Tom Beartooth
Tom Beartooth
Tom Beartooth is a former Browncoat—the name commonly given to the faction that opposed the Unification of the Anglo-Chinese Alliance into one big, overarching government: “PFC, 125th Brigade Support Battalion, attached to the Hera 5th Light Artillery”
Unemployed in the present day, he survives by committing petty crime—pick-pocketing, minor theft, con-artist scams, info-trafficking, light smuggling, and a few other unsavory activities—in and around the Eavesdown Docks on the planet, Persephone.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Tom can be described as scrawny and lanky, and while he probably won't be found lugging freight or acting as a bouncer or body guard, he is rather agile and quick on his feet. He's also pretty alert and constantly checking out his surroundings—which can make him seem shifty and a mite twitchy to those that don't much know him.
Apparel & Accessories
Worn out jeans, cowboy boots, t-shirts, worn Browncoat with Independent patch still on.
Mental characteristics
Employment
Tom grew up on a modest bison ranch at the mouth of a formerly obscure Valley with his kookom Maggie Sue and mooshom Grandpa George, several aunts and uncles, and plenty of cousins helping out. He found a knack for repairing farm equipment.
When the Unification War came, Tom enlisted where his talent for machinery repair was quickly put to use, keeping ailing transports of land, sea, sky, and space varieties still limping along for the cause. It was during this time Tom learned zero-gravity spaceship repair at the dockyards at Shinbone as the Independent Faction desperately tried to recover from the devastating rout of their space fleet at the Battle of Sturges.
After the surrender, Tom was ordered to report back to his home planet at Hera for "repatriation" back into society.
Once released, Tom was asked by his Grandpa George to find work on Redbird Reservation on Persephone. However, things didn't go so well, and he soon found himself unemployed. He made his way to Eavesdown Docks where he took up a life of petty crime, pick-pocketing, con scams, petty theft, and the like when he couldn't get temporary work.
After a series of unfortunate events, Tom caught a break gaining a job with Captain Cooper and the crew of the Jin Dui.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
He wants to do right by his grandparents and his ancestors. He wants to try respect traditional ways if he can.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
He's pretty good with mechanical things. With patience and "listening" he's got a natural knack for finding out what's wrong with a mechanical or other system, usually ships but could be a lot of things. Darn if he could explain or teach it, though; it's more of a feeling like he was talking with someone.
Living on the streets of Eavesdown Docks, he's become pretty good at pick-pocketing and lifting small items, and then selling them to pawn shops or the like.
Virtues & Personality perks
Deep down inside, Tom is a good guy. He's got integrity, even if it isn't always the lawful and mainstream kind. He respects his elders and tries to do right. He keeps an eye out for the less fortunate when he can.
Vices & Personality flaws
He doesn't care much for Core folk. Them that exercise their power over others, twice so.
He's had a drinking problem since the Unification War, lost a lot of confidence in himself; his self-respect is pretty much in the latrine along with about half of remaining human race. However, he is over a year clean and sober.
Hygiene
When he's not trying to escape thugs by diving into a barrel of fish or avoid being blown up by explosive devices by tunneling under trash, he's about as clean as one can be on Persephone's streets. His clothing is getting pretty threadbare, though, and his Browncoat needs stitching from time to time to keep it.
Social
Contacts & Relations
“PFC, 125th Brigade Support Battalion, attached to the 5th Light Artillery ” Beartooth answered. “Me, I was 4th Greenleaf Volunteers,” Hoss said cheerfully. “Then lateral to 219th Medevac Group, 67th Forward Combat Hospital along with Cooper. Since you were a private with a support battalion -- I expect you did a lot of hurry-up and fix-it?” “Pretty much,” Beartooth said. “Nearly all of it dirtside, but Independent Command threw us into soft-shell EMU suits to help with emergency retrofits at the dockyards at Shinbone after the Fleet got chewed up at Sturges.” He held up both hands empty, flexing his fingers in a brief rippling motion. “And I still got everything I was born with, despite it all,” he said. Cooper and Hoss shared a look. They had seen support techs as patients who’d been thrown into EVA suits and sent out into zero-g to perform repair work on damaged ships; without adequate training, far too often the poor skuts had lost fingers, hands, or entire limbs. If Beartooth had made it through emergency Fleet repairs unscathed, he had to be smart, cautious, or lucky as hell -- or maybe even all three.
Family Ties
Grandfather George & Grandmother "kookom" on Hera on the Two Hawks Ranch.
Jessa
Cousin James
Show spoiler
Sister Annie on Hera helping out at the Two Hawks Ranch, two years younger.TBD
Religious Views
He respects the traditional animist-like indigenous religiousness of his Grandfather and Grandmother. Most mistake Tom for being superstitious. Others take him as either a "magical Injun" type or, as in the case of the furthest Rim planets, a heathen who worships demon spirits.
Social Aptitude
Quite and usually aloof, independent. Tom takes a while to warm up and trust people, especially those who are rich, powerful, and Core-born (to the point of being outright prejudice). But he's mostly honest and respectful to peers, and he's downright loyal, warm, and steadfast to his closest friends.
Could be considered ISFP on the Meyers-Briggs scale, but he's got a spot of intuition that takes over on occasion. He considers his "talking to machines" more art form than technical know-how... "You can learn all the math in the 'Verse, but you take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turnin' of worlds." Introverted, good with objects, but sociable and often random or adaptable to life.
His root sin is envy ("Why do them Core folk... heck, most any folk, seem to know how to make it in this 'Verse an' I don't seem to have a clue?") and his greatest gifts are his creativity and soft-spoken, soft-hearted kindness. More passive than active, he'd rather get out of everyone's way, hide in the shadows, an' just try to get on with livin' without anyone else, especially Alliance, meddling. Thrillin' heroics is for big damn heroes, not Tom.
Mannerisms
When speaking to elders and authority figures, he keeps his eyes averted out of respect. However, being among wasi'chu and in the Unification War has taught him to look more people in the eye when they are talking to him. If he ever does directly look someone in the eye with intensity, he's probably feeling both insult and injury towards them.
Relationships
History
James and Tom knew each other since they were children on Two Hawks Ranch. They grew up together until the years before the Unification War. Only by the most extraordinary chance did they reunite on the streets of Eavesdown Docks.
Wealth & Financial state
With the post-war reconstruction efforts, the economy of the 'Verse is still in tatters, even on the Core worlds. But at least those worlds are recovering. Border worlds and the defeated Independent planets are worst off, and Persephone is one of those. Competition for employment is fierce. More so for former Browncoats, like Tom. Doubly more so for any ethnicity that isn't Anglo- or Sino-something, like Tom. Triply more so for people who have been flagged on the Cortex for one reason. Or several. Like Tom. So, one could say dirt poor is something he's aspiring to as a step up.
Alignment
chaotic neutral to neutral good, depending
Current Location
Year of Birth
2487
27 Years old
Birthplace
Hera
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Gender
male
Eyes
dark, usually shifty around wasi'chu; observant
Hair
long, sleek, raven black
Height
5' 8"
Weight
120 lbs
Character Prototype
Micheal Greyeyes
by Holly H.
Comments
Author's Notes
There is a lot more work that needs to be done here, but I'm publishing it for word count credit for the World Ember challenge.