"If it's worth blowing up once, it's worth blowing up a lot."Age: 42
Sex: Male
Profession/Rank: First Lieutenant
Personality: Travis is a courageous, if not reckless, soldier who's more comfortable around his allies than operating solo. A cheerful man who enjoys encouraging his teammates or regaling tales of glorious combat in his down time, especially with the new recruits. As much as he is openly happy and friendly, he also has a bad side which you really only see if you've pissed him off. He hates uptight people, and especially those that are so far up themselves that they get a constant view of their rear end. A strong, capable man who stands by his allies' sides no matter the dangers. The only thing he doesn't go out of his way for is being a dick. Other than that, he'll always protect his comrades and always try and cheer up those who are down.
Skills: Travis is not only a strong pilot but is physically strong too, always helping with the heavy lifting of equipment and machinery, which is a surprise considering his age but he keeps this up with regular training, sheer determination and pure motivation. Being from a military background, he's also well versed in infantry weaponry in case he's ever caught out of his mech in a combat situation. Outside of his professional work, he's unbeaten at arm wrestling among the personnel.
Weakness: For starters, his recklessness. It's a godsend that his mech is so resilient. If he can make it, he happily blocks shots for his allies. While it's brave, it's stupid too. He puts himself in unnecessarily risky situations because of his desire to protect everyone. The marks show on his mech. He also can't stand being alone. Loneliness is an unsettling feeling for him, and would rather be socialising with friends than being solitary.
History: Travis was born in a military family, with both of his parents having served in the army. It was only a matter of time before Travis would join too. From an early age, Travis was taught how to use firearms in a safe, controlled environment. More importantly, he was taught the moral weight of actually using a gun and how it's a tool for evil as well as protection. It was part of the reason he managed to get fairly decent with guns and respected their power equally. His upbringing was fairly normal until he entered college. His athletic ability managed to get him a scholarship in American Football, while he studied Criminal Justice as well. Travis was most noted for his work-horse ethic, both in Football and his studies.
However, as soon as he graduated, Travis enlisted in the Earth Federation Army. Truth be told, he only went to college on his parents' recommendation so he could move up the ranks a bit easier. He made it through the training very easily, however, in psychological evaluations, it was noted that Travis was headstrong and first to jump in to danger. However, passed he did, and he spent the next 6 years as part of the infantry division. He had to learn the hard way for getting over his initial recklessness. Making a charge in the battlefield, his fellow squadmates followed and they were cutdown. Only Travis made it through the charge, and when he looked back, he saw all of his allies dead on the ground. It was the first time Travis felt truly alone, and he realised that he couldn't just barge his way through every problem anymore.
He got his head straight and became a lot more responsible in his duty as a soldier. The sudden turn around earned him merit to rank up to Lieutenant over the years. However, he's turned down every promotion since. He was adamant on staying on the front line, no matter how. His boots on the ground experience and determined mindset made him a successful candidate for the first iterations of AW's. Over the next 15 years, he got to see the evolution of Walker technology and pilot them. With this experience, he's now a paragon of pilots in the Federation and sets the bar in what it takes to be determined.
Equipment: He keeps his dog tag around his neck from his days of being a part of the infantry. He's almost always has a pistol at his hip and a carton of cigarettes.
Base Model: FAW 016 Gunner
Designation: Guerrila
Appearance: As specified in the picture above, apart from a few aesthetic differences. The color is the same but Travis managed to get
decals put onto it as a special request. There's a skull right on the chest, as well as a tally on the left arm shield panel which is counting the number of HVTs he has destroyed.
Armaments: The modular design of Guerrila allows Travis to pick his loadout from mission to mission. However, he's usually boasting the impressive twin railguns on either shoulder to blast enemies with 150mm rounds. As well as this, Travis prefers to take the rotary gatling gun to shred apart hostiles. However, he's able to use the 25mm rifle or a 550m missile launcher. It all depends on the situation. Travis ensured that the hands were outfitted with spiked knuckles for hand to hand combat if the situation arises, as well as the deployable leg armour which he can choose to bring or not
Weakness: The Guerrila is a very slow moving Walker. With the impressive armour and weaponry it carries, it has to compensate for all that weight somehow. It would never keep up pace with a Raptor or a Scout. This immobility can be quite the drawback, but it's Travis's style. Also, while the modular design is helpful for adaptability, the Guerrila can't change it's style on the fly so it's locked into what it brings with each deployment.
Pilot(s): Lt. Travis Ryder
Forsythe,
Plank Sinatra,
FlappyTheSpybot
