<strong>Name:</strong>Erich Oststein<br/><strong>Sex:</strong>Male<br/><strong>BattleMech:</strong>AWS-9Q Awesome (Level 2 Tech Upgrade)<br/><strong>Homeworld:</strong>Odessa<br/><strong>Original Faction:</strong>Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces (LCAF)<br/><br/><strong>Description:</strong>Erich makes the description of 'massive' seem unfitting; Towering over most people at roughly Seventy-Eight inches (6'6") tall, his broad shoulders, barrel chest, and deeply tanned and scarred visage showcase the wear and tear he's put on his body over the last Fifty-Four years. His short brown hair hass faded to grey at the temples, and his dark hazel eyes are overshadowed by his perpetual scowl and thick brow; probably the only affectation to vanity caused by his tenure in mercenary forces is a well-groomed, long moustache that looks similar to old pre-holo vids from terra, which, for a few months at least, earned him the nickname 'Cowboy'.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong>A native of Odessa, a core world of the Lyran Commonwealth, Erich came from a long family tradition of serving in the LCAF. Many of his records are sealed, implying that he spent more than his fair share of several tours of duty doing things that were not strictly legal, or ethical in the service of House Steiner, but, it appears that, around 3042, he was cut loose from his contract during the continued merger of the LCAF and the AFFS, after he was given the 'responsibility' of explaining to his commanding officer how the CO's orders had ended up with the near-destruction of a full battalion during a raid gone wrong. Soured from the experience, he's struck out on his own, acting as a freelancer; most contracts he takes are acting as a voice of reason and keeping the leash on young hotshots.<br/><br/><em>Addendum:</em>In the seven years he has been in overall command of the Old Bones' ground forces, Erich has maintained his efforts to try to keep the core members of the company on positive terms with one another, forcing him to make compromises when needed, including sinking a reasonable amount of his personal funds into upgrades for the 'mechs currently being used by the company. Part of his thoughts have turned toward the possibility of retirement, in part due to the massive swath of desctruction caused by the Clan invasion, but, for the most part, he's having too much fun traveling the Inner Sphere and blowing up hostile forces to be bothered by the little voice reminidng him that he is slowing down.<br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong>A sour, grouchy 'old man', He lives hard, fights hard, and has no problems ripping someone down and building them back up into a good soldier, even if they don't much care for his intervention, or tactics. Soured on the 'social generals' of the LCAF, and the egotism of the AFFS, he has earned a reputation of making people from disparate backgrounds work well together, even if it's only out of sheer hatred for him.<br/><br/><em>Update:</em>Due to the unique rigors of mercenary life, Erich has taken the time to lighten up somewhat, and, while he remains as serious as he possibly can be in battle, when the company is on downtime, he can often be seen in the company's mess, talking quietly with someone, or regaling the interested with tales of old battles, from before the clans were a threat. He's still firm when he needs to be, but would much rather let the crew do whatever they want, so long as they come back alive.<br/><br/><strong>Speciality Skills:</strong>Crack shot with a variety of rifles, has a decent range of survival skills, including how to escape from behind enemy lines. Passable with pistols. Enjoys reading about history, including practically everything he can get his hands on about the Star league; while not an expert, he does have passing knowledge on many subjects. A bit of a scrounger, he can, on occasion, make a deal or find a hard-to-get part with less effort than some, depending on if he's in Lyran space or not.<br/><br/><strong>BattleMech Characteristics</strong><br/><br/><strong>Chassis:</strong>Technicron Type G<br/><strong>Weight Class:</strong>Assault (80 tons)<br/><strong>Callsign:</strong>The Brick<br/><strong>Description:</strong>This Awesome has seen Centuries of hard use; over the years, several 'techs that have examined the war machine have joked that it was probably one of the first to come off of Technicron's Manufacturing lines back in 2665, but centuries of constant warfare and abuse have ensured that its history has been lost due to replacement parts outnumbering originals. Deep scars cover nearly every inch of the 'mech's armour, showing a variety of impact points from missiles, ballistics, energy weapons, and even an avalanche or two, if the pilot is to be believed. Despite the appearance, the 'mech is fully functional, coming as a nasty surprise to rookie pilots that think its looks directly impact its performance. Painted a dusty black, the only real colour on the war machine are the blued apertures of its weapons, and the dull red glow of its cockpit, often the last things enemies see in urban combat.<br/><br/><em>Update:</em>With Technicron Manufacturing opening sales on the 9Q Awesome variant, Erich has updated his 'mech's official designation to fall in line with Technicron specificiations; he did try to see about upgrading the armour to Ferro-fibrous, but the bulk of the cooling array required to keep his 'mech from melting into slag when in battle precludes trying to install the bulky composite plates. For the time being, and despite the quiet jokes that he treats the rather unmaneuverable 80-ton machine like it were an oversized member of the Recon Lance, Erich is content with the old 'mech, and has no intention of upgrading to a newer machine. He did, however, remove the obsolete Small Laser from its head mount, replacing the half-ton weapon with a Medium Laser as 'deterrence' for any light 'mech that wanted to press too closely.<br/><br/><em>Addendum:</em>At the moment, the left side of the cockpit transpex window has been badly cracked due to a glancing blow from a medium-calibre autocannon hit; the window is awaiting replacement, but Erich has decided to not repaint over the impact scar on the Awesome's head.<br/><br/>Loadout:<br/>4 Kreuss Particle Projection Cannon (540 metre range, difficulty targeting within 90 metres)<br/>1 Diverse Optics Medium Laser (270 metre range)<br/><br/>Modules:<br/>Guardian ECM suite (180-metre radius of sensor interference)<br/><br/>Upgrades:<br/>Double Heat Sinks (19) (38 'units' of heat dispersal)<br/><br/>General Armor Values: 15.5 tons of Durallex Heavy (248 armour) (OOC note: the Awesome is maxed out at 249 armour; this is as close as can possibly be gotten with standard plating.)