Starlance — Roleplayer Guild

Name: Ewan Faulkner

Age: 44

Gender: Male

Height: 166 cm

Weight: 70 kg

A crossbow he made in his spare time, initially just stave off boredom. Ewan used a 105 cm long aluminum pipe (Φ50 mm, 5 mm wall) as the body. A pair of modified leaf springs from a light trailer, with several leaves removed to achieve the desired stiffness, is attached to the front, each spring driving its respective bowstring (6 mm Terylene string). As such, the Scrapheap can loose two bolts before it has to be reloaded. A charging handle, made out of a steel rod (Φ17 mm) looped over the main body, is used for priming both springs at once Priming is made easier by a series of pulleys that reduce the necessary force. Both projectiles have to be loaded individually by hand. The iron sights are marked with tritium paint for use in dark areas. Each bowstring is released by its respective trigger in a manner similar to a double-barrelled shotgun. A 10 mm polyester rope is looped through the stock and a hole in the front grip, making a poor man’s two-point sling.
14 bolts - The projectiles are 13 cm pieces of steel pipe (Φ7 mm) hammered down on one end to form a point, with three stabilisers on the other end. The back end is marked with the same green tritium paint as the sights to make recovery easier. Anything that will fit into the barrels can be used as a projectile, though to a lesser effect.
L3A1 Bayonet.
Headlamp.
Hand charger - small, crank-powered alternator useful for charging small batteries, though it takes time.
Backpack - 70 liters, 5 pockets.
Tools - A wide array of tools for mechanical and even basic electrical work.
General Service Respirator - A piece of his kit he wisely held onto when the bombs fell, and technically speaking stole when he left the service.
Filters - Two in the mask plus two spare.
Geiger counter - Simple machine he and one of his mates put together. Only alerts the user to presence of ionizing radiation and general intensity. Indication is done through a seven segment display and vibrations, but no sound.
Ear plugs - Army issue hearing protection.
MGR (5.56x45 mm (20), 9x19 mm (10))

Personality: Ewan’s generally a friendly fellow with no brain-to-mouth filter and a vast collection of pre- and post-war jokes, albeit with a low tolerance of hopeless optimists. But when things go to the dogs, his inner bitter cynic shows. Ewan doesn’t see a reason to plan more than one or two dozen hours ahead, as there is no guarantee he’ll be alive at the end of the day. He loves stories, true or fictional, and will rarely say no to a request to tell or listen to one. He’s also fond of, though not particularly good at, card games.

History: Ewan, an unexceptional kid from Stirling, enlisted in the army at the age of 16. He served as a Challenger 2 driver between 2010 and 2013, even spending eight months in Germany shortly before the war. When the tensions grew even higher, his unit was recalled to Britain and on that fateful day, had arrived to London. Someone somewhere up the administrative food chain screwed up and he and his comrades got to London a full day before the train carrying their tanks was due to arrive. Although he didn’t know it yet, this SNAFU was one of the two things that would save his life. While waiting for their equipment to catch up, Ewan and his crew took the tube to a pub, and as they were getting out at Stockwell station, Ewan stopped to tie his shoe lace, telling his mates to go ahead and he’d catch up. He never had the chance to do so.

As a member of the British Armed Forces at the time, Ewan made his way to the Westminster station to make contact with whatever might have survived from his superiors or the government, hoping to figure out what to do from there. Survivors from the parliament were trying to keep things in check with the help of a few dozen troops that had been assigned to guard the houses of parliament, an effort he joined and stayed part of even after the government fell apart.

Having spent a few years serving on a tank, he knew his way around engines and other machines, so he quickly found something to do in the Tube. Due to his infantry training being long ago and largely forgotten, Ewan continued to serve the Westminster administration in a technical role, maintaining station equipment and leading a team of trainee technicians for a few months. When the radiation levels decreased to survivable levels, he took part in a few surface salvage operations in areas previously secured by scouts. During those trips, he found most of the materials that would become the Scrapheap over the next years.

He left the Westminster administration in 2030. Instead he started offering his services as a freelance mechanic, travelling between Westminster-held as well as the peaceful neighboring stations. Having never left the relative safety if the circle line, Ewan’s combat experience remains quite limited.

Trivia:
Voiced by Paul McGillion (Carson Beckett, Stargate: Atlantis)

Edit (11/05/2019 17:14): Added 30 MGR.
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