Wow...looks like I'm first.  ;D  Rob if this is a bit much let me know and I'll trim it down.<br/><br/>Character Name:  Michael Ryan<br/>Player Name:  Seereous<br/>DOB/Age:  01 January 3036/31 Earth Standard Years<br/>Hair:  Blonde<br/>Eyes:  Gray<br/>Height: 6'2"<br/>Weight: 205 lbs<br/>Homeworld:  New Avalon, Federated Suns, Federated Commonwealth<br/>Rank/Position:  Commanding Officer, Seraphim (Dark Angels Special Operations/Battlesuit Unit)<br/><br/>Physical Description:<br/>Michael is a tall man, standing over six feet tall and weighing in at a bit over 200 pounds.  His hair is blonde and is cut fashionably, staying as far away from the restrictive and tell tale sign of the military cut.  The gray of his eyes looks like rolling storm clouds.  Years of the infantry man's life has left him with a barell chest, broad strong shoulders and a narrow waist.  His legs are long and muscled, a bit thick in the thighs from the years of training for Battlesuit combat.  His calves are heart shaped from years of flexing to activate the jump jets of his power armor.  He has chisled chin and jaw, and a slightly crooked, oft broken nose.  Crow's feet etch the corners of his eyes from squinting into the sun or from peering through a rifle scope.  He is very rarely seen without a blade on his person.<br/><br/>History:<br/>Michael was born to Elayne and Dorian Ryan, lawyers that served as investigators and inspectors for the Mecenary Review and Bonding Commission (MRBC).  3036 was the year that Maximillian Laio died and the year that Romano Laio took the Celestial Throne.  Also in that year the St. Ives Compact Seceeded from the Capellan Confederation and the Free Rasslhague Republic was born.  These events provided for many contracts to mercenary units throughout the Inner Sphere, and his parents traveled with those units to ensure that they lived up to their end of the bargan.  For the most part, Michael's father did the field work and his mother ran the home office on New Avalon, the planet of Michael's birth.  As Michael grew older, he would travel with his father on his assigments, as long as they weren't in hostile territory.  This all changed when the Clans attacked.<br/>During the Clan Invasion, the need for mercenaries only grew, and the Ryan's work load did nothing but grow, causing Ryan's mother to take to the field as well.  Michael was 14 at this time and whichever parent was the one that had the less dangerous of the jobs that is the parent that Michael lived with.  This meant that Michael bascially grew up among mercenary units throughout the Inner Sphere.  Even when Michael was with his parents he was most often among the 'Techs and non combatants, though he would occasionally break away and spend time with the merc scouts.  They were a small family within a bigger whole, and that appealed to the young teenager.  For the most part, the scouts tolerated the you man's presence, some finding it amusing that the son of the MRBC watchdog was hanging around with them, others fed his curiousity, teaching him some survival skills and how to read the flow of the terrain.<br/>When Michael came of age, he decided that he wanted to join the military, which his parents at first refused.  Elayne realized that her son would do what he had to do, so she worked a few favors and was able to get him into the New Avalon College of Miltary Science.  Michael once again was on the planet of his birth and his mother had returned to the home office while his father continued on being a field worker.  Michael excelled at his studies and graduated first in his class at the academy.  From the academy he went to Officer Candidate School (OCS) and earned his commission before going into the Armored Infantry.  Michael earned yet another meritorious promotion from his advanced training, some heralding him a ristar in the ranks of the infantry, not a glamorous existance in modern warfare which was still ruled by the BattleMech.<br/>Michael's life soon made a drastic change.  He was approached by the Federated Commonwealth miltary for acceptance into their Special/Covert Operations units.  Michael made it through his training and served a tour of duty as an operative, training and executing missions that the average person would only dream about through the vid screens and holo flicks.  Michael also grew disenchanted with the whole Covert Ops life, especially the higher ups using his skills just to further political ends.  Michael understood the need form Covert Operations in security for the homeland, but he grew to hate the polotics of it all.  So much that he resigned his commission and left the service and became a freelance consultant.  Michael worked jobs here and there, working up a good reputation for being reliable and getting the job done.  This reputation brought about another life changing event, the Dark Angels.<br/>Michael was contracted by the Dark Angels commander to train a team of commandos for Special Operations.  Michael did just that, training those handpicked men and women in stealth, survival, tracking, marksmanship, demolitions and all other facets of the operative life.  Michael also trained them in battlesuit combat, both in inflitration operations and anit-Mech tactics.  Years passed and at the end of Michael's contract he was offered command of his trained commandos.  He readily accepted the offer and assumed command of the Seraphim.<br/><br/>Skills:<br/>Michael is a skilled bladesman and is rarely seen without a blade on his person.  He is also a survival instructor for the Dark Angels, whether they are infantry, MechWarriors, Aerospace Pilots or whatever their occupation in the Angels is.   Michael is well versed in piloting Battlesuits, using the suit as if it were a second skin.