RVA: Those Two Guys, Frie and Cy
Mucking around in GURPS a bit and I came up with these two. They may or may not show up in later stories if I need to add some muscle or a plot complication.
* * *
As Vicountess Sallivera Darktail’s colony of Greenholme approached the tenth anniversary of its founding, some not unexpected problems began to emerge. Though the population of some fifteen million colonists was tiny by established planetary standards, it still meant that Lady Salli could no longer oversee the colony’s operations as closely as she could when it was in the few thousands.
In particular, her spouse Alinadar was tasked with the colony’s overall security, a job that she took very seriously, but hampered by her lack of education, and experience with the honest side of the law. Which meant that, sometimes, despite a basically honest Civil Protection force, smugglers and other criminals manage to slip through security at the shuttleport to bring in illegal goods. Or in the case of Frie and Cy, smuggle them out.
Frie Locksmith
Appearance: Foxen male, age 28, 5’2”, 115 lbs. dark grey fur and eyes, smelling strongly of cheap cologne.
Background: Born into the Military caste, Frie was hampered somewhat by having absolutely no ambition to be a soldier of any sort, or to find work in the various professions defined as “Military Support” which could range from being a tech in the arms industry to working in a base cafeteria. A bit clever but basically lazy, he squandered much of his discharge bonus after completing his mandatory three years of Service, using the last of it to buy a subsidized ticket to Greenholme in an attempt to redefine himself as a Commoner farmer.
As it turned out, while he was capable enough in the agronomy industry, the prospect of backbreaking work for highly variable profits didn’t appeal to him much. So instead he decided to go into the much more lucrative industry of drug manufacture. Hidden in the hectare of land granted to him by the colonial governor [1] he’s been growing a very profitable, and highly illegal crop of Terran tobacco.
The concept of smoking for pleasure was an idea that never caught on well on Foxen Prime. Local stimulants were limited to teas, or prepackaged caffeinated syrup drinks similar to (flat) sodas (the latter more popular as a Military or Commoner habit). After first contact with humanity, tobacco was quickly put on the list of substances illegal to import. Aside from the obvious cancer risks [2], smoking tobacco absolutely deadens the highly sensitive Foxen sense of smell, making them effectively blind in with that sense. Given that tobacco was already illegal in many parts of Earth already, the human planetary government went along with the Foxen Protectorate’s prohibition. Given human (and foxen) nature, other, ahem, non-governmental factions began to immediately try and get around it.
Which is where Frie comes in. On his land grant, which is mostly devoted to cob stalks, he’s also busily growing tobacco hidden under the taller and broader cob stalk leaves and storing and drying it in his vehicle shed. Every few months he sneaks a load off to the spaceport to export to Foxen Prime, taking advantage of the fact that Ali’s focus is mostly on people trying to import illegal substances, not sneak them out.
So far his efforts haven’t brought much joy to him. He’s still deeply in debt to his supplier of his initial stock of tobacco seeds, and has had several brushes with the CP’s around the spaceport, who suspect him of something, given his suspicious behavior, his extremely visible and intimidating helper Cy, and tendency to wear awful colognes to hide his own smoking addiction. But thus far he’s only suspected of bringing stuff in for his own personal pleasure, not sending it out. Given that if Ali ever found what he was really doing, she’d likely skin his pelt off and nail it to her office wall, that’s just as well.
The sad thing is, Frie is clever enough with electronics to make a good living as an engineer, given the colony's need for a constantly expanding infrastructure. But the lure of that One Big Score will keep him on the wrong side of the law, until the Law finally catches up to him.
Statistics: ST 9 [0]*, DX 12 [20]*, IQ 12 [40], HT 10 [0]
HP 10 [2], Will 12 [0], PER 13 [5], FP 10 [0]
Basic Speed 5.5 [0], Basic Move 6 [5]
Build: Size 0
Damage: Thrust 1d-2, Swing 1d-1
Social: Culture: Foxen [0]. Languages: Foxen (native) [0], English (broken) [2], Galactic Basic (accented) [4]
Wealth: Struggling [-10], Debt/10 [-10]
Reputation: Troublemaker (local CP's, small group) -3 [-5]. Status: -1 (low-class Commoner) [-5].
Advantages: Acute Hearing/2 [0]*, Blunt Claws [0]*, Contact: Spaceport, Skill-12, Usually Reliable [2], Foxen Racial Package [23], Gizmos/2 [10], High Manual DX/2 [10], Sharp Teeth [0]*.
Perks: Fur [0]*
Disadvantages: Addiction: Cigarettes (illegal, highly addictive) [-10], Bad Smell (either heavy cologne or cigarette smoke) [-10], Greed [-10], Insomnia (mild) [-10], Jealousy [-10], No Acute Smell [-4], Pacifism: Can't Harm Innocents [-10], Secret: Drug Smuggler (possible imprisonment) [-10].
Quirks: Wears heavy cologne [-1], OPH: Always tapping his toes [-1] .
Skills: Acting-12 [2], AK: Spaceport-12 [1], Beam Weapons (pistol)-13 [2], Brawling-12[1], Camouflage-13 [2], Computer Operation-12 [1], Computer Programming-12 [4], Driving (automobiile)-12 [2], Electronics Operation (security)-12 [2], Farming-13 [4], Fast Talk-12 [2], Gambling-11 [1], Lockpicking-12 [2], Smuggling-13 [4], Soldier-12 [2].
* Foxen racial package
Cyrus AKA “Cy” AKA “You Goddess Damned Walking Wall”
Appearance: Wazagan male. Height 8 feet (big even by Wazagan standards), weight 500 lbs, mottled blue skin, numerous scars on his chest and arms.
Background: Frie found Cy sleeping in a drunken stupor against the warehouse he was trying to slip his latest container of tobacco into. Needing to lift the container onto a particularly high shelf without being caught using a load lifter, he managed to wake Cy up enough to slip a 10 credit stick into his meaty palm to do the job. They've been working together ever since.
Frie isn't sure about Cy's background, the big guy doesn't talk much, but can guess that he's an ex-pirate, judging from all the scars on his body and the semi-legal cybernetics. For Cy’s part, he’s really good at Looming Intimidatingly, which has helped Frie’s own peace of mind while trying to pay off his creditors.
Frie’s peace of mind would likely be a lot less if he knew the truth about Cy’s background, which was as an enforcer for the infamous Bloody Margo. His old job was aboard one of the smaller ships in her fleet, accompanying her other bully boys as they collected their take from the merchants of world under their thumb. When the Relentless was destroyed and Margo’s little empire began to fall apart, Cy got out while the getting was good. He’s been knocking around the galaxy for the past decade or so, trying to make ends meet, until he finally ended up on Greenholme.
For the most part, when he isn’t acting as Frie’s muscle, Cy is content to sit in a corner of the room and play games on his com or sing to himself softly. While he’s not stupid, he comes across as much dimmer than he actually is due to his broken command of Galactic Basic and Foxen. Cy isn’t big on original thinking anyway, and is happiest when someone else is giving the orders. Frie, with his drive to try and finally make a big score, fits the bill nicely. On his own Cy is usually unhappy, and when he’s unhappy Cy eats. He’s been eating a lot the past decade or so…
Ali has met Cy in the past, from her own background as Bloody Margo’s slave, but probably wouldn’t immediately recognize him, given twenty years of time and an extra hundred-fifty pounds on his body. If she got close enough to smell him however, or get a good look at his shoulder where is allegiance mark was finally lasered off, things might get ugly for Frie and Cy both.
Statistics: ST 16 [34]** @, IQ 10 [0], DX 14 [80], HT 14 [40]
HP 21 [8], Will 10 [0], PER 10 [0], FP 16 [4]
Basic Speed: 7 [0], Basic Move: 7 [0]
Damage: Thrust 1d+1, Swing 2d+2
Build: Size: +1, Fat [-3]
Appearance: Ugly [-8]
Culture: Wazagan [0], Galactic [1]
Languages: Arabic (native) [0], English (accented) [4], Foxen (broken) [2], Galactic Basic (broken) [2]
Wealth: Struggling [-10]
Advantages: Acute Hearing/2 [0]**, Acute Vision/2 [0]**, DR 2 [0]**, Hard to Kill/3 [16], High Pain Threshold [10], Night Vision/2 [0]**, No TL Penalty [10], Peripheral Vision [0]**, Sharp Claws [0]**, Sharp Teeth [0]**, Wazagan Racial Package [39].
Perks: No hangovers [1], Penetrating Voice [1]
Cybernetics: Boosted Reflexes [18], Implant Radio [7], Subdermal Armor [28]
Disadvantages: Charitable [0]**, Chummy [-5], Easy to Read [0]**, Extra Sleep/2 [0]**, Hidebound [-5], Secret: Ex-Pirate (possible imprisonment) [-20], Slow Riser [0]**.
Quirks: Distinctive Features (scars) [-1], Overeats When Stressed [-1], Staid [-1]
Skills: Beam Weapons (pistol)-15 [2], Beam Weapons (rifle)-15 [2], Brawling-16 [4], Carousing-15 [2], Computer Operation-10 [1], Crewman (spacer)-10 [1], Driving (ground truck)-14 [2], Fast Draw (pistol)-15 [2], Intimidation-10 [2], Melee Weapon (two handed axe/mace)-14 [2], Melee Weapon (two handed sword)-14 [2], Singing-15 [2], Streetwise-10 [2], Swimming-17 [1]%, Wrestling-14 [2].
** Wazagan Racial Package
@ -10% for Size +1 modifier
% +3 to skill from Fat
[1] In keeping with Foxen tradition, all the land of Greenholme is owned by the highest of the local Noble caste, in this case Lady Salli, and in turn to parceled out to lesser nobles to be rented to Commoner colonists or resource exploitation companies. Given the very top heavy noble structure of the planet, 85% of the land is under Salli’s direct control, with the remaining 10% held in trust for her children, and the other 5% given to other nobles in payment for their assistance with the colonization project.
[2] With cellular regeneration techniques, cancer is curable with modern medicine. But it’s still expensive to eliminate and potentially fatal if not caught in time.
* * *
As Vicountess Sallivera Darktail’s colony of Greenholme approached the tenth anniversary of its founding, some not unexpected problems began to emerge. Though the population of some fifteen million colonists was tiny by established planetary standards, it still meant that Lady Salli could no longer oversee the colony’s operations as closely as she could when it was in the few thousands.
In particular, her spouse Alinadar was tasked with the colony’s overall security, a job that she took very seriously, but hampered by her lack of education, and experience with the honest side of the law. Which meant that, sometimes, despite a basically honest Civil Protection force, smugglers and other criminals manage to slip through security at the shuttleport to bring in illegal goods. Or in the case of Frie and Cy, smuggle them out.
Frie Locksmith
Appearance: Foxen male, age 28, 5’2”, 115 lbs. dark grey fur and eyes, smelling strongly of cheap cologne.
Background: Born into the Military caste, Frie was hampered somewhat by having absolutely no ambition to be a soldier of any sort, or to find work in the various professions defined as “Military Support” which could range from being a tech in the arms industry to working in a base cafeteria. A bit clever but basically lazy, he squandered much of his discharge bonus after completing his mandatory three years of Service, using the last of it to buy a subsidized ticket to Greenholme in an attempt to redefine himself as a Commoner farmer.
As it turned out, while he was capable enough in the agronomy industry, the prospect of backbreaking work for highly variable profits didn’t appeal to him much. So instead he decided to go into the much more lucrative industry of drug manufacture. Hidden in the hectare of land granted to him by the colonial governor [1] he’s been growing a very profitable, and highly illegal crop of Terran tobacco.
The concept of smoking for pleasure was an idea that never caught on well on Foxen Prime. Local stimulants were limited to teas, or prepackaged caffeinated syrup drinks similar to (flat) sodas (the latter more popular as a Military or Commoner habit). After first contact with humanity, tobacco was quickly put on the list of substances illegal to import. Aside from the obvious cancer risks [2], smoking tobacco absolutely deadens the highly sensitive Foxen sense of smell, making them effectively blind in with that sense. Given that tobacco was already illegal in many parts of Earth already, the human planetary government went along with the Foxen Protectorate’s prohibition. Given human (and foxen) nature, other, ahem, non-governmental factions began to immediately try and get around it.
Which is where Frie comes in. On his land grant, which is mostly devoted to cob stalks, he’s also busily growing tobacco hidden under the taller and broader cob stalk leaves and storing and drying it in his vehicle shed. Every few months he sneaks a load off to the spaceport to export to Foxen Prime, taking advantage of the fact that Ali’s focus is mostly on people trying to import illegal substances, not sneak them out.
So far his efforts haven’t brought much joy to him. He’s still deeply in debt to his supplier of his initial stock of tobacco seeds, and has had several brushes with the CP’s around the spaceport, who suspect him of something, given his suspicious behavior, his extremely visible and intimidating helper Cy, and tendency to wear awful colognes to hide his own smoking addiction. But thus far he’s only suspected of bringing stuff in for his own personal pleasure, not sending it out. Given that if Ali ever found what he was really doing, she’d likely skin his pelt off and nail it to her office wall, that’s just as well.
The sad thing is, Frie is clever enough with electronics to make a good living as an engineer, given the colony's need for a constantly expanding infrastructure. But the lure of that One Big Score will keep him on the wrong side of the law, until the Law finally catches up to him.
Statistics: ST 9 [0]*, DX 12 [20]*, IQ 12 [40], HT 10 [0]
HP 10 [2], Will 12 [0], PER 13 [5], FP 10 [0]
Basic Speed 5.5 [0], Basic Move 6 [5]
Build: Size 0
Damage: Thrust 1d-2, Swing 1d-1
Social: Culture: Foxen [0]. Languages: Foxen (native) [0], English (broken) [2], Galactic Basic (accented) [4]
Wealth: Struggling [-10], Debt/10 [-10]
Reputation: Troublemaker (local CP's, small group) -3 [-5]. Status: -1 (low-class Commoner) [-5].
Advantages: Acute Hearing/2 [0]*, Blunt Claws [0]*, Contact: Spaceport, Skill-12, Usually Reliable [2], Foxen Racial Package [23], Gizmos/2 [10], High Manual DX/2 [10], Sharp Teeth [0]*.
Perks: Fur [0]*
Disadvantages: Addiction: Cigarettes (illegal, highly addictive) [-10], Bad Smell (either heavy cologne or cigarette smoke) [-10], Greed [-10], Insomnia (mild) [-10], Jealousy [-10], No Acute Smell [-4], Pacifism: Can't Harm Innocents [-10], Secret: Drug Smuggler (possible imprisonment) [-10].
Quirks: Wears heavy cologne [-1], OPH: Always tapping his toes [-1] .
Skills: Acting-12 [2], AK: Spaceport-12 [1], Beam Weapons (pistol)-13 [2], Brawling-12[1], Camouflage-13 [2], Computer Operation-12 [1], Computer Programming-12 [4], Driving (automobiile)-12 [2], Electronics Operation (security)-12 [2], Farming-13 [4], Fast Talk-12 [2], Gambling-11 [1], Lockpicking-12 [2], Smuggling-13 [4], Soldier-12 [2].
* Foxen racial package
Cyrus AKA “Cy” AKA “You Goddess Damned Walking Wall”
Appearance: Wazagan male. Height 8 feet (big even by Wazagan standards), weight 500 lbs, mottled blue skin, numerous scars on his chest and arms.
Background: Frie found Cy sleeping in a drunken stupor against the warehouse he was trying to slip his latest container of tobacco into. Needing to lift the container onto a particularly high shelf without being caught using a load lifter, he managed to wake Cy up enough to slip a 10 credit stick into his meaty palm to do the job. They've been working together ever since.
Frie isn't sure about Cy's background, the big guy doesn't talk much, but can guess that he's an ex-pirate, judging from all the scars on his body and the semi-legal cybernetics. For Cy’s part, he’s really good at Looming Intimidatingly, which has helped Frie’s own peace of mind while trying to pay off his creditors.
Frie’s peace of mind would likely be a lot less if he knew the truth about Cy’s background, which was as an enforcer for the infamous Bloody Margo. His old job was aboard one of the smaller ships in her fleet, accompanying her other bully boys as they collected their take from the merchants of world under their thumb. When the Relentless was destroyed and Margo’s little empire began to fall apart, Cy got out while the getting was good. He’s been knocking around the galaxy for the past decade or so, trying to make ends meet, until he finally ended up on Greenholme.
For the most part, when he isn’t acting as Frie’s muscle, Cy is content to sit in a corner of the room and play games on his com or sing to himself softly. While he’s not stupid, he comes across as much dimmer than he actually is due to his broken command of Galactic Basic and Foxen. Cy isn’t big on original thinking anyway, and is happiest when someone else is giving the orders. Frie, with his drive to try and finally make a big score, fits the bill nicely. On his own Cy is usually unhappy, and when he’s unhappy Cy eats. He’s been eating a lot the past decade or so…
Ali has met Cy in the past, from her own background as Bloody Margo’s slave, but probably wouldn’t immediately recognize him, given twenty years of time and an extra hundred-fifty pounds on his body. If she got close enough to smell him however, or get a good look at his shoulder where is allegiance mark was finally lasered off, things might get ugly for Frie and Cy both.
Statistics: ST 16 [34]** @, IQ 10 [0], DX 14 [80], HT 14 [40]
HP 21 [8], Will 10 [0], PER 10 [0], FP 16 [4]
Basic Speed: 7 [0], Basic Move: 7 [0]
Damage: Thrust 1d+1, Swing 2d+2
Build: Size: +1, Fat [-3]
Appearance: Ugly [-8]
Culture: Wazagan [0], Galactic [1]
Languages: Arabic (native) [0], English (accented) [4], Foxen (broken) [2], Galactic Basic (broken) [2]
Wealth: Struggling [-10]
Advantages: Acute Hearing/2 [0]**, Acute Vision/2 [0]**, DR 2 [0]**, Hard to Kill/3 [16], High Pain Threshold [10], Night Vision/2 [0]**, No TL Penalty [10], Peripheral Vision [0]**, Sharp Claws [0]**, Sharp Teeth [0]**, Wazagan Racial Package [39].
Perks: No hangovers [1], Penetrating Voice [1]
Cybernetics: Boosted Reflexes [18], Implant Radio [7], Subdermal Armor [28]
Disadvantages: Charitable [0]**, Chummy [-5], Easy to Read [0]**, Extra Sleep/2 [0]**, Hidebound [-5], Secret: Ex-Pirate (possible imprisonment) [-20], Slow Riser [0]**.
Quirks: Distinctive Features (scars) [-1], Overeats When Stressed [-1], Staid [-1]
Skills: Beam Weapons (pistol)-15 [2], Beam Weapons (rifle)-15 [2], Brawling-16 [4], Carousing-15 [2], Computer Operation-10 [1], Crewman (spacer)-10 [1], Driving (ground truck)-14 [2], Fast Draw (pistol)-15 [2], Intimidation-10 [2], Melee Weapon (two handed axe/mace)-14 [2], Melee Weapon (two handed sword)-14 [2], Singing-15 [2], Streetwise-10 [2], Swimming-17 [1]%, Wrestling-14 [2].
** Wazagan Racial Package
@ -10% for Size +1 modifier
% +3 to skill from Fat
[1] In keeping with Foxen tradition, all the land of Greenholme is owned by the highest of the local Noble caste, in this case Lady Salli, and in turn to parceled out to lesser nobles to be rented to Commoner colonists or resource exploitation companies. Given the very top heavy noble structure of the planet, 85% of the land is under Salli’s direct control, with the remaining 10% held in trust for her children, and the other 5% given to other nobles in payment for their assistance with the colonization project.
[2] With cellular regeneration techniques, cancer is curable with modern medicine. But it’s still expensive to eliminate and potentially fatal if not caught in time.