Atticus de León

Hailing a cab in Galendra can be a confusing experience. Will it be a self-driving car or will it have a human driver? Will they be chatty or leave you alone? Will the car be clean? And if it isn't... do you even want to know what's in that bag?
Some visitors find themselves in a groundcar the size of a boat, sat next to an old cat with a prosthetic leg. The driver and his wife sit in the front, armed to the teeth and expressing their love language of bickering. They start driving before you even tell them where you're going. Halfway along the scenic route, they divert into a "disagreement" between local gangs. If you're smart, you'll duck beneath the windows before the shooting starts.
As the scene quiets, and you resume the drive, little is said about the altercation aside from a bland "sorry" and a "you know how it is." The cat continues its grooming as if nothing happened. But hey, at least you get a discount.

— An excerpt from a travel magazine

History

Bravery

Atticus de León grew up on Devali, in the region that would later become the Monhalian Union. Born in 3169, he was 17 when the war began. He and his childhood sweetheart Hester Navarro joined the Monhalian military as soon as they could, and in 3199, Atticus was stationed at the city of Monhal the day of the Razing. As sirens blared, he followed a suspicious individual to a bunker, where he was knocked out cold.
When he awoke, the bunker door was sealed with no way to open it prior to its time lock. A Devalian Maned Cat had been locked in with him, and as time passed, he came to calling the feline "Hester". During a destructive attempt to get them free, he wounded his arm badly enough for infection to set in. A desperate amputation was all that saved his life.

Cowardice

By the end of the year-long time lock, he was malnourished and suffering, but managed to hobble out of the ruined city and to medical care. While he recovered, he learned Hester (the person) had left the planet months ago, believing him dead. As news of his survival spread to his former squad mates, he became known as the coward who hid himself while the city was destroyed and his countrymen killed.
Few believed his version of events, especially since nobody else had seen the suspicious individual he'd followed. Fed up and alone, he soon took his cat and left Devali. He bought himself a junker of a shuttle and fixed it up, hiring himself out as a taxi service to whichever planet he ended up on. Eventually, this brought him and Hester (the cat) to Nisora.

The Gal Pals

In The Dark

Throughout the intervening thirty years, Atticus never truly overcame the traumas he incurred while trapped in that bunker. His ship was his home and job as he shuttled people around the planet and its orbiting stations. His cat was his only friend, and though he'd tried to find Hester (the person), the trail always ran cold. He never reconnected with anyone else he'd known on Devali, and never returned to see the country he fought for.

Gal Pals logo by Rin Garnett

On January 1, 3228, he was hired to shuttle Jorie and Trey from Galendra to a Research Base that orbited the planet. On board, they found dead researchers and revived an alien named Bry. When they learned Perimeter agents were the killers, and the agency was still after Bry, Tic's anti-establishment tendencies kicked in. He vowed to fight against the military in whatever way was needed.
Having a new mission to work toward proved beneficial for his health. He finally tracked down Hester Navarro, now a teacher with the Astronius Collective, and got married soon after their reunion. But he still felt the cloud of his past hanging over him, the year of being locked away and not knowing how it happened weighing on him. He needed to prove he wasn't the coward people claimed.

Personal Mission

Icon for Devali

Tic got a lead from an old war buddy, Austin Gonzales. The day of the Razing, Austin had found him knocked out in the bunker and had taken a detonator out of his hand. Leaving Jorie on Xeros to tend to her parents, the rest of the Gal Pals and Hester flew to Devali. With help from a member of Mohalian parliament, they tracked down and disarmed the bomb the detonator went to - a homemade device beneath the palace in Monhal, powerful enough to have collapsed the coastal city into the ocean had it gone off.
To learn who planted it, Tic and Hester went to the coast of Sagaria to speak with another war vet. One who'd fought for Abraia. They learned of a young Abraian soldier who worked in special forces with a focus in explosives. This soldier was named Andres Lorenz, and to him, there was no room for redemption. He believed the worst in people, and that they should be punished accordingly. After the war, Andres went on to be an officer known for his conviction, efficacy, and how easily he gained the loyalty of those who served under him.
Meanwhile, Trey and Bry completed a favor for the Monhalian ambassador in Abraia Central, and in exchange were able to request the military records for Andres Lorenz. From this they learned he had been recruited by Perimeter, where he changed his name to Lawrence Anders. The very person who'd tried to collapse the entire city of Monhal, who had caused Tic to be locked away for a year, was the same person now haunting them on Nisora.

Coming to Light

Armed with new information, the Gal Pals reunited on Nisora. As matters escalated with Perimeter, Tic had opportunities to address Anders directly, but Anders had little recollection of Atticus. Even under the effects of Oath, he was adamant that his actions both past and present were justified reactions to what others had done. The event that changed Tic's life, that still affected him daily decades later, meant nothing to the man behind it.
When it came time to face Anders and stop him from destroying Galendra, Tic used himself as bait to lure Anders into a trap. He narrowly avoided death to bring an end to his decades-long nemesis. Yet he didn't feel the relief and accomplishment he expected. With Hester (the person) by his side, he realized satisfaction wasn't in revenge for what happened in his old life, but in what he could look forward to in his new life. He and Hester now co-lead the new Gal Pals, as defenders of the defenseless.

Tic looked at the results in dismay. "We could have changed the name to anything, and they voted to keep Gal Pals!? It's not... it's not manly!"
"You got a problem with things that aren't 'manly'?" Hester crossed her arms and gave her husband a level stare.
"No! No, it's fine. I can accept the results of a fair vote. But I'm changing the logo's colors."
"Change it your own damn self, I'm keeping the pink."

— Growing pains

Player Character

Campaign 2: The Gal Pals

Timeline

3169	Born on the southern hemisphere of Devali
3199	Trapped in a bunker during the Razing
3200	Released and left Devali in shame
3228	Formed the Gal Pals

Demographics

Current location

Residential apartments within Galendra, Nisora

Birthdate

November 18th, 3169

Home planet

Devali

Family

Hester Navarro (wife)
Hester (cat)

Related Plots

• Mine Your Business

Abilities

Skills

Shoot Fix
Atticus is a man of simple desires. If it has gears, he can fix it. If it has a trigger, he can shoot it.

Cybernetics

Body arsenal array Gecko anchors
The revolver in his prosthetic arm and lasers in his eyes ensure Tic will never be without a weapon. His gecko anchors let him climb walls and ceilings for better aim around cover.

Psionics

Spacial awareness
Legion experiments and a jolt from an explosive triggered a wild psychic talent - a

Icon for Teleportation

teleportation ability that gives 360-degree awareness of surroundings.

Assets

Monhaulian Minihaulian
The Monhaulian shuttle was returned to Tic after being in Perimeter custody, though his wife convinced him to take up a better primary residence. His ground car, the Minihaulian, was destroyed in combat, but the Minihaulian II has been seen making its rounds.

Trivia

After misunderstanding a code word, Tic bought Trey a pet platypus. To Trey's dismay.

Tic was the last member of the Gal Pals to officially learn of Jorie and Trey's psionic abilities.

Knowing Hester (the cat) is getting old, Tic has been replacing aging parts of her with cybernetics.

Author Commentary

Wife in Real Life

The players for Atticus and Jorie are married in real life. I conspired with Jorie's player to have her play Hester when the big reunion happened, unbeknownst to her husband.

Deathwish

Tic's player wanted his character to die at the end of the campaign, but also got every health and armor buff possible, and wanted it to be a dice-roll decision (no plot-based death, like shoving him out of an airlock). Despite my best attempts, he only came close to death and never crossed the threshold.

Connections

People

Jorie Grey
Tic has concerns about Jorie. Despite his plans to do something about it, he hasn't realized why they'll never come to fruition.

Trey
Tic's disagreements with Trey have quickly become focused on Trey's lack of preferential treatment for the Gal Pals.

Bry
Tic continues to invade Bry's personal space with hugs and overly-personal questions about his bodily functions.

Hester Navarro
Their 30 years apart was more than enough. Whether on Nisora, Devali, or anywhere else, Tic plans to stay with Hester, until death do they part.

Austin Gonzales
Tic and Austin have reached an agreement, but they'll never get along. Put them in one room for too long and the arguments soon start.

Organizations

Gal Pals
The new Gal Pals have become Tic's focus, channeling skills learned throughout his life into an organization he can be proud of.