resembles the military. The RRM functions with its two halves keeping each other in checks and balances, however, both sides have a very different view of what power and prosperity means for Martians. Both sides also approach their relationship with the Lunar Imperial Government differently; however, they are united in ensuring that Mars remains the one in power in space, and in control of the half-metals industry on Earth. PERSONALITY. CALLSIGN: VULTURE Alderic is an officer by virtue and training. He has all the skills that’s expected of his rank and the attitude to show for it: an innate ability to not mind his own business and make it his personal affair to learn about his crew in order to employ them as best as he can for the mission. Alderic, however, is a closed book. He deflects interest in his own personal affairs, and has no problems lying about himself even if the stakes are low. For this reason, he is not easily trusted, and his crew often resents him for giving them no reason to fight beyond the fact that he is their officer. As the RRM functions on a very stringent hierarchy, it is sometimes difficult for new people to relate to Alderic, and he can’t say that he makes it easy. Alderic doesn’t trust easily, and, honed by his time in his parents’ social circles, knows how to smile like a politician. While he isn’t rude, he’s definitely not truthful. His general lack of charisma and inability to motivate his crew properly, despite his talents, earned him the callsign VULTURE. A derogatory nickname given to him by his peers in the fighter community, it was given to him due to the perception that he takes his crew and spits out the best of them when he’s done grinding them through each mission. And while Alderic certainly doesn’t intend to be cruel, sometimes, he doesn’t make good choices for himself. DISCIPLINE TO THE EXCESS Alderic trains excessively, maintains a neat and orderly appearance, is only generally lax when he’s smoking or indulging in a drink, but is generally vain about how he looks and presents himself. He’s polite and casual in speech, dutifully respectful as he plays deference to rank, but dismissive to anyone else unworthy of his respect. He plays into the classist stereotypes of his planet well enough, and his curiousity is driven by utility rather than a genuine interest to understand others. He is aware that he is conventionally handsome and will flaunt it if the situation demands for it. He respects his fellow pilots, and will genuinely take the time to know them and call them by their callsigns. He has a great fascination with technology and views it as an important tool for deterrence and war. Of hobbies, he has very little. Smoking and drinking are constant. He takes care of his plant, a bromeliad gifted by his mother, who he always forgets to water. Sometimes it’s dying, and most of the times he remembers to water it well. In his spare time, he reads tactics and wargames in his mind. EXPERT OF WAR Being in the military is Alderic’s entire personality and history. Having been a veteran of Operation Bluebird, and having trained with DAC in his youth, Alderic has had several years honing his skills in battle, but also in getting used to loss. So jaded, in fact, that he is used in viewing his crew in terms of attrition: he makes assessments based on numbers and skill and how many he can afford to lose on a daily basis. Because victory is the only thing that matters in Alderic’s life, he no longer pays attention to smaller affairs that slows him down in his quest to achieve the Mission: whether that be his ties to his parents, his wife, his children, or whatever relationships he accidentally builds in space, he views them objectively with the knowledge that either he can die, or he will send his partners to die in battle. As a result, Alderic does not have long-term relationships and doesn’t seek them out. On occasion, when he gets lonely, he punishes himself by burying his head into work. He disdains sympathy and is emotionally exhausted by genuine interest. VIRTUE AND VICE Alderic has the arrogance afforded to him by his rank and class. While he knows how to tone it down in polite company, his disgust against Terrans and Terran ideology can be palpable. He respects war, strength, and guts, but does not empathize with his enemies. He hates being called a patriot, viewing it as a dirty word employed by the church towards its believers, but he is one himself: Alderic has been fighting for Martian supremacy for years in his life and part of his fascination with flight and space travel is because of its military. Worse comes to worse, Alderic will always align himself on the side of power, even as it burns him out in doing so. He will follow orders not because it’s the right thing to do – Alderic is vaguely aware that he’s contributing to the suffering of Terrans on a large scale – but he will defend it because losing power is unthinkable to himself as a Martian. He was born with privilege, and he will certainly do whatever it takes to retain it, and help in maintaining the status quo. His conscience is burdened by failed plans to actualize victory and not so much with the guilt that he had contributed, is contributing, to mass destruction. HISTORY CHILDHOOD Alderic is the only son of Bella Madelon and Derron Li, two entrepreneurs who come from wealthy families who overall monopolize most of the half-metal enterprises in Earth. Bella Madelon is an accomplished singer, songwriter, actress, socialite, philanthropist, life coach – multi-hyphenate in a very busy Martian social space, who produces propaganda music in her spare time to write off for ‘charity’. Derron Li is an academic, philosopher, businessman, socialite, champion bodybuilder, politician, amateur golfer … other multi-hyphenate in another competitive Martian social space. Alderic was an accident and was never followed shortly after, considering his parents never wanted to be parents in the first place. Growing up under the watchful eye of mentors, nannies, and tutors, Alderic went to rather posh schools, graduating with decent grades. His entire life has been very regimented, but he was never denied anything he ever wanted. He can’t say he had a sorry childhood. And while his parents’ relationship had been rather difficult, which eventually led to an inevitable separation in his youth, Alderic was never not cared for by his army of tutors. If he had to describe his life, despite the wealth that came behind his hyphenated name, he’d say it was rather mediocre on all accounts. In his childhood, Alderic has always been fascinated by traveling and flight, especially with aeronautics and space travel. Alderic dreamt of becoming a pilot, and in order to fulfill that dream, his parents enrolled him into the prestigious Martian Officers Academy. YOUTH The Martian Officer’s Academy, despite its name, was a finishing school for gentlemen divided by sex. Although presenting itself as an ‘Officer’s Academy’, it had no formal connection to the military and was known as a breeding ground for future leaders, making sure that each promising officer had the opportunity to get to know who’s who in the zoo by learning which students come from which family. Alderic being from a prestigious family meant that he was a target. He didn’t particularly enjoy his Academy years. He was aggressively mediocre in everything he did, although he dutifully studied the art of war and Martian history. He participated in two sports teams, fencing and swimming, but never took either of them seriously enough to go to practice regularly; he was dropped by both teams shortly after. He did not enjoy church and quite often was missing during mandatory service. Alderic’s lack of commitment towards anything that was seen as a huge part of Martian social life was taken as a sign of his insubordination, and Alderic didn’t really correct this perception because, well, it’s partly correct. Alderic’s position as a rather cared-for prince in his household meant that he couldn’t really do anything wrong, couldn’t do any worse, and nothing that he accomplished was impressive enough considering that it was expected of him, being the heir of his family. Buoyed by the realization that nothing he ever does will truly matter to anyone but himself, Alderic sought to constantly erase what he desires in order to perceive himself as an object; a thing to which things are being done to as opposed to one who is doing. In general he disassociates very well when stressful situations happen. This gives him the only advantage in his life he can ever think of: the lack of perception of failure and pain, the lack of accountability to himself when suffering occurs. Alderic views events dispassionately and thinks of himself as a separate machine. Once he graduated from the Officer’s Academy, he decides to complete his training by signing up to the Martian military, just in time for Operation Bluebird to occur. To Alderic, it felt good being reduced to a number. ADULTHOOD Alderic joined the Martian military when the beginnings of Operation Bluebird was rumbling in Martian circles. Alderic first heard of its potential to disrupt Martian life when his parents started to meet together again and discuss business, a thing they never do unless their properties were in danger of losing value. Australia at that time was a hotbed of Terran guerilla activity, who were coordinating attacks against important logistics for half-metal purification and export out of Earth. The attacks were so coordinated and damaging that the Martian government quickly concluded that the Terrans were getting political and military support from someone else beyond them. Mars was swept with a wave of nationalism, a fervour of fundamentalism that was part religious and part warmongering. While Alderic never believed in the religious bit, he was swept up in the nationalism that gripped the country and was enticed by the idea of becoming a fighter pilot. Alderic completed his basic training, and then completed another series of months doing winter training and urban combat under the DAC (De Atra Corps, a paramilitary force that is the proxy for Mars’ Church of the Red Dawn), until he was selected as a pilot for the Wing. When Operation Bluebird began, Alderic was two years into his seven-year training as a fighter pilot when he was deployed to Earth. Alderic’s ability to set aside his sense of personhood allowed him to make objective operational decisions that are often reckless and brutal, though effective. Working intimately with his planners and analysts, Alderic made for a weapon that was easily moulded and guided towards his enemies, oriented securely like a guided missile. Alderic spent hours learning and attending courses that allowed him to study his Terran opponents, whom he had come to respect for their tenacity, though viewed, objectively, as objects to target and destroy. This allowed him to refine his tactics as a pilot in order to become more proficient in creating teams that enable the Martian government to gain the upper hand in Australia. Working with his mentor, then-General Reginald Adenauer, Alderic became a disciple of war. He proved himself in Operation Bluebird as a pilot, and then, having proved his skills in coordinating teams for killing, proved himself in his rank. As his parents back in Mars heard of his conquests, Alderic’s name was carelessly thrown into their respective social circles, and he became somewhat of a hot topic among socialites and politicians alike, who either like him or hate him depending on the angle of the news that day. Alderic isn’t the only military member who became distinguished with medals in Operation Bluebird, however, he is the most popular one given his family name. After finishing his deployment to Australia, and having helped to quell the rebellion in the country, Alderic returned to Mars finding out that a marriage has been arranged for him by his parents. Alderic takes his marriage in stride, not really caring much about the union, never needing companionship beyond the disparate social circles he’s built for himself in the military. As a result, following their wedding, Alderic left Mars for space. He completed his pilot training, and was subsequently tasked with becoming the Commander of the Hesperides, a battleship orbiting Mars that is concerned with Martian sovereignty in space and on Earth. The Hesperides has been his home for years. Alderic thinks very little of what he has left behind, only choosing to move forward and live for war. Commander Madelon-Li believes in two things: victory, and the inevitability of his death. © Tessisamess