[hider=Rex Black - First Mate][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ni7kYz8.png[/img][/center]
[quote][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑵𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]Rex Black[/color][/indent][/indent][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑨𝒈𝒆[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]38[/color][/indent][/indent][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]Male[/color][/indent][/indent][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑷𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]If the saying "built like a brick shit house" was a person, it'd be Rex. At 6'3", he cuts an imposing figure that finds all the door heads with his forehead. He has broad shoulders, covered in thick musculature that tests the patience of his shirts and jackets. His physique lacks the finer details of someone that tries to keep in shape for aesthetic reasons, with a thicker waist and utilitarian edges. That doesn't keep him from dressing as if he's hot shit, though. Rex has surprisingly good posture for someone dressed like they lost all their platinum on a border planet. His hair is dark, cut short on the sides but is a little longer on top. He has a well-trimmed beard that shows his age with a bit of gray coming in. But he's well-coifed despite the cracks of age. He has brown eyes that are nowhere near the innocence of a doe, and a smile with straight teeth that are suspiciously pristine. Fond of bright prints, worn pants, well-shined boots, and his leather jacket--it's hard to tell if he'd fit in with the Core Planets or the Border ones.[/color][/indent][/indent][/quote]
[quote][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒔[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]Rex doesn't like for other people to get the last word in. Quick wit is belied by his figure and tendency to roll his eyes and snort through other's words. He's congenial in a way that mayonnaise is appetizing. Maybe mixed in with other things it's palatable, but it is an acquired taste by itself. In pleasant company, he can handle himself like a member of high society. He'll degrade his tone and nature to vinegar and grit mixed in with a teaspoon of sugar in a less-than-pleasant company. In a company that he's familiar and familial with, he's substantially more appetizing. Still prone to biting remarks, they're the sort a brother would give you. A laugh, a wink, and a nod later, there will be no hard feelings. He's fine with receiving as good as he gives. It'll be a cold day in hell before he takes people's opinions to heart. This makes personal growth hard for him, but it also allows for him to be someone's emotional punching bag with nothing lost. He'll listen and offer advice. Then he'll hand over his knife and point to the nearest box or bag to throw it into. He believes that both emotional and physical release is good for one's soul.[/color][/indent][/indent][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]Rex is known as the sort that can get things done with a bit of elbow grease, money changing hands, and occasionally some stabbing. Despite the brick shape of his head, it's actually a good one for business. He's a decent lie detector, if only because he does it so often. He knows how to make good on his promises, and finagle a contract to benefit himself and others. He'll show his hand if he needs to. He'll not show off his shipmates, though. That's their own business. But he knows what the sum of their experience costs, and he'll not suffer a platinum less. He's good at spotting talent and putting talent where it needs to go. His record-keeping is immaculate, the sort of tending to books and ledgers that someone with extensive academic experience (and culinary experience in cooking books) can provide. And that aforementioned stabbing? Well, he's surprisingly skilled with blades. If he could own a sabre and not seem like a posh bag of wind, he would. Instead, he has a rather nasty knife that he wears on one hip. He has a pistol on the other, but no one should ask him to shoot a can off of their head. They might not have a head afterward. He's well-traveled and versed in a few different customs. He's no Companion, but he's not a mewling babe in varying societies. He's penned a lot of information in a small book of star charts he has. Beyond that, he is a decent violinist, a hobby that his mother wished for him to take up. Maybe she wanted a daughter? Maybe it was a way to get him to use his hands for something other than scheming. He's picked up card-playing from high-society to poor rabble and everything in between. And he's an amateur ornithologist if only because owning (or being owned by) a bird takes a level of knowledge and commitment that one might need a degree in. No one should remark on the bird memorabilia he carries around. He knows.[/color][/indent][/indent][/quote]
[quote][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒚[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray][hider=Long Story Long]Rex Black was born Reginald Belle LaPaygne, a member of Alliance High Society. They weren't a family that was born into wealth but instead cobbled it together through numerous trade deals that had gone their way almost too easily. He knew the best schools, the best fashion, and the best care. Of course, none of that involved his parents. He was shuttled between nannies of varying ages and stature. By the time he was five, he could write every single one of their names but not his own parents'. He had an older brother, Gerald "Gherry", that was set to inherit the family business when their father decided to retire. Gherry usurped all their time and left Rex to his own devices.

He spent most of his formative years on the planet Valentine in the Core. Occasionally, his family would visit their expansive estate on some of a border planet to oversee "business." This was where Rex got a taste of freedom. When he was a young teenager, he decided to skip out of the estate and visit town. He was robbed, beaten, and laughed at. It was probably the best experience of his life. He'd never faced a challenge or its consequences. This event provided both in a neat, little package. Sure, he could tell his father and something could be done. But what was the fun in that? He knew he couldn't try to challenge them to a fight, despite his fencing and wrestling lessons. Instead, he decided to play smart. Between greasing the palm of the local law enforcement and acting like a wounded animal, he was able to get each of those little shits out of his hair. He smiled wildly at them as they were disciplined in the town square. It was a thrill to get his way without his hand being held. While this sounded like a learning experience, this was not a good lesson to take to heart.

Despite Gherry's birthright, Rex wasn't entirely forgotten in the family business. His physical demeanor and conversational acumen were noted by his father. So, he was considered his brother's "partner" for a lot of business deals as they entered their early twenties. About that time, the patron of the LaPaygne family wished to retire. So, the two sons were sent to his varying clients and fixers to make sure the family's deals were "in line." Rex quickly learned that his family had made their money off of criminal networks trying to play as if they were altruism embodied. He found this quite amusing, considering the airs that his family put on. His brother, on the other hand, was repulsed by the nefariousness of it all. Rex was able to convince Gherry to perform like the zoo animals they were for their father. When he retired, Gherry could go any way he wished to with the family business. That seemed to placate his older brother--if not worryingly so. 

Rex traveled with him, and while they were securing business deals and extending ones that were already in place, Rex was finding his feet in the galaxy, as well. He started a bit of a side hustle to secure himself a nice honeypot when things went south, as he was sure they would with Gherry's sweet nature. The hustle didn't involve physical goods but instead secrets and knowledge. Words were an untraceable and infinite resource. It wasn't a lot, but he was able to slide some favors into his back pocket. He had expected to use them for something more monumental... destiny had a different idea.

When the Unification War knocked on their door, the Alliance was more than happy to use the LaPaygne's connections to secure ways to win. This meant that the nature of the sibling's trips became more and more hazardous. It wouldn't be Rex's doings that would catch up with them, but instead, it would be Gherry's. They would get stuck in the middle of a conflict, a battle of attrition that had left them stranded and without an engine. Worse yet, they were Alliance-born citizens that had been doing business with the Independents. It had been Gherry's idea. He'd become bolder and bolder as the years had gone on. The plan was to sell weaponry to both the Independents and the Alliance. Fuel a war from both sides, and make a profit off of both. Rex thought it was a bit too risky, but everything seemed to line up perfectly. That was until the Alliance ambushed the Independence forces, all parties were surprised to see each other there. 

So, in hopes of getting out of that unwinnable situation alive, Gherry sold Rex out. He abandoned his brother on their sinking vessel, The Highland, as he escaped in an Alliance pod after jettisoning all of theirs, stating that Rex had betrayed the Alliance and had been holding Gherry hostage. The Highland was fired upon and left for dead. Fortunately, the ship wasn't entirely as critical as believed, and Rex was able to land, but there was no going back in it. 

Considered dead, Rex decided to start the hell over. In the small town of Shallow Gulp, he was able to do just that. He quickly cashed in the few favors he had, knowing that when his brother got back to proper society he'd be declared dead. It allowed him to adopt a [I]nom de plume[/i], information and payment for a ride on a ship called China Doll, and one parrot he named "Lucky." The last little bit was more for his sanity than anything else. Lucky had been left alone in a cage for days, sitting on the shelf of a general store like he was nothing more than stock. "Abandoned too?" was all Rex had said to the bird as it perked its head up and stared at the rough-looking human. It was a bond forged in understanding. But it wouldn't be the last one that day.

Rex met Cal when he offered too much platinum to get a ride off the dismal planet he'd been trapped on and to a place where he could shovel out a new existence. It was more than conspicuous, a man that looked like he'd been through hell offering a lot of money for a simple ride. It came out rather quickly to Cal who Rex really was. He gave the basics to the captain, not really knowing how it would go but not having anything to defend himself with other than the truth. Things went surprisingly well. Rex kept expecting Cal to betray him, but the man never did. So, maybe Rex held on for a few more stops. He learned his way around the China Doll and helped secure lucrative jobs without too much fine print. It also helped cement Rex Black as a living person that was very detached from his previous life. Cal and he traveled together for a handful of years throughout the galaxy before parting ways. Their adventures were many and more than a few were blackmail worthy, but it was all done in good faith. Yet, as the years went on, the unfinished business of his past finally gnawed at him enough for him to attend to it. He didn't want Cal to suffer for his dealings, and so he parted ways on good terms with the captain.

His recuperation and reflection led him to wonder how his family was doing. As much as Rex hated it, he had to get back into the business of knowledge brokering to get to his family. He was only able to nab a couple of favors, nothing big, but it did land him in the Core System. After a few hands of cards, terse situations involving guns, fists, and blades, and many a platinum and credit shared--he'd finally found a way to hold his brother accountable for his actions anonymously. Rex had the records from all those years ago. Unfortunately, the plan went south. Fortunately, needing a ride off of Persephone couldn't have come at a better time. It was time to reunite with an old friend and see the stars again.[/hider]
Long story short? Rex is a grifter and card shark that came from the far reaches of the galaxy. He dodged the Unification War, learned to gamble and fight, and made some friends along the way. Of course, he also made some enemies, but you aren't here to know about that facet of his life. His troubles are his. You're just here to hear about that bird, aren't you?

Lucky was won off a man called Big John. A nasty fellow that had a tendency of slitting the throats of anyone he lost a bet to. So, he never lost a bet. That was until Rex came along. A few hands of cards later, and he liberated the poor avian creature from Big John's grasp. Unfortunately, he also had to run as fast as his legs could take him, or he'd be liberated from them.

A man by the name of Cal Strand, and his ship the China Doll, was there to save him. They shot off into the sky as Rex flipped off the shrinking spec of John in the distance. A bond of brotherhood was formed shortly thereafter. The two became inseparable. Their adventures were numerous and could be recounted over cigarettes and liquor to anyone dumb enough or close enough to listen. That was until Rex had to skip town. He'd received a rather interesting message in the middle of the night. Nothing too grand. Just a poor damsel in distress that he needed to destress. He bid goodbye to Cal and set off into stars of his own.

Fast forward to today. A few scars and a few tales later, he'd be reunited with an old friend on Persephone. Maybe Lady Luck favored him after all.[/color][/indent][/indent][h3][color=#9d947a]𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓[/color][/h3][indent][indent][color=gray]Yes, Lucky still travels along with him. The bird has quite the attitude but seems more than happy to be around Rex. He has a fondness for tucking himself into the folds of Rex's coat and finding his way around the ship like a nosey mouse. Surprisingly, the bird is still alive, but Rex seems to believe that the bird's invincible. That being said, Lucky always stays aboard whatever ship Rex is on. There's a rumor going around that the bird helps him cheat at cards.[/color][/indent][/indent][/quote][center][url=https://youtu.be/ro5_Ur3kJPk][img]https://i.imgur.com/8Xc4Kzk.png[/img][/url][/center][/hider]
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