[center] [h1][color=#FF5733]Coleman Lee Stephens[/color][/h1] [hr] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/24/16/9b/24169b4846f8f9d89fd234f8ea199999.jpg[/img] [i]Up there the world is divided into bastards and suckers. Make your choice.[/i] [b]-Derek Robinson, [i]Piece of Cake[/i], 1983[/b] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-G7j8zmjw4] {Into the Black} by {Neil Young} [/url] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfCzXaUFb80] {Hearts Burst Into Fire} by {Bullet For My Valentine} [/url] [hr] [h3]This Is Your Captain Speaking[/h3][/center] [color=#FF5733]{} Full-Birth Given Name {}[/color] [indent]Coleman Lee Stephenson[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Preferred Name | Nickname {}[/color] [indent]Cole[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Sex Identification {}[/color] [indent]Male, hetero[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Established In {}[/color] [indent] June 6, 1985, 31-years-old [/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Someone Back Home {}[/color] [indent]Has one younger sister back home, Jessica, and both parents still alive.[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Also Knowing {}[/color] [indent]Hailing from north Florida, Cole grew up around aircraft and was carried by the interest from an early age. College and thoughts of later joining the military as an officer tempted him in his teens, but he simply never felt a true calling to it, too many hassles. After attaining his private pilot’s license he set out on his own to gain experience and hours feeling his first call of the wild flying light aircraft in Alaska. He crashed his first plane and gained his commercial license and twin engine rating in the lower fjords before moving on to flying scientists, tourists and equipment in the Australian Outback. Higher pay, new scenery and allure of unfamiliar aircraft brought him to a small airline serving the Tibetan Wilderness. He’s been in the left seat flying various cargo and passengers for about four years over Tibet and has a good reputation with airline’s regular customers and native people. [/indent] [center][hr][/center] [center][h3]You Know You’ve Arrived[/h3][/center] [color=#FF5733]{} Personality {}[/color] [indent]Cole has a very gruff air about him and standing next to a dirty, overworked, aircraft one could tell that he was the captain even without his wings on. He’s very aware of himself and likes the gritty vibe that others get from him, like an old sailor, he enjoys the fact that he normally smells of exhaust fumes and worn upholstery. It’s an effect that he’s worked for years to achieve (and faked in his early career) and within the last few years, really feels like he’s come into: The vision of a man doing what he was meant to do. He’s very perfectionistic and detail oriented sometimes to the annoyance of others. Also a bit of a procrastinator, Cole has found, in his view, that many don’t meet up to his expectations, so he tends to place low standards on people to avoid feeling disappointed. He has a very short nerve for political conversations and likes to publicly voice how glad he is to be out of the United States and in the middle of nowhere when prompted, sometimes to the embarrassment of others.[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Quirks | Habits {}[/color] [indent]-Walks with an odd swagger, some may even call it a limp, it is highlighted by the sound of his keys jingling from the carabiner on his belt-loop. He thinks it came from a back injury he got while crash-landing a Cessna a few years ago. He doesn’t notice it. -Sets his alarm clock to wake him up only in minutes that are prime numbers. -Talks to himself, more often and more audibly the more frustrated he gets. -Has an unusual mixed accent/dialect of Southern United States, Alaskan and Australian from his careers and travels. -Very observant of coordination in people’s wardrobe choices, can’t stand mismatched colors or lack of symmetry. [/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Likes & Dislikes {}[/color] [indent] + Flying + [i]Hitting[/i] Golf Balls + Caffeine – Hot Tea or Coffee + Books + Sarcasm + Tinkering/Fixing things + Conspiracy Theories (the crazier the better) + Flirting - Politics - Fingers being pointed at him (the physical action) - Seafood - Sports - Television - Looking for things - Women with attitude - Being a passenger[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} In-Depth Appearance {}[/color] [indent]Cole stands about 5’11” and is of a well-built body type. He tries to work out fairly regularly and most people would comment that he takes decent care of himself. He has some visible muscle definition around his arms and midsection. Forearms are very taught from handling control surfaces for years. Women tend to notice that he has one green and one brown eye that are sullen from years of scanning horizons and searching for dirt runways in the bush. There are already visible lines showing around the edges. Facial features are proportionally framed, but he has a slight hereditary crook in his nose. There’s often a layer of stubble every other day as daily shaving aggravates his nickel allergy. Hair is naturally curly and often tousled to one side or the other from a slight widow’s peak and can get unruly from time to time. He only gets a haircut about every two to three months. Overall his appearance has a growing look of weather to it. Some gray hairs are visible occasionally and the tan of his skin has a certain view of transition from the last vestiges of youth to worn outdoorsman. At the time of the crash, he would have been wearing a black compression undershirt, a white button down short-sleeve shirt with the collar loosely protruding from a black sweatshirt that has his wings and the company logo screen-printed on the front left chest matching his four, gold captain’s stripes sewn onto the shoulders. Dark gray cargo pants with leather belt, black socks and hiking boots would round it out. [/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Accessories, Tattoos, Scars, etc. {}[/color] [indent]He has no distinguishing marks or piercings, hands carry a few noticeable scars and past burns that are visible upon closer inspection, but nothing serious. He wears a $50 “aviator” watch his mom gave him years ago that keeps good time, the standard pilot’s gold/metal-framed, clichéd sunglasses, an old, worn blue Dehavilland Canada baseball cap and a hiking carabiner clipped to his belt loop with various keys. [/indent] [center][hr][/center] [center][h3]When The Nosewheel’s Behind You[/h3][/center] [color=#FF5733]{} Contents of Suitcase {}[/color] [indent]Since he’s flying the plane, he would not have a suitcase, these are the logical contents of a “normal” bush plane as far as safety traveling equipment based on setting and typical dispatch prior to picking up the unexpected passenger service: - (1) Tarp - (1) Basic Tube Tent - (2) Ponchos - (1) Box of Heavy Duty Garbage Bags - (2) Bottle of Iodine Crystals - (3) Box of Basic Survival Rations (week supply) - (1) Large Medical Kit - (1) Leatherman - (1) Knife Sharpener - (1) Survival Saw - (4) Chemical Light Sticks - (2) Emergency Blankets - (1) Flashlight - (2) Flares - (1) Whistle - (2) Roll Toilet Paper - (2) Roll Duct Tape - (1) Roll Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil - (1) Roll Parachute Cord - (1) Box of Gallon Zipper-Lock Freezer Bags - (1) Empty Coffee Can - (1) Signal Mirror - (1) Flint and Steel Fire Starter (pocket-size) - (1) Aviation Survival Spark-Lite Kit [/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Contents of Carry-On Bag {}[/color] [indent]These are the items he would carry for himself on any flight: - (1) Locking Fold Out Knife, Non-Serrated - (1) Complete Change of Clothes - (2) Protein Bars - (1) Golf Driver and a Few Balls - (1) Book He’s Currently Reading [i]Hornet’s Sting[/i] by Derek Robinson - (1) Satellite Phone - (1) Metal Case Clipboard (Containing the “Ship’s Papers” various printouts of the Flightplan, Weather, Alternates, Aircraft State, Fuel Planning, Departure Planning, and Takeoff Data) [/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Business or Pleasure? {}[/color] [indent]Business. He’s flying the plane.[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Indoor or Outdoor Type? {}[/color] [indent]Outdoors, though he’s not a “survivalist” by any means, he has had adequate training to suit his chosen profession: + FAA Basic Survival Training For General Aviation + ETI Pilot & Aircrew Survival Training for Hot and Cold Environments[/indent] [color=#FF5733]{} Role Play Sample {}[/color] [indent] [hider=Sample]It was just a little too quiet. Not that the Tibetan plateau was normally the setting of a lot of excitement. When the wind was calm on some days a person would have to truly strain just to hear [i]any sound[/i]. Cole liked it that way. He was about as far away from drama as was possible, save for Antarctica, maybe. He mused on the thought of giving that a shot once he was tired of this job. No, things were too quiet because the dispatch office hadn’t called in several hours which normally meant they were plotting something. He looked down at the satellite phone that was clipped to his side. Only the time was displayed and no calls. Behind him, unloading was underway; the great clamshell side-doors of the BT-67, a completely rebuilt, turbo-prop converted World War Two era Douglas DC-3, were wide open and being carefully unloaded with specialized ramps. Whatever it was, they were being exceptionally gentle with it. The meager staff of the high altitude observatory was certainly glad to receive it. The manifest had only listed it as, “Scientific Equipment, Extremely Fragile” and he reckoned it had something to do with the telescope’s lenses. They’d had to wait for a day of perfect weather to fly it out. The “driving-range” as he had nicknamed the location was an improved dirt strip straddled by a huge, bulbous observatory and its connected support buildings. It had been a regular stop for years, but recently Cole regarded it as a bit of a drag. The current staff of the station was fairly anti-social compared to those that had cycled in before them. Hardly a word was said any time he stopped and they showed little interest in learning how the station had got its unofficial nickname, given by him, naturally. He pressed a tee and ball into the ground, squared his shoulders with the club and sent the ball rocketing out over the rock escarpments in one swift motion down, down thousands of feet to the lower plain. He watched it go for a moment before turning back to his first officer, Xi, who was managing the brew-up under the nose of the aircraft. Xi seemed to sense Cole looking for some form of approval and grinned widely from behind his sunglasses giving two thumbs up as the steam rose from the teapot. “Bollocks” Cole replied. “No finesse at all, Xi. I drive the ball like a bulldozer, no placement on the green.” Xi shrugged, unsure what to say. He was sure that Captain Stephens was quite mad. Cole shook his head and put another ball and tee into the ground. He reminded himself that Xi was new to the roster and only spoke enough good English to make the radio calls. He squared his shoulders yet again, aiming to work a little finesse into his backswing as the phone erupted midway through the motion with its high-pitched monotone squeal. “Bloody hell…” He said and cursed under his breath. The ball sliced off the end of the club flying nearly perpendicular to where he was standing, but with a nice arch this time. He flipped the antenna up and put the device next to his ear. “This is Captain Stephens…” He tried, very poorly, not to sound annoyed. “Captain, I see you are still at the ‘driving range’?” A polite female voice said through the other end. “Have you finished unloading?” Cole was already halfway back to the plane and glancing under the wing to see how the station staff was coming along. “Just about, what’ve ya got?” He prayed it wasn’t anything too bad this time. “Air China has diverted a flight to Gunsa due to engine failure. They are chartering out the passengers and we have a lucrative passenger service to Lhasa we can run in a combi.” By, “combi” she meant picking up passengers and cargo simultaneously. It was a pretty big score in aviation accounting. Cole glanced at his watch. Each head would be worth a handsome sum for sure, but it would be at least an hour flight south to get them after they reloaded here. They would then have to refuel in Gunsa, load the cargo [i]and[/i] board the passengers, [i]then[/i] fly another three hours back to Lhasa. It would be dark by the time he even made the landing pattern. “I don’t have a flight attendant.” He said smartly knowing one would be required by International Civil Aviation regulations. He really didn’t feel like dealing with people today. “We have an attendant at Gunsa who just finished up her rest period for you and needs to return to Lhasa.” The voice replied cheerfully. Cole was ready; “Doubt I have enough seats on board right now.” The BT-67 offered removable seats in the cabin that could be stowed to increase cargo capacity. Since Cole rarely hauled a full load of passengers he only kept the minimum extra seating on board to keep the weight down. “Luckily we have extra seating available for you!” She was very chipper this time. Cole pursed his lips a little and placed a hand on the cold wing of the aircraft feeling the rivets under his fingers. He didn’t really have any other excuses. [i]Who the bloody hell would want to ride in this thing?[/i] “Alright, tell them we’ll be down in a minute.” He groaned shaking his head. “Fantastic! Thank you Captain Stephens! Please hurry down safely!” The girl chirped. “Yeah, don’t mention it.” [/hider] [/indent] [center][hr][/center]