Vitaly Demski

Gramps

42

male

Hooman

Novogorod

Private

Field Engineer/Vehicle Repair Specialist.

Vitaly, for being a man of his age, was in what anyone would consider to be incredibly good shape. Military life had shaped him and he continued to maintain that transformation. With his longer than usual greying hair and beard, Vitaly stands out when mingling with his fellow soldiers. Given the fact that he stands at nearly six and a half feet tall, the grizzled vet tends to attract yet more attention when in the field and he had scars to prove it. When not in his combat armor, Vitaly is often seen more often than not with his jumpsuit on, top half tied off at his waist. Vitaly’s uniform and armor is almost unrecognizable with how many patch jobs and modifications have been applied to them over the years. The most striking features are those that he began to adopt from other worlds, namely, his rifle.

Vitaly is as rough around the edges as a man can get. He’s loud, rough, and honest to a fault and argumentative would be a kind way of putting the man’s behavior when he hits one of his rebellious streaks. The largest contributing factor to this behavior is his heavy drinking habit which tends to bleed over and spread amongst his comrades. Although disruptive in nature, his drinking often brings him and those who join him closer. A good example of this dynamic was Vitaly’s time with the Khorenheimer which transformed animosity into camaraderie, much to the commander’s surprise at the time.

In the grand Novogorodian tradition of interpreting all orders given, Vitaly like many of his kin enjoys putting a personal spin on the instructions given to him. After losing more than his fair share of comrades due to poor leadership, the Engineer’s disobedience transformed from simple bullheadedness into an active questioning of anyone he felt to be an unfit commander. This abrasive behavior earned him much reprimand which as the years went on he began to welcome with a smile. Time and experience eventually solved most of the disciplinary issues that administrative action could not, even if the latter set him back nearly his entire career.

Vitaly Demski’s life began much like the many Novogorodian boys that came before him. He, however, make the wrong choices at the right times along the way. Growing up in an impoverished family on icy Novogorod didn't leave a chap with many options when it came to the survival of himself and his family, so Vitaly took the most logical course of action. Crime. The logic however, to his surprise, turned out to be flawed. Without further any further pleasantries, the young man found himself on the business end of one very angry mechanic's .50 pistol. Luckily for Vitaly, the mechanic in question happened to be a retired chief engineer of the Novogord Corps of Engineers. In lieu of reducing the misguided young man’s head into a chunky paste, the former Chief taught him honest work instead.

As the years went by, Vitaly finally reached the enlisting age and as directed by his teacher, the would be thief enlisted into the Novogorod Corps of Engineers with a recommendation of assignment to the 10th Fleet. He had learned the skills of an engineer well during his time with the mechanic but to the misfortune and dismay of many to come, the young Vitaly had not learned any respect for authority. Early on in his military “career” it became readily obvious that the young engineer could fix it anything that flew, drove, hovered, or had an engine of some kind. The problem early on was getting him to actually behave in a soldierly fashion enough to do it. After much reprimand for his behavior, his commanders resorted to administrative action in an attempt at corrective measures. In short, reduxfion of rank and loss of pay. When this did not have the desired effect, thoughts of removing him from service were seriously considered until an unorthodox alternative was proposed. Attach him to a Mechanized Khorenheim Assault Regiment.

So began Vitaly’s tour with the 42nd Khorenheim Drop Ship Regiment, Echo Company, Third Platoon. The attempt at teaching the Novogorodian Engineer dicipline and obedience nearly backfired his first week in garrison after he got half his platoon drunk and shortly after started a brawl. Three stab wounds, a 10mm round to the chest, and some bio-foam later, Vitaly found himself among begrudgingly loyal comrades. With the whole incident being swept under the rug, Vitaly and the platoon were soon deployed to a jungle planet along the rim. Shortly after entering orbit, their drop ship was unfortunate enough to take a hit from a shoulder fired rocket, effectively separating his squad from the rest of their platoon. It was in this moment that Vitaly knew that some poor bastard insurrectionist on the ground had fucked up. Retribution came swift and without mercy as the stranded squad made a counter offensive against their would-be attackers, giving the Engineer enough time and space to repurpouse their good turbine rig the damaged one with enough power to get them off the ground.

Even after his for the most part successful tour with the Khorenheimer Regiment, Vitaly still struggled with obedience. Up for review once again, the soldier found himself reduced to private and nearly forced out of Union service. The only factors keeping him in had been the unlikely support of the Regiment and the undeniable fact that he was a damn good vehicle maintainer. After much deliberation, it was agreed that if he could maintain at least the minimum standard of dicipline he would be allowed to serve into retirement at the rank of private until further review and deliberation. Vitaly took the opportunity and didn't look back. Countless combat tours later, the once rebellious and unmanageable Engineer’s temperament calmed into something more approaching acceptable by union standards. To accompany his maturing of character, the man became familiar with most if not all of his Union brothers-in-arms, having combat deployments with each. Eventually, the Engineer caught wind of a some strange portal or gate that had opened on one of the Unions worlds and the slaughter of Union citizens that followed. Patriotic anger the likes of which the Novogorodian didn't know he was capable of flared up in his soul at the news and once he leaned of the reconnaissance force already on the other side, the old veteran knew he had to answer the call.