James "Blackjack" Noiret | 23 | 5' 11"[/CENTER]
A farm boy from Sirona, an Ag world, James grew up driving all the farm equipment, souping up gravbikes for races and dreaming of escaping. Which he did, to the Imperial Scout Service Academy. He quickly found out that not all the education took place in the classroom when some upperclassmen invited him to their room for a "friendly" game of cards - and proceeded to fleece him of his last few credits.
"Blackjack's just not your game," one of them said smugly. Later, when James transferred into the Pilot program, he found himself assigned to that same man as his instructor, who called out, "Hey, Blackjack!" much to his embarrassment. He was the only trainee in his class who earned a callsign the first day.
As part of his Academy training, all midshipmen cadets are assigned to a ship for a tour of duty. He found himself being assigned to the ISS Izar, which was doing Dark Runs - going to a dim star without any possibility of life to assay the mineral wealth of the system for future mining colonies. It was, in a word, boring. In port, mighty tired of the moonshine the engineer brewed, James would hit the bars. One faithful night, he turned and saw a man and woman arguing in the street while others just looked away. The man raised his hand as if to strike, and James barreled in and landed an uppercut - and got arrested for striking an Imperial Senator. The Scout Academy promptly cashiered him.
Hearing James' tale, a guy in a bar said he knew an outfit who needed a pilot to make a quick run to the next system to drop off some cargo, a great way to earn a few bucks. Except when Blackjack arrived, he found himself face-to-face with an Imperial blockade responding to a tip about a ship smuggling contraband. And while they were busy with him, the real smugglers got their cargoes through.
Convicted of smuggling, Blackjack got shipped to Solomar for a life sentence. (It didn't help that the Senator he slugged was friends with the judge.)
On arrival, the first guy he met screamed to intimidate him. Blackjack knocked him out with a lucky punch - and started a riot. He decided that he better clear the area. Mostly for the last year and a half Blackjack's been scrounging, taking odd jobs here and there, with a small reputation going around that he's "simple" because of his slow-talking way and poor poker habits, but few can take advantage of him. Occasionally you can catch him looking up with a strange wistful yearning at the sky.
Barnstormer - Blackjack can fly anything with wings - and more than a few things without. If you don't mind a few bumps along the way.
Earnest - Serious, hardworking and dependable. When he isn't tripping over his own feet.
Frank - Very honest, which can be a grave disadvantage on Solomar - or while playing poker.
Artistic - Loves to draw. Has a problem with hands and proportions.
Marlon Liberator - looks like a slim flare gun, .45 LC/.410 shotgun single-shot, can carry two loose rounds in the hollow grip (currently all .410 shells). Maximum range 20 yards. Because you have to manually reload it after every shot, rate of fire is very slow. Best as a hold-out pistol.
Kurki survival knife - crudely shaped from a piece of scrap metal, has a hard time holding an edge. Carried in a sheath on his left for cross-body draw.
Brimed canvas hat (to keep the sun off, patched)
Bandana - one black, one white, stained.
Imperial Scout Service Bioplas Jacket - a reconfigurable self-healing garmet that lives off the warmth of the wearer or off a solar battery, can charge itself in daylight. If a sudden drop in air pressure is detected, the jacket automatically reforms itself into a protective red spacesuit with a 10 minute supply of air, can be rigged to a hose. Additional designs were programmed into the interface, so it now looks like a duster coat. Changes can be made by tapping on the left shoulder in a specific pattern. As his bag was packed by the guy he was bunking with, he has no idea how the Bioplas Jacket got in there. Treats it like a pet.
Deck of cards (worn, unmarked) - typically used to play solitaire.
Monopoly rocket player piece - painted red with a white stripe around the middle.
Scout Service Challenge Coin, ISS IZAR
IDENT band - left wrist. Contains service records, certifications, private diary. Requires a reader.
Messenger bag crude bag crafted from old plastic sheets, rags, and a worn knotted rope. Holds a few salvaged broken tools and a few personal possessions.
Jotter - handheld electronic pocket note pad with stylus, was originally introduced as a cheap drawing and writing tablet for schools. Didn't sell well as the interface was basically one long continuous scrolling window, with no way to sync to another device as a backup. Runs on cheap cell batteries. He has several in his bag, each numbered.
