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PLAYER INFO.
✖ Character Name: "Pilot" (Nour)
✖ Genre: Science Fiction
✖ Character Appearance: 5'7"; Pictures here and here.
Three fingers, one thumb, similar number of toes. Toes are larger and include blunt claws. Generally wears boots, regardless, along with a practical jumpsuit (or spacesuit with helmet, when necessary).
Counts in base 8.
✖ Character Age: 24
✖ Pick A Number: 146; 210; NHD-C12-PLT-146; NHD-A10-PLT-146
✖ World Setting: Pilot's world is a relatively small one. At least to him. The science and space travel from his home 'verse (or world) are enable travel between the stars, but it's not nearly as speedy as some others. Journeys from star system to star system take weeks or month or even years. There are space-faring peoples and civilizations, but they move slowly. Communication is as fast as the fastest ship. But humanity (and other species) look outwards and strive to find space for themselves in the wider universe. There is trade. Pilot's people, however, refuse to settle down. Not yet.
His people left their home planet centuries ago in order to escape what they thought of as a decadent world and religious prosecution (those they left behind would call them religious fanatics). They're combing the universe for somewhere to call home again and spreading the word of their religion while they're at it. They keep the ship running through jury-rigging and on-board production of necessary materials, often harvested from asteroids or gas giants and trading with other civilizations as they pass threw. They've been wondering for five hundred years and look to be wandering for a long time yet. Pilot grew up on this ship and all he's ever known are the cramped corridors and living conditions of a massive generation ship.
His people regard the universe (also known as the Universe or Yuni to the faithful) as a living, breathing entity, a massive, all encompassing being that brings with it enlightenment and understanding if one can get close enough to it. Material wealth and possessions merely distract one from the intended message of Yuni, as do individualistic ideals. As such, members of his sect tend to identify themselves by their role in society rather then by an individual name, as to set oneself above the rest of the community (or universe as it were) is considered an act of hubris. It is, however, tolerated in nonbelievers, since they don't know any better. Children are raised communally.
Individuals are given names at birth, but they generally reserve using it for those they are deeply intimate with.
✖ Character History:
Pilot was born years ago on a massive generation ship that was home to a large religious community. His early life was filled with an education - religious and practical. He was taught to make do without, to fix and repair and reuse, to never waste, and to properly respect the ship and void that surrounded them. To be without, to make do, to reject material wants and needs was to step toward enlightenment. To share with the community, to revere the wider universe and to live in harmony within the community - those were the values he was taught. Excess was to be frowned upon - even scorned. Property was and is mostly communal and virtually everyone aboard lives a spartan lifestyle out of choice (the cynics would say necessity and peer pressure). His people - their ship, their community - were pioneers on the edge of space, a single, solitary speck in the vast darkness of an eternal void.
His concept of his community as being the sole point of light, the only little speck in existence, changed as he aged and he was taught more of the history of his people. He began to understand that there were others out there, somewhere, lost forever in the void behind their ship, but that they existed and that they had been given to excess and greed and wasteful fighting and that he was one of the chosen few who might live to reach enlightenment and see planetfall again on a world clean and new and free of the wickedness and greed of the old world. Those they traded with might be saved, but only if they listened to the Word of the Universe and embraced their own austere lifestyle. This is all that Pilot has been taught and to him, the idea of others who didn't realize that there was this powerful, glorious Truth was distressing - if the Universe desired harmony, how could It leave out the vast majority of people from Its message?
However, the universe had not seen fit to grant his people that - not just yet. But perhaps his generation might be the ones. He grew used to the close living conditions, to the routine (almost ritual) that kept him and his family and the community alive. He learned how the ship sounded, how it operated, how it breathed. He almost started to think of it as some living, breathing creature that merely allowed them to travel within it (he wasn't the only one; a small sub-sect of the community maintained that the ship was an extension of Yuni's will and ought to be worshiped as such, although he never officially joined them).
As he grew older, he was given his education: mathematics, reading, writing, how to fix and repair broken systems, the tenets of Yuni, and (most importantly) how to fly. Flying his tiny little capsule to find new planets or peoples for the home ship was something he dearly loved. It also meant that, quite frequently, he was one of the first people to make contact with other species and peoples and he had to learn how to talk with others. And he did. Most of his people did - after all, Yuni asked that all peoples live in harmony with one another. Attacking another space-faring race would be in violation of that command. His siding with the CDC might seem a bit paradoxical, but he sees it as sacrificing for the greater good - disharmonious or discordant elements need to be returned to a peaceful, orderly state. By whatever means necessary.
Yuni also asked that Its Chosen tell people of Its benevolence and commands to all peoples, so as he entered young adulthood, Pilot was often proselytizing to the heretic and the non-believers.
The idea of helping others realize the universal truth and to allow people to find solace and comfort from the suffering of their lives, the cycle of waste and needless use, is one that appealed very strongly to Pilot and was a way for him to channel his own little doubts about his religion and upbringing (why were they the only people who seemed to know about the Unvierse's word) into something more productive and approved by his community. It let him make a difference in the world beyond the ship - Pilot genuinely cared about the well-being of most people he met, even if only briefly. He liked to think that he was making a difference. Saving people from their own unhappiness and the cycle of misery, need, want, and excess that (as his elders told him) gripped the world beyond the relative safety of their commune. The people out there might be outsiders, but getting people to accept their own role in the universe, having them accept that they don't need material possessions, that meditation and listening to the cosmic background and hum - that was success.
He got laughed at a lot, but he didn't mind. Much.
✖ Character Personality:
On the surface, Pilot is a very friendly, polite and helpful young being. He'll cheerfully pitch in whenever something needs doing. He's industrious, doesn't complain about workloads and is a reliable sort who can be left to his own devices and will get the job done without slacking off. It's in his nature, considering how he was raised and where he's lived for most of his life. He'll chat with just about anyone, regardless of species or appearance, and he does his best to make people feel welcome around him and strives for harmony within any large social group he finds himself in. This is all a very accurate reading of who Pilot is as a person.
He is also a religious fanatic who believes entirely in his religion's tenets and what it means for the wider universe. He's stubborn on the point and attempts to sway him from his beliefs are met with polite (if slightly strained) smiles and laughter. This also means that even if he's the nicest guy on the planet, he will always, always be trying to get people around him to fall into line with the group mentality and most especially with the idea that his religion is correct. In some sense, he's a bit passive-aggressive about it - he'll mention it offhand or bring it up obliquely to try and get people to ask questions so she can elaborate on his beliefs. Of course, if that doesn't work out, he'll happily just bring it up to try and discuss it (and why he's right). In a real sense, he clings to his religion because it's very much most of what he knows about the universe, how it works, and how "outsiders" operate.
His religion and trying to get people to follow its tenants, are a huge part of how he views himself. If he were to ever "lose the faith", it's highly likely he'd end up despondent, bitter, or simply at a loss. When he has doubts or is unsure of what he should do, he always returns to the bedrock idea of his faith - that he should serve the community at large, that he should find his own internal and external harmony, that the Universe has a will that should be followed, and that clinging to the material is meaningless. Greed, seeking to harm others for personal profit, and a bevy of other crimes violate the intrinsically harmonious nature of the universe and her and his people are uniquely placed to help people avoid this sort of corruption. Going hand in hand with his evangelizing is his idea of promoting "harmony" between peoples and within the cosmos as a whole (it's part of why he joined the CDC - he sees their mission as helping to cleanse the universe of inharmonious or discordant elements).
In order to get closer to the cosmos, he believes people must look both within and without - within through meditation, listening to the fabric and breathing of the wider universe around oneself and searching for the spark of the Universe that already exists in people. Beyond the self, he believes the one has to embrace the idea of communal living - everyone is an extension of the universe, so everyone is a part of the community. And in order to be at peace with the community and with oneself, one needs to give up wants and desires and put aside individualistic goals for the sake of all. There are, of course, certain tiers and levels of importance that he rationalizes. He places his mission with the CDC as a greater expression of Yuni's will then simply continuing his evangelical work, for example, but that doesn't mean that spreading the word is unimportant - just of a somewhat lower priority than helping the universe right itself.
Ideally, the universe should be simple, straightforward, ordered. There shouldn't be hedonism or unnecessary or extraneous wants. Anything extra or out of order provides discord to the wider universe - hence it needs to be removed, whether it's a sense of entitlement and selfishness or an entire extra planet. Destruction is one method of removal. Self-discipline and examination is another. Both are acceptable, since both remove the elements in question and allow a sense of calm and harmony to return. After all, destruction simply scatters their components back into the ether and returns them to the great cycle of the universe - much like people, in fact. Everyone is made of star stuff and to a certain extent, Pilot views himself and everyone around him as living, breathing extensions of the universe - a way for Yuni to know Itself.
To a certain extent, his desire and idea of harmony means he's fatalistic - what happens happens because Yuni wills it and that's how it's meant to be. He's very much a go with the flow type. To reject events or happenstance is to reject the will of Yuni, even if it accepting events means dealing with a certain measure of pain or suffering. Pain is temporary. Suffering is temporary. Eventually, all things will balance themselves out and the pain will be gone. One way or another.
He's not rude about his rather strange religion unless pushed (well, unless evangelizing counts as rude), but he'll coax and cajole and be the group "conscience" until people are sick of it. Of course, he'll also knuckle under to peer pressure when it comes to things that aren't his religion.
Fortunately, Pilot is used to people blowing him off; he's dealt with it ever since he was tapped as one of the few members of the community who would be dealing with outsiders. He realizes not everyone agrees with him, but he finds the fact that people don't slightly mystifying. Why would people deny the truth that's right in front of them? Especially when he's prepared to hand it to them on a silver platter? Of course, he doesn't hate or judge people who reject it - he pities them for having closed minds and for not realizing that they've missed an opportunity for personal and spiritual enlightenment. He'll try again, of course, with the same cheer and good-nature as before. He'll pray for them, ask for the Universe to intercede on their behalf, and generally try to bring them around. Even if they don't want to be. Keep them close - that's how you win through to them. Well, eventually, anyway.
His communal upbringing also means he has very little concept of privacy, personal space, or the idea that an individual might feel like they know better. To him, once the group has decided, that's it - the community has spoken and everyone, regardless of whether they agree or not, needs to get behind the decision and back it until the group changes its mind or decides to try a different solution. He'll borrow things, including most personal items, without asking. Not because he's malicious, but because most people from his home only have one or two small personal tokens (usually passed to them from the group at large or of personal significance). He will recognize that certain equipment (communicators, ID badges, etc) should stay with whomever they've been issued to, but other things (weapons, blankets, clothing, etc) he sees as simply being temporarily borrowed from the community. If someone else needs something more, why not give it to them?
His sense of community means he is less likely to take individual initiative. Although his role as a scout pilot and outsider contact at home certainly made him rather more individualistic than others from his ship, Pilot still tends to fall back on instructions from his superiors rather then come up with new plans on the fly. He'll be relatively calm in a crisis, but his creativity can be lacking. He will also be perfectly willing to destroy things or commit atrocities based on group decisions and justify it based on it being the Universe's Will. He'll also continue to believe himself to be a righteous representative of morality in the wider universe around him, which will probably paint him as something of a fanatic. This will also extend to be perfectly willing to kill if he thinks that it's necessary for the defense of the group or because he believes that the order and harmony of the universe requires it.
Besides, death isn't really the end, if you ask him, so it's not as if he's doing anything too terrible.
✖ Character Powers:
Species
Pilot's species have six eyes and see in color. He has a greater sense of peripheral vision and depth perception, as well as better night vision then humans, along with sharper vision at greater distances (i.e. he can pick out fine details at farther distances). Strength and agility are roughly on par with humans of a similar size. Pilot's species has cobalt-based oxygenation system and thus does not suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Iotians have two hearts and have a lower overall blood pressure and body temperature than human beings, in order to get the most efficiency out of their cobalt-based blood oxygenation.
Iotians are also a technically exoskeletal species, with several months of a softer, hide-like exoskeleton that, over multiple months, hardens into a full exoskeleton. This exoskeleton typically lasts for a year or more before the Iotian molts and returns to a softer version. The periods of hard-shelled exoskeleton typically increase in length the older the Iotian gets.
The exoskeleton provides some minor resistance to minor cuts and bruises, but does nothing against violent trauma, such as being stabbed, shot, or otherwise injured.
Learned Skills
Pilot is, as his name implies, a rather skilled spacecraft and atmospheric pilot. He's used to more analog controls (switches, toggles, dials, a trusty old-fashioned control stick) than anything digital or holographic, but he knows the principles of space flights and has a very good understanding of Newtonian physics and how to make most atmospheric or spacecraft go without crashing.
WRITING SAMPLES.
✖ First Person POV: Thread here.
✖ Third Person POV: It's funny; this particular stop on their wandering journey had not seemed any different from any of the others (in fact, the records said they'd stopped here once before a decade ago and Pilot thought he could remember it, if he tried hard enough). It was one of those hubs of interstellar travelers. Dozens or hundreds of ships from the surrounding cluster coming and going, different species haggling over materials and trade goods from stars even more distant. Pilot had been given leave to wander on the station to find any small items that might be useful to the ship, maybe try to spread the word a little. He was, of course, warned not to go too far. But he'd proven himself trustworthy enough for this little mission.
That was a fact that filled him with pride. The community trusted him to act individually. That was enough. There hadn't been much. For all of the traffic, this hub was still a bit out of the way of the major star lanes.
So the slightly ragged looking pair sitting behind a rented-out stall in the market section of the space station hadn't elicited much more then a glance from him. At least at first. He'd almost missed them, gaze sliding to the next stall when one of them (he couldn't tell what the species was, underneath the space suit) leaned forward and nodded at him.
From there, it had just been a matter of listening. They were recruiting people for their organization - the CDC. Destroying unwanted planets, cleaning up the universe a little. The words made something inside of his head click. Something turned over and he had to take a breath, because the breadth of what he understood staggered him. In that moment, he could hear the Universe speaking to him and the promise and understanding that It brought with It were immense.
The CDC was doing the will of the Universe. They were bringing back order and harmony to chaos and discontent, destroying mistakes in the cosmic fabric. They were returning matter back to the aether and the thought of it nearly took his breath away. If there was a way to bring harmony, surely this was it. This was what the Universe wanted of him. This was a sign.
He was sure of it.
-------
"We do not like it," one of his elders said, "We cannot just let you leave for no reason."
Pilot fidgeted nervously. He'd wanted to sign on then and there, but loyalty to his people and community had called him back to the ship first. He took a breath, eyes blinking as he tried to compose himself.
"With all due respect..." He began, "...this one thinks it is worth something. They can help us get the planet we've been searching for. They can show us the way to the surfaceworld that we've been chasing for all these years - this is a chance for all of us! And they are doing good work for the Universe - they're cleansing parts of it that are no longer needed!"
There was a murmur from the group listening in. Pilot tried to press his advantage.
"And this one is aware it might not ever come back - but this one is just that. Only one. This one is just Pilot. There are other Pilots. The rest of us would be safe without me."
He took a breath and held it, waiting for the response.
-------
The next day cycle, he signed his contract.
CHARACTER ITEMS.
✖ Pick a Team: Orange Team
✖ Mission Freebie: Finding a new homeworld for his people.
✖ Personal Item or Weapon: Pilot's personal environmental/space-suit. Air/water tight, has an internal air supply or can be hooked up by umbilical to a larger source. Rad resistant (but not totally proof). Helmet visor is rated to against unfiltered sunlight in a vacuum and other bright sources of light. Lower arm/wrist display includes temperature gauge, air supply readout, and a few other useful dials. Suit itself has an equipment belt and pouches built in for hand-tools.
✖ Character Inventory:
✖ Character Name: "Pilot" (Nour)
✖ Genre: Science Fiction
✖ Character Appearance: 5'7"; Pictures here and here.
Three fingers, one thumb, similar number of toes. Toes are larger and include blunt claws. Generally wears boots, regardless, along with a practical jumpsuit (or spacesuit with helmet, when necessary).
Counts in base 8.
✖ Character Age: 24
✖ Pick A Number: 146; 210; NHD-C12-PLT-146; NHD-A10-PLT-146
✖ World Setting: Pilot's world is a relatively small one. At least to him. The science and space travel from his home 'verse (or world) are enable travel between the stars, but it's not nearly as speedy as some others. Journeys from star system to star system take weeks or month or even years. There are space-faring peoples and civilizations, but they move slowly. Communication is as fast as the fastest ship. But humanity (and other species) look outwards and strive to find space for themselves in the wider universe. There is trade. Pilot's people, however, refuse to settle down. Not yet.
His people left their home planet centuries ago in order to escape what they thought of as a decadent world and religious prosecution (those they left behind would call them religious fanatics). They're combing the universe for somewhere to call home again and spreading the word of their religion while they're at it. They keep the ship running through jury-rigging and on-board production of necessary materials, often harvested from asteroids or gas giants and trading with other civilizations as they pass threw. They've been wondering for five hundred years and look to be wandering for a long time yet. Pilot grew up on this ship and all he's ever known are the cramped corridors and living conditions of a massive generation ship.
His people regard the universe (also known as the Universe or Yuni to the faithful) as a living, breathing entity, a massive, all encompassing being that brings with it enlightenment and understanding if one can get close enough to it. Material wealth and possessions merely distract one from the intended message of Yuni, as do individualistic ideals. As such, members of his sect tend to identify themselves by their role in society rather then by an individual name, as to set oneself above the rest of the community (or universe as it were) is considered an act of hubris. It is, however, tolerated in nonbelievers, since they don't know any better. Children are raised communally.
Individuals are given names at birth, but they generally reserve using it for those they are deeply intimate with.
✖ Character History:
Pilot was born years ago on a massive generation ship that was home to a large religious community. His early life was filled with an education - religious and practical. He was taught to make do without, to fix and repair and reuse, to never waste, and to properly respect the ship and void that surrounded them. To be without, to make do, to reject material wants and needs was to step toward enlightenment. To share with the community, to revere the wider universe and to live in harmony within the community - those were the values he was taught. Excess was to be frowned upon - even scorned. Property was and is mostly communal and virtually everyone aboard lives a spartan lifestyle out of choice (the cynics would say necessity and peer pressure). His people - their ship, their community - were pioneers on the edge of space, a single, solitary speck in the vast darkness of an eternal void.
His concept of his community as being the sole point of light, the only little speck in existence, changed as he aged and he was taught more of the history of his people. He began to understand that there were others out there, somewhere, lost forever in the void behind their ship, but that they existed and that they had been given to excess and greed and wasteful fighting and that he was one of the chosen few who might live to reach enlightenment and see planetfall again on a world clean and new and free of the wickedness and greed of the old world. Those they traded with might be saved, but only if they listened to the Word of the Universe and embraced their own austere lifestyle. This is all that Pilot has been taught and to him, the idea of others who didn't realize that there was this powerful, glorious Truth was distressing - if the Universe desired harmony, how could It leave out the vast majority of people from Its message?
However, the universe had not seen fit to grant his people that - not just yet. But perhaps his generation might be the ones. He grew used to the close living conditions, to the routine (almost ritual) that kept him and his family and the community alive. He learned how the ship sounded, how it operated, how it breathed. He almost started to think of it as some living, breathing creature that merely allowed them to travel within it (he wasn't the only one; a small sub-sect of the community maintained that the ship was an extension of Yuni's will and ought to be worshiped as such, although he never officially joined them).
As he grew older, he was given his education: mathematics, reading, writing, how to fix and repair broken systems, the tenets of Yuni, and (most importantly) how to fly. Flying his tiny little capsule to find new planets or peoples for the home ship was something he dearly loved. It also meant that, quite frequently, he was one of the first people to make contact with other species and peoples and he had to learn how to talk with others. And he did. Most of his people did - after all, Yuni asked that all peoples live in harmony with one another. Attacking another space-faring race would be in violation of that command. His siding with the CDC might seem a bit paradoxical, but he sees it as sacrificing for the greater good - disharmonious or discordant elements need to be returned to a peaceful, orderly state. By whatever means necessary.
Yuni also asked that Its Chosen tell people of Its benevolence and commands to all peoples, so as he entered young adulthood, Pilot was often proselytizing to the heretic and the non-believers.
The idea of helping others realize the universal truth and to allow people to find solace and comfort from the suffering of their lives, the cycle of waste and needless use, is one that appealed very strongly to Pilot and was a way for him to channel his own little doubts about his religion and upbringing (why were they the only people who seemed to know about the Unvierse's word) into something more productive and approved by his community. It let him make a difference in the world beyond the ship - Pilot genuinely cared about the well-being of most people he met, even if only briefly. He liked to think that he was making a difference. Saving people from their own unhappiness and the cycle of misery, need, want, and excess that (as his elders told him) gripped the world beyond the relative safety of their commune. The people out there might be outsiders, but getting people to accept their own role in the universe, having them accept that they don't need material possessions, that meditation and listening to the cosmic background and hum - that was success.
He got laughed at a lot, but he didn't mind. Much.
✖ Character Personality:
On the surface, Pilot is a very friendly, polite and helpful young being. He'll cheerfully pitch in whenever something needs doing. He's industrious, doesn't complain about workloads and is a reliable sort who can be left to his own devices and will get the job done without slacking off. It's in his nature, considering how he was raised and where he's lived for most of his life. He'll chat with just about anyone, regardless of species or appearance, and he does his best to make people feel welcome around him and strives for harmony within any large social group he finds himself in. This is all a very accurate reading of who Pilot is as a person.
He is also a religious fanatic who believes entirely in his religion's tenets and what it means for the wider universe. He's stubborn on the point and attempts to sway him from his beliefs are met with polite (if slightly strained) smiles and laughter. This also means that even if he's the nicest guy on the planet, he will always, always be trying to get people around him to fall into line with the group mentality and most especially with the idea that his religion is correct. In some sense, he's a bit passive-aggressive about it - he'll mention it offhand or bring it up obliquely to try and get people to ask questions so she can elaborate on his beliefs. Of course, if that doesn't work out, he'll happily just bring it up to try and discuss it (and why he's right). In a real sense, he clings to his religion because it's very much most of what he knows about the universe, how it works, and how "outsiders" operate.
His religion and trying to get people to follow its tenants, are a huge part of how he views himself. If he were to ever "lose the faith", it's highly likely he'd end up despondent, bitter, or simply at a loss. When he has doubts or is unsure of what he should do, he always returns to the bedrock idea of his faith - that he should serve the community at large, that he should find his own internal and external harmony, that the Universe has a will that should be followed, and that clinging to the material is meaningless. Greed, seeking to harm others for personal profit, and a bevy of other crimes violate the intrinsically harmonious nature of the universe and her and his people are uniquely placed to help people avoid this sort of corruption. Going hand in hand with his evangelizing is his idea of promoting "harmony" between peoples and within the cosmos as a whole (it's part of why he joined the CDC - he sees their mission as helping to cleanse the universe of inharmonious or discordant elements).
In order to get closer to the cosmos, he believes people must look both within and without - within through meditation, listening to the fabric and breathing of the wider universe around oneself and searching for the spark of the Universe that already exists in people. Beyond the self, he believes the one has to embrace the idea of communal living - everyone is an extension of the universe, so everyone is a part of the community. And in order to be at peace with the community and with oneself, one needs to give up wants and desires and put aside individualistic goals for the sake of all. There are, of course, certain tiers and levels of importance that he rationalizes. He places his mission with the CDC as a greater expression of Yuni's will then simply continuing his evangelical work, for example, but that doesn't mean that spreading the word is unimportant - just of a somewhat lower priority than helping the universe right itself.
Ideally, the universe should be simple, straightforward, ordered. There shouldn't be hedonism or unnecessary or extraneous wants. Anything extra or out of order provides discord to the wider universe - hence it needs to be removed, whether it's a sense of entitlement and selfishness or an entire extra planet. Destruction is one method of removal. Self-discipline and examination is another. Both are acceptable, since both remove the elements in question and allow a sense of calm and harmony to return. After all, destruction simply scatters their components back into the ether and returns them to the great cycle of the universe - much like people, in fact. Everyone is made of star stuff and to a certain extent, Pilot views himself and everyone around him as living, breathing extensions of the universe - a way for Yuni to know Itself.
To a certain extent, his desire and idea of harmony means he's fatalistic - what happens happens because Yuni wills it and that's how it's meant to be. He's very much a go with the flow type. To reject events or happenstance is to reject the will of Yuni, even if it accepting events means dealing with a certain measure of pain or suffering. Pain is temporary. Suffering is temporary. Eventually, all things will balance themselves out and the pain will be gone. One way or another.
He's not rude about his rather strange religion unless pushed (well, unless evangelizing counts as rude), but he'll coax and cajole and be the group "conscience" until people are sick of it. Of course, he'll also knuckle under to peer pressure when it comes to things that aren't his religion.
Fortunately, Pilot is used to people blowing him off; he's dealt with it ever since he was tapped as one of the few members of the community who would be dealing with outsiders. He realizes not everyone agrees with him, but he finds the fact that people don't slightly mystifying. Why would people deny the truth that's right in front of them? Especially when he's prepared to hand it to them on a silver platter? Of course, he doesn't hate or judge people who reject it - he pities them for having closed minds and for not realizing that they've missed an opportunity for personal and spiritual enlightenment. He'll try again, of course, with the same cheer and good-nature as before. He'll pray for them, ask for the Universe to intercede on their behalf, and generally try to bring them around. Even if they don't want to be. Keep them close - that's how you win through to them. Well, eventually, anyway.
His communal upbringing also means he has very little concept of privacy, personal space, or the idea that an individual might feel like they know better. To him, once the group has decided, that's it - the community has spoken and everyone, regardless of whether they agree or not, needs to get behind the decision and back it until the group changes its mind or decides to try a different solution. He'll borrow things, including most personal items, without asking. Not because he's malicious, but because most people from his home only have one or two small personal tokens (usually passed to them from the group at large or of personal significance). He will recognize that certain equipment (communicators, ID badges, etc) should stay with whomever they've been issued to, but other things (weapons, blankets, clothing, etc) he sees as simply being temporarily borrowed from the community. If someone else needs something more, why not give it to them?
His sense of community means he is less likely to take individual initiative. Although his role as a scout pilot and outsider contact at home certainly made him rather more individualistic than others from his ship, Pilot still tends to fall back on instructions from his superiors rather then come up with new plans on the fly. He'll be relatively calm in a crisis, but his creativity can be lacking. He will also be perfectly willing to destroy things or commit atrocities based on group decisions and justify it based on it being the Universe's Will. He'll also continue to believe himself to be a righteous representative of morality in the wider universe around him, which will probably paint him as something of a fanatic. This will also extend to be perfectly willing to kill if he thinks that it's necessary for the defense of the group or because he believes that the order and harmony of the universe requires it.
Besides, death isn't really the end, if you ask him, so it's not as if he's doing anything too terrible.
✖ Character Powers:
Species
Pilot's species have six eyes and see in color. He has a greater sense of peripheral vision and depth perception, as well as better night vision then humans, along with sharper vision at greater distances (i.e. he can pick out fine details at farther distances). Strength and agility are roughly on par with humans of a similar size. Pilot's species has cobalt-based oxygenation system and thus does not suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Iotians have two hearts and have a lower overall blood pressure and body temperature than human beings, in order to get the most efficiency out of their cobalt-based blood oxygenation.
Iotians are also a technically exoskeletal species, with several months of a softer, hide-like exoskeleton that, over multiple months, hardens into a full exoskeleton. This exoskeleton typically lasts for a year or more before the Iotian molts and returns to a softer version. The periods of hard-shelled exoskeleton typically increase in length the older the Iotian gets.
The exoskeleton provides some minor resistance to minor cuts and bruises, but does nothing against violent trauma, such as being stabbed, shot, or otherwise injured.
Learned Skills
Pilot is, as his name implies, a rather skilled spacecraft and atmospheric pilot. He's used to more analog controls (switches, toggles, dials, a trusty old-fashioned control stick) than anything digital or holographic, but he knows the principles of space flights and has a very good understanding of Newtonian physics and how to make most atmospheric or spacecraft go without crashing.
WRITING SAMPLES.
✖ First Person POV: Thread here.
✖ Third Person POV: It's funny; this particular stop on their wandering journey had not seemed any different from any of the others (in fact, the records said they'd stopped here once before a decade ago and Pilot thought he could remember it, if he tried hard enough). It was one of those hubs of interstellar travelers. Dozens or hundreds of ships from the surrounding cluster coming and going, different species haggling over materials and trade goods from stars even more distant. Pilot had been given leave to wander on the station to find any small items that might be useful to the ship, maybe try to spread the word a little. He was, of course, warned not to go too far. But he'd proven himself trustworthy enough for this little mission.
That was a fact that filled him with pride. The community trusted him to act individually. That was enough. There hadn't been much. For all of the traffic, this hub was still a bit out of the way of the major star lanes.
So the slightly ragged looking pair sitting behind a rented-out stall in the market section of the space station hadn't elicited much more then a glance from him. At least at first. He'd almost missed them, gaze sliding to the next stall when one of them (he couldn't tell what the species was, underneath the space suit) leaned forward and nodded at him.
From there, it had just been a matter of listening. They were recruiting people for their organization - the CDC. Destroying unwanted planets, cleaning up the universe a little. The words made something inside of his head click. Something turned over and he had to take a breath, because the breadth of what he understood staggered him. In that moment, he could hear the Universe speaking to him and the promise and understanding that It brought with It were immense.
The CDC was doing the will of the Universe. They were bringing back order and harmony to chaos and discontent, destroying mistakes in the cosmic fabric. They were returning matter back to the aether and the thought of it nearly took his breath away. If there was a way to bring harmony, surely this was it. This was what the Universe wanted of him. This was a sign.
He was sure of it.
-------
"We do not like it," one of his elders said, "We cannot just let you leave for no reason."
Pilot fidgeted nervously. He'd wanted to sign on then and there, but loyalty to his people and community had called him back to the ship first. He took a breath, eyes blinking as he tried to compose himself.
"With all due respect..." He began, "...this one thinks it is worth something. They can help us get the planet we've been searching for. They can show us the way to the surfaceworld that we've been chasing for all these years - this is a chance for all of us! And they are doing good work for the Universe - they're cleansing parts of it that are no longer needed!"
There was a murmur from the group listening in. Pilot tried to press his advantage.
"And this one is aware it might not ever come back - but this one is just that. Only one. This one is just Pilot. There are other Pilots. The rest of us would be safe without me."
He took a breath and held it, waiting for the response.
-------
The next day cycle, he signed his contract.
CHARACTER ITEMS.
✖ Pick a Team: Orange Team
✖ Mission Freebie: Finding a new homeworld for his people.
✖ Personal Item or Weapon: Pilot's personal environmental/space-suit. Air/water tight, has an internal air supply or can be hooked up by umbilical to a larger source. Rad resistant (but not totally proof). Helmet visor is rated to against unfiltered sunlight in a vacuum and other bright sources of light. Lower arm/wrist display includes temperature gauge, air supply readout, and a few other useful dials. Suit itself has an equipment belt and pouches built in for hand-tools.
✖ Character Inventory:
Environmental/space suit, with helmet
Small, circular religious symbol
Tool-set; includes adjustable wrench, magnetic, powered screwdriver, knife, and a few other useful hand-tools.
COMMON IOTIAN FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND GESTURES
All six eyes lidded/partway shut. Mouth open to expose teeth is usually meant as a more “devilish” or mischevious smile, but can also be enthusiasm, depending on context. Motions smoother and more circular
Anger/glare
All four outer eyes closed, with the larger central pair narrowed or lidded. Mouth open implies higher level of threat/anger. Short, sharp motions with the hands and arms.
Confusion/surprise/fear
Severe confusion or surprise and fear typically feature uncoordinated blinking from all eye-pairs and very wide eyes.
Lesser confusion or lack of understanding is interpreted via a slow, deliberate blink of the central eye-pair.
Sorrow/sadness
All eyes closed except for the smaller, outer pair. Tears may be involved.
Disdain
Deliberately turning one’s head away for that only half of one’s eyes bears on the target. May be enhanced by closing all but one or two eyes and the baring of teeth to express various levels of “fuck off, you’re not worth my time”. Notably different from first spotting with one side, then turning to look with all six eyes, which is simply curiosity.
Attentive Respect/Trust
All six eyes open and focused on one person. This tends to indicate either a very high level of respect or trust, since one eye pair tends to be always on the lookout for threats or other items of interest.
“Shrug”
One little finger and thumb pressed together into the palm. Center and pointer finger pressed together and extended. Hand brought up in a slow, circular gesture at roughly shoulder level and ends with both extended fingers pointing up and away from the center-line of the body.