<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">Character</span><br/><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/e/ef/Damian_Harper.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong> Damian Harper<br/><strong>Sex:</strong> Male<br/><strong>Age:</strong> 35<br/><strong>BattleMech:</strong> Ha Otoko-HR "Charybdis"<br/><strong>Homeworld:</strong> Alpha Aimag, Tiburon Khanate<br/><strong>Original Faction:</strong> Clan Sea Fox<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Description</div><div class="spoiler_body">Damian has a very rough, masculine appearance. Never without a scruffy beard and black hair swept-back by strokes of his fingers, he has roguish looks that make him stand out among the norm. Soft green eyes compliment slightly tanned skin and his darker hair color. A life of battle has left its mark on his skin as callouses, scars and other minor blemishes are common, though not prevalent. He keeps himself in perfect shape, but retains a slender, if not broad-shouldered, body as he doesn't seem genetically inclined to a bulk frame at all. Despite this, he has a toned body, etched where needed. His age also shows as his constant furrowing of his brow has led to quite some wrinkles there, while his narrow eyes also hide a bit of weariness with his busy life. All-in-all, he looks like a thinker, a man whose gears in his head never seem to stop turning, while his countenance makes his somewhat untrustworthy.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Background</div><div class="spoiler_body">Damian was born to a Merchant-Caste father and Warrior-Caste mother of Clan Sea Fox aboard a vessel of the Alpha Aimag of the Tiburon Khanate. Mixed coupling is rare in the clans, but not non-existent. As a Freeborn, he was fortunate to have been raised in clan Sea Fox, where they are somewhat more lenient towards allowing those to join the Warrior-caste. After the scientists had determined his genetic makeup made him suitable for either of his parents' castes, his mother opted to induct him into the clan's warriors. Raised as a true Sea Fox warrior, he learned the values of both mercantilism and firing a big gun to solve problems. As with all Freeborn, he was treated with prejudice by the Trueborn, and looked down upon for his 'humble' heritage. Despite the setbacks and utter lack of opportunities to prove himself, Damian did rise the ranks somewhat, and was able to show his skills in front of several high-ranking officers on numerous occasions.<br/><br/>As the years passed, Damian had managed to net himself several promotions, even being allowed to serve on the first line during certain campaigns and battles. The primary factor in his success was his observed talents at small-scale tactics and coordination. It made him an extremely useful junior officer, most often put in charge of smaller collections of 'Mechs and their supporting ancillaries. The success would not hold, however, as a campaign against a group of locally funded mercenaries quickly went south.<br/><br/>Serving as Star Commander at the time, Damian found himself the target of resentful envy from his CO. During strategy meetings, the young Freeborn would often express his disagreements with the officer's plans and decisions, which reeked of underestimating their seasoned and entrenched enemies. He was disregarded every time, which each incident earning him further admonishment from the Trueborn present. Despite the gravity of the situation, Damian did not consider the inept command a reason to invoke a Trial of Refusal, and thus continued to follow orders and ignore the consequences. The tension reached fever pitch when a string of extremely poor decisions from the isolated CO resulted in the destruction of valuable strategic positions and the loss of several Points.<br/><br/>Outraged, Damian made it clear to the CO that he was going to bring his complaints up the chain of command, which would have resulted in the man's shaming, at the very least, execution at the worst. Fearful of the fact that Damian may have a case, and lacking witnesses who could disprove that the orders at the time had come from his lips, the officer preempted Damian and turned the Freeborn into his scapegoat. He claimed that the Star Commander had acted out of his own accord in a mix of panic and manipulative opportunism, and refused to heed his superior officer's orders, leading to the destruction that had the campaign end in failure.<br/><br/>Still at the small forward camp at the time, the news reached Damian's ears and knew he had little to no leg to stand on. Most of his allies who would have backed him up had died or were too distant to help at the time, and the CO had plenty of clout to legitimize his claims. Damian would be ejected from his caste for certain, even if he could drag it all out by attempting to prove his innocence. He had only two options: sit back and let his life be destroyed, or flee the ill-equipped base with his 'Mech, and never look back.<br/><br/>He chose the second.<br/><br/>Successfully departing from his clan, Damian proceeded to change his identity, scratching his real last name from any official documents he had, and taking on the name 'Harper'. Left with few other ventures to make end's meet, he joined up with several mercenary units before finally settling on Black Sun company. He had a very rocky start at the beginning, especially since he made no effort to hide his Clan origins. But, as time progressed, he proved his worth and if he did not win the friendship of his allies, he at the very least won their respect.<br/><br/>During his time in the service of clan Sea Fox, Damian had been married to a fellow Warrior-caste Freeborn. He had been one of the few blessed with a marriage that slowly grew to be more than merely a matter of producing progeny. He grew to love her as she did him, but after six years of marriage, he was forced to let her go when she grew ill. Without having fostered any children, his wife died from terminal cancer, which greatly affected Damian's demeanor, setting him on the path to becoming as abrasive, judgmental and emotionally stunted as he is today. He had once started to believe the Inner Sphere concept of love being intrinsically tied to sexual intimacy, but that took a complete 180 after the passing of his wife and he began to view sex as nothing more but entertainment, or a way to produce offspring.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Personality</div><div class="spoiler_body">Damian is a pragmatist, plain and simple. Dry, a little sarcastic and with just a hint of demeaning arrogance, he seems convinced he knows best most of the time through some 'logical' reasoning. A careful observer, he tends to come across as a bit hesitant as he attempts to consider every possible avenue before taking action. This is fine if he is supporting a commander, but when taking the lead, this could make for costly delays. His rather abrasive personality shines through in day-to-day conversation, where his deadpanned, off-hand comments, his belief that he is correct most of the time and his inability to relax and have fun, make it very hard for him to connect to people. He truly does believe he is better than you are, but that doesn't mean he doesn't value camaraderie. Only a fool strikes out on their own and isolates themselves, so for the sake of unit cohesion, he keeps many of his opinions to himself and actually only speaks when spoken to on matters of command.<br/><br/>He possesses a great deal of respect for the chain of command and only contradicts an order if the circumstances are truly pressing, and even then, he only does so in private to keep the appearance of order and organization intact. While he can be a smart-ass out of uniform, once the Neurohelmet is slipped on, he becomes a soldier with nerves of steel who, when asked to jump by his superior, simple responds with: 'how high?' and does everything in his power to make it happen.<br/><br/>Damian is a difficult person to trust. His cunning and wit capable of cutting metal, show on the surface and his almost Machiavellian approach to manipulation and self-improvement are not beneficial to making friends. His competence is clear, but what is unclear, are his loyalties. For every time he jumps through a raging inferno to help a comrade, there is another instance where he almost seems prepared to use some of them as bait. While this hasn't actually occurred, it isn't far'fetched to think the idea crosses his mind constantly. Another factor that aids in this semi-misconception is his merchant background. He stops at nothing to get the best deal and to that effect, he is able to quite aptly gauge his opponent's body language and reactions, reading into their words more than most would, all for his own benefit and no one else's.<br/><br/>This distrust is a two-way street, as Damian finds that few people truly like him beyond being a valued member of the team, and so he is uncertain whether he can trust anyone with his life. More than once has his courage started to falter as he could almost feel someone's eyes burning into the back of him, hoping to shoot him down when no one was looking.<br/><br/>In short, Damian has finely honed mind, abrasive arrogance but is often merely misunderstood; in part due to his own smart-ass remarks, and in part due to others seeing what they want to see.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Specialty Skills</div><div class="spoiler_body">Damian is a product of his clan. Raised as Warrior-Trader, he supported his kin both on the field of battle, and off of it. While not as skilled as a true member of the Merchant-caste, he is still an extremely talented trader with a keen eye for the financial side of warfare, specifically. Number-crunching is second nature to him and administrative tasks related to the budget, as well as whether or not a given venture is worth the risk, can comfortably be left to him. His skills as a Warrior are without question, though he can still only be considered upper mediocre when compared to many of his peers. However, he only truly shines if put in a support role, where his adaptability and quick reflexes allow him to respond and coordinate with great efficiency. A tactician at heart, he prefers to use terrain and detailed scouting reports against his enemy. He finds information is key and is able to draft intricate plans that do demand high maneuverability and finesse from anyone under his command. Strategy is not his game, neither is keeping up morale or actually leading a charge, but give him a small lance of 'Mechs, and he will make them dance with his carefully planned choreography. An avid sports fan, he is also quite adept at clan lacrosse. Coincidentally, sports is the only instance where he would ever dream of taking on a crazy risk/reward gambling bet, and somehow still come out on top.</div></div><br/><hr/><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">BattleMech </span><br/><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/13/Ha_Otoko_color.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Chassis:</strong> Ha Otoko<br/><strong>Model:</strong> Ha Otoko-HR<br/><strong>Weight Class:</strong> Heavy<br/><strong>Callsign:</strong> Charybdis<br/><strong>Description:</strong> Charybdis' general look hasn't changed much in the years since Damian left clan service. He has kept the machine well-serviced and spends anything he can spare on its upkeep, functional first, cosmetic second. Despite this, the magnitude of action the Ha Otoko has seen has left its mark. While large dents and blemishes are usually removed, the sheer number of smaller markings have started to pile up and the 'Mech is showing its age a little. Nonetheless, internally, it still performs at peak capacity. The 'Mech's coloring scheme is still mostly blue, with a light and darker hue alternating across the chassis. Silver and red trimming finish its scheme and make it stand out as a bit of an homage to Damian's former clan. The Black Sun insignia is located on the front of the chassis' left thigh.<br/><strong>Weapons:</strong><br/>- 2x Clan LRM-20s (chest)<br/>- 2x Clan Mech Mortar/8 (arms)<br/><strong>Equipment:</strong><br/>- Light Fusion Engine<br/>- Able Seven Sensor Suite<br/>- 2x Artemis IV FCS (one for each LRM-20)<br/>- Clan Guardian ECM Suite<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> The very first time Damian was able to pilot the Ha Otoko, he fell in love with its simple and elegant design. One of the premier accomplishments of his clan, he soon left his old Tiburon behind and switched his efforts to mastering the support-role missile platform. After leaving his clan with the 'Mech in tow, he made minor adaptations to the machine to suit his needs. In the end, it became a minor mix of the Ha Otoko-HR template, with sensor upgrades usually found in the Ha Otoko 3. Renaming it "Charybdis", after the mythological creature, Damian's Ha Otoko has seen tremendous amounts of action, but remains a valuable support 'Mech capable of laying down serious long-range hurt through the use of its missiles, or even the two Mech Mortar/8 that is immune to the ever more prevalent Anti-Missile Systems. There are few machines better suited for a tactician who still loves to get his hands dirty.</div>