Highland Hart

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

The previous night – 1935 hours local – Non-standard gym facility constructed by colony citizens from scrap and personal equipment– North central sector – Grid 54A.

An open hand crashed across the back of Deacon’s head, a flash of light snapping across his vision as the blow landed. Deacon shook his head letting out a short intense yell in response. All around him forms moved through a dimly lit space that had been created from scrap transit containers, some of the shapes were gathering around him, closing in on him, shouting, screaming. Iron and steel crashed down around him, sweat poured off him, and abominably violent music blasted through speakers as Deacon stood facing a barbell loaded with 355 kilos. Another blow to the back of the head, a white cloud of powder exploding from around him as he screamed a feral expletive in response just before a third blow struck him. Before a fourth blow could land, Deacon lifted his hand to his face, crushed a capsule of smelling salts, and inhaled the noxious substance, the now pink stained capsule discarded as he approached the bar. The set up took seconds, the other screaming lifters that had gathered to witness a colony record faded from his attention as Deacon’s chalk covered hands wrapped tightly around the barbell, the pyramid shaped knurling biting into heavy callouses. He sat back, eyes forward and locked on a distant point where all the physical pain he felt was driven down and away. Hamstrings loaded and back tight Deacon pulled the slack from the barbell which flexed considerably. Every muscle in his body strained and veins rose against his shirtless torso as the pressure in his body increased, the deep breath he had taken before starting this record setting deadlift was held, pressed down, and compressed in his abdomen to brace his spine and core. Still the weight did not move at first but as Deacon turned an unnatural shade of red… the stack of iron plates on each end of the barbell rose from the floor and Deacon began to stand up. Spots of brilliant white light danced across his vision while the weight ground its way up his shins, the knurling of the bar ripping a jagged bloody trail up his right leg. As the weight rose to knee level the crashing iron and steel in the makeshift gym fell silent or was just overwhelmed by the cheers and shouts of some of the other colonists there.

“Get it! Come on!”

“Lock it out you son of a…!”

“Up!, up!, up! up!”

Deacon’s vision tunneled on that distant point in space and time where he kept his eyes fixed, all else was black and detached. He felt the blood vessels in his nose burst, tasted the trickle of blood running down to his lip as the weight continued to rise. Nearly standing now, his hips shot forward and his back and shoulders locked into the finished and upright position of a deadlift with 355 kilos still in his hands. The cheers drowned out the music and Deacon let the weight crash back to the ground, staying with the barbell the whole time, dropping to a knee as it crashed thunderously onto the makeshift platform cracking a 2X4 support, his hands still wrapped around the bar.

The current day – 0748 hours local – Planetary Sciences Lab Victor II – North central sector – Grid 23C.

Muddy, chalky, a bit grassy. When the thought crossed Deacon’s mind he could have just as easily been describing the qualities of the loam substrata his lab had been observing in order to monitor the growth of the dekland carrion beetle population, a key prey item to newly introduced avian species. Instead he was thinking about how this newest flavor of protein/carb/amino supplement tasted. Gulping down the last ounces of the supplement Deacon crumpled up the biodegradable cup it had come in and tossed the waste into the recycler built into the wall just as one of the lab technicians that worked under him poked her head around the corner of his office door.

“Director Gills just walked in Deke.”

Before the young tech could return to her station after delivering her warning, Director Gills manifested her presence in the entryway to Deacon’s laboratory office. She was tall, freakishly thin, and had a preponderance of raven colored hair that no one, to this date, had seen outside of a tightly knotted bun. When she spoke, it was as if a dull rasp was being drawn against a piece of aluminum, shrill and grating to the ear.

“Doctor Randall, have we not spoken about professionalism in the workplace? You should not allow interns and technicians to refer to you in the familiar like this.” Deacon held back a wince, not at the reprimand but just because it always took a second to become accustomed to Dr. Gills nasally trill. He stood up from behind his desk and approached Dr. Gills but did not acknowledge her, first he addressed his technician, before ushering Dr. Gills in and touching the pad to close the door.

“Amanda, gather the results of the loam samples from data collections, will you? I’d like to review them before heading out to the field today. If the data guys give you any gruff tell them it’s a rush job for me and old’ Deke will owe them a bottle of hooch.” The tech, Amanda Grinspoon, M.S. in environmental engineering and science, beamed at the not so subtle slight directed at Dr. Gills and quickly headed out of the lab to do as Deacon had asked. If Deacon hadn’t been such a socially inept showboat he would have realized months ago that Ms. Grinspoon’s attention was far more than professional. As it stood Deacon was ignorant of such things, knowing Ms. Grinspoon for nothing more than the superb laboratory scientist she was.

“Dr. Randall, your conduct of late has been less than respectful concerning the directorate of scientific affairs here on Hesta Prime but…”

Deacon passed by Dr. Gills, not offering her a seat, and fell back with a sigh of relief into his chair, the slabs of concrete that were the tight muscles in his upper back finding only moderate relief from a sitting position. Before Dr. Gills could finish Deacon interrupted.

“That’s because most of the science directorate are a bunch of self-centered astrophysicists that don’t have any business budgeting and directing the planetary sciences. On top of that, that same majority could give a damn about the good this corporation is doing out here and only care about the corporate bankroll and the next paper or book they can publish on the backs of researchers and technicians who they don’t even bother to get to know.”

Deacon’s fatigue from the record-breaking session the night before had gotten the better of him and he waited for the threats of formal corporate reprimands that Dr. Gills was renowned for; those threats never came this day. Instead she maintained her austere manner, wrinkle-less lab coat resting perfectly on skeletal shoulders, lifeless coal colored eyes staring down her hawkish nose at him.

“Never mind all of that Dr. Randall. What I am here to discuss is next quarter’s roster of inbound scientific personnel. It will be the first wave of new scientific blood we have had in over a year and I need you…” she paused, the next phrase almost paining her to say.

“…as the leading planetary scientist on Hesta Prime, to review and assign the planetary science personnel.”

With that Dr. Gills unceremoniously departed Deacon’s office, leaving a data pad that Deacon tossed onto a growing pile of data pads and files that went largely ignored. Once she left Deacon stood, removed his lab coat, and changed into more familiar garb. A green flight type jump suit with the embroidered Weyland-Yutani patch on one shoulder, the Hesta Prime patch on the other, and a name patch on the left breast. Soiled boots replaced clean lab shoes, a loaded utility belt, drop pouch on his right thigh, web harness with recording gear, and a day pack with two days supplies all went on over the jump suit. Examining the display screen that showed current and forecasted weather conditions led Deacon to unzip the front of the suit and tie the arms around his waist, leaving only the standard issue Weyland-Yutani t-shirt covering his torso under all the gear. As he checked the last of the recording gear and sampling instruments Amanda returned with a data pad.

“Dr. Randall, I have the data you asked for, collections said it was no big deal, one of the lead techs there, Sarah Couth is a friend.”

“That’s great...” Deacon said as he adjusted the last of his gear and collected the data from Amanda. “…I can always count on you, you know that. And if you call me Dr. Randall again, I’ll have you transferred to Gills staff, its Deke, you know better.”

Amanda smiled and as Deacon was headed out, she called after him.

“You know… Sarah and her friend Mike were heading out the cantina tonight, I was thinking about going there too. Want to come with me?”
Deacon, completely missing the obvious, just shrugged and smiled, oblivious to how awkward he was making the situation. “Probably be in the field for the next 20 or 30 hours, plus I wouldn’t want to intrude on you and your friends Amanda. Go, have a good time.”

He walked out of the laboratory door completely unaware of the dumbfounded confusion he left in his wake. Before long he was through the laboratory passageways, and on his way into a clear and not too unpleasantly hot day. Scanners pinged his badge as he exited each doorway and soon he was granted access into the open-air motor pool lot. Deacon logged out one of the six by six, open topped rovers that belonged to the planetary science division and begin doing the pre-op checks for the vehicle using a checklist that the motor pool mechanics forced him to use after previous trips. Deacon set about strapping his gear down in one of the back seats and ensuring all the jerry cans were filled with water and fluids, and that all the systems checked out before climbing into the driver seat and reaching over to the communication screen. He scrolled through the neon green names on the colony directory reaching Lancaster, Jamie, Ecological Sciences Department and pressing the page button. A small antenna on the rovers roll bars pinged to life and somewhere in the colony a communications screen began to flash an incoming message from rover 8, the one Deacon always used.

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

@Heat I'll have to let you know what my take on the movie is once I see it, planning on taking it in late this week. The CS has been done for a bit in the original post. I've included it here for the final review, I think we got mixed up in the shuffle... I was kinda wondering if anything was wrong with it because I was seeing others accepted. Let me know what, if anything, needs to change. I also dropped you a vignette PM of some of the issues relating to his past.

Here is the CS for your approval.

Deacon

Dr. Deacon H. Randall: Common Aliases – Deke & Doc Randall

Age – 38

Sex – Male

Occupation – Planetary biologist, Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Hestia Prime division. Doc Randall specializes in the introduction and adaptation of Terran species to terraformed worlds.

Appearance – Flashing green digits, digital demons in the shapes of a single five followed by two zeros accompanied a shrill and repetitive screeching that wrenched Deacon from a heavy slumber that had begun the minute his concrete block of a skull had hit the pillow. Automated lights began to glow in the small room, growing brighter as the minutes slipped by, the alarm clock continued to shriek, 5:05am now. A shape that consumed the small single mattress shifted reluctantly, an outline of mass, bulk, and humanity clear under the thin sheets. An arm reached up and a hand smashed down on the alarm clocks control panel smashing every button down simultaneously and silencing the shrill machine. Seconds later the shape under the sheets rose and stumbled into the washroom attached to the spartan living quarters.

Brighter lights winked to life in the washroom revealing a faced lined with the exertions of the day before. Greens eyes regarded his own reflection from under a heavy brow, a nose wide enough to look as if it had been broken a few times (it has not been) descended towards a hard, square jaw line covered in close cut grey stubble, much like the top of the head it was all attached to. With a giant sigh, Deacon committed to moving his sore body into the shower and after some hot water and a shave the man standing in the mirror was refreshed and less zombie like.

At 5’ 11” and 228lbs Deacon is not what people expect to walk through the door when they call for a rep from the science department to attend colony stakeholder meetings. His muscular bulk and preference for functional field clothing over lab coats and data pads will often lead newcomers to mistake Deacon for colonial security. His preference for working on his experiments and gathering his data from the field normally leads him to be unkempt in some way, be it caked in mud, stained by turf, dripping sweat, or plastered by other biological unmentionables. His clothing normally consists of earth toned jump suits, flat greens or browns with the tops of those often unzipped to and tied around his waist in favor of the micro-fiber sleeveless undershirts that are standard colony fare. Over the jumpsuits, he will wear the utility belts, harnesses, boots, gloves, and packs required to gather samples and transport gear to remote sites far afield from the colony. For Deacon function always overrides form.

Strengths – When it comes to biology and adapting life to new worlds Deacon has a ten-pound brain to match the strongman’s body. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation considers Deacon to be in the top 10% of the corporation’s staff of biologists and some academic circles place him in the top 25% of the entire field of planetary biology. Besides the specific expertise in his field, his level of intelligence makes him a solid critical thinker and problem solver.

Since his only other passions, other than biological field work, are strength sports Deacon is a very, very strong person. Coupled with this raw strength, the time Deacon has spent slogging through the field has conditioned his endurance as well. This however doesn’t make him suited to anything but his sport and hiking to remote locations, as a fighter or combatant he has no skill, technique, or training.

Weaknesses – Since Deacon’s life is pretty much divvied up between his passion for his sport and his passion for his work he tends to be socially removed. He is used to being alone and long stretches of isolation and field work have reinforced his tendencies to not rely on others or ask for assistance, even when he needs it. Deacon also compensates for his lack of social graces with an intense bravado that covers a deep, deep fear of failing. Deacon uses his aggressive sport training and isolation during field work to build a persona that covers something raw and jagged beneath, if he creates a large enough legacy here it may overshadow the demons of his past, or so he thinks. He left something important and unfinished when he came to Hestia Prime, something unresolved and unhealthy.

While Deacon is a brilliant biologist in the field, many of his more lab focused peers contend that his methods are reckless and dangerous. Deacon will be first to take a risk with his work, with his own safety, and sometimes with the safety of others if he, in his hubris, believes he controls the situation. Deacon is also a horrible science communicator, he can understand the science of planetary biology as simply as he can breathe, but he is unable to effectively communicate or teach those ideas to others.

Deacon, due to his upbringing in the Archology and other elements of his past and connections with Weyland-Yutani is absurdly loyal to Weyland-Yutani and that would be a difficult tie to break.

Personality – Deacon has a very cultivated personality that he presents to everyone. He would be happy if the people around him compared him to the feasting, competitive, and exuberant heathens of old earth, except with advanced scientific degrees and experience. He is outwardly enthusiastic, boisterous, and can be counted on to indulge in most things just a little too much. In reality though, Deacon prefers the quiet order of the natural world and the inexorable cycles of life, death, energy, and entropy. Despite his intense public facade, he prefers the quiet reflection of the isolated wilderness and uses that to refresh his mind and psyche because putting on the over-the-top front he maintains is as mentally draining as intense scientific study can be.

Family – Deacon never speaks of having family before the colony, after the colony he has been close with some of the security and engineering guys and gals (mostly from training in the gym together or working in the field with the engineers), he tends to be isolated from many of the others in the science department due to his extensive time in the field and over the top personality.

Backstory – Deacon’s life as a child was a success story of corporate sponsorship and scholarship. Raised in a Weyland-Yutani Archology (Architectural Ecology, a massive self-sustaining building that houses thousands of residents and needs to import or export zero resources to survive indefinably) Deacon was accustomed to corporate life from childhood. His schools were all Weyland-Yutani, his food was Weyland-Yutani, his clothing Weyland-Yutani, etc. etc. In this environment, Deacon lived a relatively average life up until his prodigious academic talent was cultivated and he decided to leave the Archology. His studies and progress in his chosen collegiate, post-grad, and doctoral field could have been pursued easily from within the safe confines of the Archology but his desire to experience field work had already developed into a full-grown passion. At 26 he left the Archology and headed to Southeast Asia to study potential factors that could increase mammalian adaptation thresholds to newly terraformed planets. While there two events would happen that would forever change Deacon’s life. The first is that he researched, defined, and published, to much acclaim and support, a model and method that would allow for the successfully alteration of the biological circadian rhythm. Up until that point in planetary biology an insurmountable problem had been adapting organisms that have a 24-hour circadian rhythm to new worlds with non-24-hour time cycles. Not only did this discovery sky-rocket Deacon to the forefront of his field at 30, it led to multiple colonial division chief positions being offered. The second event that propelled Deacon off of Earth is still a sealed record and a matter of Weyland-Yutani internal security.

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

@FreeRanged Message downrange, I like the idea of creating some background. It makes a more believable story if the characters aren't just dropped in all disjointed.

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

@FreeRanged It would be a bit silly of me to think that the introduction of species to an entire planet would only be handled by one character, I have no issue with the similarities in our characters as long as @Heat is good to go with it. In fact I can see a lot of character development possibilities. I am steering Deacon to be more of a specialist, genetically altering species in order to adapt their circadian rhythms to non-24-hour worlds. I could see him working closely with your character in the field, observing the species behaviors and collecting data to ensure the modifications take hold with no ill-effects.

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

@Heat Pulling the trigger! This is the final Deacon, submitted for your approval.

Deacon

Dr. Deacon H. Randall: Common Aliases – Deke & Doc Randall

Age – 38

Sex – Male

Occupation – Planetary biologist, Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Hestia Prime division. Doc Randall specializes in the introduction and adaptation of Terran species to terraformed worlds.

Appearance – Flashing green digits, digital demons in the shapes of a single five followed by two zeros accompanied a shrill and repetitive screeching that wrenched Deacon from a heavy slumber that had begun the minute his concrete block of a skull had hit the pillow. Automated lights began to glow in the small room, growing brighter as the minutes slipped by, the alarm clock continued to shriek, 5:05am now. A shape that consumed the small single mattress shifted reluctantly, an outline of mass, bulk, and humanity clear under the thin sheets. An arm reached up and a hand smashed down on the alarm clocks control panel smashing every button down simultaneously and silencing the shrill machine. Seconds later the shape under the sheets rose and stumbled into the washroom attached to the spartan living quarters.

Brighter lights winked to life in the washroom revealing a faced lined with the exertions of the day before. Greens eyes regarded his own reflection from under a heavy brow, a nose wide enough to look as if it had been broken a few times (it has not been) descended towards a hard, square jaw line covered in close cut grey stubble, much like the top of the head it was all attached to. With a giant sigh, Deacon committed to moving his sore body into the shower and after some hot water and a shave the man standing in the mirror was refreshed and less zombie like.

At 5’ 11” and 228lbs Deacon is not what people expect to walk through the door when they call for a rep from the science department to attend colony stakeholder meetings. His muscular bulk and preference for functional field clothing over lab coats and data pads will often lead newcomers to mistake Deacon for colonial security. His preference for working on his experiments and gathering his data from the field normally leads him to be unkempt in some way, be it caked in mud, stained by turf, dripping sweat, or plastered by other biological unmentionables. His clothing normally consists of earth toned jump suits, flat greens or browns with the tops of those often unzipped to and tied around his waist in favor of the micro-fiber sleeveless undershirts that are standard colony fare. Over the jumpsuits, he will wear the utility belts, harnesses, boots, gloves, and packs required to gather samples and transport gear to remote sites far afield from the colony. For Deacon function always overrides form.

Strengths – When it comes to biology and adapting life to new worlds Deacon has a ten-pound brain to match the strongman’s body. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation considers Deacon to be in the top 10% of the corporation’s staff of biologists and some academic circles place him in the top 25% of the entire field of planetary biology. Besides the specific expertise in his field, his level of intelligence makes him a solid critical thinker and problem solver.

Since his only other passions, other than biological field work, are strength sports Deacon is a very, very strong person. Coupled with this raw strength, the time Deacon has spent slogging through the field has conditioned his endurance as well. This however doesn’t make him suited to anything but his sport and hiking to remote locations, as a fighter or combatant he has no skill, technique, or training.

Weaknesses – Since Deacon’s life is pretty much divvied up between his passion for his sport and his passion for his work he tends to be socially removed. He is used to being alone and long stretches of isolation and field work have reinforced his tendencies to not rely on others or ask for assistance, even when he needs it. Deacon also compensates for his lack of social graces with an intense bravado that covers a deep, deep fear of failing. Deacon uses his aggressive sport training and isolation during field work to build a persona that covers something raw and jagged beneath, if he creates a large enough legacy here it may overshadow the demons of his past, or so he thinks. He left something important and unfinished when he came to Hestia Prime, something unresolved and unhealthy.

While Deacon is a brilliant biologist in the field, many of his more lab focused peers contend that his methods are reckless and dangerous. Deacon will be first to take a risk with his work, with his own safety, and sometimes with the safety of others if he, in his hubris, believes he controls the situation. Deacon is also a horrible science communicator, he can understand the science of planetary biology as simply as he can breathe, but he is unable to effectively communicate or teach those ideas to others.

Deacon, due to his upbringing in the Archology and other elements of his past and connections with Weyland-Yutani is absurdly loyal to Weyland-Yutani and that would be a difficult tie to break.

Personality – Deacon has a very cultivated personality that he presents to everyone. He would be happy if the people around him compared him to the feasting, competitive, and exuberant heathens of old earth, except with advanced scientific degrees and experience. He is outwardly enthusiastic, boisterous, and can be counted on to indulge in most things just a little too much. In reality though, Deacon prefers the quiet order of the natural world and the inexorable cycles of life, death, energy, and entropy. Despite his intense public facade, he prefers the quiet reflection of the isolated wilderness and uses that to refresh his mind and psyche because putting on the over-the-top front he maintains is as mentally draining as intense scientific study can be.

Family – Deacon never speaks of having family before the colony, after the colony he has been close with some of the security and engineering guys and gals (mostly from training in the gym together or working in the field with the engineers), he tends to be isolated from many of the others in the science department due to his extensive time in the field and over the top personality.

Backstory – Deacon’s life as a child was a success story of corporate sponsorship and scholarship. Raised in a Weyland-Yutani Archology (Architectural Ecology, a massive self-sustaining building that houses thousands of residents and needs to import or export zero resources to survive indefinably) Deacon was accustomed to corporate life from childhood. His schools were all Weyland-Yutani, his food was Weyland-Yutani, his clothing Weyland-Yutani, etc. etc. In this environment, Deacon lived a relatively average life up until his prodigious academic talent was cultivated and he decided to leave the Archology. His studies and progress in his chosen collegiate, post-grad, and doctoral field could have been pursued easily from within the safe confines of the Archology but his desire to experience field work had already developed into a full-grown passion. At 26 he left the Archology and headed to Southeast Asia to study potential factors that could increase mammalian adaptation thresholds to newly terraformed planets. While there two events would happen that would forever change Deacon’s life. The first is that he researched, defined, and published, to much acclaim and support, a model and method that would allow for the successfully alteration of the biological circadian rhythm. Up until that point in planetary biology an insurmountable problem had been adapting organisms that have a 24-hour circadian rhythm to new worlds with non-24-hour time cycles. Not only did this discovery sky-rocket Deacon to the forefront of his field at 30, it led to multiple colonial division chief positions being offered. The second event that propelled Deacon off of Earth is still a sealed record and a matter of Weyland-Yutani internal security.

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

@Inkarnate I am trying to work some knots into my character that a colonial psychologist might be interested in exploring. The option is there if you would like to, feel free.

@Icepick The good friends or partners route would be a good mix since both the skill paths you are focusing a character on could involve a lot of field work and that is Deacon's [my character's] bread and butter, so to speak. I'd be open to developing character tension there, good or bad, as long as it doesn't stray from the main plot or especially if it reinforces it. I would like to leave the married bit shelved because I am trying to work some psychological weaknesses/kinks into Deacon's character that @Inkarnate could get into or @Heat could exploit for story development and I am thinking those will focus on some connection left behind.

Highland Hart

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

Deacon

Dr. Deacon H. Randall: Common Aliases – Deke & Doc Randall

Age – 38

Sex – Male

Occupation – Planetary biologist, Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Hestia Prime division. Doc Randall specializes in the introduction and adaptation of Terran species to terraformed worlds.

Appearance – Flashing green digits, digital demons in the shapes of a single five followed by two zeros accompanied a shrill and repetitive screeching that wrenched Deacon from a heavy slumber that had begun the minute his concrete block of a skull had hit the pillow. Automated lights began to glow in the small room, growing brighter as the minutes slipped by, the alarm clock continued to shriek, 5:05am now. A shape that consumed the small single mattress shifted reluctantly, an outline of mass, bulk, and humanity clear under the thin sheets. An arm reached up and a hand smashed down on the alarm clocks control panel smashing every button down simultaneously and silencing the shrill machine. Seconds later the shape under the sheets rose and stumbled into the washroom attached to the spartan living quarters.

Brighter lights winked to life in the washroom revealing a faced lined with the exertions of the day before. Greens eyes regarded his own reflection from under a heavy brow, a nose wide enough to look as if it had been broken a few times (it has not been) descended towards a hard, square jaw line covered in close cut grey stubble, much like the top of the head it was all attached to. With a giant sigh, Deacon committed to moving his sore body into the shower and after some hot water and a shave the man standing in the mirror was refreshed and less zombie like.

At 5’ 11” and 228lbs Deacon is not what people expect to walk through the door when they call for a rep from the science department to attend colony stakeholder meetings. His muscular bulk and preference for functional field clothing over lab coats and data pads will often lead newcomers to mistake Deacon for colonial security. His preference for working on his experiments and gathering his data from the field normally leads him to be unkempt in some way, be it caked in mud, stained by turf, dripping sweat, or plastered by other biological unmentionables. His clothing normally consists of earth toned jump suits, flat greens or browns with the tops of those often unzipped to and tied around his waist in favor of the micro-fiber sleeveless undershirts that are standard colony fare. Over the jumpsuits, he will wear the utility belts, harnesses, boots, gloves, and packs required to gather samples and transport gear to remote sites far afield from the colony. For Deacon function always overrides form.

Strengths – When it comes to biology and adapting life to new worlds Deacon has a ten-pound brain to match the strongman’s body. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation considers Deacon to be in the top 10% of the corporation’s staff of biologists and some academic circles place him in the top 25% of the entire field of planetary biology. Besides the specific expertise in his field, his level of intelligence makes him a solid critical thinker and problem solver.

Since his only other passions, other than biological field work, are strength sports Deacon is a very, very strong person. Coupled with this raw strength, the time Deacon has spent slogging through the field has conditioned his endurance as well. This however doesn’t make him suited to anything but his sport and hiking to remote locations, as a fighter or combatant he has no skill, technique, or training.

Weaknesses – Since Deacon’s life is pretty much divvied up between his passion for his sport and his passion for his work he tends to be socially removed. He is used to being alone and long stretches of isolation and field work have reinforced his tendencies to not rely on others or ask for assistance, even when he needs it. Deacon also compensates for his lack of social graces with an intense bravado that covers a deep, deep fear of failing. Deacon uses his aggressive sport training and isolation during field work to build a persona that covers something raw and jagged beneath, if he creates a large enough legacy here it may overshadow the demons of his past, or so he thinks. He left something important and unfinished when he came to Hestia Prime, something unresolved and unhealthy.

While Deacon is a brilliant biologist in the field, many of his more lab focused peers contend that his methods are reckless and dangerous. Deacon will be first to take a risk with his work, with his own safety, and sometimes with the safety of others if he, in his hubris, believes he controls the situation. Deacon is also a horrible science communicator, he can understand the science of planetary biology as simply as he can breathe, but he is unable to effectively communicate or teach those ideas to others.

Deacon, due to his upbringing in the Archology and other elements of his past and connections with Weyland-Yutani is absurdly loyal to Weyland-Yutani and that would be a difficult tie to break.

Personality – Deacon has a very cultivated personality that he presents to everyone. He would be happy if the people around him compared him to the feasting, competitive, and exuberant heathens of old earth, except with advanced scientific degrees and experience. He is outwardly enthusiastic, boisterous, and can be counted on to indulge in most things just a little too much. In reality though, Deacon prefers the quiet order of the natural world and the inexorable cycles of life, death, energy, and entropy. Despite his intense public facade, he prefers the quiet reflection of the isolated wilderness and uses that to refresh his mind and psyche because putting on the over-the-top front he maintains is as mentally draining as intense scientific study can be.

Family – Deacon never speaks of having family before the colony, after the colony he has been close with some of the security and engineering guys and gals (mostly from training in the gym together or working in the field with the engineers), he tends to be isolated from many of the others in the science department due to his extensive time in the field and over the top personality.

Backstory – Deacon’s life as a child was a success story of corporate sponsorship and scholarship. Raised in a Weyland-Yutani Archology (Architectural Ecology, a massive self-sustaining building that houses thousands of residents and needs to import or export zero resources to survive indefinably) Deacon was accustomed to corporate life from childhood. His schools were all Weyland-Yutani, his food was Weyland-Yutani, his clothing Weyland-Yutani, etc. etc. In this environment, Deacon lived a relatively average life up until his prodigious academic talent was cultivated and he decided to leave the Archology. His studies and progress in his chosen collegiate, post-grad, and doctoral field could have been pursued easily from within the safe confines of the Archology but his desire to experience field work had already developed into a full-grown passion. At 26 he left the Archology and headed to Southeast Asia to study potential factors that could increase mammalian adaptation thresholds to newly terraformed planets. While there two events would happen that would forever change Deacon’s life. The first is that he researched, defined, and published, to much acclaim and support, a model and method that would allow for the successfully alteration of the biological circadian rhythm. Up until that point in planetary biology an insurmountable problem had been adapting organisms that have a 24-hour circadian rhythm to new worlds with non-24-hour time cycles. Not only did this discovery sky-rocket Deacon to the forefront of his field at 30, it led to multiple colonial division chief positions being offered. The second event that propelled Deacon off of Earth is still a sealed record and a matter of Weyland-Yutani internal security.

Alien: Desolation (Accepting!)

@Heat Working on some character generation over the next couple of days. Just FYI, I am a once a day kind of guy as far as logging on and reading the IC & OOC and I take my time with my posts in online RPs (I have lurked around the Guild and other sites for longer than I care to admit, as one handle or another). I don't actively slow stories down, that would be rude but I won't rush a post either. Hope that means I can still fit here, advanced level tends to be my style and pace but I wanted to be on the same page as far as everyone's expectations so we all get the maximum enjoyment out of your story.

@Icepick I could see a planetary biologist (what I am gearing my character towards) and an engineer having some type of relationship, the interaction between science and engineering is normally something that can develop a lot of plot and character arcs. I mean, when talking about terraforming colonies I could see a planetary biologist [my character] working on the science of earth species introduction to Hestia Prime (like referenced in the opening post) and an engineer having a supportive (developing systems to aid in introduction) or antagonistic (introduced species wreak havoc on colonial systems) relationship. What do you think?

@Heat I was reading the character sheet for Benedict and found this line interesting in relation to the character I am roughing out.

"He has a fascination with natural lifeforms, often comparing them to his own creation."

This could make an interesting character development point for both of us if my character is a planetary biologist, concerned with the introduction, adaptation, and sustainability of species on terraformed worlds. Let me know if you want to explore/develop that.

Highland Hart.

Alien: Desolation

I'll bite, I am a fan of the franchise as well. I'd say the scientific role would be where I would want to develop a character if the idea gathers steam.