James Rickart

[Deleted]

James Titus Rickart




"He who loses his life for others shall find it."

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Full Name – James Titus Rickart
Nicknames/Alias – Commander Rickart, Commander (and other previous ranks for old acquaintances), Jim (close friends and persons from his childhood only)
Age - 35
Date of Birth - 3/12/2485
Gender - Male
Sexual Orientation - Heterosexual
Affiliation - Alliance
Occupation - Alliance Naval Commander, Captain of the IAV Penumbra Dawn

Play-By - Ioan Gruffudd
Build - Lean and Athletic
Height & Weight - 5’11”, 170 lbs
Hair - Dark Brown, Medium Length
Eyes - Brown
Unique Features - Scar on the top of the right hand from outer wrist across to Thenar Space (“webbing” area between thumb and forefinger) from a knife wound during the Penumbra Dawn’s early days battling pirates.
Dressing Style - Uniform. Period. James is a military man and his uniform is like a second skin to him. On top of that, he’s the captain of his ship, the symbol of authority and order to his subordinates. Certain occasions call for different types of clothing and gear even for the commander of the vessel, and occasionally in an unexpected emergency or in extraordinary circumstances you might find James in a state of half-dress.
When not on duty, James is a fairly smart dresser (plays to how he actually enjoys wearing officer’s garb instead of wanting to tear it off the first chance he gets) and wears civilian clothes in a very neat manner as if it were in fact his uniform. Yet James has fairly humble origins and despite his preferences for proper appearance he is no stranger to simple attire.
Other -

Likes – The Alliance (the ideals, military, and the good that unification can accomplish), military life, command, guns and ships, fighting, discipline, honesty and loyalty, apple pie, Toasters
Dislikes – The Alliance (the politics, the bullshit, and Miranda), anyone who criticizes the military (outspoken pacifists, former Browncoats funneling their hatred toward the soldiers rather than the politicians, politicians dumping blame on troopers to help their reelection bids), deceit and secrets without damn good reasons, slothful people, cowards (if you don’t have the stones then get out of the military), mercenaries (better to have a man fight and die at your side for a cause other than coin)
Quirks/Habits - Backseat driving i.e. spending too much time over the navigation consoles or on the fighter deck as if he were still a pilot and not the CO. It’s not to the point of disruption but it’s noticeable.
Fears - The shame of losing his ship (either by combat or court-martial).
Secrets - How very much he dislikes having Theta onboard (but certainly not a secret to Theta), his own feelings about the Signal, and generally other personal misgivings about the Alliance (he is still a believer but he believes in reform).
Strengths - Unending dedication, an “American Dream” type background story and a war hero reputation, selfless and dutiful, relentless in most all pursuits
Weaknesses - Potential to be blinded by duty and/or nobility, lack of any personal or family connections beyond shaking a few politician hands while being awarded medals, relentless even in pointless matters, his concern for his crew interfering with his need to remain detached as their CO.
Talents/Special Abilities - Prodigy level fighter pilot, skilled in hand-to-hand and small arms CQB although he has had little practical application of the skill, and the sheer dedication and determination that allows a man to seemingly work at his best nonstop and never have to “turn off”.
Aspirations - Make Captain someday. Maybe get assigned to command a capital ship, one preferably without shadow government agents aboard. No real desire to join the admiralty, at least not until he’s old and “can’t fight”.
Overall Personality - James is a bit of a hardass and rather stereotypical military commander: he’s strict but fair, expects discipline but gives respect, works his men tirelessly but is always right there beside them. Honor and duty are his guiding principles and push him to be the best he can be and to constantly strive to be the best not out of some blind ambition but purely for selfless reasons.

James was never extremely gregarious but nor was he some sort of social recluse. However, with command came a distancing from the rank and file. Now he is rather terse and almost always professional in front of his crew. He would prefer to be friendlier with his men, but, well, that just wouldn’t be proper from a commanding officer. The only person he technically could become friendly with is also the person he probably likes the least.

Father - Henry Rickart (59)
Mother - Lauren Rickart (58)
Siblings - Mary Rickart Harrison (38)
Other Significant People - Theta (Best Friend Forever)
Pets - Kendle (childhood dog)
Your History - James was born to a rather lowly family on Osiris. His father Henry had served in the Alliance in his younger years but had left the service to further his career in… semi-skilled industrial labor. His mother Lauren worked a few jobs over the years, most frequently as a cook (and not the fancy kind or she would be called a ‘chef’). Despite their low means, the family was full of love and the children were brought up “right”.

From a very young age, little James was very much the dedicated and honorable man he is now. He pushed himself fully into his chores around the house to help his parents and into his studies in school to help himself. His father’s prior military service planted a seed in the young boy’s mind that he wanted to become a soldier himself someday. He also deeply wanted to further his education. The family savings were nonexistent and although both smart and talented James was not in the league to get some full scholarship. His ticket to education was through the military and that was just fine by him. He’d make his parents proud, help other people, work hard, and generally be a good man… a great man even. It was this idealism that drove him to work even harder than before.

All the effort finally paid off when he was indeed accepted and shipped off the Alliance Navy’s academy. Academic work was difficult but it was easily manageable for a boy who’d spent years working tirelessly to get to that point. The military side of things was very new to James but he took to it quickly. It wasn’t all too long until James shot to the top of his class.

The Unification War broke out during the end of James’ third year. As much as he and many of his classmates itched to put their skills to the test and join the fighting, they were kept in their studies. The following year, at the age of 22, James finally graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the Alliance Fleet. The instructors were right. The war hadn’t gone anywhere in the year he’d had to sit on the sidelines. In fact, if anything the war had intensified greatly.

James spent most of the war in the cockpit of his fighter, engaging in some of the most decisive battles of the war. Everyone talks about New Kasmir, Du Khang, and Serenity Valley as if the war was fought and won by grunts on the ground. Not to diminish their sacrifice and bravery, but the real war was decided in the air by men like James Rickart. It was the capital ships that went down, frequently with all hands protecting those grunts stuck planet side, and it was the Fleet which ended up winning decisively and cutting off the still formidable Independent ground forces thus forcing their surrender.

Throughout numerous campaigns, battles, and skirmishes, James proved himself to be an exemplary pilot and officer. He was decorated several times and after four years of wartime service had risen to rank of Lieutenant Commander by war’s end. As military forces scaled down, James was transferred from commanding a fighter squadron against Browncoats to commanding a corvette against pirates. For seven years, James continued to surpass expectations both through the skill and bravery that he was known for during the war as well as a sound tactical mind which often developed inventive and unorthodox methods to attain victory. During this command, James was promoted to full Commander. Both from his service during the war as well as his exploits since then when much of the rest of the Fleet was fairly inactive, Rickart has developed quite a name for himself especially in the officer community.

Orders to command a new ship, the Penumbra Dawn, seemed the next logical step on a career that seemed to have no limit. However in 2518, only a few months into the tour, the frigate’s mission and crew was forever changed by the addition of one “Theta”, an Alliance Operative that was now a “part” of the crew. The clandestine nature of the operatives naturally put James immediately at odds with the man on a personal level, but as much as he disproves of the secrecy, torture, and interruption of the military chain of command, James is a dutiful soldier and aids Theta in his missions because, well, they are now James’ missions too.

What should we call you? - Roger
Roleplaying Experience - ‘Bout a year and a half now on this RP run with about three years before that ages ago.
Where did you find us? - Invite from the ‘Verse.
Prove Yourself - Shiny (Or at least that’s what I wrote last time)
Post Script - absolutely anything else you would like to mention about your character should go right here.
Other characters - Roger and Friedrich
How we should contact you - PM
Roleplay Example -
Even for a man like James Rickart who'd lived a charmed life, there was still great darkness in his memories. The politicians, media, professors of military tactics, and drunken soldiers only ever seemed to talk about the highlights of his military career, the courage, bravery, and daring that led to great victories. It was never as clean and joyous as they made it out to be. War wasn't like that. James had seen many battles and had never truly tasted defeat. Yet with each passing engagement he saw more and more die: a wingman here, half a squadron there, a capital ship down with five thousand hands aboard... even the Independents they were fighting. Even a "perfectly" executed battle left destruction in its wake.

James believed in his duty and the justness of his cause but such loss of life weighed on a man, and weighed on him, and weighed on him. It weighed on him until he could not close his eyes without seeing the face of a long lost friend, he could not look at a soldier beneath his command without picturing the young man cold and in a coffin adorned with the flag of the Alliance, and he could not stand on the bridge of his ship without thinking that maybe this time his luck would run out and his frigate would go the way of the Alexander.

Commander Rickart sat up with a start. His cabin was dark save for a small green flashing light by the desk. From the darkness came a voice, "Commander, scans picked up an unusual signal." James blinked and then swung his legs out to the side of his bed and got up. The lights soon were flicked on to reveal he was alone in the cabin, the voice having come from the console over by the blinking light.

James sat down at the desk and wearily looked at the console. A readout of the scans had been forwarded down and now filled the screen. At first the still half-asleep skipper couldn't understand what was so unusual about this report. There was no bulletin about a suspicious vessel and it was still too far away to get a proper scan that might indicate any illegal operations. Then he saw it. The radiation levels emitting from the ship's core were dangerously high yet the vessel was still operating as if the crew was unaffected.

Rickart quickly hit the comm and the green light shut off. "Action stations!." Just one more nightmare to add to the list.

SYR INTEGRA of CAUTION 2.0 created this and she will happily hunt you down, rip out your spinal cord, and beat you to death with it if you steal her hard work and claim it as your own. especially since she will gladly share it with any and all who wish to use it, provided they leave her nice, little credit attached.

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